The Magnificent Journey Part 3

Upon arrival at Masjidil Aqsa (literally means the farthest mosque), the Prophet SAW tied al-Buraq to a post where all the previous prophets used to tie their animals. Again this proves that the Buraq is like any other animal, and also, this action of the Prophet teaches us the essence of tawakkul, that is, do your best first then place your trust in Allah. Now many people actually are mistaken about what Masjidil Aqsa actually is. The Masjidil Aqsa as we know it today was built first by the caliph Umar when he conquered Jerusalem. However, the Masjidil Aqsa mentioned in the Quran encompasses a whole area sometimes known as Haram al-Shariff, a place of prayer for many of the previous Prophets like Daud and Sulaiman. Masjidil Aqsa certainly is not the that building with the yellow dome. That is the the Dome of the Rock which was built much later by the caliph Abdul Malik ibn Marwan of the Umayyad Dynasty. Here is a picture of Haram al-Shariff:



As you can see, the lowest part of picture shows the current al-Aqsa mosque, and the yellow dome in the middle is the Dome of the Rock. At the time of the Isra', the Haram al-Shariff was turned into a dumpsite by the Christiam Roman Empire which hated anything to do with the Jews. So all the structures visible in the picture above were not there. Our scholars differ as to the exact spot from which the Prophet ascended into the heavens. Some say he ascended from the spot where the Dome of the Rock now lies, others say from where the current Al-Aqsa mosque now lies. In any case, he ascended into the heavens somewhere within the vicinity of the Haram al-Shariff.

Before ascending, he SAW prayed two raka'ah at the mosque. Here once again the narrations differ. Some reports says he sees all the prophets praying behind him without him realizing it, others say he saw them praying when he entered the mosque and then they prayed together, and then there's the difference of whether this prayer in jama'ah occurred before the ascent or after the descent. I prefer the opinion of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi on this matter, that is, most of the events/conversations/visions that took place occurred only after meeting Allah the Most High, because that is the pinnacle of the whole journey, and nothing is more important than meeting Allah jalla wa 'ala.

After the prayer, Jibirl brings two vessels of milk and wine each to the Prophet and asks him to choose one. Wine had not yet been prohibited at this point as you will all remember. It will be prohibited later on after the hijrah only. The prophet chose milk and Jibril said, "You have chosen the fitrah." The symbol here is that milk is pure and nutritious and that is why Jibril said it was the fitrah. Wine on the other hand is altered and corrupted, unhealthy and damaging, and that is why the Prophet never drank it. Actually there are reports which tell us that none of the prophets ever drank wine, even if it was halal for them. They only ate and drank all that is pure.

Now the journey into the heavens begin. Here again there so many exaggerations about super fast birds, and magic carpets which take the Prophet up into the heavens. All of these are fabricated. The authentic sources do not mention anything about how the Prophet SAW ascended other than the fact that he ascended with Jibril a.s. So they both ascend and the first stop is the lowest heaven (sama' ad-dunya) which is basically the universe as we know it. I disagree with the opinions that say the lowest heaven is this layer of the sky, and the next one is that layer and so on. Why? Because in surah al-mulk, Allah says He adorned the lowest heaven with lamps i.e. stars. And that means Allah is referring to the whole universe, for the stars are contained within the universe. This is the only heaven that we can grasp with our senses. The rest are in the realm of the Unseen. Now let us ponder about this fact for a moment. If the first heaven alone is the whole universe which until today we don't know where it ends, then we cannot even imagine how vast is Allah's kingdom! It also puts things into persepctive for us, earth dwellers. The earth is literally an insignificant speck in the grand scale of the Universe, let alone compared to the whole of Allah's kingdom. And that's why a hadith tells us the life of this world is worth no more that a mosquito's wing.

To be continued....