Islam, Science, Knowledge
Foreign Foreign Age of Islam a program where we discuss the Life and Legacy left behind by our Master the holy prophet Muhammad may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him now until the last episode we looked at the vicious and inhumane boycott put on the Muslims by the quration how that
Boycott ended in today’s episode we will look at two very important and famous incidents in the early part of Islamic history and they are the holy prophet’s journey to dive and what happened in the Israel and the Mirage were there two separate incidents or were they the two
Names of the same incident were they physical were they spiritual all these questions will be addressed in today’s episode and joining me for today’s episode in the studio is ayaz mud Khan who is missionary serving in the edition of regardless office here in the UK and
Joining me on Skype is Dr Bilal Ahmed Tahir who is an assistant professor and research fellow at the University of Sheffield assalamualaikum gentlemen welcome to both of you going straight in we as I mentioned in the introduction discussed up to the the boy called the horrific two and a half
Three year period uh where the qurash tried the utmost to somehow stopped the spread of Islam and just as soon as the boycott finished the the year of grief where the holy prophets II very loving relatives both passed away in the same year after
This time we get a bit of a period of Freedom where the holy proper can move around and the first place he goes to his dive and the famous incident of Taif occurred there a very important point which is that after the death of uh the Beloved Uncle
Of the holy prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam the holy prophet Muhammad essentially lost his main source of protection and thus he and his followers were in a very precarious situation as such he decided to leave for the city of thought if with the hope of winning them
Over to Islam now it is to note that it’s pertinent to note that I thought if it was a very important Town historically India hijaz and it was located around 40 miles Southeast of Mecca it’s mentioned in the Holy Quran as well its importance in which the infidels say
Which means why has not the uh this this Quran been sent or revealed to a great man of Mecca or thought if the two great towns the city happened to be populated by the tribe of the one of the teeth now the holy prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam there’s a difference of
Opinion in narrations but most of the narrations indicated the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam traveled with his then adopted son zadab and haritha uh secretly by foot so as not to arouse the suspicions of his tribe now when the holy prophet saw Allah began his journey you can understand
That he was full of optimism and hope that the banuth the tribe that resided in would respond favorably to the call of Islam and it would lead to a new happier phase in the history of Islam uh so I thought if when he arrived in thought if he was received by three
Local Chiefs who were all brothers and uh one of the names of the local Chiefs that it will be important later is IBN Abdul IBN Abdi now these three brothers and these Chiefs of of tariff allowed the holy prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam to speak and uh they heard his
Message however they paid little he to the message and rejected his call and even ridiculed him and so uh the holy prophet Muhammad was obviously utterly disappointed with the outcome but he didn’t lose hope in the people of thought if and thus he continued to
Preach so he he remained in the city for about 10 days however had the miscreants of the city pursue the holy prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam violently and they chased the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and Zaid and they pursued him for around five three miles outside of thought if and
Continuously bombarded him with rocks due to which the Blessed body of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam became drenched in in Blood and it was at a distance of three miles uh outside of thought if where the holy prophet saw Allah reached an orchard and this Orchard interestingly happened to belong
To Two Chiefs of Mecca that’s and these are two brothers and also two opponents of of Islam as well uh now there the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was overcome by by emotion and he supplicated before his Lord and this is you know very emotional uh Dua or
Supplication that that Muslims know you know throughout the history books uh and uh a couple of lines I’m going to read from it the first goes that the holy prophet saws Begins by addressing his Lord and says which means oh Allah I complain to you of my weakness my scarcity of resources
And the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people of Life almost merciful are those who are merciful O Lord of the weak and my Lord too and I won’t read the rest but he continues to pray and and it’s a really uh emotional uh supplication but it’s
Interesting to know this in this Orchard when the Holy proper reached there there’s an incident about the the tray of grapes being brought by a Christian slave so uh yes uh uh so uh incidentally ottaba and sheba who owned the orchard were present at the time and it due to
The ties of kinship they were also probably overcome by emotion maybe a sense of national responsibility and thus they had a Christian slave slave from Iraq and they sent the slave to go to uh greet the holy prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam and uh Zaid and he carried with him a bunch of
Grapes and he served the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and then the holy prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam asked him where are you from uh and what what religion do you follow and Adas the name of this Christian Christian Iraqi slave said that I’m from Nineveh which
