The
Distance Between the Earth and the Lote Tree of the Farthest Limit
The
reviver of Islam, the Imām
of Ahl al-Sunnah, Imām
Aḥmad Razā
Khān رحمة
الله
عليه
has stated, "The distance between the earth and the Lote Tree of the
farthest boundary is 50,000 years of travel. Beyond this is the Mustawā and Allah Almighty knows what is
beyond that. Beyond it are 70,000 veils of the ʿarsh and between every two veils is the
distance of 500 years, and beyond them is the ʿarsh and all of these distances are
filled with Angels."¹
The
Beatific Vision of Allah Almighty
Dear
Islamic brothers! On the night of Miʿrāj, our beloved Prophet ﷺ saw Allah Almighty as has already passed
in mention. It should be remembered that seeing Allah Almighty in this world
with one's physical eyes in a wakeful state is specific to the Final Prophet ﷺ and cannot occur for anyone else.
Thus,
in the distinguished book "Kufriyah Kalimat Ke Baare Mein Suwal
Jawaab", the erudite spiritual guide, Ameer of Ahl al-Sunnah, Allamah Abū Bilāl
Muhammad Ilyas ʿAttar
Qadiri دامت
بركاتهم
العالية
states, "Beholding Allah Almighty with one's physical eyes in this world
in a wakeful state is a unique quality of our beloved Prophet ﷺ. If any person claims that he saw Allah
Almighty with his physical eyes in this world in a wakeful state, the ruling of
kufr applies to this, and there is an opinion of misguidance concerning such a
claim also.
¹
Malfuzat-e-A'la Hazrat, p. 439
Thus,
ʿAllāmah Mulla ʿAli al-Qārī
رحمة
الله
عليه
mentions in Minah al-Rawd, "If someone said, 'I see Allah Almighty in this
world with my eyes', this statement of his is kufr." He further writes,
"Whoever claimed the vision of Allah Almighty for himself and made this
claim in clear wording, leaving no possibility of an interpretation, then this
belief of his is corrupt, and his claim is false, and he has fallen into the
pit of misguidance and misguides other."¹
However,
to behold Allah Almighty in the dream state is possible. Thus, it is narrated
about al-Imām al-Aʿẓam, the shining lamp of this Ummah,
Sayyidunā Imām
Abū Ḥanīfa رضي
الله
عنه
that he was blessed with the vision of Allah Almighty 100 times in the dream
state.²
The
Scenes of the Night of Miʿrāj
On
the night of Miʿrāj, during his journey, our beloved
Prophet ﷺ
witnessed thousands of wonders of creation. Entering into Paradise, he ﷺ saw the palaces of his followers and
witnessed hell and the painful punishments meted out to its dwellers. The
Prophet ﷺ
mentioned many of these scenes to encourage and dissuade his Ummah
respectively, so that people carry out good deeds as a means of avoiding hell
and they strive for them upon hearing about the everlasting bounties of
Paradise. Let us learn about some of these scenes and events.
¹
Kufriya kalimat kay baray mayn suwal jawab, p. 228
² Al-Khairat Al-Hisan, p. 95
Concerning
the Divine Bestowals | What was written upon the door of Paradise?
It
is narrated from Sayyidunā
Anas ibn Mālik رضي
الله
عنه
that the noble Messenger ﷺ
said, "The night in which I was taken on the Miʿrāj, I saw written upon the door of
Paradise, 'Sadaqah is rewarded ten-fold and a loan eighteen-fold.' I asked
Sayyidunā Jibril عليه
السلام,
'What is the reason that the rank of a loan is greater than sadaqah?' He
replied, 'Because the one who asks already has some wealth with him but he
still asks, whereas the one who takes a loan takes it upon a need.'"¹
Dear
Islamic brothers! The religion of Islam teaches us to care about Muslims. It
teaches us to have compassion for one another and turns our attention to this
matter that if a Muslim is in any difficulty or facing anxiety, then rather
than turning our faces away from him, we should help to extricate him from his
worry. If someone is facing financial difficulties, than we should offer him a
monetary gift or a qard hasanah to help him out.
Islam
has also given many glad tidings of manifold rewards for these good deeds so
that Muslims are encouraged towards them, and placing the reward of the
afterlife before them, they aid their Muslim brother in every sadness.
However,
alas! In this age, the mindset of caring for one another has started to fade
completely. People have become intoxicated in the love of wealth to an extent
that the desire to assist one another is dying inside them. Alas! If only we
became truly observant of the teachings of Islam and considering every Muslim's
difficulty as our own, we tried to alleviate it.
¹
Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2431
It
is narrated from Sayyidunā
Abū Ḥurairah
رضي
الله
عنه
that the noble Messenger ﷺ
stated, "Whoever removed a worldly difficulty from a Muslim, then Allah
Almighty will remove one difficulty from the difficulties of the day of
Judgement from him. Whoever brings about ease for someone in poverty, then
Allah Almighty will bless him in the world and the next. Whoever veils the
fault of a Muslim in this world, Allah Almighty will veil him in this world and
the next. Allah Almighty helps a person as long as a person remains in the
assistance of his brother."¹
Domed
Encampments Made of Pearl
The
Prophet ﷺ
observed domed encampments of pearl in Paradise whose soil was of musk. The
Prophet ﷺ
asked Sayyidunā Jibril عليه
السلام,
"Who are these for, O Jibril?" Sayyidunā
Jibril عليه
السلام
replied, "O Muhammad ﷺ! These are for the Imāms and Muezzins of your Ummah."²
سُبْحَٰنَ
اللّٰه
Glory
be to Allah Almighty! There is such great virtue in leading prayer and
announcing the azan that Allah Almighty has prepared for those who do these
blessed actions domed encampments made of pearl. May Allah Almighty grant us
the ability to do these actions also. Take note of some more narrations in this
regard.
❖
The Prophet ﷺ
said, "The one who calls the azan seeking reward is like the martyr who is
covered in blood, and when he passes away, insects will not come upon his
shroud."³
❖ The Prophet ﷺ stated, "The one who called the azan
for the five prayers with faith and with the intention of reward, his previous
sins will be forgiven, and whoever led his companions in the five prayers with
faith and with the intention of reward, his previous sins will be
forgiven."⁴
¹
Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: 1930
² Al-Musnad Lil-Shashi, vol. 3, p. 1428
³ Al-Targhib wal-Tarhib: 24
⁴ Kanz-al-ʿUmmāl: 20902
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