The Twenty-fourth Letter

 

Second addendum: The Prophet’s Ascension

 

In His Name.

There is nothing that does not glorify Him with His praise.

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

And He saw him another time by the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary, nigh which is the Garden of Abode, when the Lote-Tree was shrouded by that which shrouds. His eyes did not swerve or go astray. Indeed, he saw one of His Lord’s greatest signs. (53:13-18)

(We explain in five points the truths mentioned in the Mi‘rajiya section of Suleyman Celebi’s Mawlid Nabawi.352)

FIRST POINT: Suleyman Celebi, the writer of Mawlid Nabawi, depicts a poetical love story concerning Buraq,353 which was brought out of Paradise. As this saintly author surely relies on a definite tradition, he may be describing the following truth: The Permanent World’s inhabitants are deeply interested in the Messenger’s light, for only it will cause Paradise to be filled with humanity and jinn, who can use each species in Paradise to gain true happiness.

As The Twenty-fourth Word explains, like the nightingale announcing its legendary love for the rose, each animal species has a nightingale-like singer to announce its love of those plants for which it has a great need. They sing the praises of the plants that bring their food from the treasury of Divine Mercy. Gabriel’s serving the Prophet on behalf of all angels with perfect love demonstrates why these beings were devoted to and submitted to Adam, since Muhammad is the ultimate cause for creation, the means of eternal happiness, and the Beloved of the Lord of the worlds. In the same way, all inhabitants of Paradise, whether human or animal, are interested in and attached to the Prophet. All of this was expressed through Buraq’s love for him.

SECOND  POINT: We read also in the Mi‘rajiya that Almighty God expressed His sacred love for His Messenger with: “I have fallen in love with you.” As this seems to violate the Necessarily Existent Being’s holiness and essential independence, it must have another meaning, as follows: The Necessarily Existent Being has infinite Grace, Beauty, and Perfection. Their counterparts in the universe, all of whose parts share in them, are signs and indicators of His Grace, Beauty, and Perfection.

Since those with any degree of beauty and perfection love their beauty and perfection, the One of Majesty loves His Beauty and Perfection in a way appropriate for Him. He loves the radiances of His (Names of) Grace and Beauty. Loving His Names, He loves His art that shows His Names’ beauty, and His creatures that are mirrors reflecting His Beauty and Perfection. Since He loves those that reflect His Beauty and Perfection, He loves the beauties of His creatures that indicate His Names’ beauty and perfection. The Qur’an indicates these five forms of love.

Since the Messenger is the most perfect and distinguished member of creation; appreciates and exhibits the Divine art via an exuberant recitation and glorification of God’s Names; discloses the Divine Names’ treasuries of beauty and perfection through the Qur’an; shows through the Qur’an how the creational and operational laws of the universe testify to its Maker’s perfection; functions as a mirror to the Divine administration and sustaining of the universe through his universal servanthood and worship; and is a perfect object of the Divine Names’ manifestation through his comprehensive nature, the All-Gracious and Beautiful One of Majesty loves Prophet Muhammad, the most perfect mirror of that Grace and Beauty, on account of His Love for His own Grace and Beauty.

And He loves, on account of His love for His own Names, Prophet Muhammad, the brightest mirror of those Names, and those who resemble him in belief and conduct according to the degree of their resemblance.

And He loves, because of His love for His own art, Prophet Muhammad, who exhibits that art in the universe in a most expressive way, and whose vigorous recitation and glorification of God’s Names enraptures the inhabitants of the heavens, Earth, and its seas. He also loves those who follow him.

And He loves, because of His love for His creatures, living beings (the most perfect creature), conscious beings (the most perfect living beings), and human beings (the best conscious beings), and most of all Prophet Muhammad, the most perfect human being.

And He loves, on account of His love of His creatures’ laudable virtues, Prophet Muhammad, the highest in laudable virtues, and those who resemble Him according to the degree of their resemblance. In short, God Almighty’s Love, like His Compassion, encompasses the universe.

In conclusion, the Prophet deserves the title of “the Beloved of God” because in each of the five aspects attracting Divine Love, his rank is far above all other beloved ones. Calabi described this highest rank of being beloved by the Divine expression: “I have fallen in love with you,” as this allows us to contemplate such a great truth. If this expression still seems inappropriate with the Divine Lordship’s Essence, we can say: “I am pleased with you.”

THIRD POINT: The events and dialogues described in the Mi‘rajiya, if taken literally, seem incompatible with the pure sacred truths. But when viewed as means of contemplation and indicators of sublime, profound truths, they remind us of various truths of belief and point to certain meanings that are hard to express explicitly. So although we cannot extract truths therefrom, our heart or soul can obtain a pleasure of belief and a spiritual joy. Just as Almighty God has no like in His Essence and Attributes, He has no equal in the His Lordship’s Essence and functions. Just as His Attributes are not like those of creatures, His Love is not like that of contingent beings.

