The beloved Prophet of Allah narrated his heavenly visit to the Seventh Heaven. Here the Majestic Allah gave Mohammad a rousing tour of His majestic abode, where the Angels welcomed Mohammad, gave prestige and honour to him...
The grand tour consisted of the Gates of Heavens, meeting with the majestic Allah’s majestic Angels as well as Prophet Ibrahim, and visiting his Islamic Education center. While the Prophet led in prayer, the inhabitants of the heaven, Allah sits and listens to Mohammad’s advices and intentions.
Lets’ see what the Prophet’s revelations are:
“Allah Almighty has it created from Light. Its name is Ghariba and the name of its guardian angel is Afra’il. Jibra’il requested entry at the keeper of the gates as he had done before, and after a succession of questions and answers, the gates swung open and we were admitted. I beheld Afra’il and the seven hundred thousand angels under his command. Each one of these had in turn seven hundred thousand helpers, and their glorification was this.
Subhana-lladhi sataha-s-samawati wa rafa’aha,
Subhana-lladhi basatal-arda wa farashaha,
Subhana-lladhi atla’al-kawakiba wa azharaha,
Subhana-lladhi arsal-jibala wa haya’ha.
(Glory be to Him who has fashioned the skies as a roof and raised them aloft;
Glory to Him who has flattened the earth and fitted it accordingly;
Glory to Him who brought forth the stars and made them to be adornments;
Glory to Him who has set up the mountains and fixed them in their places.)”
“I greeted Afra’il and he received my greetings with pleasure. He gave me glad tidings of many spiritual gifts of grace and much reward for accepted good works.
“Above the gate to this Heaven were written these words:
- La ilaha ill-Allah, Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah, wa Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.
- There I beheld an angel whose head was at a level with the Throne, while his feet were placed firmly on the earth.
- He was so great that he might have swallowed up all the seven layers of Heaven with one gulp, had Allah Almighty permitted him to do so. The Tasbih of this tremendous angel was this:
Subhanal-muhtajibi bi jalalihi,
Subhanal-musawwiri fil-arhami ma yasha’u.
(Glory be to Him who is veiled by His Majesty,
Glory be to Him who forms in the womb whatever He wills.)
“Then I saw an angel with seven hundred thousand heads, and each of these heads bore seven hundred thousand faces. On every single face there were seven hundred thousand mouths, and in every single mouth there were seven hundred thousand tongues and with each tongue he speaks seven hundred thousand different languages. This angel also has seven hundred thousand wings. Every day, this angel plunges seven hundred times into the Ocean of Light, which is in Paradise, and each time he comes up out of the water, he shakes himself. From every drop of light that flies off him, the Almighty creates an angel, which glorifies the Lord as follows:
Subhanaka ma ‘azhama sha’nuka,
Subhanaka ma ’azhama makanuka,
Subhanaka sayyidi ma arhamaka bi khalqika.
(Be Thou glorified, how immense is Thy dignity!
Glory be to Thee, how high is Thy station!
Glory to Thee, my Lord, how great Thy Mercy on Thine creation!)
“After passing by this one, I beheld another angel, seated upon a throne. His head was beneath the Divine Throne, and his feet reached to the bottom of the earth. He was so great, that he could have swallowed up the world and what is within it in a single gulp. The tip of one of his wings touched the west, whereas the other touched to the east. Seven hundred thousand angels were at his service, and each one of these commanded another seven hundred thousand angels. ‘Who is this?’ I asked the angel Jibra’il. ‘This is Israfil,’ he told me. I went up to him and gave him Salams and he received them well and gave me great good tidings. His Tasbih was this:
Subhana-s-sami’-al-‘alim,
Subhanal-muhtajibi ‘an khalqihi,
Subhana Rabbina wa ta’ala.
(Glory be to Him, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing,
Glory be to Him who is veiled from His Creation,
Glorified and exalted be He, our Lord Almighty.)
“After this, I came upon a person all drowned in Light. He was seated upon a throne in an attitude of awesome dignity, and before him was a multitude of little children. I asked Jibra’il who was this person of such light, majesty and awe, and who were all the children with him. The angel answered me, ‘This is your great grandfather Hazrat Ibrahim ale-salaam [Prophet Abraham]. He loves you and the entire nation that believes in you. He once prayed to the Lord of the Worlds that he might be of service to your nation, and the Lord heard his supplication. He gave him all these little children who are the little boys and girls from your nation who die before reaching adulthood. Allah Almighty has entrusted Hazrat Ibrahim with their upbringing and education. Until the Day of Judgment, he will be instructing them in proper behavior and training their minds in the useful sciences. After having perfected their schooling, on the Day of Gathering he will lead them forth and bring them to the site of Resurrection. There, before the Lord’s Holy Presence, he will entreat Him with these words: ‘Oh my Lord, here are the youngsters of the nation of Your Beloved nabi [Muhammad] who died before reaching the age of maturity. According to Your order and command, I have taught and trained them in all useful branches of knowledge, and brought them before Thy Majestic Throne. Thine is all kindness, favor and grace.”
