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THE RISĀLA FĪ JASAD AL-NABĪ,OF THE BĀB A TREATISE IN REPLY TO A QUESTION ABOUT THE [TRANSLOCATION OF THE] BODY OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD.
Prov. trans. Stephen N. Lambden
THIS WEBPAGE IS UNDER REVISION 2006-7 Introductory Note
Risāla fī'l-jasad al-nabī of the Bāb ADD ARABIC TEXT [I] In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. of the essences (dhātiyyāt) of their various beings (kaynūniyyāt) through modes of the Divine Activity (maqāmāt al-fi`al) and manifestations of passive receptivity (ẓuhūrāt al-infi`āl). [3] This until all were befittingly instructed about the station (maqām) of His Logos-Self (nafs) and initiated into His wisdom (ḥikma) respecting its genesis (mabda') as accords with what God decreed for it on every level. [4] This such that it might be realized that there is no finality (nihāya) [for the Logos-Self] either before it, through it or towards it. [5] On the level of contingent existence (al-imkān) He doth testify unto what God Himself, by virtue of His Own Logos-Self, doth testify as also do His creatures (who ever declare that) `There is no God except Him, the Mighty, the Transcendent. [II] [1] And now concerning what his exalted eminence hath asked about, that part of the address (maqām al-khiṭāb) respecting the clarification of the forms (tibyān al-ashkāl) [ of the Body] known among the rijāl al-a`rāf ("men of the heights" = the twelver Imams [?], cf. Q.7:46-8) as the "Body of the Prophet" [Muḥammad] (jasad al-nabī ), blessings and peace be upon him and his family. [2] How, in other words, [he enquired] can that jasad ("Body") exist in a single time and place when he [Muḥammad] is present in all spheres [localities] of existence (aṣqā` al-wujūd) be they hidden (al-ghayb) or apparent (al-shuhūd) ? [3] The reality of this issue is that there is no path for anyone unto the gnosis of this sublime level (al-rutbat al-saniyya) except through the knowledge of "the matter which is betwixt two matters" (al-amr bayn al-amrayn). Such is the very secret of destiny (sirr al-qadr) for existing things (al-ashyā') operate [relative to] three [spatiotemporal] modalities (al-marātib) ( = ? [1] Sarmad [2] Dahr and [3] Zamān ).[III] [1] Among them is thus the level of Sarmad, beginningless eternity (rutbat al-sarmad) which relates to the mode of the Divine Activity (maqām al-fi`l). [2] God established for it a beginning (bidāya) by means of His Logos-Self (nafs) which traverseth certain of the realms by virtue of being Pre-existent (maqāmāt bi'l-qidam). [3] God did not establish for it (His nafs, Logos-Self) any finality (nihāya) relative to the various modes of the Divine Theophany (maqāmāt al-ẓuhūr) such as would necessitate the cessation and the annihilation of the Divine Emanation (li-`adam nafād al-fayḍ) on the level of existing reality (rutbat al-wujūd). [4] [On this level] He [the Logos-Self] has the station of Muḥammad and his legatees (awṣiyā, sing. waṣī , the twelver Imams) -- may the blessings of God be upon them -- since no one can reckon that they could rescind a single thing from the Divine Decree (ḥukm) as it operates [through them] upon this level. [IV] [1] Then there is also the level of Dahr, the eternal continuance of time (rutbat al-dahr). [2] And for it God established an origin (badā') in the station of beginningless eternity (sarmad) and an end (khatm an ) on the level of the interior Depths (maq ām al-buṭūn). [3] This is the station of the rest of the levels of contingent existence (sā'ir al-mumkināt) among the levels of the essential realities (min marātib al-jawhariyyāt) in the various worlds of abstracted possibility (`awālim al-mujarradāt).