A001
Surah: 017 - Ayah: 001
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17:1
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 miraj, the tawil of which is that the best time for remembrance, ibadat and the unveiling of spirituality is the night time and 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 azam, 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.
Q34 Was the holy Prophet’s micraj (spiritual ascent) physical or spiritual? If you accept that his micraj was spiritual, then necessarily you also have to accept that by the word masjid in verse (17:1), which is related to the story of micraj, is meant cibadat (ism-i aczam), as it is used in this sense in verses (7:29, 31). Thus the ta’wil of the carrying of the holy Prophet from the sacred masjid to the farthest masjid is that previously he was doing cibadat with the initial ism-i aczam, but then he was commanded to do so with the final ism-i aczam that causes the resurrection to take place. That is, Hazrat-i qayyim(a.s.).
A34 The micraj of the holy Prophet took place spiritually because it is the name of the unveiling of the spiritual world and spiritual elevation as a result of Divine remembrance (dhikr) and cibadat. Divine closeness or proximity is in an esoteric and spiritual state, not in a physical state. By the higher world is meant the spiritual world, which is found in a non-spatial state. Since micraj is a spiritual event, therefore these ta’wils related to it must be accepted.
Another mention of the Holy Prophet’s spiritual miraj and of the place of azal is in verse (17:1), in which by the farthest masjid (mosque) or the heavenly mosque is meant the rank of azal, which is the source and outlet of endless blessings of knowledge and wisdom. It is called masjid in the sense that the ‘ibadat of the Prophets, the awlia’ and arifs is performed there. Another tawil of the farthest masjid is the final ism-I a’zam.
This verse has been referred 6 times.