The Book of Faith

كتاب الإيمان

Chapter 75: The beginning of the revelation to the messenger of Allah (saws)

This hadith, the like of one narrated by Yunus has also been transmitted by Ma'mar on the authority of al-Zuhri who narrated

Allah the Most Glorious and Exalted revealed this:" You who are shrouded, arise and deliver warning, your Lord magnify, your clothes cleanse and defilement shun," before making the prayer obligatory. I felt terror-stricken as narrated by Uqail.

Chapter 76: The night journey on which the messenger of Allah (saws) was taken up into the heavens and the prayers were enjoined

Anas b. Malik reported that Gabriel came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he was playing with his playmates. He took hold of him and lay him prostrate on the ground and tore open his breast and took out the heart from it and then extracted a blood-clot out of it and said

That was the part of Satan in thee. And then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a golden basin and then it was joined together and restored to it place. The boys came running to his mother, i. e. his nurse, and said: Verily Muhammad has been murdered. They all rushed toward him (and found him all right) His color was changed, Anas said. I myself saw the marks of needle on his breast.

Anas b. Malik reported

Abu Dharr used to relate that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: The roof of my house was cleft when I was in Mecca and Gabriel descended and opened my heart and then washed it with the water of Zamzam. He then brought a gold basin full of wisdom and faith and after emptying it into my breast, he closed it up. Then taking me by he hand, he ascended with me to th heaven, and when we came to the lowest heaven, Gabriel said to the guardian of the lowest heaven: Open. He asked who was there? He replied. It is Gabriel. He again asked whe he there was someone with him. He replied: Yes, it is Muhammad with me. He was asked if he had been sent for, He (Gabriel) said: Yes. Then he opened (the gate). When we ascended the lowest heaven (I saw) a man seated with parties on his right side and parties on his left side. When he looked up to his right, he laughed and when he looked to his left, he wept. He said: Welcome to the righteous apostle and the righteous son. I asked Gabriel who he was and he replied: He is Adam (peace be upon him) and these parties on his right and on his left are the souls of his descendants. Those of them on his right are the inmates of Paradise and the parties which are on his left side are the inmates of Hell; so when he looked towards his right side, he laughed, and when he looked towards his left side, he wept. Then Gabriel ascended with me to the second heaven. He asked its guardian to open (its gate), and its guardian replied in the same way as the guardian of the lowest heaven had said. He (opened it). Anas b. Malik said: He (the Holy Prophet) mentioned that he found in the heavens Adam, Idris, Jesus, Moses and Abraham (may peace be on all of them), but he did not ascertain as to the nature of their abodes except that he had found Adam in the lowest heaven and Abraham in the sixth heaven. When Gabriel and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by Idris (peace be upon him) he said: Welcome to the righteous apostle and righteous brother. He (the narrator) said: He then proceeded and said: Who is he? Gabriel replied: It is Idris. Then I passed by Moses (peace be upon him) and he said: Welcome tothe righteous apostle and righteous brother. I said to (Gabriel): Who is he? He replied: It is Moses. Then I passed by Jesus and he said: Welcome to the righteous apostle and righteous brother. I said (to Gabriel): Who is he? He replied: Jesus, son of Mary. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Then I went to Ibrahim (peace be upon him). He said: Welcome to the righteous apostle and righteous son. I asked: Who is he? He (Gabriel) replied: It is Abraham. Ibn Shihab said: Ibn Hazm told me that Ibn 'Abbas and Abd Habba al-Ansari used to say that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Thereafter he ascended with me till I was taken to such a height where I heard the scraping of the pens. Ibn Hazm and Anas told that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah then made fifty prayers obligatory for my Ummah and I returned with that and passed by Moses. Moses, (peace be upon him) said: What has thy Lord enjoined on thy people? I said: Fifty prayers have been made obligatory on them. Moses (peace be upon him) said: Return to thy Lord, for thy Ummah would not be able to bear this burden. Then I came back to my Lord and He remitted a portion out of thut. I then again went to Moses (peace be upon him) and informed him about it He said: Return to thy Lord, for thy Ummah shall not be able to bear this burden. I then went back to my Lord and He said: They are five and at the same time fifty, and what has been said will not be changed. I then returned to Moses and he said: Go back to thy Lord. whereupon I said: I feel ashamed of my Lord. Gabriel then travelled with me till we came to the farthest lote-tree Many a colour had covered it which I do not know. Then I was admitted to Paradise and saw in it domes of pearls, and its soil of musk.

