Encounters during the Mi'raj: The Status of the Prophet (s.a.w.) & the Gift of Swalah

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

During the night of the Mi’raj, the Prophet (s.a.w.) saw his Lord, the Glorious, the Exalted, and he fell prostrate, and at that time his Lord Spoke to him and Said, “O Muhammad!” 

He replied, “At your service, O Lord!” 

Allah (s.w.t.) Said, “Ask!” 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “You have Taken to Yourself Ibrahim as a friend, and You have Given him an immense kingdom.  You have Spoken to Musa directly, and have Given Dawud an immense kingdom and Softened iron and Subjected the mountains to him.  You have Given Sulayman an immense kingdom, and Subjected the jinn and men and devils to him, as well as the winds, and You have Given him a kingdom the like no one may have after him.  You have Taught ‘Isa the Torah and the Evangel, and Made him heal those born blind and the lepers, and raise up the dead with Your Permission, and You have Protected him and his mother from the cursed devil so that the devil had no path by which to harm them!” 

Allah (s.w.t.) Said, “And I have Taken you to Myself as My Beloved.”  The narrator said, it is written in the Torah, “Habibullah”, “Allah’s Beloved”.  Allah (s.w.t.) Continued, “And I have Sent you for all people without exception, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner; and I have Expanded your breast for you, and Relieved you of your burden, and Exalted your name; and I am not mentioned except you are mentioned with Me; and I have Made your ummah the best ummah ever Brought Out for the benefit of mankind; and I have Made your ummah a means and a middle; and I have Made your ummah in truth the first and the last of all communities; and I have Made al-khuthbah impermissible for your ummah unless they first witness that you are My servant and Messenger; and I have Placed certain people in your ummah with Evangels for hearts; and I have Made you the first prophet Created and the last one Sent, and the first one heard in My Court; and I have Given you Seven of the Oft-Repeated verses,” referring to Surah al-Fatihah, “which I Gave to no other prophet before you; and I have Given you the last verses of Surah al-Baqarah which constitute a Treasure from beneath My Throne which I Gave to no other prophet before you; and I have Given you al-Kawtsar; and I have Given you eight arrows: Islam, hijrah, jihad, charity, fasting in Ramadhan, ordering good, and forbidding evil; and the day I Created the Heavens and the Earth I made obligatory upon you and upon your ummah fifty prayers: therefore establish them, you and your ummah.” 

Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi (r.a.) said, “Allah’s Messenger said, ‘My Lord has Preferred me over everyone else; He has Sent me as a Mercy to the worlds and to all people without exception, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner; He has Thrown terror into the hearts of my enemies at a distance of a month's travel; He has Made spoils of war lawful for me while they were not lawful for anyone before me; the entire earth has been Made a ritually pure place of prostration for me; I was given the words that open, those that close, and those that are comprehensive in meaning; my ummah was Shown to me and there is none of the followers and the followed, but he is known to me; I saw that they would come to a people that wear hair-covered sandals; I saw that they would come to a people of large faces and small eyes as if they had been pierced with a needle; nothing of what they would face in the future has been kept hidden from me; and I have been ordered to perform fifty prayers daily.’ 

And he has been given three particular merits: He is the Master of Messengers, the Leader of the God-Fearing, and the Chief of Those with Signs of Light on their Faces and Limbs.”  When the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “I was given the words that open, those that close, and those that are comprehensive in meaning,” this was in reference to Swalawat al-Fatih. 

One narration said the Prophet (s.a.w.) was Given the five daily prayers and the last verses of Surah al-Baqarah, and for his sake, whoever of his ummah does not associate anything with Allah (s.w.t.) is Forgiven even the sins that destroy. 

Then the cloud that cloaked him was Dispelled, and Jibril (a.s.) took him by the hand and hurried away with him until he reached Ibrahim (a.s.), who did not say anything.  Then the Prophet (s.a.w.) reached Musa (a.s.) who asked, “What did you do, O Muhammad?  What obligations did your Lord Impose on you and your ummah?” 

He replied, “He Imposed fifty prayers every day and night on me and my ummah.” 

Musa (a.s.) said, “Return to your Lord and ask Him to Lighten your burden and that of your ummah for in truth your ummah will not be able to carry it.  Verily, I, myself, have experienced people’s natures before you.  I tested the Children of Israel and took the greatest pains to hold them to something easier than this, but they were too weak to carry it and they abandoned it.  Your ummah is even weaker in their bodies and constitutions, in their hearts, in their sight, and in their hearing.” 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) turned to Jibril (a.s.) to consult him.  The latter indicated to him that yes, if he wished, then he could return.  The Prophet (s.a.w.) hurried back until he reached the Tree and the cloud cloaked him, and he fell prostrate.  Then he said, “Lord, Make lighter the burden of my ummah for verily they are the weakest of all communities.” 

He Replied, “I have Removed five prayers from their obligation.” 

Then the cloud was dispelled and the Prophet (s.a.w.) returned to Musa (a.s.) and told him, “He has removed five prayers from my obligation.” 

He replied, “Go back to your Lord and ask him to make it less, for in truth your ummah will not be able to carry that.” 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) did not cease to go back and forth between Musa (a.s.) and his Lord, while Allah (s.w.t.) each time reduced it by five prayers, until Allah (s.w.t.) Called out, “O Muhammad!” 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) replied, “At Your service, O Lord!” 

He said, “Let them be five prayers every day and night, and let every prayer count as ten.  That makes fifty prayers.  This Word of Mine shall not be changed nor shall My Book be abrogated.  Let whoever is about to perform a good deed, even if he does not ultimately do it, receive the reward of doing it, while if he does it, he shall receive it tenfold.  Let whoever is about to commit a bad deed, and he does not ultimately do it, let not anything be written against him, while if he does it, let one misdeed be written against him.” 

Then the cloud was dispelled and the Prophet (s.a.w.) returned to Musa (a.s.) and told him, “He has Removed five prayers from my obligation.” 

He replied, “Go back to your Lord and ask him to make it less, for in truth your ummah will not be able to carry that.” 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “I have gone back again to my Lord until I feel shy from Him.  Rather, I accept and submit.” 

At this, a herald called out, “I have Decreed My Obligation and have Reduced the burden of My servants.” 

Musa (a.s.) then said to the Prophet (s.a.w.), “Go down in the Name of Allah.”