“At this invocation, the Almighty Lord will reply with the full glory of His Majesty, ‘Oh children, go and enter the Gardens of Paradise.’
- Thereupon, these children will reply, ‘Oh our Lord, by Thy Grace and Thy Munificence, let our parents go with us!’
- The Almighty Lord will again direct His Divine Speech at them, and say,
- ‘You have nothing to answer for, go and enter into Paradise forthwith; as for your parents, they are accountable and there are things they have to answer for.’
- Again, these children entreat the Lord, ‘During their lives in the material world, we caused them sorrow through our absence;
- Now, by the vastness of Thine Mercy which floods the universal expanse, let us be the cause of happiness for them.’
- Upon this plea, the All-Merciful and Beneficent Lord accepts the children’s supplications and addresses them, saying, ‘Go then and take from the wine of the spring of Kawthar and give your parents to drink there from.
“Thereafter, Hazrat Jibra’il turned to me and said, ‘Go ahead and give Salams to Hazrat Ibrahim.’ I stepped forth and greeted him, whereupon he honored me and received me well. Then he spoke to me, saying, ‘Welcome to you, oh virtuous son and righteous Prophet! Tonight you are to be honored in that you will witness the splendor of the Lord of the Universe, and you will be admitted to behold all manner of sacred displays. As for your nation, it is the last of all nations and it will be a very weak nation, so do not neglect to intercede with your Lord on their behalf.”
“And he continued, ‘Oh Muhammad! Give Salams to your nation from me and convey to them my advice: the dunya [world] is of a passing nature and rapid in its decline. In the eyes of the Eternal Lord it is but base and contemptible matter. He attributes to it not even the value of a fly’s wing. Tell them not to waste their lives in the pursuit of its vain beauties, its pomp and palaces; not to be deceived by its many and varied taste, by promises of grandeur and large followings. For it is the world to come, which is lasting, and eternal. Therefore, let them busy themselves in following the pure ways of the Sharia’h (Divine Laws) by night and by day, and the guidance contained in your Sunnah [practice of the Prophet] and thereby gain the good pleasure of the Almighty Lord. The Gardens of Paradise are vast, so let them plant there many, many trees.”
“I asked him then, ‘How does one plant a tree in the Jannah?’ He replied, ‘through the recital of this Tasbih:
Subhanallahi wal-hamdu-lillahi
wa la ilaha ill-Allahu wallahu akbar,
wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahil-aliyyil-azhim.
(Glory be to Allah and Praise; none is worthy of worship but Allah alone, and Allah is Most Great!
There is no Might and no Power save with Allah, the Exalted, the Majestic.)
Tell them to recite this Du’a (prayer), for each time they recite it, a tree is planted in Paradise.’
“Then Jibra’il called the Adhan to prayer and made Iqama; I then led the angels and inhabitants of the seventh Heaven in a prayer of two Rak’ats, then we ascended to the Bayt-al-Ma’mur.
The Bait-al-Ma’mur [The Heavenly House]
“This is a highly revered building in the Seventh Heaven. It is of the same size as the revered Kaaba, which stands upon the earth and it is situated right above it. Were it to be let down from the Heavens, it would land right on top of the Kaaba.
- Allah has created it from red ruby stone and given it two doors made from green emerald.
- Ten thousand lamps of pure gold illuminate it and it has a minaret of pure silver,
- Which has a height of five hundred years’ traveling? At the door of this building there is a Minbar [ pulpit], and every day since their creation up until the Last Day,
- Seventy thousand angels come here to visit this house.
- “In front of it there is a sea of light in which they first bathe, then take thereof a veil of light each and wrap it around themselves.
- This is their Ihram (ceremonial clothing of the pilgrimage).
- Then they begin to circumambulate the Heavenly House in Ihram, calling out Labbayk [at your service], as the pilgrims do on earth.
- Having once completed their Tawaf [circumambulation], these angels do not return a second time until the Day of Judgment, and it is only the angels of the seventh Heaven who go there at all. Jibra’il then took me by the hand and we went inside.
“He said to me, ‘Oh Rasulullah does lead us here in prayer too!’ Then he called the Adhan, and all the inhabitants of the seven heavens now followed as I led them in a prayer of two Rak’ats. When I beheld the immense multitude, it came to my mind, ‘Oh if only my nation were granted such a communal prayer.’ Thereupon, the Lord who knows all hidden thoughts realized my secret wish in that He commanded, ‘Oh Muhammad your nation will be granted such a communal prayer: it will be on Jum’a [Friday] and it will be obligatory.’”
It is written in some of the books of admonition:
“Every Friday the great angels assemble round the Holy House of Allah. Jibra’il calls the Adhan and Israfil delivers the Khutaba [sermon] while Mikha’il [Michael] leads the prayer as Imam. All the angels of the seven heavens follow his lead. After the Jum’a prayer is complete, Jibra’il addresses the gathering as follows, “Oh gathering of angels, bear witness that I pass on the reward for this Adhan to the Muadhdhins [callers to prayer] of the nation of Muhammad”.
