Ascent (Mi`raj) of Soul - Mi`raj of Soul
Mi`raj of Soul
Tags: Mi`raj, Spiritual Ascent
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Mi`raj literally means the instrument of ascending, namely, a ladder or staircase. Technically it means the spiritual ascension of the Holy Prophet which, according to one view, took place in the twelfth year of his Prophethood and in which he had gone to the heaven of the Universal Soul.
There are two views among the scholars of religion about this great event of mi`raj. According to one view this event took place physically. That is, he went to the physical heaven with his pure body. According to the other, it was not physical, but spiritual. I personally hold this latter view and to substantiate this, some bright proofs and demonstrations are presented in the following:
Proof 1: If you study verses (70:1-4), you will see that it is the angels and the spirits that ascend towards Almighty God, Who is the Lord of ladders (i.e. ranks). In these verses, on the one hand there is the mention of ma`arij, plural of mi`raj, and on the other, there is the indication that these ladders, i.e. spiritual ranks, are ascended only by the angels and souls.
Proof 2: According to verse (32:5) God regulates the command (amr, i.e. the soul) from the heaven to the earth, then it ascends to His presence. This means that it is the soul which descends from the heaven and ascends to it, and by the heaven is meant the spiritual heaven.
Proof 3: In verses (15:14-15) the Wise Qur'an says: "Even if We open the door of heaven for them so that they may continue to ascend all day through it, yet they would say: Surely our eyes have been dazzled, nay, we are a bewitched people". This verse indicates to the wise people that it is possible for people to ascend to the heaven of spirituality spiritually, but only if God opens the door of spirituality. Had it been related to this external and material heaven, there would not have been the mention of the door and its opening, since the physical heaven does not have a door and as far as it is concerned, people have started to ascend it themselves (using aeroplanes and spaceships). In this verse there is the description of the possible spiritual state which is unveiled suddenly to some people without any preparation, namely, spiritual exercise. The eyes cannot bear such observations and in bewilderment and confusion they are compelled to say that someone has bewitched them.
Proof 4: It is said in verse (35:10): "Unto Him good word ascends and the good deed exalts it". It is evident from this verse that it is the good word and the good deed of man which ascend to the presence of God, and by which is meant the soul and not the body.
Proof 5: In verse (17:1) it is said: "Purified be He Who carried His servant by night from the sacred masjid to the farthest masjid whose precincts We have blessed, that We may show him Our signs". In this verse is mentioned the Holy Prophet's mi`raj, the ta'wil of which is that the best time for remembrance, `ibadat and the unveiling of spirituality is the night time and particularly, the second half of it. The Holy Prophet was thus engrossed in Divine remembrance at night as usual when spirituality unveiled on a large scale and the veil of the unseen world was removed. This happened to the Holy Prophet when he was elevated from the initial Supreme Name (the sacred masjid) to another farther Supreme Name (ism-i a`zam, the farthest masjid), in which were higher blessings and Divine signs. All this happened in his illumined heart and holy spirit, which has nothing to do with the physical eye.
Proof 6: In verses (51:20-21) the Holy Qur'an says: "There are signs (of the power of God) in the earth for those who are sure in faith, and within your souls. Do you not then see?" It should be known that the signs of God in the earth are scattered in material form, whereas they are united spiritually in the human souls. Now, the Perfect Man who observes with his inner eye those signs of God which are hidden and united within himself, does not need to go anywhere. Thus, the Holy Prophet had observed the signs of the universe and the existents within himself on the occasion of his spiritual mi`raj.
Proof 7: In verse (24:35), it is said: "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth". On the night of mi`raj the Holy Prophet had extreme closeness to this holy light, in the illumination of which, he observed with his inner eye the wonders of the heaven and the earth and spoke to Allah. The events took place as mentioned in the Qur'anic verses and the sound Ahadith, but in spirit and spirituality.
Proof 8: Verse (42:51) testifies to the fact that it is not given to man that Allah should speak to him save by revelation (in which His light itself makes wahy or sign directly) or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends an angel who reveals by His permission what He wills. This shows that this is the way of God speaking or revealing to His Prophets. All this has happened in this life, in which is included mi`raj, as well as other varying ranks of closeness to God.
It is necessary to know that the above-mentioned verse is such a comprehensive principle of spirit and spirituality that it comprises all levels of Divine guidance, such as special revelation (wahy-i khass), speaking from behind a veil, general revelation (wahy-i `amm) and inspiration (ilham, ilqa'). It is obvious that this principle which comprises all the levels of spirituality, is common to all Prophets. It is a different matter if our sight cannot penetrate the reality, otherwise according to this wisdom-filled verse the highest rank or level of the spirituality of the Prophets is that in which the light of God makes wahy or sign to them directly without any veil, then the next level is speaking from behind a veil and the third is revelation by sending an angel. All these ranks of spirituality are included in the spiritual mi`raj of the Holy Prophet and with respect to them he had several mi`rajs, not only one.
