The Prophet's Ascension

See also Chapter 106, 'A New Beginning' in The Republic of Rumi: a Novel of Reality

The Ascension of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) to the heavens (“mi ’raj” or “isra” in Arabic and related languages) is a part of Muslim belief, and a central theme in classical Muslim literature. Iqbal offered some interesting observations on this in the following passage in his address to the Fifth Indian Oriental Conference, held at Lahore in November, 1928, and subsequently published in the Islamic Culture, Hyderabad-Deccan, April, 1929, under the title ‘A Plea for Deeper Study of Muslim Scientists’):

Professor Bevan has given us valuable historical discussion of the story of the mi’raj. To my mind, however, what is, culturally speaking, more important is the intense appeal that the story has always made to the average Muslim, and the manner in which Muslim thought and imagination have worked on it. It must be something more than a mere religious dogma, for it appealed to the great mind of Dante, and, through Muhyiuddin ibn-ul-Arabi, furnished a model for the sublimest part of the Divine Comedy which symbolizes the culture of mediaeval Europe. The historian may rest satisfied with the conclusion that the Muslim belief in the Prophet’s Ascension finds no justification in the Quran; yet the psychologist who aims at a deeper view of Islamic culture cannot ignore the fact that the outlook given by the Quran to its followers does demand the story as a formative element in the world-picture of Islam. The truth is that it is absolutely necessary to answer all such questions, and mutually to adjust their answers into a systematic whole of thought and emotion. Without this it is impossible to discover the ruling concepts of a given culture, and to appreciate the spirit that permeates it. However, a comprehensive view of the culture of Islam, as an expression of the spiritual life of its followers, is easy of achievement.