A00383 - Lailat al Mi'raj and Dante's Divine Comedy
Today is January 26 and later today, at sunset, the Muslim community will celebrate Laylat al-Miraj
Laylat al-Miraj celebrates the two spiritual journeys taken by Muhammad during a single night in the year 621. These two spiritual journeys are called Isra' and Mi'raj and can be found at
The Israʾ and Miʿraj (Arabic: الإسراء والمعراج, al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj) are the two parts of a Night Journey that Muslims believe the Islamic prophet Muhammad (AD 570–632) took during a single night around the year AD 621 (1 BH – 0 BH). Within Islam, the majority of Islamic scholars claim that the journey was both a physical and spiritual one.[1][2] Islamic tradition believes a brief mention of the story is found in the 17th surah (chapter) of the Quran, called al-Isra',[3] while details of the story are found in the hadith (the later collections of the reports, teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad).
In the Israʾ ("Night Journey"), Muhammad is said to have traveled on the back of Buraq (a winged horse-like bird) to Al-Aqsa (i.e. the Noble Sanctuary), where he led other prophets including Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and Isa (Jesus) in prayer.[4]
Muhammad then ascended into heaven during the Miʿraj (Ascension), where he individually greeted the prophets, and later spoke to God, who agreed to lower the number of required ṣalāt (ritual prayer) from 50 a day to only five. The story of the journey and ascent are marked as one of the most celebrated in the Islamic calendar—27th of the Islamic month of Rajab.[5]
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What I have found intriguing about the Isra' and Mi'raj is the possible influence the account of the spiritual journey of Muhammad may have had on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. As is explained in the Wikipedia article.
In the 13th century AD, an account of the Isra' and Mi'raj was translated into several European languages—Latin, Spanish and French. Known as the Book of Muhammad's Ladder, this account purports to be the words of Muhammad himself as recorded by Ibn Abbas. It was translated by Abraham of Toledo and Bonaventure of Siena. It may have influenced Dante Alighieri's account of an ascent to heaven and descent to hell in the Divine Comedy.[30]
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While the account of Muhammad's Isra' and Mi'raj may indeed have influenced Dante, Dante's account of "his" ascent to heaven is quite different in detail and scope. Dante's ascent reads more like an ascent of his own, and one of the intriguing details is the account of Dante's teleportation to celestial bodies at virtually the speed of light without the assistance of a physical transportation device. Quite an amazing feat.
The Wikipedia article also notes that the notion of spiritual journeys are also found in early Jewish and Christian literature. The article notes
Traditions of living persons ascending to heaven are also found in early Jewish and Christian literature.[46] In the Book of Kings of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the prophet Elijah is said to have entered heaven alive by a chariot and horses of fire.[47] The Book of Enoch, a late Second Temple Jewish apocryphal work, describes a tour of heaven given by an angel to the patriarch Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. According to Brooke Vuckovic, early Muslims may have had precisely this ascent in mind when interpreting Muhammad's night journey.[48] In the Testament of Abraham, from the first century CE, Abraham is shown the final judgement of the righteous and unrighteous in heaven.
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I do not know about the interpretations that may be given for such reported ascents to heaven, but for me the most cogent interpretation arises from the Sufi tradition. By "coincidence", earlier this month before beginning the tale of Dante's ascent to Paradise, I happened to come across the story of Bayazid Bistami.
Wikipedia says this about Bistami
Bayazīd Ṭayfūr bin ʿĪsā bin Surūshān al-Bisṭāmī (al-Basṭāmī) (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9),[3] commonly known in the Iranian world as Bāyazīd Basṭāmī (Persian: بایزید بسطامی), was a Persian[4][5][6][7] Sufi from north-central Iran.[5][8] Known to future Sufis as Sultān-ul-Ārifīn ("King of the Gnostics"), Bisṭāmī is considered to be one of the expositors of the state of fanā, the notion of dying in mystical union with Allah.[9] Bastami was famous for "the boldness of his expression of the mystic’s complete absorption into the mysticism."[10] Many "ecstatic utterances" (شطحات shatˤħāt) have been attributed to Bisṭāmī, which lead to him being known as the "drunken" or "ecstatic" (Arabic: سُكْر, sukr) school of Islamic mysticism. Such utterance may be argued as, Bisṭāmī died with mystical union and the deity is speaking through his tongue.[9] Bisṭāmī also claimed to have ascended through the seven heavens in his dream. His journey, known as the Mi'raj of Bisṭāmī, is clearly patterned on the Mi'raj of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[9] Bisṭāmī is characterized in three different ways: a free thinking radical, a pious Sufi who is deeply concerned with following the shari'a and engaging in "devotions beyond the obligatory," and a pious individual who is presented as having a dream similar to the Mi'raj of Muhammed.[11] The Mi'raj of Bisṭāmī seems as if Bisṭāmī is going through a self journey; as he ascends through each heaven, Bisṭāmī is gaining knowledge in how he communicates with the angels (e.g. languages and gestures) and the number of angels he encounters increases.
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What I found particularly compelling about the Mi'raj of Bistami is that, for Bistami, Unity with God was the ultilmate goal of the journey ... and of life. See
and read
In his quest to seek unity with Almighty Allah, he renounced worldly pleasures and eventually reached the state of self-annihilation which is the only way one can be closest to Allah.
He also became known as the first ‘intoxicated’ Sufi, referring to his complete devotion to God, which reached such an extent that he would openly express his love for Allah. For this reason, he was controversial during his time yet extremely influential in the world of Sufism.
Before him, Sufism was mainly based on piety & obedience and he played a major role in placing the concept of Divine Love at its core.
Hazrat Bayazid Bustami was the first to speak openly of 'self-annihilation in God' (fana fillah) and 'existence through God' (baqa billah).
The 'annihilation of the self' (fana fillah) refers to disregarding everything in this world due to one's love of God. When a person enters the state of ‘fana’, at that time it is believed that one is closest to God.
Hazrat Bayazid Bustami's sayings gained a wide circulation and soon exerted a captivating influence over the minds of students who aspired to understand the meaning of 'wahdat al-wujud', Unity of Being.
He also became known as the first ‘intoxicated’ Sufi, referring to his complete devotion to God, which reached such an extent that he would openly express his love for Allah. For this reason, he was controversial during his time yet extremely influential in the world of Sufism.
Before him, Sufism was mainly based on piety & obedience and he played a major role in placing the concept of Divine Love at its core.
Hazrat Bayazid Bustami was the first to speak openly of 'self-annihilation in God' (fana fillah) and 'existence through God' (baqa billah).
The 'annihilation of the self' (fana fillah) refers to disregarding everything in this world due to one's love of God. When a person enters the state of ‘fana’, at that time it is believed that one is closest to God.
Hazrat Bayazid Bustami's sayings gained a wide circulation and soon exerted a captivating influence over the minds of students who aspired to understand the meaning of 'wahdat al-wujud', Unity of Being.
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May we all be so similarly motivated.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
January 26, 2025
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