Exegesis of Surat al-Najm, verses (11-17), and what is derived from them.

The Shaykh : Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said in Surat al-Najm, in the story of the Night Journey: Know, O Muslim brother, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had an Isra (Night Journey) and a Mi'raj (Ascension). Allah mentioned the Isra in Surat al-Isra, and He mentioned the Mi'raj in Surat al-Najm. Both occurred on one night, approximately three years or a year and a half before the Hijrah; historians differ on this. The Isra and Mi'raj were with the body and soul of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), not with his soul alone. As for His saying, the Exalted: , the intended meaning is seeing with the eye, not seeing in a dream. Allah, the Exalted, says in the context of the verses regarding the Mi'raj: The "fu'ad" (heart) is the heart, and the meaning is that what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw with his eye, he also saw with his heart, was certain of it, and knew it. This is because the eye may see something that the heart denies, and the heart may see something that the eye denies. For example, a person may see a figure with his eye and think it is so-and-so, but the heart rejects this because it knows that so-and-so was not in that place. Here, the eye saw, but the heart denied. Or conversely, a person may imagine something in his heart, but the eye denies it. As for what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw on the night of the Mi'raj, he saw it truly with his sight and his insight. Therefore, he said: Rather, the heart agreed with the seeing of the eye. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was not lying in what he saw of the great signs on that night; rather, he was truthful. But you know that the polytheists lied to him and said: How is it possible that he reached al-Masjid al-Aqsa and ascended to the heavens in one night? Therefore, He said: The interrogation here is for denial and amazement. The meaning of "tamurunah" is: you argue with him with the intent to overcome him. Therefore, He used "ala" (upon) instead of "fi" (in), meaning He did not say: "Do you argue with him in what he sees?" Rather, He said: , indicating that the action includes the meaning of overcoming, meaning: Do you argue with him intending to overcome him? Meaning: regarding something he saw. However, He expressed the past with the present tense to indicate the presence of this thing, and that the one upon whom are prayers and peace, when he reported it, was as if he were seeing it now. Because when a person reports about the past, someone might say: perhaps he forgot and made a mistake. But when expressed in the present tense, it becomes as if he is talking about something he is witnessing. The meaning is regarding what he sees now, not what he saw before. But why did He express what he saw before with the present tense? The second point, and pay attention to this great wisdom. By "wisdom," I mean the profound wisdom that exists in the expressions of the Noble Qur'an. When it is expressed contrary to what is expected, there must be a wisdom that appears to the contemplator. He saw. The actor is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the object is Jibril (Gabriel), meaning: Muhammad saw Jibril. Meaning: once when he descended, and another time when he descended. What is the first time? The first time, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Jibril in the Cave of Hira. He saw him in his original form. Do you know how he saw him? He saw him with six hundred wings that blocked the horizon. This indicates his greatness. All the horizon around the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in Hira was blocked by the wings of this noble angel. Therefore, Allah described him as one of strength and as one of beauty, meaning a good appearance, as mentioned previously in this surah. So he saw him once on earth and once in the horizon of the sky. On earth, where? He was in the Cave of Hira. As for in the sky, it is above the sky. Sometimes he saw him from below the sky, from above the earth, and sometimes from above the sky. Therefore, He said: "Nazalah" means: another time.
He saw him at the Sidrat al-Muntaha. The Sidr tree is known on earth as the date palm tree, but the Sidr tree in the seventh heaven is not like the description of the Sidr tree in this world. Its dates are like the water jars of Hajar, and its leaves are like the ears of elephants. It is a great tree. It is called Sidrat al-Muntaha because every one who ascends from the earth ends at it, and every one who descends from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, ends at it. It is the end from both sides: the first side is the one on your right, the first side next to you, the first side. Yes, where are you going? Are you thinking? Yes, that is right.

The questioner : The first side is on earth.

The Shaykh : What ascends from the earth to the sky ends at this Sidr tree, and what descends from the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, and what descends from the Lord.

The questioner : What descends from Allah.