It is narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

I was brought al-Buraq Who is an animal white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place his hoof a distance equal to the range of version. I mounted it and came to the Temple (Bait Maqdis in Jerusalem), then tethered it to the ring used by the prophets. I entered the mosque and prayed two rak'ahs in it, and then came out and Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk, and Gabriel said: You have chosen the natural thing. Then he took me to heaven. Gabriel then asked the (gate of heaven) to be opened and he was asked who he was. He replied: Gabriel. He was again asked: Who is with you? He (Gabriel) said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent for? Gabriel replied: He has indeed been sent for. And (the door of the heaven) was opened for us and lo! we saw Adam. He welcomed me and prayed for my good. Then we ascended to the second heaven. Gabriel (peace be upon him) (asked the door of heaven to be opened), and he was asked who he was. He answered: Gabriel; and was again asked: Who is with you? He replied: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent for. The gate was opened. When I entered 'Isa b. Maryam and Yahya b. Zakariya (peace be upon both of them), cousins from the maternal side. welcomed me and prayed for my good Then I was taken to the third heaven and Gabriel asked for the opening (of the door). He was asked: Who are you? He replied: Gabriel. He was (again) asked: Who is with you? He replied Muhammad (ﷺ). It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and I saw Yusuf (peace of Allah be upon him) who had been given half of (world) beauty. He welcomed me prayed for my well-being. Then he ascended with us to the fourth heaven. Gabriel (peace be upon him) asked for the (gate) to be opened, and it was said: Who is he? He replied: Gabriel. It was (again) said: Who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent for. The (gate) was opened for us, and lo! Idris was there. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being (About him) Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious, has said:" We elevated him (Idris) to the exalted position" (Qur'an xix. 57). Then he ascended with us to the fifth heaven and Gabriel asked for the (gate) to be opened. It was said: Who is he? He replied Gabriel. It was (again) said: Who is with thee? He replied: Muhammad. It was said Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and then I was with Harun (Aaron-peace of Allah be upon him). He welcomed me prayed for my well-being. Then I was taken to the sixth heaven. Gabriel (peace be upon him) asked for the door to be opened. It was said: Who is he? He replied: Gabriel. It was said: Who is with thee? He replied: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and there I was with Musa (Moses peace be upon him) He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being. Then I was taken up to the seventh heaven. Gabriel asked the (gate) to be opened. It was said: Who is he? He said: Gabriel It was said. Who is with thee? He replied: Muhammad (may peace be upon him.) It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and there I found Ibrahim (Abraham peace be upon him) reclining against the Bait-ul-Ma'mur and there enter into it seventy thousand angels every day, never to visit (this place) again. Then I was taken to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha whose leaves were like elephant ears and its fruit like big earthenware vessels. And when it was covered by the Command of Allah, it underwent such a change that none amongst the creation has the power to praise its beauty. Then Allah revealed to me a revelation and He made obligatory for me fifty prayers every day and night. Then I went down to Moses (peace be upon him) and he said: What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah? I said: Fifty prayers. He said: Return to thy Lord and beg for reduction (in the number of prayers), for your community shallnot be able to bear this burden. as I have put to test the children of Isra'il and tried them (and found them too weak to bear such a heavy burden). He (the Holy Prophet) said: I went back to my Lord and said: My Lord, make things lighter for my Ummah. (The Lord) reduced five prayers for me. I went down to Moses and said. (The Lord) reduced five (prayers) for me, He said: Verily thy Ummah shall not be able to bear this burden; return to thy Lord and ask Him to make things lighter. I then kept going back and forth between my Lord Blessed and Exalted and Moses, till He said: There are five prayers every day and night. O Muhammad, each being credited as ten, so that makes fifty prayers. He who intends to do a good deed and does not do it will have a good deed recorded for him; and if he does it, it will be recorded for him as ten; whereas he who intends to do an evil deed and does not do, it will not be recorded for him; and if he does it, only one evil deed will be recorded. I then came down and when I came to Moses and informed him, he said: Go back to thy Lord and ask Him to make things lighter. Upon this the Messenger of Allah remarked: I returned to my Lord until I felt ashamed before Him.