Then Israfil [Israel] rises and says, “Oh ye angels! Bear witness that I donate the reward for this Khutb’a to all the Khatibs [congregation] of the nation of Muhammad”. Then Mikha’il steps forth and says, “Oh angels, I too have made over the merit of leading this prayer to the Imam of the nation of Muhammad”. All the angels then present the merit for their prayer to those of the nation of Muhammad who have prayed the Jum’a prayer.
Then there comes a call from the Highest Lord, saying, “Oh Angels of Mine! Do you seek to outdo Me in generosity, whereas I am He who created all Generosity and Munificence! Hear then My Decree: whoever honors the day of Jum’a from among the nation of Muhammad, man or woman alike, I will forgive them their sins and free them from the torments of Hell!” Thus He Almighty grants us His Grace and Mercy. Oh Allah, make us also recipients of Your Munificence and ease our way to reach such a degree of merit, for the honor of the Trusted Prophet Muhammad, oh Most Merciful of the Merciful, Ameen!
The Sidratul Muntaha
“Then,” continued the Holy Prophet, “we ascended to Sidratul Muntaha.”
Concerning the ‘Sidratul Muhtaha’, the learned ‘Ulemas have proffered various differing opinions, particularly with regard to the statement: “It is called ‘Sidratul Muntaha’ [the lotus tree of the extreme limit] because it is the end of all that is knowable, and nobody can know what is beyond it.” Some others have explained: “Whoever comes from above arrives here and cannot pass on further down. Whoever comes from below reaches this point and cannot ascend further. Therefore it is called by this name.”
Yet others try to explain it in this way: “The world of spirits ends at this point, therefore it is called the Lote tree of the extreme limit.” Ibn ‘Abbas tells us:
- “It is a tree which is made all of gold.
- Some of its boughs are made of emerald,
- Some are of ruby.
- The tree measures a distance of one hundred and fifty years journey from its foot to its top.
- Its leaves resemble the ears of the elephant, and they are very great: a single one of them would cover the entire world. Its fruits are shaped like water jugs. The whole tree is engulfed by light.”
The Holy Prophet continues:
“Upon this tree I saw such a number of angels that only Allah Almighty can know. They enfolded all the leaves of that tree and glittered like locusts, flashing like stars.”
This holy verse was revealed concerning this vision:
“Indeed, he saw him another time by the Lote-Tree of the Boundary nigh which is the Garden of the Refuge, when there covered the Lote-Tree that which covered; his eye swerved not, nor swept astray. Indeed he saw one of the greatest signs of his Lord”. [Surah (The Star), 13-18]
The commentators interpret this verse as meaning that the whole tree was surrounded and embraced by the multitude of angels upon it. It is related that there were as many angels upon the leaves of that tree as there are stars in the sky and grains of sand in the earth.
- Some angels took the form of golden butterflies.
- All of them came to greet the Prophet of Allah r, and when they beheld his saintly beauty, they all gave thanks to the Lord and gave to him the assurance of Allah’s Mercy.
- They also made over all the merit of their devotional actions to the nation of Muhammad {s}.
- Jibra’il, too, had his place upon the branches of this tree, and his was a branch made of green emerald.
- It was at a height of one hundred thousand years of journeying. There is a leaf there,
- the breadth of which is that of the seven layers of the heavens and the seven beds of the earth.
- Upon it there is a carpet spread of light, and on it there is a Mihrab made of red ruby.
- This Mihrab is the place of the Angel Jibra’il. Before it was placed a seat of honor reserved for the Holy Prophet {S} upon which no one had sat since the day it was set in place.
- Each of these was surrounded by forty thousand stools upon which angels sat reciting the Injil.
- To the left there were also ten thousand stools made of beryl, and the angels seated upon them were writing out the Zabur.
- Forty thousand other angels reciting the Zabur surrounded each seat.
- Behind us there were again ten thousand stools of red ruby. The angels seated on these were writing out the Holy Quran, and around each stool there were seated another forty thousand angels reciting the Holy Quran.
This has been explained as follows:
- The wisdom of the Torah being placed before Muhammad.
- The Injeel to his right, and
- the Zabur to his left is this:
- Before the Holy Prophet the Choice of all Humankind, had yet appeared in the world and begun fulfilling his mission, those Holy Scriptures had already been revealed.
- All of them contained descriptions of the Prophet to come and told of his characteristics and excellence, and of the preeminent position of his nation among all other, previous nations.
- The Holy Quran was placed behind him because its Judgment is to remain valid and unsurpassed until the Day of Judgment, and even the Day of Judgment would be conducted by its rulings. It is a sign of its remaining free and safe from abrogation, substitution, alteration or corruption.
Mohammad continues:
“Jibra’il then said to me, ‘Oh Rasulullah, I have a request to make of you: that you would deign to pray two Rak’ats here, so that my Maqam might gain blessings from it.’ I therefore prayed a prayer of two Rak’ats there and all the angels of the Holy House and the Sidratul Muntaha followed suit.” In this way the Holy Prophet was honored above the angels.
To be Continued….
