Chapter

THE ASCENSION OF THE PROPHETAND MIRACLES

TJLhc Ascension of the Messenger, while awake, in his person to heavenand thence to whatsoever exalted place Allah willed is a Reality.The Graces of the Walls are a Reality. The Grace appears on behalf of the

Wall by way of contradicting the customary way of things, such as coveringa great distance in a short time, and the appearance of food and drink and

clothing at the time of need, and walking on the water and in the air, andsuch as the speaking of inanimate solid objects and of animals, and the ward-

ing off of an approaching calamity, and the protection from enemies of himwho is anxious, and other things of the same kind. And such a thing isreckoned as an evidentiary miracle on behalf of the Messenger to one ofwhose people this act appears, because it is evident from it that he is a Wall,and he could never be a Wall unless he were right in his religion; and his

religion is the confession of the message of the Messenger.

The Ascension (al-miraf) 1 of the Messenger, while awake, in his person toheaven (al-sama) and thence to whatsoever exalted place Allah willed is a

Reality/It is established by so well-known a tradition that he who denies it isan innovator (mubtadi). The denial of it and the claim that it is impos-sible are based on the fundamental position of the Philosophers; otherwiseit is permissible of heavenly things that there be an infringement of cus-tom and a compliance with it. All bodies are similar to each other so it issound to say of one body what it is sound to say of all. Allah ispowerful to perform all possible things.

Al-Nasaffs statement "while awake** (fi 'l-yaqza) alludes to the refutationof the one who asserts that the Ascension was in sleep, which is in ac-

1 Cf. Enc. of Islam, III, 505 ff.; al-Bukhari, d-^afuh, I, 99; Muslim, d-$ahih, I, 76 .,83 .; Ibn Hisham, Slrat Rasul Allah, pp. 263 ff.; Wcnsinck, Handbook, p. 25.

137cordance with a tradition from Mu'awiya, who when asked about the Ascen-sion said, "It was a proper vision" (ru'ya sdliha)? And there is a traditionfrom 'A'isha who said, "The body of Muhammad was not absent the nightof the Ascension." And Allah has said,3 "We have made the vision whichwe showed thee only as a testing for mankind" (Qur'an 17:62). Answeris made to this that the meaning here is vision through the eye, and thathis body was not deprived of his spirit (ruh), but was along with the spirit,so the Ascension was both by spirit and body. Al-Nasafi's use of the term "inhis person" (hi shatysihi) is an allusion to the refutation of the one who saysthat it was of the spirit only. [139] It is clear however that the Ascension in

sleep or in spirit is not something to be denied absolutely. The Unbe-lievers denied the matter of the Ascension entirely, yea many Muslimsapostatized on account of it. His use of the term "to heaven" is an allusionto the refutation of the one who asserts that the Ascension made by Muham-mad while awake was only to the House of the Holy Place (bayt al-maqdis)as recorded in the Book. And the term "then to whatsoever place Allahwilled" is a reference to the different statements of the Fathers, some saying,"to the Garden," others, "to the Throne" (al-arsh), others, "above theThrone," and still others, "to the edge of the world." The night journey(al-isra')

4 which was from the Sacred Mosque (al-masjid al-harani) to theHouse of the Holy Place is an absolute fact established by the Book. TheAscension from earth to heaven is a well-known tradition; and from heavento the Garden, or the Throne, or wheresoever it was, is [a tradition based] onindividuals. But the sound position is that Muhammad saw his Lord with hisheart (ju'df) and not with his eyes.5

The Graces (al-{aramat)

i 3 8 MIRACLESsible, who perseveres in acts of obedience, who shuns acts of disobedience,and who avoids being engrossed in the pleasures and appetites of the world.The Grace which belongs to him is the appearance of something that an-nuls the customary way of things on his behalf, but which is not in any wayconnected with a claim to the prophetic office. Such an act which is not ac-

companied by Belief and good works is only a deception (istidrdj), and thatwhich is accompanied by the claim to the prophetic office is an evidentiarymiracle (mujiza). The proof for the real existence of the Grace is that somuch has come down by tawatur from many of the Companions and those[who came] after them that denial of it is impossible, especially when thematter is something that is common even though the details are [based on thetestimony of] individuals. The Book also speaks of the manifestation ofGraces on behalf of Maryam and the friend of Sulayman. Having once estab-lished their occurrence there is little need to prove the possibility of them.