[V] [1] And there is furthermore, the level of Zamān, the duration of Time (rutbat al-zamān). [2] And God assuredly established a terminal point (limit, ḥaddan ) for its genesis (badā') as well as for its cessation (khatman). [3] In this manner He established the [spatiotemporal] reality of the movement of the celestial spheres (wujūd sair al-aflāk). [4] Whenever the various regulatory principles of the levels of being (ḥukm al-marātib) are established there can be no doubt that the inmost Heart (al-fū'ād) is foremost (fī rutbat al-awwalī) [5] It is clear that any given reality (al-shay') can be allotted all manner of secondary [space-time] levels (al-marātib al-thābitiyya) and similar theophanological actualizations (ẓuhūr al-ḥākiyya). [6] It was thus the Universal Body (al-jasad al-kullī) which God made to be its [His] bearer (ḥāmil) in the arena of the Divine Activity (maḥall al-fi`l). [7] It is therefore expressive of the level of His Essence (maqām dhātihi) and is established upon the level of Sarmad, beginningless eternity (maqām al-sarmad). [8] Wherefore was the body of the Prophet (Muḥammad; jasad al-nabī ) on the night of the Mi`rāj (laylat al-mi`rāj) simultaneously associated with (ma`a) the house of Ḥamīrā' [ Umm Ḥānī?] in that circumstantial news (khabr) thereof was attained [9] And it was established through consensus of opinion (al-ijmā`a) that he [the Prophet] was [simultaneously] in Heaven (al-samā'), in the various paradises and the [spheres of the] two luminous orbs [the Sun and the moon] (marātib al-janān wa'l-nayyirān). [10] This was so in that his [Muhammad's] personal essence (dhātihi) was neither veiled nor in any way [spatiotemporially] delimited (maḥdūd an ) relative to the contingent worlds (fī al-`awālim al-imkān). [11] Thus was the decree respecting his [the Prophet's] Body. [VI] [1] Wherefore was it that possessors of intellects (al-`uqūl) failed to fathom matters [spatiotemporially] delimited (maḥdūd an). [2] Various persons failed to realize that they could witness the matter which is betwixt two matters (al-amr bayn al-amrayn) or take account of the regulating force of Sarmad, beginningless eternity (ḥukm al-sarmad) with a measure of certainty (ḥukm al-yaqīn). [3] Thus thou hast asserted in the gathering (majlis) that [possessors] of intellect (al-`aql) were divided regarding this matter on account of the regulation of [spatiotemporal] limitedness (ḥukm al-ḥaddiyya), until, that is, certain souls became informed of the absence of [true] knowledge of the concreteness of the event (`ilm al-wāqi`ī) on the level of the [multi-spatial] location of the body [of the Prophet] (rutbat al-jasad). [VII] [1] And if God so willed and desired He could assuredly have expounded the reality of this enquiry about the secret of the concreteness of the event [of the translocation of the Body of the Prophet] (bi-sirr al-wāqi`ī ) and the decree regarding its realization (ḥukm al-bāligh) relative to his particular station (maqāmihi). [2] This in that He is fully aware of the wisdom (ḥukm) of [the actualization of] this matter (al-amr) [which is "betwixt two matters"] through the (two) levels of the divine Theophany (fī maqāmāt al-ẓuhūr). [3] And He is not veiled on account of the dawning forth of the Light of the Unseen Realities (nūr al-ghuyūb) in view of his being held back [veiled] from the court of proximity to the Divine Presences (sāḥat qurb al-ḥuḍūr). [4] And respecting that station (maqām) the Pen engulfed two flowing rivulets [of water to express these mysteries] yet the decree affirming the exposition (ḥukm al-bayān) was returned unto God relative to (both) its going forth (mabda`) and coming back (al-iyāb). [5] And praised be unto God, the Lord of the heavenly Throne above, One beyond what the negligent assert. And peace be upon the Messengers and praised be God the Lord of all the worlds.
