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السِّدْرَةَ SIDRAH (LOTE-TREE) AND سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى SIDRAT AL-MUNTAHĀ, (LOTE-TREE OF THE EXTREMITY) SOME ASPECTS OF THEIR ISLAMIC AND BĀBĪ-BAHĀ'Ī INTERPRETATIONS
NOW BEING REVISED AND EXPANDED IN TWO PARTS Last revised 30/7/06 STEPHEN LAMBDEN Sūrat al-Sabā' ("The Surah of Sheba"), Qur'ān 34:16 فَأَعْرَضُوا فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَيْلَ الْعَرِمِ وَبَدَّلْنَاهُم بِجَنَّتَيْهِمْ جَنَّتَيْنِ ذَوَاتَى أُكُلٍ خَمْطٍ وَأَثْلٍ وَشَيْءٍ مِّن سِدْرٍ قَلِيلٍ
وَأَصْحَابُ الْيَمِينِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْيَمِين ِفِي سِدْرٍ مَّخْضُود وَطَلْحٍ مَّنضُودٍ وَظِلٍّ مَّمْدُود وَمَاء مَّسْكُوبٍ And the companions of the right-hand! What then are the companions of the right-hand? [They are such as shall dwell amidst] thornless lote-trees (fi sidr makhḍūd)... Sūrat al-Najm ("The Surah of the Star"), Qur'ān 53:13-16
(وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى (13) عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى (14) عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى (15) إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى (16
مُنْتَهَى could thus be literally translated "termination", "limit", "extremity", "boundary" or the like. In genitive relationship with sidrah as in the qur'anic phrase Sidrat al-muntahā = سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى (Q. 53:14 only), it could thus be literally translated "Lote-Tree of the Boundary", "Lote-Tree of the Limit" , "Lote-Tree of the Extremity" or "Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing". A modern, eminently straightforward Qur'an Commentary entitled Taisīr al-karīm al-raḥman fī tafsīr kalām al-manān by `Abd al-Rahman ibn Nāṣir al-Sa`idī (d. 1376/1956). puts the matter simply when commenting on Qur'an 53: 14 (= "nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā", Lote-Tree of the Extremity) :
As the exact religious background to the motif of the سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى remains. however, unknown, such translations are tentative and inadequate. In could be seem to be the Islamic equivalent of the Sinaitic "buning bush" (Heb. Seneh, Exod 3:2 ) where the divine theophany was to a degree earlier experienced by the Israelite prophet Moses. Arabian Jews at the time of the Prophet or the Prophet himself in Arabizing a biblical tradition, might have identified the Sinaitic "burning bush" with the Sidrah or Lote-Tree and associated his visionary experiences or prophetic call with it. In some Rabbinic traditions the "burning bush" is a lowly thorn bush (e.g. Exodus Rabba II.2 cf. Philo Vita Mos. I. 67) just as in terrestrial terms the Sidrat al-Muntahā is a lowly, thorny bush. The Prophet transcendentalized it and located it in or near Paradise as the Garden of Repose (jannat al-māwā). Just as the Burning bush was "not consumed" as a result of the divine theophany within it so was the Sidrat al-Muntaha enveloped by a mysterious covering (see Qur'an 53:16). It might also be conjectured that this qur'anic "Lote Tree" marks the boundary of the transcendent Godhead whose divine theophany remains something of an apophatic mystery. God is experienced at the very limit of knowing in the domain of "unknowing". Moses experienced God and spoke to Him but only saw his "back" (Exodus 33:20f), not His "face" (Heb. panim) ( ibid). The Israelite prophet Moses only indirectly experienced God in mysterious and terrifying circumstances. The visionary experience of Muhammad was in some respects similar. While the biblical "burning bush" was not consumed, the qur'anic Lote-Tree could not be bypassed. As will be seen it is the case that in various Tafsir literatures ( such as that of al-Tabari ) Moses' encounter with God and the Mi`rāj vision of Muhammad are compared and contrasted (see below). Select English translations of Qur'an 53:13-16: The following are a few examples of English translations of Qur'an 53:13-16 (or `Sidrat al-Munataha' rooted in Qur'an 53:14b) arranged in loose chronological order. Some are quite good translations, others less so thought most are highly speculative since the exact sense of these qur'anic verses is far from clear.
