Mi'raj

The Mi'raj (the Holy Ascension of Prophet Muhammad)

This version of the Mi'raj of Muhammad is from the Naqshbandi Sufi tradition and is sourced from Hajjah Amina Adil's Muhammad: The Messenger of Islam. The book draws heavily on Sufi sources written in Ottoman Turkish. The creation myth contains various Gnostic themes and motifs.

The Seven Heavens are:

Heaven	Name	Heaven made of	Guardian	Gate	Lock	Number of angels
1			Isma’il	red ruby stone (Bab al-Hifz)	pearls	100,000?
2	Qaydum	red coral	Mikha’il	pearls	Light	200,000
3	Zaytun	copper	Arina’il	white pearls	Light	300,000
4	Zahir	raw silver/white pearl	Salsa’il	Light	Light	400,000
5	Safiya	red gold	Kalqa’il			500,000
6	Khalisa	yellow gem	Samkha’il			600,000
7	Ghariba	Light	Afra’il			700,000

1st Heaven[edit]

We then reached the first Heaven, Jibra’il knocked upon its gate, crying, ‘Open up!’

The name of this gate is‚ ‘Bab al-Hifz’, the Gate of Protection, and it is made of red ruby stone,

whereas its lock is made of pearls.

From within the guardian of this gate, Isma’il, called out in a voice such as I have never heard before, ‘Who is this demanding entry?’

Jibra’il thereupon answered, ‘It is I, Jibra’il.’

‘And who is that with you?’ demanded the keeper of the gate.

‘That is Muhammad,’ replied Jibra’il.

The keeper of the gate then asked, ‘Has he been given prophethood?’

‘Yes,’ replied Jibra’il, ‘he has been given prophethood.’

‘Has he been cited and invited to come here?’ Isma’il demanded to know.

‘Yes, he has been invited to come,’ Jibra’il replied.

Then Isma’il said, ‘Welcome, welcome to you! What a delightful visitor!’

With these words he opened the gate.

Meeting Isma`il

2nd Heaven[edit]

The Lord Almighty, praised be His Name, has created this Heaven from red coral and called it Qaydum.

The name of its gatekeeper is Mikha’il.

This Heaven appeared to me to be especially full of light and splendor, so much so that I was blinded and had to squint.

The door of this Heaven is of pearls

and its lock is of light.

Jibra’il knocked upon this door and requested entry.

The keeper of the gate, Mikha’il, called from inside, ‘Who is it requesting the opening of this gate?’

‘I am Jibra’il,’ replied Jibra’il,

and again the angel asked, ‘And who is this with you?’

‘This is Muhammad,’ answered Jibra’il.

Again the gatekeeper asked, ‘Has he been given prophethood?’

‘Yes.’ Replied Jibra’il.

‘Has he come here upon invitation and request?’ asked Mikha’il.

‘Yes,’ said Jibra’il, ‘invitation and request have gone before.’

Then the gatekeeper said, ‘Welcome to you, oh welcome guest! How agreeable a visitor!’

With that, he opened the gate.

I entered and beheld the guardian angel of this Heaven, Mikha’il.

There were 200,000 angels at his service, each one of whom had another 200,000 helpers to assist him.

I greeted him and he returned my greetings with reverence.

He gave me the joyous news of the many honors and blessings the Almighty was to bestow on me.

`Isa and Yahya
The Angel of Provision

3rd Heaven[edit]

The Lord Almighty created this Heaven from copper and has named it Zaytun.

The name of its guardian angel is Arina’il.

Its gate is of white pearls

and it has a lock of light.

When Jibra’il knocked upon the gate, the guardian angel called from within, ‘Who is it requesting entry?’

Jibra’il answered, ‘It is I, Jibra’il.’

‘And who is this with you?’ asked the keeper of the gate.

‘It is Muhammad,’ replied Jibra’il.

Again he asked, ‘Has he been given prophethood?’

‘Yes, he has,’ answered Jibra’il.

‘Has he received summons and invitation?’

‘Yes, he has,’ replied Jibra’il.

Then Arina’il opened the gates, saying, ‘Welcome to you, how pleasing a guest!’

I entered this Heaven and I beheld Arina’il to be a great and majestic angel.

He had at his command 300,000 angels.

Tasbih of Yusuf
Tasbih of the Tyrants
The Guardian Angel of Hell
Beholding the Inhabitants of Jahannam
Allah Grants the Prophet Intercession
Other Guardians of Hell

4th Heaven[edit]

The Fourth Heaven is created of raw silver or, according to a different narration, from white pearl.

The name of this Heaven is Zahir.

Its gate was of Light

and the lock to the gate was of Light and written upon it were the words, ‘La ilaha illAllah, Muhammadan Rasulullah.’

The angel guarding the gate to this Heaven was the angel Salsa’il.

After we had knocked on the gate and had answered the same questions as before, we were admitted and the gates were opened to us.

I beheld the angel in charge, Salsa’il.

He was responsible for all that happened here.

Under his command were 400,000 angels,

and each one of these angels commanded another 400,000 angelic lieutenants.

Tasbih of the three groups of angels
Tasbih of Idris
Tasbih of the Prophet Nuh
Mansions of Maryam, Buhayyid and Asiya

5th Heaven[edit]

Allah Almighty created this Heaven from red gold and its name is Safiya.

The keeper of the gate is called Kalqa’il.

As before, we requested entry at its gates.

After a set exchange of certain questions and answers, the gates opened and we entered.

Upon entering, I beheld the guardian of this Heaven seated upon a throne of light.

I greeted him, and he returned my Salams with much respectfulness.

500,000 angels are at his service,

and each one of these has another 500,000 attendants at his disposal.

Prophets Isma’il, Ishaq, Ya’qub, Lut and Harun

6th Heaven[edit]

Allah Almighty has created this Heaven from a yellow gem and has called it Khalisa.

Its guardian is Samkha’il.

We came to its gates and requested their opening;

the customary question and answering took place and the gates opened for us.

As we entered, I beheld the angel Samkha’il.

He had 600,000 angels at his command,

and each of these had another 600,000 helpers under him.

7th Heaven[edit]

Allah Almighty has it created from Light.

Its name is Ghariba

and the name of its guardian angel is Afra’il.

Jibra’il requested entry at the keeper of the gates as he had done before, and after a succession of questions and answers, the gates swung open and we were admitted.

I beheld Afra’il and the 700,000 angels under his command.

Each one of these had in turn 700,000 helpers.

The Bayt-al-Ma’mur (The Heavenly House)
The Sidratul Muntaha
The Four Streams of Paradise
Ramadan, the Blessed
The Angel Jibra’il’s Appearance
The Vision of the Divine Beauty
The Tahiyyat Prayer
Allah Complains About the Ummah

Paradise[edit]

About the Paradise Gardens
The Tuba Tree
The Waters of Kawthar
The Duration of the Mi’raj
The Prophet’s Return From Mi’raj

References[edit]

Hajjah Amina Adil. 2002. Muhammad: The Messenger of Islam. Washington, DC: Islamic Supreme Council of America. ISBN 9781618429131.