The Prophets Of Allah

Isra Al Miraj - 2

We just finished explaining the difference between the jannath and samaawath. Most likely, the janaath occupy the seventh heaven. Now as we said one of the biggest problems is to peice together the chronological narrative of the story. We have narrations that the prophet PBUH very clearly spoke to the other prophets. But where did this happen? It could be in the heavens or in the baytul maqdas. Abdullah ibn Masud reports the prophet PBUH said that On the night he went to Isra wal Mi'raj, he met Ibrahim, Musa and Isa. And he began talking about the day of judgement. And Ibrahim was the first to be asked. He said "I have no knowledge of the day". Same response from Musa. But Isa said "I know Allah will send me back to the Earth, and I will kill the dajjal, and the people will then go to their various lands, and ya'jooj and ma'jooj will come forth, and every water they pass by will be finished until I will make dua that they be killed. So they will die, and the entire world will be stenched by their decomposed bodies. And I will then make another dua to get rid of these bodies - so Allah will send rain from the sky and they will be washed away. When this happens, the day of judgement will be like the pregnant woman who is just about to give birth". And the prophet PBUH said that whatever Isa AS said, is found in the Qur'an "they will come from valleys etc". So this conversation has been preserved - but anything else they talked about has not been. Note also alot of the hadith with the prophet PBUH narrate about ya'jooj and ma'jooj, about Isa coming down, the day of judgement etc, this incident shows that one source is Isa AS directly.

Another conversation recorded is when the prophet PBUH said he met Ibrahim AS on the night he went to Isra. And he told him "Ya Muhammad, give my salaam to your ummah". So Ibrahim AS is telling his own son, the prophet PBUH, his salaam. "And inform them that Jannah, its soil is beautiful but it is barren (flat land). And the seedlings we put into the soil will come from subhanAllah, alhamdhulillah, lailahailallah, allah u akbar". Therefore Ibrahim AS is saying every tasbih will become a tree because of the amazing fertile soil.

It's also narrated he met Malik, the doorkeeper of Jahanam. Again this could have happened in the baytal maqdas or in the heavens. This angel is in the Qur'an where the disbelievers will say "Oh Malik, go tell your Lord to exterminate us". So Jibraeel AS told the prophet PBUH "Oh Muhammad, this is gatekeeper of Hell, Malik - give him salaam". So the prophet PBUH said he turned around to greet him, but before he could say anything Malik said salaam first. The prophet PBUH replied with salaam aswell. The prophet PBUH further narrates that Malik seemed very sad and never smiled and he asked Jibraeel AS why this is. This shows us angels are happy and joyful. So Jibraeel AS responded "he has never smiled or laughed since he has been created. Were he to smile to anyone it would have been you". Note even though after all of this over the prophet PBUH saw Jannah and Jahanam, Malik was brought up to say salaam to the prophet PBUH. This is to emphasise that the prophet PBUH is as far away from the hellfire, as the seventh heaven is from the bottom of the creation. Malik was the one who said salaam to first - just to show there is no relationship at all with the prophet PBUH and the hellfire. Its to clearly show the distance and superiority of the prophet PBUH Malik said salaam first.

The prophet PBUH then proceeded onwards above the seventh heaven after seeing the prophets. The prophet PBUH said "And then I saw in front of me the sidratul muntaha". The sidra is a type of tree that is known for its large branches. That it covers a very wide and vast area. And its known for its delicious fruit and sweet sense. For the arabs what comes to mind is a wide tree that grows in the desert. Muntaha means 'the very end'. So its the tree at the very end. And the prophet PBUH said "the fruits of this tree were as large as the water jars of Hajar". Realise this is elequence - that the prophet PBUH is explaining things in symbolic language. The people he is speaking to know the comparison. And the prophet PBUH said "its leaves are like the ears of the elephants". Note its not authentically reported the prophet PBUH ever saw an elephant. After viewing it, Jibraeel AS said "this is sidratul muntaha". In another report in Bhukari, the prophet PBUH said after seeing the prophets "then Jibraeel AS continued going up with me, until we got to the sudratul muntaha". And he said "when the tree was covered up, there were colours going up and down it and I don't know how to explain these colours to you". Here the prophet PBUH is thus saying he is seeing something completely different and a different dimension. A colour/light that dosen't exist on the Earth. So what is the sidratul muntaha? The prophet PBUH narrated that "everything that is raised up from the Earth stops there and absorbs it. And from it descends down everything that is coming from this Earth, and it originates from the sidratul muntaha. When the tree was enveloped, there were butterflies made out of gold". So by viewing the sitradul muntaha, Allah is saying the prophet PBUH is seeing of His most beautiful creations. In another narration the prophet PBUH said "when it was envoloped, it kept on changing until nobody could have described it". Its a dynamic, majestic tree thats out of this world - with constantly changing colours etc.