As far as the concrete significance of the word sidrah goes, Islamic sources often identify it as the shajarat al-nabq (= Per. darakht-i kunār), the "tree of the nabq (fruit)". This is apparently the wild jujube or zizyphus spina-christi (Christ's thorn). a tall, stout, tropical tree (see image above) with dense prickly branches which produces a sweet reddish fruit similar to that of the jujube (the `unnāb = zizyphus vulgaris / fruit) (Qarshayy 3:246f.; Ṭabarī, Jāmi` al-bayān 13:52f.; Lane 1:1331 ; Wehr 1103; Lambden, Sinaitic Mysteries : 68-9, 163 fn.32). If the qur'ānic mention of the Sidrat al-Muntahā has these mundane implications, this may well echo Rabbinic viewpoints about God's having (indirectly) manifested Himself in a lowly thorn-bush, the "burning bush" of Exodus 3:2 (cf. Deut. 33:16). It is interesting to note in this connection that on occasion in certain of his scriptural Tablets Bahā'-Allāh himself conflated the motifs of the "Lote-Tree" and the "Sinaitic Tree" (shajarat al-ṭūr) or "Burning Bush" (see Pt. 2 below). It is the references to the sidrah / sidrat al-muntahā in the sūra of The Star (53) which are of particular importance as far as the background to the Bābī-Bahā'ī use of the "Lote-Tree" motif is concerned. In Islamic literatures Qur'an 53:13ff is frequently interpreted relative to a mystical vision which the Prophet Muhammad experienced during the course of his isrā ("Night journey") and related mi`rāj ("Ascension") (see the Qur'ān commentaries on 17:1f and 53:13ff. and, for example, Montgomery Watt, 1988:54f). It will be appropriate to cite here Q. 17:1 as well as 53:1ff (cf. 53:13-16 quoted above) since passages in these texts are closely related in their traditional Islamic understanding relative to the one or two visions, most centrally the Mi`raj vision of the Prophet and (for some) another vision associated with the Sidrat al-Muntaha. The qur'anic texts to be cited are interpreted in terms of the Prophet Muhammad's ascension to Paradise where he met various prophets and, among other things, viewed the Sidrat al-Muntahā' as well as his seeing "Him" ( God or Gabriel) another time by the Lote-Tree of the Boundary". In various ḥadith accounts of the Mi`raj these probably originally two visions are merged into one. In the excellent mid. 1950s translation of Arthur .J. Arberry (d. 1969) -- transliteration and notes added -- they are translated as follows: http://www.quranm.multicom.ba/translations/Arberry.htm)
The cosmogonic "Tree" of Light and Life and the Lote-Tree of Paradise motif in the history of religions The great Swedish Islamicist A. J. Wensinck (ADD) made a special study of the Tree motif in the history of religions. In 1921 he wrote his Tree and Bird as cosmological Symbols in Western Asia which is reprinted in English translation in the 1978 compilation Studies of A. J. Wensinck (Pt. III pp.1-35[47]). In his study he refers to the evolving and complex ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, an Old Babylonian epic versions of which date from around 1,250 BCE (refer Sparks, 2005, pp. 275-278). Among other things, versions of this Epic feature legends illustrating the heroic deeds and quest for immortality and wisdom of the heroic king of ancient Uruk named Gilgamesh (fl. 2,600 BCE??). Wensinck observes that an inadequate version of the Epic indirectly available to him had it that, "in the Eastern end of the earth, Gilgamesh sees a tree (IX 164 sqq.) : "Cornelian it bears as its fruit He writes that this "tree" has "a cosmological significance, for it stands at the Eastern end of the earth and marks the East." adding that "The whole tree consists of precious stones, pink and blue, the colours of the sky and of the sun rising behind the morning clouds. It is placed on the shore of the ocean where the sun begins its course ; so it is the tree of light." It is, furthermore, identified by Wensinck as a tree of light and of life:
The motif of the terrestrial-celestial, cosmological "Tree" is important in Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical and associated Abrahamic and related religious scripture and tradition. The "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil" and the "Tree of Life" mentioned in Genesis 2-3 and in the Qur'an are foundational (Genesis 2:9, 3:22; Q. Add.). Genesis 2:8-15 reads in the classic AV translation:
It will be seen below that the major "river" or cosmic waterway going out of Eden is divided into four "heads" (further source rivers) which are described in terms of major terrestrial "rivers" or waterways in Genesis 2: 11-14. They are, summing up their probable basic senses, the
(2) the גִּיחֹון Gihon = the Egyptian river Nile (?) or a wellspring or river flowing through Jerusalem-Zion? (3) the חִדֶּקֶל , Hiddekel = Tigris and (4) the פְּרָת , Euphrates. In Islamic tradition and related literatures these four secondary rivers of Paradise are variously (often non-literally) interpreted and associated with the (roots or base) of the cosmic qur'anic Sidrat al-Muntahā ("Lote Tree of the Boundary"). They are further non-literally interpreted as rivers of divine providence sometimes as associated with bodies of Abrahamic sacred writ (see below). ADD Immediately following the Genesis verses cited above reference is made in Genesis 2: 16-17 to the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" from which man-Adam was forbidden to eat lest he "die":
The Edenic "Tree of Life" ultimately protected by cherubim with a "flaming sword" is mentioned in Genesis 3:22-5
The Genesis "Tree" of Paradise and related motifs have a very long history of interpretation and something of a pre-history spanning several millennia. Such works as the Syriac book of The Cave of Treasures ( 4th-7th cent. CE?) contain some interesting post-biblical and perhaps pre-Islamic Christian interpretations of Eden and the Tree of Life motif varieties of which may directly or indirectly (through deliberate alteration) have contributed to the qur'anic Paradise and related Lote-Tree motifs:
There exist other versions of the `Book of the Cave of Treasures' in Ethiopic (= Qalamentos), Karshuni (Arabic in Syriac script) and Arabic including the Arabic `Kitab al-Magal', or "Book of the Rolls" attributed to Clement of Rome (late 1st cent. CE). They contain some very interesting rewritten versions of the above Genesis texts and related traditions. ADD The motif of the Tree ADD The exact background to the Qur'anic Sidrat al-Muntahā has yet to be satisfactorily pinned down though it is likely to be related to the biblical "Tree of Life" and/ or to the the "Sinaitic Tree" or "Burning Bush" (Exodus 3:2 cf. Deut. 33:16). Like Moses Muhammad had vision of a "Tree" redolent of the divine mystery. Worth noting is the fact that in the Manichean account of the origin of the world as related in the Arabic Fihrist (Index) of Abu'l-Faraj Isḥāq b. Warraq Ibn Nadīm (d.308/990), it is stated that after Eve had intercourse with Adam Shātil (= Seth cf. Mandaen, Shitil = Seth) was born. Eve was antagonistic towards this son but Adam fed him from a lotus-tree" (see Klijn, 1977 [Seth] 109f, 111f):
It is presupposed here that Seth could be fed from a lotus-tree which existed in a primordial Paradise. This might be taken to imply that the Lote-Tree or qur'anic Sidrat al-Muntaha motif might have pre-qur'anic Manichaean origins or roots in teachings going back to the movement founded by the Persian figure Mani (216-276 or 277 CE). The Manichaean background to the Qur'an has yet to be comprehensively set forth and is problematic. Unfortunately, Manichaean canonical literatures and related sources are only fragmentarily extant. Worth noting at this point, however, is that in the Ṭibb al-nabī ("Medicine of the Prophet") of Jalāl al-Dīn `Abd al-Raman al-Suyūṭī (d.911/1505), the Nabeq (Jujube) is described as "the fruit of the Sidr, or Lote trees" and to have various medicinal properties. al-Suyūṭī also records that Ahmad ibn `Abd-Allah Abū Nu'aym al-Isfahani (d. 430/1038) in his book al-Ṭibb al-Nabbawi ("The Medicine of the Prophet") records a well-known ḥadith in which it is stated that when Adam was sent down to earth, "the first fruit that he ate was a jujube" (Suyuti, 1994:105). This may well echo the Manichaean tradition indicated above. The Mi`rāj and the Sidrat al-Muntahā in select Hadith literatures or Islamic traditions. Bowering has provided an excellent basic over wiew of the Mi`raj:
In his article `Sidrat al-Munatahā (Α.), "the lote tree on the boundary"' ( in the 2nd ed of the Encyclopedia of Islam), Rippin notes the important early place of the 'Lote-tree' motif in early Sunni ḥadith literatures registering the mi`rāj of the prophet Muhammad. He writes:
The Mi`raj or night ascent of Muhammad is mentioned in numerous ḥadīth (Islamic traditions) as is the Sidrat al-Muntahā which is sometimes associated with the sixth heaven though more often with the seventh heaven as in the Kitab al-īmān (Book of Faith) within the Saḥīḥ (the "Sound" compilation) [of] Muslim the Sunnī ḥadith compilation of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 261/875):
Then I [Muhammad] was taken up to the seventh heaven. There Gabriel requested an opening [of its celestial gate]. At this It was enquired: `Who are you?' And he replied `Gabriel'. Then it was asked `And who is with you? He replied : Muhammad (may peace be upon him). It was [then further] asked: `Has he been commissioned [by God]?' He [Gabriel] replied: He has indeed been raised up [commissioned as a Prophet]. At this [the gate] was opened for us and there We encountered Abraham (peace be upon him) reclining against the Frequented Fane (al-bayt al-ma`mūr) wherein enter seventy thousand angels every day, never to visit [this place] again. Then I was taken to the Sidrat al-Muntahā (Lote-Tree of the Extremity) whose leaves were like elephant ears and whose fruit was like huge earthenware vessels. And when it was given a covering (ghasha) at the Command of God (amr Allāh) (see Q. 53:16), it underwent such a change that none among the creatures of God is capable of [befittingly] extolling [the magnitude of] its loveliness (ḥasan)" (from a ḥadith cited in the Saḥīḥ Muslim, iman). Other key Islamic traditions (ḥadith) found in both Sunni and Shi`i literatures expand and supplement the above examples (see Appendix). At this point it must suffice to mention that the Egyptian hadith scholar Ibn Ḥajar al-Asqalānī (d. 853 / 1449) in his bulky commentary on the famous Ṣaḥīḥ ("Sound") ḥadith compilation of Muhammad ibn Ismā'īl al-Bukharī entitled Fatḥ al-bārī (completed in 813/1410-11) mentions some interesting traditions about the Sidrat al-Muntahā and the rivers associated with it : [38] THE RIVERS SEEN BY THE PROPHET (S) According to Malik ibn Şa'şa'ah's report, narrated by BukharT: "(Gabriel) said, 'This is the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass.' There were four rivers, two hidden and two visible. I asked, 'What is this, O Gabriel?' He said, 'The two hidden rivers are rivers in Paradise. The two visible rivers are the Nile and the Euphrates.'" Another report from Malik says: "At the foot of the Lote-tree were four rivers." According to Shank's report: "There were two rivers running through the first heaven. The Prophet (S) asked, 'What are these two rivers, O Gabriel?' Gabriel answered: 'They are the essence of the Nile and Euphrates.' Then Gabriel took him through the first heaven, where they saw another river, above which stood a castle made of pearls and chrysolite. The Prophet (S) struck it with his hand and saw that it was pungent musk. He asked, 'What is this, O Gabriel?' Gabriel answered, 'This is al-Kawthar, which your Lord is keeping for you' ..." AI-Hafiz said: "Muslim transmitted a Hadīth of Abu Hurayrah which said: 'Four of the rivers in Paradise are: the Nile, the Euphrates, Sīhān and Jīhān.'" Ibn Abī Hatim transmitted a report of Yazîd ibn