The Magnificent Journey Part 5

Now we come to the pinnacle of the whole journey, that is the meeting with Allah the Most High. The Sidrathul Muntaha and the Jannaat are all located in the 7th heaven (some reports say the Sidrah was seen at the 6th heaven, so scholars try to reconcile by saying that perhaps the Sidrah begins in the 6th heaven and goes up into the 7th, Allah knows best) and above that is the Throne of Allah. Even Jibril a.s. was not allowed to ascend to that level, and Rasulullah had to go up by himself. He tells us he ascended to a level where he heard the scribbling of pens. These are probably the Pens of Destiny. In the sacred tablet in Al-Lauhul Mahfuz, the destiny of all things has already been recorded 50000 years before Allah even began the creation. These pens however are probably writing the periodical destinies like the yearly, monthly, and daily destinies which are based on what has been written in Lauhul Mahfuz. This is not a discussion about Qadar, so i will not explore this issue further.

It is at this level that Rasulullah meets Allah Jalla wa 'ala and was given three things namely, the command of 50 prayers, the last two verses of al-Baqarah, and the promise that Allah will forgive all those who worship Him solely without associating any partners with Him. It is likely that our Lord had a longer conversation with his most beloved servant, but it is perhaps a secret that will remain a secret between Rasulullah and Allah Jalla wa 'Ala. Did Rasulullah see Allah? The strongest opinion is that he did not, because there are authentic hadiths where the Prophet was asked by some of his companions if he did see Allah, and he said "There was light. How could I see him?" And this opinion is in line with what the Quran says about men speaking to Allah in surah Asy-syura verse 51:

"And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise."

Also, we have a hadith which corroborates this point too:
Abu Musa reported: The Messenger ofallah (may peace be upon him) was standing amongst us and he told us five things. He said: Verily the Exalted and Mighty God does not sleep, and it does not befit Him to sleep. He lowers the scale and lifts it. The deeds in the night are taken up to Him before the deeds of the day. and the deeds of the day before the deeds of the night. His veil is the light. In the hadith narrated by Abu Bakr (instead of the word" light" ) it is fire. If he withdraws it (the veil), the splendour of His countenance would consume His creation so far as His sight reaches. [Sahih Muslim]

So what we can conclude is that Rasulullah did speak to Allah directly in His presence, but he only saw Allah's veil of light, which is why he said "There was light. How could I see Him?" Seeing Allah's majestic face is a reward that only the best of the believers will obtain in Jannah in the Hereafter. Our earthly bodies cannot withstand the true light of Allah's countenance.

Just beware of false reports about the Tahiyyah being legislated during this meeting with Allah. All reports about the Prophet sitting in the Tawarruk position, and Allah saying salaam to the Prophet and the angels too saying salaam until the heavens tremble, and that the Tahiyyah we recite in the last raka'ah comes from this incident, are all false!

After the private conversation with his Lord, Rasulullah begins his descent. He passes the 7th heaven, but Ibrahim a.s. does not say anything. Now when he comes to the 6th heaven, Musa a.s. stops him and asks, what is that your Lord has commanded. Musa a.s. knows that Allah has commanded something because he too had a similar experience when he received the Tawrah in the form of tablets, directly from Allah when he was atop Mount Sinai. So what does Musa a.s. ask Rasulullah?

To be continued....