In Arabic is neenawa uh it’s famous city and uh and he said that I’m a Christian now uh the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said to him is this the same name which was home to the righteous servant foreign began to preach The Message of Islam to
Him and that thus was so moved that he kissed the hands of the holy prophet sallallahu and accepted Islam when he returned back to Akbar and sheba they rebuked him saying how could you follow his religion when your religion of Christianity is greater than his own religion but
Nonetheless he said that this is this is a this is a true prophet of Allah that was very um eloquently put there and as we see that the holy prophets are like suddenly journeyed back from dive and as we know the famous incident where he requested
Um to Grant him Refuge because he had essentially left and according to the customer at the time um respected that um that favor and he went to the Kaaba with swords drawn and uh said that you know I will give Refuge to Muhammad and talibur came back
Um to Makkah but there’s an interesting incident that took place uh on on the way uh when the holy prophet was at nakla yes absolutely so it is narrated that during the way back on the way back the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam at night was occupied in
Reciting the Holy Quran and a party of Jinn came quietly it is said that there were 70 in certain narrations and they quietly listened to the recitation of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam of the words of God and they were their hearts were impressed and then they went
Back to their the place that they came and it is said that they came from a place called nasibain from Syria and this is mentioned in the Holy Quran as well in two places and has mentioned in his book that in both of those incidents in both
Of those places we find that the holy prophet was unaware that they were listening to him but Allah revealed to him that this is what happened now you mentioned gin I think a lot of our viewers will probably think and it’s quite normal in many cultures that Jin
Is associated with uh you know a spiritual being or yes something of like a spirit or something along these lines yes absolutely in most cultures the concept of Jinn and even among the Muslims is that this is a supernatural creation uh they are either evil spirits or something of that sort or monsters
Which have power over us and they make us do certain things and they can over take us in their control Islam doesn’t agree with this interpretation of Jinn gin is an Arabic word which means something which is hidden or under a veil so for example um
Janine is a a child which is hidden in the womb of his mother or its mother for example a Junoon is madness because the senses are as evailed magenta means a shield because it veils you um when you’re in battle John for example is a snake because a snake is
Usually hidden under the grass or somewhere where it’s not visible so when you refer to the word Jin in the Holy Quran this has been used in various different meanings and it is approximately 26 times yes absolutely it is used in comparison to ins as well Jin
And ins where ins refers to the common people and Jin refers to the elite upper class so the reason we refer to the elite upper class as Jin is because usually they are disguised and away from they don’t mix with the rest of society so that is one interpretation of Jinn
Which is a very logical interpretation also any sort of society or people that do not mix with Society or who live in a secluded area and they they are not seen by normal people and they do not mix with Society those people would be considered Jinn so in that respect this
Is what this means that a group of people came and listened to the prophet of Islam and those people could have been among the upper class they could have been people who were in a secluded place and it could also refer to some sort of creation of God as well
Um which is unknown to man and there’s nothing wrong with that either that is also a reasonable explanation but the wisdom behind this was that Allah the almighty was giving a message to the prophet of Islam especially after he went through this very difficult time of dayaf which is a very emotional
Incident that you should not be disheartened of course the prophet of God is never disheartened but Allah the almighty consoled him and told him that now the time is coming when what to talk of the common people even the elite upper class and even Kings would accept
You and they would come under your banner and they would find honor into being obedient To You O messenger of Allah and we see how the future events which took place after that they showed how The Message of Islam spread to the ends of the Earth and first from Mecca
To the outside area and then to the rest of the world absolutely for the explanation of jinn’s very um interesting subject and a lot of people do ask about that as well before we move on to the next topic it’s I would like to invite our external panelists for today and that is
Who is missionaries serving in the review of religion magazine Nordin could you kindly tell us about how Islam spread to the dose tribe and there’s a very famous incident about umaldosi who accepted Islam in a very interesting manner one of the ways in which Islam spread aside from the direct
Preaching of the holy prophet Muhammad was by influential people from tribes would go and and be preached to and they would later then go to their people and relay that message and they would accept Islam was the chieftain of the dose tribe he had gone to Makkah for a festival
And the quray saw him and said that they should warn him that there is a person who is committing sorcery and is turning the people away from their religion now in his determination to remain unaffected by the sorcery had plugged his ears as he went around Makkah
One morning he went to Haram and he saw the holy prophet Muhammad sallam praying in one corner he was so affected by this they thought to himself that I’m a sensible man if what he says is good then I will accept it and if what he
Said is bad then I will reject it so after he finishes praying as a Defender went to him and said to tell me about your religion and that is how hazardous accepted Islam he said that I have influence in My Tribe and I can go