Proof 9: In verse (42:52) which is related to the subject in discussion, God says: "And thus We revealed (awhayna) to you a spirit of Our Command (i.e. the world of command)". This clearly means that the Holy Spirit in whose spirituality were hidden the above-mentioned three ranks of Prophethood and Messengership, was sent to the Holy Prophet as a revelation (wahy). In other words this Spirit was a Light in whose living and speaking spirituality and luminosity the Holy Prophet had traversed all the stages of his spiritual mi`raj.
Proof 10: In verses (53:1-11), it is mentioned: "By the star when it came down" (i.e. by the Holy Spirit when it was revealed within the Holy Prophet and his true legatee (wasi)). "Your companion did not go astray, nor did he err" (i.e. when the Holy Spirit was revealed to him and he went along the path of spirituality, he was so steadfast that his step never slipped). "Nor does he speak of (his own) desire" (i.e. he started to convey the message after traversing the stages of spirituality). "It is but a revelation revealed" (i.e whatever he speaks in this work of mission is of revelation which is through the Holy Spirit which was sent within him). "He was taught by (God) Supreme in power, imbued with wisdom; then he overcame (spirituality) and was in the highest horizon (of spirituality)" (i.e. he reached the heaven of the Universal Soul). "Then he drew near" (i.e. to the light of God). "And came close" (i.e. he was shown the pearl of knowledge and wisdom). "And was at a distance of two bow's length, or even nearer, then He revealed to His servant that which He revealed (without a veil). His heart did not belie what he saw (in the mi`raj)" (i.e. all the events and miracles of the mi`raj of the Holy Prophet happened within his heart, therefore he accepted them as truth and was convinced of what he saw in his blessed heart).
It is evident that the Holy Prophet's mi`raj was not physical, rather it was spiritual, as the above-mentioned verses show, particularly the verse in which it is said: "His heart did not belie what he saw" (53:11).
Proof 11: From the numerous verses of the Wise Qur'an it is clear that God is very close to man. This does not mean spatial closeness, rather it relates to access to Him and the honour of man. Thus this closeness is first applicable to the Perfect Man. That is, the Holy Prophet observes the manifestation of Divine light in his blessed heart, and mi`raj is not excluded from such an observation.
Proof 12: According to a sacred Hadith, the heart of a mu'min is the Throne of Allah. If this is the case, then it was the heart of the Holy Prophet that was to be the Throne of Allah first and foremost and in the best possible way. It is obvious that where there is the Throne of God, there is mi`raj also.
Proof 13: According to Qur'anic wisdom, the sacred light of God is always manifest in this world and its place of manifestation is the holy chain of the Prophets and their legatees. Thus the Holy Prophet in his time was its place of manifestation or mazhar. When this fact is as clear as broad daylight that the Holy Prophet had utmost closeness to the light of God on this earth, then it is also certain that the secrets of his Prophethood and mi`raj were not separate from the Divine light which was in his blessed and holy forehead.
Proof 14: The Wise Qur'an shows that God had breathed His Spirit into Hazrat Adam (32:9; 15:29; 38:72). By this Spirit is meant the Divine Light which is the fountainhead of guidance, knowledge, wisdom, Prophethood and Imamat and in which are hidden spiritual secrets, luminous wonders and miracles. The same Divine Spirit or Divine Light with all its attributes and beauties was in the Holy Prophet. Thus, it is evident that all the events of the mi`raj were spiritual and they took place in his sacred heart.
Proof 15: Every human being with sound senses has four personal worlds: the world of wakefulness, the world of imagination, the world of dreams and the world of spirituality. In addition to the world of wakefulness, an ordinary person can also accept the existence of the world of imagination and the world of dreams, but the world of spirituality, which is observed by a chosen servant after strenuous `ibadat and spiritual exercise is beyond these three worlds. It comprises and combines them. It is living and wakeful like this world. In fact, it is far more illumined, beautiful and attractive. There is freedom of thinking as in the world of imagination, and involuntariness as in the world of dreams. Thus, the world of spirituality of the Prophets and Imams becomes unveiled and manifest to them in its real state and in which all the events (related to mi`raj) mentioned in the Wise Qur'an take place.
Proof 16: Human existence, with respect to the body, is spatial and with respect to the soul is non-spatial, and Allah's closeness, although He is beyond space and non-space, is possible spiritually not physically. That is, it is not necessary to go from one place to another in order to reach His presence, rather His extreme closeness can be attained non-spatially in the very heart (soul) of man. Thus, in the case of the Holy Prophet, who was the Perfect Man, all the matters related to Prophethood, messengership and mi`raj were revealed to him in his blessed heart.
The main purpose of this subject was to furnish some bright proofs about the reality of the mi`raj of the soul, or spiritual mi`raj so that mu'mins may be sure that the Holy Prophet, as a mercy for the worlds (i.e. human beings), was a great world of spirituality and luminosity, a world which contained everything and nothing was left outside of it.
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