In short, such descriptions are figurative and serve to remind us that the Necessarily Existent Being has some attributes like love. But these conform to His Necessary Existence and Holiness, and His absolute Perfection and essential independence.

FOURTH POINT: The Mi‘rajiya relates that Prophet Muhammad saw God Almighty from behind 70,000 veils. This expresses spatial distance, whereas the Necessarily Existent Being transcends space and time and is nearer to everything than itself.

ANSWER: I gave a detailed answer in The Twenty-first Word. Here, I say only that God Almighty is the nearest to us while we are infinitely far from Him. We are far from the sun, and yet it is very close to us through the mirror in our hand. Its reflection in our eyes makes it even nearer to us than ourselves, and its light and heat are manifested in every transparent thing. If it were an animate conscious being, it would communicate its messages to us through our mirror. Likewise, remember that God is unique, and that because His Existence as the “Eternal Sun” is necessary, He is nearer to everything than itself. Although He transcends space and nothing veils Him, everything is infinitely far from Him.

This fact, stated in: We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (50:16), explains how God’s Messenger covered almost an infinite distance in his Ascension (Mi‘raj) and came back in an instant. In one respect, His Ascension is his journey of spiritual elevation in God’s way and his sainthood’s title or final rank.

Just as saints attain the rank of certainty of experiencing the truths of belief within a period of 40 days to 40 years, the Messenger’s (the king of saints) Ascension enabled him to attain the highest rank of experiencing the truths of belief within a period as short as 40 minutes.354 He ascended to the Divine Throne of Majesty, witnessed with the certainty of vision the truths of belief in God and the Hereafter, drew near to God to the distance of “two bows” length, and experienced Paradise’s eternal happiness. This event enabled him to open a broad way for those seeking the rank of sainthood to follow in their spiritual journey.

FIFTH POINT: Reciting the Mawlid Nabawi and Mi‘rajiya is a beautiful and beneficial Islamic tradition, a pleasurable and lovely means of social gatherings, and an agreeable way to remember the truths of belief. It also shows and draws our thoughts and feelings to the lights of belief and love for God and the Prophet. May God Almighty allow such traditions to last forever. May He have mercy on those who, like Suleyman Effendi, write Mawlid, and admit them into the Jannat al-Firdaws, Paradise’s highest abode. Amen!

In conclusion, since the universe’s Creator created a perfect and distinguished individual among every species to serve as its pride and means of perfection, He also created a most distinguished and perfect person to manifest His Greatest Names. As He has a Greatest Name, there must be a most perfect person upon whom He can concentrate all perfections and through whom He can observe Himself.

This perfect person must be a living being (the most perfect species), a conscious living being (the most perfect), and a human being, for only human beings can realize infinite progress. Finally, he must be Prophet Muhammad, for a person of equal rank has never appeared. For 14 centuries, he has been the spiritual ruler of half the globe and one-fifth of humanity, as well as a teacher of all kinds of truth to people of perfection.

Friend and foe agree that he has all laudable virtues to the highest degree. At the outset of his mission, he challenged the whole world alone. That distinguished being must be Prophet Muhammad, who had all of these qualities and brought the Qur’an of Miraculous Expression, which has been recited daily for 14 centuries by countless people. He is the Tree of Creation’s seed and fruit. Upon him, his Family, and Companions be blessings and peace to the number of species and creatures in existence.

See how pleasant, joyful, good, pride-enhancing, and light-diffusing such a religious ceremony is for believers who consider the Prophet their master, leader, and intercessor. Consider how they benefit by hearing the beginning and end of his spiritual progress and learning the spiritual meaning of his life’s important events.355

O God, for the sake of Your Holy Beloved and Your Greatest Name, allow and enable the hearts of those who publish this treatise, and their friends, to receive the lights of belief. Enable them to use their pens to multiply the treatises concerning the Qur’anic mysteries, and to follow the right path without any deviation. Amen.

Glory be to You. We have no knowledge save what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

The Everlasting: He is the Everlasting.

Said Nursi

352 The Mi‘rajiya recounts the Prophet’s miraculous ascent to God’s Presence through all material and spiritual worlds. Suleyman Celebi’s Mawlid Nabawi is a long poem depicting some significant events of the Prophet’s life. (Tr.)

353 Buraq: The heavenly being that carried the Prophet during his Ascension. (Tr.)

354 This event is one of his sainthood’s greatest wonders. He ascended physically, as well as through his heart and spirit, his outer and inner senses and faculties. (Tr.)

355 The Prophet progressed spiritually and continues to do so, for according to the rule that “the cause is like the doer,” he benefits from every good, God-approved deed done by each member of his community. Thus he continues to make progress until the Day of Judgment.