______________________ APPENDIX: ZAMAKSHARI ON QUR'AN 17:1 H. Gätje, [Tr. A. Welch] The Qur'ān and its Exegesis, 74-7. 4. The night journey and the ascension Zamakhsharĩ on Sūra 17:1
One· may ask : Since the (word) asrā in itself already means 'to undertake a night journey', then what does the stipulation 'by night' add to the meaning of the statement? To this I reply: With the expression 'by night' 17 ... God wishes to indicate the duration of the night journey as short, saying that within a (single) night he and his servant accomplished the journey from Mecca to the Syrian lands (ash-sham 18} which (usually) required forty nights. ... There is disagreement regarding the place from which the night journey originated. Some say that it was the holy mosque (of Mecca) (al-masjid19 al-harām) itself. This is likely since it is mentioned in the following account from the Prophet : While I was between being asleep and awake in the apartments near the Ka'ba (al-bait) at the holy mosque, Gabriel came to me with the (steed) Burãq.20 Others say (however) that the journey of Muhammad originated from the dwelling of (his cousin) Umm Hani', the daughter of Abū Ṭālib. In this case the expression 'holy mosque' would indicate the holy precinct (of Mecca) (al-haram), since this area includes the mosque and can thus be referred to by this designation. According to Ibn 'Abbas the entire sacred precinct is a mosque. (Furthermore) the following is related : After the evening prayer Muhammad slept in the dwelling of Umm Hāni , when he was taken on the night journey (to Jerusalem) and returned in the same night. Afterwards he related the story to Umm Hāni , saying: 'The prophets have appeared to me and I have performed the prayer with them.' As he now rose to go to the mosque, Umm Hāni clung to his robe, and he said : 'What do you want?' She answered : 'I fear that your fellow tribesmen will accuse you of falsehood if you relate that to them.' To this he replied : 'What, would they accuse me of lying?', and he went away. Then when Abu Jahl sat down next to him and the Messenger of God related the story of the night journey to him, Abu Jahl called out: 'Men of the (tribe of) Banu Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, come here !' Then Muhammad related the account to them. While some gave their approval to him, others placed their hands on their heads with astonishment and disapproval. Some people who had believed in the Prophet previously now turned away from him. Some men, however, ran to Abu Bakr, who (after hearing their account) said: 'If Muhammad said this then it is the truth.' When the men then asked: 'Do you then believe (saddaqa) that he did this?', he answered: 'I believe him in matters even more [76] unlikely than this.' For this reason Abu Bakr is called 'the eminently veracious' (as-siddĩq). Among those present, however, were some who had previously travelled to that place and they challenged Muhammad to give a description of it. Jerusalem (bait al-muqaddas) stood clearly before his eyes, so he looked over it immediately and began to describe it to them. They said: 'The description is accurate', and then they added: 'Tell us about our caravans (which are returning from Jerusalem)!' So he told them the number of their camels and their condition and then said : 'They will arrive at sunrise on such and such a day, with a grey camel leading them.' On that day the Meccans went (out from their city) and ran quickly to (the passageway) ath-Thaniyya. Then one of them said: 'By God, the sun is just coming up!' And another said: 'By God, here comes the caravan with a grey camel at the head, just as Muhammad said.' (In spite of this) they did not believe (Muhammad's account of his night journey to Jerusalem), but said : 'This is nothing but manifest magic (sihr mubīn)՝ In the same night (in which the journey to Jerusalem occurred) Muhammad was (also) raised up to heaven; that is, the ascension 21 took its departure from Jerusalem. Muhammad told the (members of the tribe) Quraish also of the wonderful things which he had seen in heaven, that he met the prophets there and went as far as the house visited (by the pilgrims) (al-bait al-ma'mūr 22) and the Zizyphus tree at the far end of heaven (sidrat al-muntahã 23). There is (also) disagreement concerning the date of the night journey. While some say that it occurred one year before the emigration (to Medina), according to Anas (ibn Mālik) and al-Ḥasan (al-Baṣrī) it took place (even) before the mission (of Muhammad as a prophet). (Furthermore) there is disagreement concerning whether the night journey occurred (while Muhammad was) in the state of being awake or asleep. The following is (related) from 'Ā'isha: 'By God, the body of the Messenger of God was not missed (during the night journey); rather, the ascension to heaven occurred with his spirit (rūḥ).՝ According to Mu'awiya (also) it took place only with the spirit. On the other hand, according to al-Ḥasan (al-Başri) it was a vision which Muhammad had in his sleep; yet most Traditions stand in opposition to this contention. The farthest mosque: 2* Jerusalem. At that time no mosque existed farther away (from Mecca) than the one at Jerusalem. [77] The precincts of which We have blessed: God means the blessing of religion and of the present world, for Jerusalem had been since the time of Moses the place of worship of the prophets and the place to which (divine) inspiration was restricted (before the time of Muhammad), and it is surrounded with flowing rivers and fruit-bearing trees. ... He is the One who hears the speech of Muhammad, the One who sees his deeds and the one who knows of his purity and uprightness. ... ______________________________________
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