Al-Nasafl next introduced a statement which refers to the explanationof a Grace, and to the details of some of the very strange particulars regardingGraces. He said,

The Grace appears on behalf of the Wall by way of contradicting (naqd)the customary way of things, such as covering a great distance in a shorttime/as when the friend of Sulayman,8 namely Asaf b. Barakhya according tothe most noted traditions, brought the throne of Bilqis before the twinkling ofan eye although it was a great distance off.

and the appearance of food and drink and clothing at the time of need/as in the case of Maryam,9 for Allah says, "Whenever Zakariya went in to

of the generality of Believers, (5) istidrdj which is performed by an evildoer, (6) ihdnawhich proceeds from a false prophet making a claim to the prophetic office. The stock ex-ample of ihdna is Musaylama's attempt to give a one-eyed man another eye, which ended inhis good eye being taken. See al-Fadali, Kijdyat al-Awdmm (commentary of al-Bayjuri),p. 69; 'I.D. (and al-Khayall), p. 139; A.J., p. 194. Cf. for the general discussion of miraclesal-Razi, Mnhassal, p. 151 ff., Mafdtlh, II, 460 f?.; Wensinck, The Muslim Creed, pp. 224 ff.:al-Shahrastani, Nihayatu 'l-1qddm, pp. 497 f.; al-Iji, al-Matvdqif, p. 243; al-Sanusi, Ummal-Bardhln, p. 236; Enc. of Islam, II, 744; Diet, of Tech. Terms, pp. 444 ff.; M. Abdou,Rissalat al-Tawhid, pp. 58 f.

7 The Walt is "one to whom the real essence of things is unveiled, but who is notengaged in the improvement of creatures as is the prophet" (al-Ghazzali, Ihyd', VII,262 f.). Cf. Macdonald, Rel. Attitude and Life in Islam, pp. 271 fT.; Diet, of Tech. Terms.pp. 1 528 fi.

8 Sec Qur. 27:40 and al-Baydawi, Anwar al-Tanztl, II, 69; al-Tha'labl, Qisas al-Anbiyd',pp. 271 f.; al-Tabari, Annales, I, 576. As intimated by al-Taftazam, not all the accountsagree that Asaf b. Barakhya was the messenger sent by Sulayman.

9 See al-Baytfawi, Anwar al-Tanztl, I, 153; al-Tha'labl, Qisas al-Anbiyd', p. 328.

MIRACLES 139her at the sanctuary (al-mihrab) he found that she had sustenance. He said,'O Maryam, how dost thou get this?' She replied, 'It is from Allah' " (Qur'an3:32).

and walking on the water/as is related of many of the Walls

and in the air/as is related of Ja'far b. Abu Talib 10 and Luqman al-Sarakhsi xland others.

and such as the speaking of inanimate solid objects and of animals/2 andthe warding off of an approaching calamity, and the protection from enemiesof him who is anxious/As for speaking of inanimate solid objects, thereis the tradition of Sulayman and Abu 1-Darda* 13 Allah be well pleasedwith them both who had in front of them a bowl 14 which praised [Allah]and both of them heard it praising; and as for the speaking of animals thereis the matter of the dog 15 addressing the Companions of the Cave (al-fohf).There is also the tradition of the Prophet [140] that he said, "There was aman among us driving a cow 10 which he used for bearing burdens. Lo, itturned to him and said, 1 was not created for this but for plowing/

" Thepeople said, "Allah be praised! Does a cow speak?" The Prophet replied,"I have believed it."

and other things of the same kind/such as 'Umar's seeing 17 his armyat Nihawand, while on the pulpit at al-Madlna, so that he spoke to thecommander of his army saying, "O Sariya, the mountain, the mountain," inorder to warn him of the stratagem of the enemy there behind the moun-tain; and such as Sariya's hearing his speech in spite of the distance; and like

10 See al-NawawI (Wiistenfeld), Ueber das Leben, pp. 193 f.11 See al-Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, translated by Nicholson (London, 1911), p. 188.12 The text of 'I.D. puts the rest of the sentence in al-Taftazanl's commentary. A.J.

(p. 195) gives the reading followed.13 Abu '1-Darda' (d. A.H. 32) was a Companion from al-Khazraj, Enc, of Islam, I,

p. 82; Ibn Qutayba, Kitdb al-Mtfdri], p. 137; Ibn Hajar, Biographical Dictionary, III, 89 .14 A.J. (p. 195) says that the story of the "bowl" is given by al-Bayhaqi in "The Indi-

cations of Prophecy" (Dald'il al-Nubuwd) (Brockelmann, Geschichte, I, 363).15 The dog followed the men and when the men of the Cave tried to drive it away,

Allah gave it speech. It said, "I am the most beloved of the loved of Allah, so sleep and Ishall guard you." See Qur. 18:17; al-Baydawi, Anwar al-Tanzil, I, 557; al-Tabari, An-nales, I, 775 fT.; al-Tha'labi, Qisas al-Anbiyd', pp. 361 ft.

16 Al-Bukhari, d-Sahlh, II, 68 and 376; cf. Uusnad, II, 245, 246, 382, 502.17 Ibn Qutayba (Kitdb al-Ma'drif, p. 152) says that the commander at Nihawand was

al-Nu'man b. Muqarrin. The story as given by al-Taftazanl is to be found in al-Suyutl'sTariff* al-Khulafd', pp. 124 f. and al-Ghazzall's lhya\ VII, 260.

140 MIRACLESKhalid's drinking poison 18 without being injured; and like the Nile's flow-ing 19 on receipt of the letter from 'Umar. There are examples like thesewhich are more than can be numbered.

Since the Mu'tazilites, who deny the Graces of the Walls, deduced proofthat the manifestation of acts which annul the customary way of things,were they permitted to Walls, would be confused with evidentiary miraclesand the prophet in no way would be distinguished from the non-prophet,al-Nasafl alluded to the answer which is made to them by saying,

And such a thing is reckoned as/that is to say, the manifestation of acts thatannul the customary way on behalf of Walls [in general] or an individualWall who is one of a certain people

an evidentiary miracle on behalf of the Messenger to one of whose peoplethis act appears because it is evident from it/that is, from this Grace

that he is a Wall, and he could never be a Wall unless he were right 20 in hisreligion; and his religion is the confession/by the tongue and assent by theheart

of the message of the Messenger/accompanied by obedience to him withrespect to his commands and prohibitions, so that even if the Wall claimedto be independent and not a follower, he would not be a Wall and the actwould not be manifested at his hands.The outcome is that something which annuls the customary way is an

evidentiary miracle when in any way related to a prophet, whether it appearson his behalf or on behalf of individuals of his people, but when related to aWall it is a Grace because he is free of any claim to the prophetic office of theone on whose behalf it was manifested. The prophet must know that he is aprophet, he must purpose to manifest those things that annul the customaryway, and he must give absolute judgment as to the necessity of evidentiarymiracles; [all of which is] in contrast to the Wall.

18 See Ibn Hajar, Biographical Dictionary, I, 852.19 See al-Suyuti, Tarity al-Khulafd', pp. I25f.; Muir's Caliphate, pp. 165 f.20 The text of A.J. (p. 195) inserts a comment as from al-Taftazani, "that is, assenting

to the Reality."