Back and preach to them so he did so he preached his mother and father and they accepted Islam but the rest of his tribe actually rejected him and they increased in the opposition so he informed the holy prophet Muhammad about this and said they should pray against them
But instead the holy prophet is O Allah guide the dose tribe and he said to go back to them and to preach with with compassion and with love and they they’re accepted Islam later on he along with 70 families migrated to Medina and among these people who had accepted from the dose
Tribe was the famous narrator of the Hadith so this in brief is how the dose tribe accepted Islam jangir Khan from the review of religions magazine gentlemen we are coming to a very important topic in the history of Islam a lot of debate goes on about this as
Well the Mirage and Israel are the two separate events um are they spiritual or physical a lot of debate happens a lot of differing views as well so yes tell us about the Mirage and the Israel so many Muslims and most non-muslim historians they have they have misunderstood and they think that the
Mirage and the Israel are this same incident or they refer to different parts of the same incident but in reality when we look at the Holy Quran and the Hadith we find that these are two separate incidents which took place at different times although they may have taken place close to one
Another and they may have a relationship with each other spiritually the incidents themselves were separate the Mirage refers to the The Experience where the prophet of Islam traveled from Makkah to the heavens and then ultimately met with Allah the almighty at his throne with the final Point uh if
You will and the Israel refers to the journey of the prophet of Islam from Mecca to Jerusalem completely different what why is it that these incidents are different how do we know that because the Holy Quran refers to them as such for example in Surah bani Israel where
The isra is mentioned there’s no mention of the heavens whatsoever whereas in Surah najam where the Mirage is mentioned there is no mention whatsoever of Jerusalem so the Quran tells us that these are two separate incidents which took place at different times also the ahadis as well because mentioned separate yes
That the scholars accept that it is the most authentic book after The Holy Quran so if these were two if these were the same thing why would they be separated in bukhari so that that is also important to note as well and another important point to note is that also
When we look at um the the books of history as well we will find that for example in uh in the syrat of IBN Hesham it is mentioned the Mirage and Israel also have been discussed in different chapters as well and there are other historians as well
For example uh IBN Assad also refers to these uh two incidents separately with different dates and there’s also another interesting um proof as well in fact when this incident did take place of the Israel the disbelievers came and told us that Abu Bakr at the time that your friend
Says or claims that he was shown or taken to Jerusalem in one night do you believe that of course replied that if that is what he says then he must be true he doesn’t lie but the fact is that um if if the holy prophet went to
Jerusalem and then went to the heavens yes then of course the heavens is much further surely they would have said that you know he claims to go to the to the skies which is obviously you know further absolutely that’s another proof as well that they were too um Bilal
Another real debate is whether the Mirage and Israel were they a physical Journey or a spiritual journey uh so another common misconception is that these events occurred physically either corporeal body of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam physically ascended to the heavens during the Mirage and his very corporate
Corporeal body was also physically transported to Jerusalem during the Israel it must be born in mind firstly the ahmedi Muslims do not believe that Allah is incapable of Performing these physical acts on the contrary the promised Messiah Ali salaam the founder of the ahmadiya Muslim Community has emphatically asserted the omnipotence of
Allah throughout his literature however the issue is that the Holy Quran and several testimonies of the companions categorically testify that the Israel were purely spiritual experiences which were shown to the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam under special wisdoms so if we start with the Mirage and look at the evidences in
Favor of it being spiritual we find a very clear chronic evidence and that is in Surah to nejam Allah says which means that the heart of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was not untrue to that which he saw so this is indicating that this is a heartfelt
Vision and not a bodily or a physical Journey but also uh it’s very interesting that you find numerous evidences throughout the Hadith literature to indicate that this is also a spiritual I would just focus on one evidence which is as ayaz noted in the most authentic book after The Holy Quran which is
There is a really interesting narration which is a testimony from and bukhari himself interestingly has inserted this very Hadith in his guitar the book of exegesis under the tafsir of Surah and this Hadith is narrated by a tabiri a successor of the companion named masruk and this companion is speaking to Aisha
And and says which means oh mother oh mother of the Believers did the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam see his Lord with his eyes and just just hear this this reply of Aisha and a very interesting reply uh which is that she was so horrified by the very question by
That was posed by msroup that she replied which means that what you have said makes my hair stand on end and then she continues and says which means that whosoever tells you that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam so his Lord is indeed a liar and she provides chronic evidence for this as
