Me’raaj
The writer, Zamena Manekia Manji (Bujumbura, Burundi) is a bookworm with a passion for writing and community service.
- Reference : www.al-islam.org
Me’raaj
M
e’raaj to the once little me was nothing short of a magical journey that the Holy Prophet ( saw) embarked on with a horse that strode faster than lightning as they ascended towards the heavens and eternal abode that no man has ever laid his eyes on.
However, several people today, deny the journey of the Me’raaj citing that the Prophet (pbuh) journeyed through Me’raaj spiritually and not physically amidst claims that the journey was not physically possible from the Earth.
In Surah Al Israh, the Almighty says,
Glory be to Him Who made His servant go by night from Masjidul Haram to Masjidul Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. He alone hears all and observes all.’
The word Servant here means, that the Prophet had indeed travelled to the heavens in his physical form, for the word ‘abd’ (servant) applies to a body with a soul. If Me’raaj had been only spiritual, the exact words would be ‘to His servant’s soul’.
Imam Zainul Abeedin (a.s) was once asked “Is there a particular place for Allah?” He replied: “No”. The man said: “Then why did He make His Prophet journey through the skies?” The Holy Imam replied: “He made him ascend so that he might become aware of the expanse of the Universe and see and hear wonderful things, the like of which had not been seen and heard by the eyes and ears before”.
The above narration is already a clear indication that the Holy Prophet did indeed venture to the skies in his physical form.
Modern science however states that in order to get away from the earth, it is necessary to neutralize its gravity. If you fling a ball in the air, the power of gravity brings it back to the earth. With whatever force you fling it, it will come back to the earth again. If we wish to neutralize the gravity of the earth fully, so that the ball should move on and should not return to the earth, it will be necessary to fling at the minimum speed of 25,000 miles per hour.
This means that the Prophet left the zone of gravity and became weightless, however, the question prevails of how he performed the journey at such a high speed without the basic facilities.
The Mortal rays and celestial stones that travel freely in space can destroy a body in seconds when in contact. The pressure of air that is compromised in the upper regions was also a concern on how the Prophet survived the journey.
The speed that the special horse Buraq travelled with the Prophet was faster than the speed of light. Light is known for travelling at the speed of 300,000 kilometres per second and, according to modern science, nothing travels faster than the speed of light. How then did the entire occasion of Me’raaj take place in person?
Scientific research by astronomers first sent their artificial satellite to space in 1957 was named ‘sputnik’, further proving that the power of gravity can be neutralized by means of a rocket.
With the aid of science and technology, man has been able to ascend to space, and one can even solve the obstacles created by the mortal rays and travel with ease. Science has even shown that it will one day be possible to live in one of the celestial spheres.
Such an activity that seeps beyond reasoning is indeed quite possible. Despite certain resources the Prophet did not have to aid him on his journey, we tend to conveniently forget the mind-boggling miracles brought to mankind by the Lord, which have never ceased to amaze science.
One such example is from the Year of the Elephant where small birds tore through the army of elephants further highlighting the things that an ordinary person can do with scientific tools that can be done by the Prophets too without any such means.
The holy Prophet ascended to the journey of Me’raaj with the blessings of the Lord who created this entire system. Can not the giver of gravity and cosmic rays control the effects of his own creation and make such a journey possible?
Al-islam.org states: ‘’In case the schedule of the historical journey of the Prophet was accomplished under the command of Allah all these laws decidedly surrender before His absolute Will and are in the grip of His power every moment. In the circumstances what difficulty should there be if the Lord who has given gravity to the earth and cosmic rays to the heavenly bodies should take His chosen servant out of the Centre of gravity with His unlimited power and without any apparent means? Allah who has created oxygen can certainly create air for His chosen Prophet in the areas where air does not exist.’’
Miracles usually surpass the natural causes and strength of man. We cannot imagine the strength of the Lord as limited as ours. From being able to bring the dead to life, to transforming a rod into a serpent to ensuring Prophet Yunus stayed alive in the belly of a whale, every miracle ever recorded has surpassed our realm of understanding yet, we do not counter-question the events, why then should we doubt the Holy Prophet’s physical journey to the heavens?
In a nutshell, all the natural causes and external impediments are fully controlled by the Will of Allah (swt), which only means that he willed for Me’raaj to happen and it did. A special journey where the blessed Prophet (saww) saw the magnanimity of his Lord’s creation.
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