The Shaykh : Yes, it ends at this Sidr tree, and what ascends from the earth also ends at it. So it is the end from both sides. Allah, the Exalted, said: Thus, Paradise is above the seventh heaven, because if the Sidr tree is above the seventh heaven and Paradise is with it, what is the result? It necessitates that Paradise is above the seventh heaven, and that is the case. Its highest and middle part is al-Firdaws. May Allah make us and you among its people, which is above the Throne of the Merciful, Exalted and Majestic is He. Therefore, He, the Exalted, said: "Iliyyin" is an exaggeration of height, meaning the highest thing. The important thing is that Allah says: Meaning: at this Sidr tree. "Al-Ma'wa" means the destination. The destination of whom? The destination of those who combined faith and righteous deeds. It is their destination; they take refuge in it and remain in it forever. As for the Fire, it is the abode of the disbelievers, refuge from Allah. In this is clear proof that the ultimate destination of the creatures, jinn and humans, is either Paradise or the Fire, and there is no third option. So the jinn and humans are either in the Fire or in Paradise. Al-Safarini (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his creed:
"Every human and every jinn is in a dwelling *** Of Fire or Bliss, a Paradise"
There is no dwelling other than this. Good. Are the graves an abode and a destination? No, yes, no, they are not an abode, nor for the dead either, because the graves are a passage and a transit. Because behind the graves is the Resurrection. It is mentioned that some Bedouin heard a reciter reciting the saying of Allah, the Exalted: So the Bedouin, by his nature and his Arabic, said: "By Allah, the visitor is not a resident, and behind that is something" What does "the visitor is not a resident" mean? Say it.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : The visitor visits and moves on. Also, people stay in the graves as long as Allah wills, then they come out of them. Allah, the Exalted, said: Allah, the Exalted, said: So people must be resurrected. The phrase we sometimes hear or read, "The man was carried to his final abode", meaning to the cemetery, is an incorrect expression. Why? Because the graves are not the final abode. If the one who said it believed its meaning, it would necessitate that he denies the Resurrection.
What is the Sidr tree? Which Sidr tree? Sidrat al-Muntaha, because He said at the beginning: Then He said: The "al" in such an expression is called by grammarians "al" of remembered reference, like His saying, the Exalted: meaning Sidrat al-Muntaha. Allah made it ambiguous for the sake of magnification and glorification, meaning something great covered it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Subhan Allah al-Azim (Glory be to Allah the Great). The equivalent of this ambiguity for the sake of glorification is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: This is also Meaning: something great covered it by the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in an instant, "Be, and it is."
The sight, whose sight? The sight of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The scholars say: "Zagh" means: it deviated to the right and left. "Tagha" means: it exceeded what was in front of it. Did you understand? That means the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was in perfect etiquette in this great station. He did not look to the right or left, and his sight did not advance more than what was permitted to him. This is from the perfection of his etiquette (peace and blessings be upon him). It is customary that when a person enters a strange house, he finds him looking to the right and left, "What is this house?" Especially if it has changed greatly. At this moment, he must look at what happened. But due to the perfection of the etiquette of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and his composure, prayers and peace be upon him, and his bearing what no other human bears, he was in this great etiquette. The sight, whose sight?
The student: The Messenger.

The Shaykh : The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning: it did not deviate to the right or left, I did not turn to the right or left. It did not exceed what was in front of it, but he was at the peak of perfect etiquette (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, Allah said about him:
Then He said, Mighty and Majestic: Who saw? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) And you, my Muslim brother who reads the Qur'an, this kind of expression always passes by you to the end. There are many examples. The scholars say that this sentence is confirmed by three types of confirmers: the first is an implied oath, the second is the letter lam, and the third is qad. Because the meaning of is "By Allah, indeed, by Allah, indeed." So the sentence is confirmed by what? The brother? How many?

The questioner : Three

The Shaykh : And they are

The questioner : The oath.

The Shaykh : The oath, the lam, and qad. The oath is implied, but the context indicates it. And "saw" means the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw.
The sign is the marker that specifies its meaning, in which no one shares it; otherwise, it would not be a sign, meaning it would not be a verse. So a verse must be specific to its meaning. Not every marker is a verse, but rather the one that is specific to its meaning. So what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw of the signs of Allah was great and magnificent. And His saying: It was said that "al-kubra" (the greatest) is a second object for "saw": "Indeed, he saw of the signs of his Lord the greatest sign."
And it was said that "al-kubra" is a description for "signs," and the meaning is that he saw of the great signs of Allah. The second opinion is more correct and closer, meaning that he saw of the greatest signs what he saw, and what he saw was not the greatest thing, but there may be something greater than what we know.
The result is that the Messenger saw in this Mi'raj (Ascension) of the great signs of Allah what he had not seen before, and what no human being could bear. If we saw a great tent of one of the kings, we would be amazed and astonished, and we would look to the right and left. But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not lose his mind or his balance; rather, he was in the best state of balance. Otherwise, he was taken from the Sacred Mosque, from the Hajar (Black Stone) at the Ka'bah, from that place to Bayt al-Maqdis (the Temple in Jerusalem), a journey of one or two months, in an instant, because he rode on al-Buraq. Al-Buraq is a great, strong, fast creature, its stride is the length of its sight, and it is very fast. He arrived there and prayed with the prophets. Then he was ascended to the sky. And the sky is far from the earth? Very far. Then from sky to sky, and the angels receive him, asking, "Who is with you?" He says to Jibril (Gabriel): "Who is with you?" He says: "Muhammad. Has he been sent to?" He says: "Yes." Then he greets some of the prophets in the heavens. Then prayer is made obligatory upon him, and he goes back and forth between Allah and Musa (Moses). All this while he is steady of heart, (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is a real thing; he himself (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended. So when he came and told the people the next day, the Quraysh denied it, because they deny what is impossible in their minds. And denying what is impossible in the mind is not specific to the disbelievers of Quraysh, but even among those who claim to belong to this Ummah, they denied some of the attributes of Allah that their minds do not grasp, is that not so? There are people who claim to belong to the Islamic Ummah and are from its people, who denied something of the attributes of Allah that He affirmed for Himself, because in their claim, it is impossible in the mind. The Quraysh denied this Mi'raj. Do you see, if it had been a dream, would the Quraysh have denied it? They would not have denied it, because dreams contain such things. But it was a sensory, real matter. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken with his body and ascended in one night, and all these things that happened occurred, then he returned to the earth and prayed Fajr in Makkah.