Sufic Commentary on the Night Journey and Ascension | From Tafsir al-Tustari

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In the Qur'an there are three chapters where the references of Holy Prophet's Night ourney and !scension to the "ivine Presence is made. #ost prominent is the $%th &hapter' the Night ourney (al)'Isra'*' where only the opening verse spea+s to it' even though very ,riefly. -he others are found' according to Islamic scholars in &hapter .$' the /verthrowing and &hapter 01' the 2tar. !mong these three chapters' 2urah an)Na3m (the 2tar* has the most intense and most mystical of the narratives a,out which a &ommentary ,y 2ahl 4. !,d !llah al)-ustari is noteworthy ,ecause it is he who utili5ed the mystical meanings appropriate for these mystical Signs. 6nglish translation of the original Quranic verses are shared here in ,old' followed ,y the commentary ,y -ustari. Quoted from -afs7r al)-ustar7 translated ,y !nna,el 8eeler and !li 8eeler. -ustari's commentary doesn't cover all the verses' so the rest of verses without commentary are added here as well for continuity sa+e.

al-Najm (the Star)

[ !"#$ %y the star &hen it sets -hat is' 9,y: #uhammad' "ivine ,enediction and peace upon him' when he returned from the heavens. [ !"'$ your com(anion has neither gone astray nor has he erred) -hat is' he never ever strayed from the reality of the divine oneness (haqqat al-tawhd*' nor ever followed 2atan under any circumstances. [ !"!$ nor does he s(ea* out of [his o&n$ desire) -hat is' he never ever utters falsehoods (btil*. His utterances were among the proofs (hujaj* of ;od' 6xalted is He' so how could desire or 2atan have any means of thwarting him< [ !"+$ ,t is not -ut a re.elation re.ealed [ !" $ The /ord of 0ighty 1o&er has taught him) [ !"2$ The /ord of Strength3 so he attained com(letion) 901:.: -hen he drew near and drew closer still'

-hat is' he approached' drawing closer and closer. [ !"4$ And &as at a distance of t&o -o& lengths or nearer5 [ !"#6$ And 7e re.ealed to 7is ser.ant &hat 7e re.ealed5 [ !"##$ The heart did not deny &hat he sa&5 -hat is to say' what he saw at the witnessing (mushhada* of his =ord' through the vision (basar* of his heart as a face)to)face encounter (kifh*. [ !"#'$ 8ill you then dis(ute &ith him concerning &hat he sa&9 >hat he saw from ?s and through ?s@ and what he sees from ?s and through ?s is more excellent than what he sees from ?s through himself. [ !"#!$ And .erily he sa& 7im another time) -hat is' in the ,eginning when ;od' ;lorified and 6xalted is He' created him as a light within a column of light (nran f 'amd al-nr*' a million years ,efore creation' with the essential characteristics of faith (tab'i' al-mn*' in a witnessing of the unseen within the unseen (mushhadat al-ghayb bil-ghayb*. He stood ,efore Him in servanthood ('ubdiyya*' ,y the lote tree of the ?ltimate 4oundary 901:$A:' this ,eing a tree at which the +nowledge of every person reaches its limit. [ !"#+$ At the farthest (oint (Sidrat-ul-Muntaha) -eyond &hich is the domain of ineffa-ility5 [ !"# $ Near it is the 1aradise of A-ode5 [ !"#2$ 8hen there shrouded the lote tree that &hich shrouded [it$5 -his means: 'that which shrouded' the lote tree (ay m yaghsh al-shajara* was from the light of #uhammad as he worshipped. It could ,e li+ened to golden moths' which ;od sets in motion towards Him from the wonders of His secrets. !ll this is in order to increase him 9#uhammad: in firmness (thabt* for the influx 9of graces: (mawrid* which he received 9from a,ove:. [ !"#:$ The eye did not s&er.e) nor did it go -eyond [the -ounds$5 He did not incline to the evidences of his self (shawhid nafsihi*' nor to witnessing them (mushhadatih*' ,ut was totally a,sor,ed in the witnessing (mushhada* of his =ord' 6xalted is He' seeing (shhid* the attri,utes 9of ;od: that were ,eing manifested 9to him:' which reBuired firmness from him in that place (mahall*.

[ !"#;$ <erily he sa& some of the greatest signs of his /ord5 -hat is' those of His attri,utes that ,ecame manifest through His signs. -hough he saw them' he did not let slip 9his ga5e: from his witnessed /,3ect (mashhd* 9of worship:' and did not withdraw from the vicinity of his worshipped /,3ect (mahbd*' ,ut rather 9what he saw: only increased him in love (mahabba*' longing (shawq* and strength (quwwa*. ;od gave him the strength ,y which he could ,ear the theophany (tajall* and supreme lights (anwr 'azma*. -his was out of his ,eing favoured a,ove the other prophets. "o you not see how #oses fell down in a swoon at the theophany. Cet twice as much did the Prophet (s* penetrate it (jbahu* in his contemplation' through a face)to)face encounter with the sight of his heart (kifhan bi-basar qalbihi*' and yet remained firm due to the strength of his state' and his elevated station (maqm* and ran+ (daraja*.

Useful references n al-!sra wa al-"ir'aj# D -he 2u,tleties of the !scension: 6arly #ystical 2ayings on #uhammad's Heavenly ourney ,y Erederic+ 2tephen &ol,y D Narrating #uhammad's Night ourney: -racing the "evelopment of the I,n !,,as !scension "iscourse ,y Erederic+ 2tephen &ol,y (Preview via ;oogle 4oo+* D /rientalists' Fiew on the Night ourney: !n !nalysis (P"E* ,y #ohd Gosland #ohd Nor D IsraH and #iHra3 in the view of Ea5lur Gahman (P"E*http://pinterest.com/pin/create/,utton/< urlIhttp://www.mysticsaint.info/JK$J/KL/sufi)tafsir)isra)mira3)tustari.html 3avascript:void(runMpinmar+let(** Cou might also li+e: 2pace. -he final frontier. >hy =6" does not mean a ,etter picture N -F and Home -heater ) &N6Geviews 9del.icio.us: !wesomely weird expanding halo of light seen from Hawaii N 4ad !stronomy N "iscover #aga5ine 9del.icio.us: 6mpire !venue : Happy &anada "ay and Happy Ath of uly 9del.icio.us: 2+yand-elescope.com ) News from 2+y O -elescope ) -he ;reat "aylight &omet of $P$K 9del.icio.us:

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