MODES OF DIVINE COMMUNICATION WITH THE HOLY PROPHET

  Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

 

MODES OF DIVINE COMMUNICATION WITH THE HOLY PROPHET :

 

 The above-quoted verse is followed immediately by the following:

“And thus (i.e., in the comprehensive manner covered in the different modes of Divine communication presented in 42:51) have We, by Our Command, sent unto you (O Muhammad) the Inspiration.^[1] You knew not (before the establishment of Divine communication) what the Scripture was, nor what the Faith …” (42:52).

 

Accordingly, God’s communication with the Holy Prophet  was normally in three ways: (1) direct communication in the form of what has been termed in 42:51 as wahy; (2) direct communication ‘from behind the veil’; (3) indirect communication through an intermediary messenger-angel.

 

The third being the sole mode of communication employed in respect of the revelation of the Qur’an, as we shall shortly notice, the other two modes must be taken to relate to the domain of general communication. Indeed,  the Holy Prophet (ṣallallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam), being firmly and absolutely established as ‘abd in the state of harmony with God (6:162, etc.) and thus in absolute intimacy with, and under the loving care of, God (52:48: etc.), his communication with God and God’s communication with him was frequent—the communication from God not confined to the revelation of the Qur’an.

 

The above-mentioned modes of communication relate, however, to the Holy Prophet’s life in respect of his earthly constitution in which he normally stayed except—so far as our knowledge goes—on the occasion of Me‘raj (Ascension), which can be understood only in terms of transcendental transformation of his personality by God. Hence God’s communication with him on that occasion should be classed as belonging to a mode different and distinct from the modes mentioned in 42:52. The reference in the Holy Qur’an stands thus: 

 

“By the Star when it goes down, your Companion (Muhammad) does not err, nor is misled; nor does he speak (anything) of (his own) Desire (or, ratiocination). It is nothing but Revelation that  is revealed (to him). He has been taught by One Mighty in Power, endued with Wisdom; so he attained completion in knowledge,^[2] while he was in the highest horizon (during his Me‘raj or Ascension). Then he (—existing on that occasion, as deducible, in the transcendental dimension of existence—) approached and came closer (to Allaah, in the transcendental dimension), and it was a distance (in terms of transcendental dimension) of but two bow-lengths or nearer (—implying idiomatically extreme nearness—). Thus He (i.e., Allaah) revealed to His Devotee (Muhammad) what He revealed. The (Prophet’s) heart lied not in what he saw (it being the direct Vision of, and communication from, Allaah).” (53:1-11).^[3]

 

[Note:- Some scholars who subscribe to no adequate notion either of the nature of human personality or of the dimensions of the personality of a Messenger of God—whose view of religious verities is, for all practical purposes, either ‘formalistic’ or ‘naturalistic’— consider it necessary to explain away or minimise every super-natural, or metaphysical, element in the Holy Prophet’s personality. As such, they deny that the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) was blessed with the vision of God in his Me‘raj, saying that the person whom he saw was the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). As for the Hadīth literature, both the views—viz., ‘vision of God’ and ‘vision of Jibreel’—are deducible. But, as regards the Qur’an, it affirms the ‘vision of God’ in the transcendental dimension of existence, i.e., life in Heaven, even for the true followers of the Messengers of God—not to speak of the Messengers of God themselves. 

 

The view reported to have been put forward by Lady Ayesha should be taken to relate basically to the impossibility of seeing God with the physical vision; and, as such, it an absolutely correct view. The Holy Prophet’s Me‘raj was, however, an event of unique nature in which it should be accepted that his sacred personality had been transformed by God from the physical to the transcendental dimension of existence^[4]—the same dimension in which his true followers who, in their status, are simply non-entities as compared with his status as God’s greatest Messenger, will exist in Heaven, and will, therefore, become capable of being blessed with the vision of God (75:22-23).]  

 

Reverting to 42:52, it was not at all necessary for the Holy Qur’an, after explicitly affirming all the three modes of Divine communication mentioned in 42:51, to pin-point each occasion and each guidance as it came to the Holy Prophet (ṣallallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam) from God through the respective modes. Such information can be relevantly sought in the Hadith literature, although even there we cannot expect absolute accuracy in respect of reporting, nor a detailed specification of occasions and modes, basically because of the personal and secret nature of Divine communication. However, that being the only way open to us, we may obtain from there whatever information is in conformity with the Qur’an.

 

There is a consensus of historical reports that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (ṣallallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam) grew up as superbly-normal in mental, physical and moral health and beauty, but abnormally devoted to truthfulness, thoughtfulness, and sympathy for and service to fellow-beings. He passed the greater part of his youth, right from infancy, in the ‘lap of Nature’, away from the city-life of Makka, where he was born. As a grown-up young man, he had the occasion to undertake long journeys in the ‘environment of Nature’ when he crossed time and again, in connection with commerce, the desolate desert vastnesses of Arabia. He was born in a community of idol-worshippers; but he never had anything to do with any idol even unconsciously. He had the mental grace and the personal beauty of the Holy Prophet Abraham peace be upon him, from whom he had descended through the Holy Prophet Ishmael peace be upon him. But his family had lost the teaching of Abraham and Ishmael, and had preserved only its history.

 

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[1] This word should be taken here to cover in its implication all the levels of Divine Revelation.

[2] Istawe al-rajul means ‘he became full grown and mature in body and intellect, or he attained the completion of his make and intellect’. (Lane’s Lexicon)

[3] The translation of these verses and the explanatory remarks inserted within brackets are based on a critical assessment of Hadīth literature and of the Qur’ānic philosophy of Religion as upheld by a vast majority of Islamic scholars in history.