Abu al-'Aliya narrated it on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed through the valley of Azraq, and he asked

Which valley is this? They said: This is the valley of Azraq, and he observed: (I perceive) as if I am seeing Moses (peace be upon him) coming down from the mountain track, and he is calling upon Allah loudly (saying: Here I am! at your service! ). Then he came to the mountain track of Harsha. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Which is this mountain track? They said: It is the mountain track of Harsha. He observed (I feel) as If I am seeing Yunus (Jonah-peace be upon him) son of Matta on a well- built red dromedary, with a cloak of wool around him and the rein of his dromedary is made of the fibres of date-palm, and he is calling upon Allah (saying: Here I am! at your service, my Lord! ). Ibn Hanbal said in the hadith narrated by him: Hushaim said that the meaning of khulba was fibre of date-palm.

Chapter 77: Mentioning Al-Masih Son of Mariam and Al-Masih ad-Dajjal

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

I found myself in Hijr and the Quraish were asking me about my might journey. I was asked about things pertaining to Bait-ul-Maqdis which I could not preserve (in my mind). I was very much vexed, so vexed as I had never been before. Then Allah raised it (Bait-ul-Maqdis) before my eyes. I looked towards it, and I gave them the information about whatever they questioned me I also saw myself among the group of apostles. I saw Moses saying prayer and found him to be a well-built man as if he was a man of the tribe of Shanu'a. I saw Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) offering prayer, of all of men he had the closest resemblance with 'Urwa b. Masu'd al-Thaqafi. I saw Ibrahim (peace be upon him) offering prayer; he had the closest resemblance with your companion (the Prophet himself) amongst people. When the time of prayer came I led them. When I completed the prayer, someone said: Here is Malik, the keeper of the Hell; pay him salutations. I turned to him, but he preceded me in salutation.

Chapter 79: The Meaning of the Saying of Allah, The Mighty and Sublime: And indeed he saw him at a second descent (another time)"; And did the prophet (saws) see his lord on the night of the Isra?

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the (words of Allah)

" And certainly he saw him in another descent" (al-Qur'an, Iiii. 13) imply that he saw Gabriel.

Chapter 80: The saying of the Prophet (saws): "Light, How could I see Him?" and: "I saw Light"

Abdullah b. Shaqiq reported

I said to Abu Dharr: Had I seen the Messenger of Allah, I would have asked him. He (Abu Dharr) said: What is that thing that you wanted to inquire of him? He said: I wanted to ask him whether he had seen his Lord. Abu Dharr said: I, in fact, inquired of him, and he replied: I saw Light.

Chapter 81: The saying of the Prophet (saws): "Allah does not sleep" and "His veil is light, and if he were to remove it, the splendour of his face would burn all of his creation, as far as hs sght reaches".

Abu Musa reported

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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.

Chapter 76: The night journey on which the messenger of Allah (saws) was taken up into the heavens and the prayers were enjoined

Abu al-'Aliya reported

Ibn Abbas, the son of your Prophet's uncle, told us that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had observed: On the night of my night journey I passed by Moses b. 'Imran (peace be upon him), a man light brown in complexion, tall. well-built as if he was one of the men of the Shanu'a, and saw Jesus son of Mary as a medium-statured man with white and red complexion and crisp hair, and I was shown Malik the guardian of Fire, and Dajjal amongst the signs which were shown to me by Allah. He (the narrator) observed: Then do not doubt his (i. e. of the Holy Prophet) meeting with him (Moses). Qatada elucidated it thus: Verily the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), met Moses (peace be upon him).

Abu al-'Aliya narrated it on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said

We travelled with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) between Mecca and Medina and we passed by a valley. He (the Holy Prophet) asked: Which valley is this? They said: This is the valley of Azraq Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) remarked: (I feel) as if I am seeing Moses (peace be upon him), and then he described something about his complexion and hair, which Diwud (the narrator) could not remember. He (Moses, as described by the Holy Prophet) was keeping his fingers in his ears and was responding loudly to Allah (saying: I am as Thy service, my Lord) while passing through that valley. We then travelled (further) till we came to the mountain trail. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Which mountain trail is this? They said: It is the Harsha or Lift. He (the Holy Prophet) said: (I perceive) as if I am seeing Yunus on a red camel, with a cloak of wool around him. The halter of his camel was that of the fibre of date-palm, and he was passing through the valley saying: I am at Thy service! my Lord.

It is narrated on the authority of Jabir that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

There appeared before me the apostles, and Moses was among men as if he was one of the people of Shanu'a, and I saw Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) and I saw nearest in resemblance with him was 'Urwa b. Mas'ud, and I saw Ibrahim (blessings of Allah be upon him) and I see your companions much in resemblance with him, i. e. his personality, and I saw Gabriel (peace be upon him) and I saw Dihya nearest in resemblance to him; but in the narration of Ibn Rumh it is Dihya b. Khalifa.

Chapter 77: Mentioning Al-Masih Son of Mariam and Al-Masih ad-Dajjal

It is narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah b. Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

I found myself one night near the Ka'bah, and I saw a man with wheat complexion amongst the fair-complexioned men that you ever saw. He had a lock of hair the most beautiful of the locks that you ever saw. He had combed it. Water was trickling out of them. He was leaning on two men, or on the shoulders of two men, and he was circumscribing the Ka'bah. I asked, What is he? It was said: He is al-Masih son of Mary. Then I saw another person, stout and having too much curly hair, and blind in his right eye as if it was a full swollen grape. I asked Who is he? It was said: He is al-Masih al-Dajjal.

It is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

I saw near the Ka'bah a man of fair complexion with straight hair, placing his hands on two persons. Water was flowing from his head or it was trickling from his head. I asked: Who is he? They said: He is Jesus son of Mary or al-Masih son of Mary. The narrator) says: I do not remember which word it was. He (the Holy Prophet) said: And I saw behind him a man with red complexion and thick curly hair, blind in the right eye. I saw in him the greatest resemblance with Ibn Qitan I asked: Who is he? They replied: It is al-Masih al-Dajjal.

Chapter 78: About (The Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary)

Zirr b. Hubaish narrated it on the authority of 'Abdullah (that the words of Allah)

" Certainly he saw of the greatest signs of Allah" (al-Qur'an, liii. 18) imply that he saw Gabriel in his (original) form and he had six hundred wings.

Chapter 79: The Meaning of the Saying of Allah, The Mighty and Sublime: And indeed he saw him at a second descent (another time)"; And did the prophet (saws) see his lord on the night of the Isra?

It is narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the words

" The heart belied not what he saw" (al-Qur'an, Iiii. 11) and" Certainly he saw Him in another descent" (al-Qur'an, Iiii. 13) imply that he saw him twice with his heart.

Dawud reported on the same authorities the hadith as narrated above by Ibn 'Uliyya and added

She ('A'isha) said: If Muhammad were to conceal anything which was sent to him, he would have certainly concealed this verse:" And when thou saidst to him on whom Allah had conferred favour and thou too had conferred favour: Keep thy wife to thyself and fear Allah, and thou wast concealing in thy heart that which Allah was going to disclose, and thou wast fearing men while Allah has a better right that thou shouldst fear Him."

Chapter 76: The night journey on which the messenger of Allah (saws) was taken up into the heavens and the prayers were enjoined

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

When I was taken for the night journey I met Moses peace be upon him). The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) gave his description thus: He was a man, I suppose-and he (the narrator) was somewhat doubtful (that the Prophet observed): (Moses) was a man erect in stature with straight hair on his head as it he was one of the men of the Shanu'a; and I met Jesus and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) described him as one having a medium stature and a red complexion as if he had (just) come out of the bath He observed: I saw Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and amongst his children I have the greatest resemblance with him. He said: There were brought to me two vessels. In one of them was milk and in the other one there was wine. And it was said to me: Select any one you like. So I selected the vessel containing milk and drank it. He (the angel) said: You have been guided on al-fitra or you have attained al-fitra. Had you selected wine, your Ummah would have been misled.

Chapter 77: Mentioning Al-Masih Son of Mariam and Al-Masih ad-Dajjal

'Abdullah reported on the authority of his father 'Umar b. Khattab that he heard from the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) say

I was sleeping when I saw myself making circuit around the Ka'bah, and I saw there a man of fair complexion with straight hair between two men. Water was flowing from his head or water was falling from his head. I said: Who is he? They answered: He is the son of Mary. Then I moved forward and cast a glance and there was a bulky man of red complexion with thick locks of hair on his head, blind of one eye as it his eye was a swollen grape. I asked: Who is he? They said: He is Dajjal. He had close resemblance with Ibn Qatan amongst men.

Chapter 78: About (The Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary)

Al-Shaibani narrated on the authority of Zirr who narrated it on this authority of Abdullah that the (words of Allah)

" The heart belied not what he saw" (al Qur'an, Iiii. 11) imply that he saw Gabriel (peace be upon him) and he had six hundred wings.