Well so this is in relation to the Maharaj and like I said there’s many other evidences in relation to the Israel in fact but also in relation to the the Israel we have a very famous incident where um after the Israel the um the disbelievers question the holy
Prophet and they know that he has never been to Jerusalem and in fact they they ask him that um you know go on and tell us what you saw in in Jerusalem and the holy prophet becomes he’s worried because he saw in a dream but it was
Shown to him in in a way that he couldn’t recall exactly um the specific locations but immediately God Almighty through a vision showed him exactly the places and he started recounting um all of those places so that’s another proof that if he had physically gone to Jerusalem then surely he would have seen
The landmarks and known what was there but God had to show him in another vision and he wouldn’t have been worried that you know what was in Jerusalem so that’s another proof um for that gentlemen this discussion will continue but that moment um I would like to go to our viewers and
See what they would like to ask in today’s question is that question it is about the Mirage as our viewer wants to know the details of what happened in the Mirage is a very beautiful incident a very special experience which the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was
Granted by Allah the almighty it is narrated that the prophet of Islam was in the Masjid Haram and he was close to the Kaaba when Gabriel alaihissalam came to him and took him and cut open his breast took him to the water of the zamzam and
Cut open his breasts took out his heart and cleansed his heart with the water of zamzam which again also points to the fact that this is a spirit that this is a spirit and physically yes and we discussed this in a previous program as the one the holy prophet saw was a child
He also had a similar experience so then a golden platter was brought which contained faith and wisdom and then that faith and wisdom was put into the heart of the prophet of Islam and then that heart was again sealed in his breast again again no one can physically you know put Faith
And goodness in a plateau wisdom and Faith are intangible things they’re not objects that can be placed on the platter but anyway then uh Angel Gabriel alaihissalam took the prophet of Islam into the heaven and when they reached the first Heaven he knocked at the door
And uh the gatekeeper asked who is there and he said it is I and Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and so the gatekeeper asked has Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam been summoned and he said yes so then he opened the door and he greeted him and welcomed him
And in the first heaven then he met an elderly man who when he would look to the right he would be happy and when he would look to the left he would be saddened and Gabriel alaihissalam explained that this was prophet Adam and when he looks to The Souls of his
Children who have been admitted into paradise and who have ex who have received the pleasure of Allah he is happy and when he looks at the the people who have rebelled against Allah he feels sad anyway Adam greeted him and said welcome o my son because in a way
He was from the children of Adam so then the prophet of Islam um bid him farewell and went to the next heaven and there again the same thing happened the gatekeeper inquired and from there he went from the second third fourth fifth heaven and he went on and through this journey
He met Prophet Jesus and John who were on the same heaven and then he met Prophet Joseph Prophet Idris he met a prophet Moses and all of them addressed him as oh our brother and the prophet of Islam when he progressed on from uh there to the next
Heaven Prophet Moses began to weep and a voice was heard that why do You Weep o Moses and then it was he said that oh Allah I never thought that anybody would come from behind me and surpass me and this shows the greatness of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam that
Moses was considered to be one of the greatest law-bearing prophets our master and our guide he was the king of all of those people even Moses and when he went on then he met in the next Heaven Abraham and it is said that he was leaning on
Is said that this is the house the central house of worship in the heaven for which the Kaaba has been erected on Earth as a symbolic representation and when he met the prophet of Islam he again addressed him as his son because as we mentioned in one of the
Old previous programs the prophet of Islam used to say that I am but the fruit of the prayer of Abraham then after that he progressed where no man had gone before and he progressed to a place which was the final limit where he saw a low tree which was as if symbolic
For that final limit which then differentiates the world from the next World from Paradise and it is narrated that the prophet of Islam could hear the scribbling of pens from above which were this depends of the decree of Allah the almighty so again all of these are symbolic things which are not physical
But they have a deeper meaning and it is said that he witnessed and saw prophet he saw Angel Gabriel Islam with 600 wings and again wings are a representative of various attributes which Gabriel possessed and then it is narrated that at that final point he reached the Throne of his Lord Allah the
Mighty the wise the high and Allah the almighty spoke to Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and such a beautiful uh like out of this World Vision And as mentioned so beautifully in the in Surah there’s this one specific thing which if we left out we would do an injustice the Holy Quran
Says that that the prophet of Islam moved towards Allah so as as an illustration the prophet of Islam moved towards Allah and Allah moved towards the prophet of Islam and they became one as if they were the cord of Two bows so you know when the a
Bow is attached to each other the middle part which forms a circle if two bows are brought together that circle is divided by a line it is as if the prophet of Islam and Allah were one they were separate but they were one that’s how close their Union and their