[4] Qualitative transformations are all the time taking place in Nature. Thus the view presented here is in accordance with the Natural Law. Also: this view synthesizes the partial views in which one school of thought—the minority school—emphasises that Me‘raj was just a ‘spiritual’ experience like other spiritual experiences, in which the Holy Prophet’s soul alone was the subject of experience, while the other school—representing an overwhelming majority of Muslims in history—gives prominence to the participation of the Holy Prophet’s body in that entire event. 

Source

to be continued . . . . .

Between the two nights FASTING AND POWER

Between the Two Nights

The Mi’raj or ascension of the Prophet (sallalahu ta‘alah ‘alaihi wa Sallam) to the special Divine presence has historically been recognized to have taken place on Rajab 27. This date appears to be linked in the Islamic calendar to Ramadhan 27, the likely day of the “night of power” or the Lailatul Qadr. It seem that this period of two months is a special season in which the collective spirituality is progressively enhanced until finally the individual effort of even the average worshiper elevates him to eligibility for some form of religious experience. This, in turn, launches him on a path of spiritual growth.

The progressive enhancement begins on Rajab 27, when the worshiper refreshes his memory about the Prophet’s Mi’raj and reminds himself that the five daily prayers (Salat) which were brought down from above in the Mi’raj, is the vehicle for his personal Mi’raj. He thus pays serious attention to improving the quality of his Salat. This involves, most of all, developing a devout frame of mind.

In the month of Shaban he follows the example of the Prophet (sallalahu ta‘alah ‘alaihi wa Sallam) and fasts time and again to build the momentum with which to prepare the body and the mind for the rigors of the fast of Ramadhan. Thus the preliminary fast of Shaban is added to Salat and worship moves into a higher gear. On Ramadhan 1, not only does the compulsory fast for all adult Muslims begin but, also, there is Qiyam al-Lail or the prayers of the night-vigil, when long passages of the Qur’an are recited. Fasting, the night time prayer vigil and the recitation of the Qur’an have a dramatic impact in effecting a substantial qualitative improvement of worship.

When, on Ramadhan 21, the withdrawal from worldly affairs and seclusion in the Masjid (I’tikaf) for ten days commences, the worshipers reach a pitch or intensity of worship which makes this period most spiritually conducive for religious experience. As he withdraws from the Dunya the veils begin to fall from off his eyes and heart and as a consequence he now perceives the reality of things and of the world. 

Finally comes Ramadhan 27, the night of power (Lailatul Qadr) when Allah Most High sends down the angels and Gabriel for every errand:

“…In hosts descend in it the angels, bearing divine inspiration by their Sustainer’s leave; from all [evil] that may happen…;”  

(Qur’an, al-Qadr, 97:4)

i.e., to bestow, perhaps, the supreme gift of Mi’raj (i.e. a direct visionary experience of the unseen worlds) to all those who have deserved it or who have earned it. When the Qur’an asserts that the night of power is superior to a thousand months:

“The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months.”

(Qur’an, al-Qadr, 97:3) 

the implication is, perhaps, that the direct visionary experience of the unseen worlds which can best be experienced on that night is better than an entire life-span (a thousand months standing for an average life-span) lived without it. 

There are profound psychological and sociological lessons to be learnt from Islam’s fast of Ramadhan. The enhanced collective spirituality of Ramadhan, for example, literally reaches down to embrace even the weakest of the believers and to assist and strengthen their resolve to observe the fast.

Secondly, with the institution of the fast of Ramadhan and its attendant charity, prayers, and the recitation of the Qur’an, Islam takes the believer to the third stage of the process of religious development, the stage of total conformity and harmony with the externally imposed sacred law.

In the first stage, we should recall, the individual was invited to enter into Islam and to submit publicly to the Truth. In the second stage, on the other hand, the process witnessed the internalization of the externally proclaimed belief. This was the stage of faith or Iman. With the achievement of stage three or al-Ihsan, and with the possible vision of the unseen worlds, the believer now acquires the capacity to see with the internal eye what previously could not be seen. Thus it is that the Fast of Ramadhan delivers the capacity for internal intuitive spiritual insight with which to penetrate the reality of things and not to be deceived by appearance. Such a capacity constitutes a vital dimension of power.

Source: Fasting and Power 

To Be Continued ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipTVRuWfX_o

About Prophet Isa (AS) - Lessons From History

About Prophet Isa (AS)

Although the exact nature of the ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (AS) is incomprehensible to us, and although these events are beyond the realm of normal human experience, they are by no means impossible. The rationalists among us tend to express serious doubts and lack of conviction about this authentic Islamic belief, but the fact is that our belief in the ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (AS) is based upon various indicators of the Holy Qur’an as well as explicit and unequivocal traditions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). 

The prevalence of materialistic thinking, especially under the influence of the now outdated Newtonian Physics, has caused many of our intellectuals to reject the possibility of miracles. But it must be kept in mind that a miracle, by definition, represents  a  breakdown  in  the  usual  physical  laws  of  the universe, and a special creative feat of Almighty God is manifested from out of the ruins of that broken law. All natural laws have been established by Allah (SWT), and He is able to suspend any of them for any period of time. He is Omnipotent, able to do all things.

It seems, on the basis of the predictions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that both the Jews and the Arab Muslims will become the targets of Divine retribution in the final battles — but with a marked distinction. The condemned Children of Israel are going to be completely destroyed at the hands of their own prophet, Prophet Isa (AS), just as numerous other nations were removed from the face of the earth because they committed the crime of rejecting their respective messengers. On the other hand, the Muslims — especially the Arabs — will receive their share of punishment for turning away from the Holy Qur’an, but afterwards the survivors will be able to repent and mend their ways, paving the way for the beginning of the second phase of the domination of Islam.

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad