Tafsir of An-Najm 53:18

(That is, by Allah, he certainly saw the greatest of signs from among the signs of the Almighty and His wonders in the dominion of the heavens and the earth on the night of the Ascension [al-Mi‘raj]. "The greatest" [al-kubra] is an adjective for a suppressed noun, which serves as the object of "saw," placed in its position after its omission. It is rendered in the plural to correspond to reality. It is permitted that "the greatest" be an adjective for the mentioned [the signs], in the sense that "He certainly saw" some of the greatest signs. The first [view] is preferred because the context necessitates magnification and hyperbole; thus, it ought to be explicitly stated that what was seen were the greatest signs. The aforementioned adjectival usage is permitted even with the consideration that "min" [from/of] is an augmentative particle, although you know that the augmentation of "min" in an affirmative statement is not universally agreed upon.

Certain reports specify what he, peace and blessings be upon him, saw. Al-Bukhari, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and a group have narrated from Ibn Mas'ud regarding the verse: "He saw a green canopy from Paradise that filled the horizon." From Ibn Zayd: "He saw Gabriel, peace be upon him, in the form in which he was created." It is appropriate that this should not be interpreted as exclusive, as is evident, for he, peace and blessings be upon him, saw innumerable and almost inexhaustible signs on the night of the Ascension.

This being said, there are other opinions regarding the verses mentioned above. Al-Hasan says that "The Mighty in Power" [shadid al-quwa] is Allah Almighty, and the plural "Powers" is for magnification. He interprets "Endowed with Wisdom" [dhu mirrah] as being endowed with wisdom and the like, which is befitting as a description of Him, Mighty and Majestic is He. Abu Hayyan made the two pronouns in His saying: "Then he drew near and suspended [while he was at the highest horizon]," refer to Him, the Sublime, as well. He said that this is in the sense of Majesty, Power, and Sovereignty. Perhaps Al-Hasan considers the pronouns in His saying: "Then he approached and descended, until he was at the distance of two bows or closer, so He revealed to His servant what He revealed," to refer to Him, Mighty and Majestic is He, as well. Likewise, [he refers] the accusative pronoun in His saying: "And indeed, he saw him another time." He—may peace be upon him—would swear by Allah Almighty that he saw his Lord. He interpreted His proximity—the Proximity of the Almighty—to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as the elevating of his status—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—with Him, the Sublime, and His—Mighty and Majestic is He—descending as pulling him with his entire being toward the side of Sanctity. The Sufis call this attraction "annihilation in Allah Almighty" for those who are qualified for it, and His descending is intended as a type of figurative proximity—Glorified is His State.

The position of the predecessors regarding such matters is to refer the knowledge thereof to Allah Almighty after negating any resemblance [to created things]. It is permitted that the pronouns in "Then he approached and descended, until he was at the distance of two bows or closer" refer to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as narrated from Al-Hasan. The meaning being: "Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, approached his Lord, the Sublime, so he was from Him, Mighty and Majestic, at the distance of two bows or closer." The pronouns in "So He revealed" and the rest refer to Allah Almighty. It is said: "to His servant," and He did not say "to him" in order to signify exaltation. The matter of the ambiguous [al-mutashabih] is known.

Many have held that in His saying: "He was taught by the Mighty in Power... while he was at the highest horizon," refers to the matter of revelation and receiving it from Gabriel, peace be upon him, as you heard previously. And in His saying: "Then he approached and descended..." it refers to the Ascension to the Most Sacred Side, the proximity of the Sublime to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his, peace be upon him, seeing Him, Mighty and Majestic. Thus, the pronouns in "approached," "descended," "was," and "revealed," as well as the accusative pronoun in "he saw him," refer to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. This is supported by what is in the Hadith of Anas, reported by Al-Bukhari via Sharik ibn Abdullah: "Then He elevated him above that to a degree that none knows except Allah, until he reached the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary. Then the Compeller drew near and descended until he was at the distance of two bows or closer, so He revealed to him what He revealed: fifty prayers..." The rest of the Hadith, as it is evident regarding what has been mentioned.

Those who affirm the Vision [of Allah], such as the scholar of the Ummah, Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, and others, have used this as evidence. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, claimed the opposite. Muslim narrated from Masruq, who said: "I was reclining with Aisha, and she said: 'O Abu Aisha, there are three things, and whoever speaks of one of them has forged a great lie against Allah.' I asked: 'What are they?' She said: 'Whoever claims that Muhammad saw his Lord has forged a great lie against Allah.' I had been reclining, but I sat up and said: 'O Mother of the Believers, wait for me and do not be hasty. Did Allah Almighty not say: "And indeed, he saw him at the clear horizon" and "And indeed, he saw him another time"?' She said: 'I am the first of this Ummah to ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about this. He said: "It is only Gabriel. I have not seen him in the form in which he was created except for these two times; I saw him descending from the sky, his immense creation filling the space between the heaven and the earth."'" In a narration by Ibn Marduyah via another path from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from Al-Sha'bi, from Masruq: "She said: 'I was the first to ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about this. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, did you see your Lord?" He said: "I only saw Gabriel descending."'" It is not hidden that the answer of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is clear that the accusative pronoun in "saw him" refers not to Him, the Sublime, but to Gabriel, peace be upon him. It is widely held that she denies that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord absolutely, and she adduces as evidence His saying: "Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision," and His saying: "And it is not for any human that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or that He sends a messenger..." This is the evident meaning of what Al-Bukhari mentioned in his Sahih in the interpretation of this Surah. Some said that she only denies the vision indicated by the verse we are currently in, which is what Masruq argued with.

The gist of what is narrated from her is the denial of the validity of using the aforementioned verse as proof of his, peace and blessings be upon him, seeing his Lord, by explaining that the referent of the pronoun therein is Gabriel, peace be upon him, as indicated by the answer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to her. The interpretation of his, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, answer to her is that it is a denial of the specific vision that the verse is thought to indicate. This returns to a denial of the evidence, and the non-existence of the specific does not necessitate the non-existence of the absolute. To be fair, the reports are clear that she denies the vision absolutely and uses the two previous verses as evidence. Those who affirm the vision have answered them in the places where those arguments are discussed.

It is apparent that Ibn Abbas did not affirm the vision except upon hearing it. Ahmad reported from him that he said: "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: 'I saw my Lord.'" This was mentioned by Sheikh Muhammad al-Salihi al-Shami, a student of Hafiz al-Suyuti, in al-Ayat al-Bayyinat, and he authenticated it. Some have reconciled the words of Ibn Abbas and Aisha by stating that the words of Aisha are interpreted as denying his seeing of the Almighty in His light which is His light—described as something that human vision cannot bear—while the words of Ibn Abbas are interpreted as affirming his seeing of the Almighty in His light which does not extinguish vision, by the evidence of what he said in answering 'Ikrimah regarding His saying: "Vision perceives Him not": "Woe to you! That is when He reveals Himself in His light which is His light." Through this, the reconciliation between the two Hadiths of Abu Dharr is achieved. Muslim reported via Yazid ibn Ibrahim, from Qatadah, from Abdullah ibn Shaqiq, from Abu Dharr, who said: "I asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'Did you see your Lord?' He said: 'A light, I saw it.'" And via the path of Hisham and Hammam, both from Qatadah, from Abdullah: "I said to Abu Dharr: 'If I had seen the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, I would have asked him.' He said: 'What would you have asked him?' He said: 'I would have asked him: Did you see your Lord?' Abu Dharr said: 'I already asked him, and he said: "I saw light."'" The "light" in the first Hadith is interpreted as the light that overwhelms vision—the tanwin [indefinite article] being for generic categorization or magnification—and the light in the second as that which vision cannot bear, the tanwin being for generic categorization. If the report of the first is authentic, as Abu Abdullah al-Maziri recounted with the wording nurani [a light-like essence]—with the ra vocalized with fatha, the nun with kasra, and the ya with shadda—there would be no contradiction between the two Hadiths; nurani would mean "related to light" in a way contrary to standard derivation, and that which is related to it is His light which is His light, and that which is related is the light considered as a veil—an act of correspondence in the Hadith of the Veils, in his, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: "His veil is light." It is the light that prevents burning, which vision can bear.

Furthermore, those who affirm the vision differed: some said that he, peace and blessings be upon him, saw his Lord, the Sublime, with his eyes. This was narrated by Ibn Marduyah from Ibn Abbas, and it is also narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Hurairah, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Others said that he saw Him, Mighty and Majestic, with his heart. This is narrated from Abu Dharr; Al-Nasa'i reported from him that he said: "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord with his heart and did not see Him with his eyes." This is also narrated from Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi; in fact, Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim reported from him that he said: "They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, did you see your Lord?' He said: 'I saw Him with my heart twice and did not see Him with my eyes,' then he recited: 'The heart did not lie in what it saw.'" In a Hadith from Ibn Abbas, which he elevates: "So He placed the light of my vision in my heart, and I looked at Him with my heart." The estimation [of meaning] in the verse according to this is: "The heart did not lie in what it saw." Some held that one of the two visions was with the eyes and the other was with the heart. This is a narration from Ibn Abbas; Al-Tabarani and Ibn Marduyah reported from him that he said: "Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, twice: once with his eyes and once with his heart." Qadi 'Iyad quoted from some of his teachers that they withheld—meaning in the matter of vision with the eyes—and said: "There is no clear proof for it." It is stated in al-Kashf: "Because the narrations explicitly state the vision, but as for it being with the eyes, there is no [clear proof]." It is said that Imam Ahmad, when asked about the vision, would say: "He saw Him, He saw Him," until he ran out of breath and would add nothing further, as if he did not find established for him what we have mentioned.

There is disagreement regarding what the literal phrasing of the sublime arrangement implies. The author of al-Kashf concluded that it is what the majority hold: that the "approaching" and "descending" are divided between the Prophet and Gabriel, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them both—meaning that the one seen is Gabriel, peace be upon him. And if the report of his, peace and blessings be upon him, answer to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, is authentic, then no one has any escape from holding it. The scholar Al-Tibi said: "What the phrasing implies is to continue the speech up to His saying: '...while he was at the highest horizon' regarding the matter of revelation and receiving it from the Angel and refuting the doubts of the opponents, and from His saying: 'Then he approached and descended' up to His saying: '...from the greatest signs of his Lord' regarding the matter of the Ascension to the Most Sacred Side." Then he said: "It is not hidden to any person of intellect that the station of 'So He revealed' resists being interpreted as Gabriel revealing to the servant of Allah 'what He revealed,' for those who possess hearts cannot taste from this the meaning of intimate discourse between equals, nor what lies beyond the scope of imagination, nor what understanding can encompass." The word "then" [thumma] in this context is for sequential order of rank. The difference between the two revelations is that one is revelation through a medium and instruction, and the other is without a medium, by way of honoring, whereby the ascent is achieved from the station of "And there is none among us except that he has a known station" to the inner chamber of "at the distance of two bows or closer."

It is narrated from Ja'far al-Sadiq, may he be pleased, that he said: "When the Beloved drew near to the utmost proximity, he was overcome by the utmost awe; thus, the Truth, the Sublime, treated him with the utmost gentleness, because the utmost awe cannot be borne except with the utmost gentleness. That is His saying: 'So He revealed to His servant what He revealed,' meaning: what was, was, and what happened, happened. The Beloved said to the Beloved what the Beloved says to His beloved, and He treated him with the kindness of a beloved to his beloved, and He confided to him what a beloved confides to his beloved; so they concealed it and did not let anyone know their secret." To something similar to this, Ibn al-Farid points by his saying: "And I was alone with the Beloved, and between us was a screen of breeze when it blew."

The majority of the Sufis hold this view, so they speak of the proximity of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his proximity to Him, the Sublime, in a manner befitting Him. Likewise, they speak of the vision in that same way. Some said regarding His saying: "The vision did not swerve, nor did it transgress": "The vision of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not swerve or turn toward Paradise and its decorations, nor toward Hell and its flames, but was fixed on the Truth; and 'nor did it transgress' the straight path." Abu Hafs al-Suhrawardi said: "The vision did not swerve, as it did not lag behind inner perception, and did not fall short; and 'nor did it transgress,' the vision did not precede the inner perception and exceed its station." Sahl ibn Abdullah al-Tustari said: "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not return to the witness of his own self or its observation; rather, he was witnessing his Lord, the Exalted, witnessing what appeared to him of the attributes that necessitated the establishment in that place." Some refer the pronoun in His saying: "while he was at the highest horizon" to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, which is the limit of the arrival of the subtle spirits, and they interpret the "Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary" as being the limit of the travelers' journey toward Him, and they cannot exceed it except by an attraction from the attractions of the Truth. They said regarding "at the distance of two bows" what they said.

As for me, I hold to the view of his, peace and blessings be upon him, seeing his Lord, the Sublime, and his proximity to Him, the Sublime, in the manner that is befitting. Whether I have leaned in what the literal phrasing of the sublime arrangement implies toward what the author of al-Kashf said, or whether I have leaned toward what Al-Tibi said—ponder this, and Allah Almighty is the Granter of Success.)