Communion was during this experience it’s so beautiful when we look at all of these details so this was the Mirage of the holy prophet that’s very beautifully answered and just before we wrap up today’s program we must go to the second or the other um Exquisite experience and that is the
Israel the the night Journey could you tell us about the Israel so the Israel which as you mentioned means a night Journey uh is mentioned in the Holy Quran uh that since which is also commonly referred to as suratul Israel now uh the following has been
Mentioned in in this uh chapter of the Holy Quran which is uh subhanallah which basically means glory be to him who carried his servant during the course of one night from The Sacred mosque to the distant mosque the environs of which we have blessed that
We may show him some of our signs surely he alone is the all hearing and the All-Seeing now it’s important to note here that this is what we find in the Holy Quran is mention of a journey from uh the the holy sanctuary in Mecca to a distant mosque which has been blessed
We’ve all also find numerous details in India Hadith so for example in the Hadith we find that the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam saw that the angel visited him and was accompanied by an animal referred to as Baroque now this animal was larger than a donkey but
Smaller than a mule and it was very beautiful white colored and the holy prophet saw Allah mounted this animal and enabled him to travel to Jerusalem now on the way several incidents happen but importantly at Jerusalem uh there he was at the uh uh there at the holy
Sanctuary in Jerusalem and the holy prophet saw Allah was in the company of of the past prophets and the the prophets that were mentioned explicitly include Ibrahim Moses as well now it’s interesting to note that the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam LED all of these prophets in
Prayer uh also uh after leading them in prayer Islam according to a famous Hadith in bukhari presented the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam with one of two options that was alcohol or milk we find also interestingly in some other narrations that there’s free options either milk uh alcohol or water now the
Holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam regardless of the narration always chooses milk and rejects alcohol or and and water now regarding this has said that you have understood that which is the uh part of the fitra that which is uh natural so if you were to take the cup of alcohol your
Community would have gone astray if you were to take water your community would have uh uh have drowned now it’s important to know as a.s sahib has eloquently uh explained in terms of the Mirage that this was really a spiritual vision the Israel is also a spiritual vision of extra ordinary Grandeur and
It’s also it also contains numerous prophecies uh so if we focus on the analysis of his famous grand exegesis there he’s mentioned a number of explanations and and prophecies inherent in in the whole of this and so he does mention that the journey to Jerusalem the fact that Jerusalem is mentioned is
Essentially an allusion towards the imminent interaction which was to occur between the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and uh and and his community with other religions and particularly uh the Jews and the Christians because Jerusalem holds that importance with those two uh religions uh the the journey to Jerusalem also
Indicates that as it will come a time soon when Jerusalem would be under the jurisdiction of Muslims which is something that was fulfilled in uh during the caliphate of uh that is a geographical location which encompasses uh Palestine Syria uh Jordan uh and Lebanon came under the Dominion of the Muslims you
Find also very other interesting uh interpretations as well now we find that the word lay the word Knight has been specifically mentioned in that verse that I I I read for you and there uh that’s an illusion really to the the fact that the Muslims would undergo severe difficulty and that’s because uh
Visually visually speaking uh the night uh symbolizes difficulty and and uh adversity uh now also we find that the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam uh is traveling to El Masjid in oxa which in Arabic means the furthest mosque and has eloquently demonstrated that this could also apply to rather than applying
To Prophet Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem it could actually be fulfilled through the immigration to yesterday or medina which we’ll talk about in subsequent programs where the holy prophet sallallahu was to build a mosque which was destined to become a central Mosque of Islam and finally another point of
Note is that the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam leads all of the prophets in prayer and this could signify that this new faith of of Islam was not to remain confined to the place of his birth but to spread all over the world and people from all over the world
Will join its fold and lastly just just lastly that uh it’s very it’s a really interesting uh analysis that’s also been presented which is that not only can indicate Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem or even uh the holy Mosque of in of Medina but it can also indicate
A further mosque further afield when the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam was to reappear amongst the Muslims metaphorically and that is through the Advent of the promised Messiah Islam very eloquently but then actually you’ve touched upon a very interesting point that if the holy prophet LED every
Prophet and in a hadees it mentions approximately 124 000 prophets were present then surely someone in Jerusalem would have noticed if it was a physical event that you know there’s there’s a big congregation here which and there’s no record of that in history so very very well put it and viewers until next
Week stay tuned for the next episode of the golden age of Islam assalamu alaikum