Abī Malik, from Anas, which says: "After the Prophet (S) mentioned that he had seen Abraham, he said: 'Then (Gabriel) took me up beyond the seventh heaven, until we reached a river on which stood tents made of pearls, sapphires and chrysolite and above which were green birds — the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. Gabriel said, 'This is al-Kawthar, which Allah has given to you.' In the river were vessels of gold and silver; it ran over pebbles of sapphire and chrysolite, and its water was whiter than milk. I took one of the vessels, scooped up some of that water and drank it. It was sweeter than honey and had a scent more beautiful than that of musk.' " [40] It was suggested that the Nile and the Euphrates were described as rivers of Paradise because they resemble the rivers of Paradise in that they are so sweet, so beautiful and so blessed. And Allah knows best" (al-`Asqalānī, Fatḥ al-Bārī from comp. `Abd-Allāh Hajjaj, trans. Khaṭṭāb, 1989: 38-40). CHECK WITH ARABIC TEXT. The Sidrat al-Muntahā in select Islamic Tafsīr works The term sidrah and the genitive phrase Sidrat al-muntahā have been the subject of diverse literal, allegorical and mystical interpretations among Muslim Qur'an commentators, including Sufis and philosophers standing within both the Sunnī and Shī`ī traditions. While a few have thought the "Lote-Tree" / Sidrat al-Muntahā to be a mundane bush or tree in the environs of Mecca (Jeffery 1980: 35 fn.1) or one marking the end of a path (Holley comp. Baha'i Scriptures, 1923/1928 glossary, p.558; ESW trans Shoghi Effendi, [glossary] 191), others have greatly elaborated upon the fantastic descriptions of it recorded in a plethora of Islamic traditions (Maybudī, 13:360 ff.; Mishkat al-Masābih [tr. Robson] II : 1201, 1208, 1266, 1268, 1270). Only a few notes deriving from the thousands of Qur'an commentaries expounding the motif of the Sidrah/ Sidrat al-Muntahā. in Q. 53 can be noted here. Muqātil b. Sulayman, [al-Balkhī] al-Khurāsānī (d. Basra 150 /767), The early probably Zaydī (Shī`ī) commentator on the Sūrat al-Najm (Q. 53) Muqātil b. Sulayman has it in his (orally transmitted) Tafsīr that verse 13 ( وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى) indicates that Muhammad saw or visioned his Lord descending "in his heart" (fi qalbihi) "on another occasion" "near the Sidrat al-Muntaha" which tree is described as having branches (aghsan) of precious substances including "pearl" (al-lū'lū'), ruby (al-yāqūt) and chrysolite (al-zabarjard)". For Muqatil the Sidrat al-Muntaha is specifically identified as a "Tree" (shajara) located "at the right side of the celestial Throne (al-`arsh) above the elevated Seventh heaven" (Tafsir 4:160). Muqātil relates Q. 53:15 (= عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى = "nearby the Garden of Repose (jannat al-māwā) with the place of refuge or respose of the arwāḥ al-shuhada', the celestial spirits of the Muslim witnesses or martyrs who are regenerative or life-giving (iḥyā') and provide sustenance. He further explains that the Sidrat al-Muntaha is so named because there terminates at it the knowledge (`ilm) of "every created angel" (kull malak al-makhlūq) for "none knows what is beyond it save God". Every "leaf" (waraq) of the Sidrat al-Muntahā provides shade for one of the ummat or communities. Above every one of its "leaves" an "angel" celebrates the "remembrance of God" (dhikr-Allah). Having said this Muqātil contines,"And if a leaf from it [the Sidrat al-Muntaha') should fall down upon the earth ADD" (Tafsir 4:160). Sahl ibn 'Abd-Alları al-Tustarī (d. 283/896 C.E.), Like other Qur'ān commentators the early Sufi exegete Sahl al-Tustarī (d. 283/896), reckoned that all human knowledge terminated at the Sidrat al-Muntahā (Tustari, 95). He associated verses from the Surah of the Star (Q. 53:13f translated above) with a pre-existent column of the "Light of Muhammad" evident in the vicinity of the primordial "Lote-Tree" (ibid): ADD TRANS.
Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, (d. 310/922) The Tafsir of the great Persian born Sunnī Qur'ān commentator and historian Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, (d. 310/922) was foundational for many subsequent exegetes of the Qur'an. Even the Shi`i sage Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (d. 1111/1699/1700) quite frequently cites his commentary in his huge encyclopedia the Bihar al-anwar (Oceans of Lights). Commenting upon Q. 53:8 in this Tafsir entitled Jami' al-bayān 'an tā 'wīl āy al-qur 'ān (The Assembling of the Exposition of the Exegesis of the verses of the Qur'an) al-Ṭabarī refers to a tradition relayed from Anas ibn Mālik about the night of the ascent or celestial mi`rāj. Gabriel is said to have ascended with the Messenger of God unto the seventh heaven such that they attained a level unknown to any except God. The Sidrat al-Muntahā appeared and thereby the Omnipotent (al-jabbār) All-Powerful Lord (rabb al-`izzat) came close by and revealed what He willed to the Prophet about the obligatory prayers for the Muslim community (Jami' al-bayān, 13:45). In the course of expounding Qur'an 53: 11 -- "His [Muhamad's] heart lies not of what he saw" -- al-Ṭabarī cited an Islamic tradition deriving from a certain Ibrahim ibn Ya`qūb al-Jūzjānī through (among others) an `Abd-Allah (servant of God):
The vision of the Prophet was a vision of the amazing celestial form of Gabriel who is associated with the equally gigantic Sidrat al-Muntahā. This was a truthful glimpse of Gabriel whose wingspan, another tradition cited by al-Tabari had it, stretched between the East and the West of the cosmos (ibid). It might be noted at this point that certain hadith recorded by Ṭabarī, establish a suggestive parallelism between Moses' and Muhammad's visionary and auditory experiences of God. عن كعب أنه أخبره أن الله تبارك وتعالى قسم رؤيته وكلامه بين موسى ومحمد، فكلَّمه موسى مرّتين، ورآه محمد مرّتين... In his Tafsir on Qur'an 53:13ff he records that the Yemenite Rabbi and convert to Islam Abu Isḥāq Ka`b al-Ahbar (d. 32/652) informed a contemporary that "God apportioned vision (ru'yat) of Him and converse (kallām) with Him between Moses and Muhammad. This such that Moses conversed with Him [God] on two occasions and Muhammad saw Him on two occasions" (Jami` al-Bayān [13] 27: 62-63; cf. Qur'an 53: 13b = "another time", implying two visions). It was much disputed whether Muhammad actually saw God directly or his vision was an indirect encounter with Gabriel. The former viewpoint came to be rejected although a variant of the above tradition from Ka`b associated with `Abd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān (d. ADD) had it that while Muhammad saw God once, Moses conversed with Him twice: قال: سمعت كعباً، ثم ذكر نحو حديث عبد الحميد بن بيان، غير أنه قال في حديثه فرآه محمد مرّة، وكلَّمه موسى مرّتين. قال ابن عباس قد رآه النبيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم. "Ibn `Abbās said, `The Prophet -- may be blessings and peace of God be upon him -- did indeed see Him [God-Gabriel] Commenting upon Qur'an 53: 14 = عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى ("nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā") in his Tafsir al-Ṭabarī writes records:وقوله: { عِنْدَ سِدْرَةِ المُنْتَهَى } يقول تعالى ذكره: ولقد رآه عند سدرة المنتهى، فعند من صلة قوله: [ رآهُ ] والسدرة: شجرة النبق. وقيل لها سدرة المنتهى في قول بعض أهل العلم من أهل التأويل، لأنه إليها ينتهي علم كلّ عالم And His speech [in Q. 53:14], "nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā"; He says, exalted be His mention, "And he indeed saw Him nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā" ... And the Sidrat [al-Muntaha] is the tree of the nabq [Jujube Tree] (shajarat al-nabq). And it has been said regarding it, "Sidrat al-Muntahā, in the opinion of some of the educated among the exegetes (ahl al-`ilm min ahl al-ta`wil), is that at which the knowledge of every world terminates..." (Jami` al-Bayan, 13 27:63). Following this al-Tabari records a tradition again stemming from the fountainhead of Isrā'īliyyāt Ka`b al-Ahbar:
حدثنا ابن حُميد، قال: ثنا يعقوب،
عن حفص بن حميد، عن شمر، قال: جاء ابن عباس إلى كعب الأحبار، فقال
له: حدثني عن قول الله:
{ عِنْدَ سِدْرَةِ
المُنْتَهَى عِنْدَها جَنَّةُ المَأْوَى }
فقال كعب: إنها سدرة في أصل العرش، إليها ينتهي علم كلّ عالم، مَلك
مقرّب، أو نبيّ مرسل، ما خلفها غيب، لا يعلمه إلا الله. At this point al-Ṭabari records another tradition again stemming from Ka`b al-Ahbar as relayed to Ibn `Abbās: "Ibn `Abbās came to Ka`b al-Aḥbar and said to him, "Narrate for me about the saying of God [in the Qur'an], ""nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā, nearby the Garden of Repose (jannat al-māwā)" [Q. 53:14-15] whereupon Ka`b replied, "Such refers to a Lote-Tree (sidrat) at the foundation [base] of the Divine Throne (fī aṣl al-`arsh). Thereat terminates the knowledge of every world [including] an angel brought nigh unto God [cherub] (malak muqarrib) or a Prophet who is a sent Messenger (nabī mursal). Whatsoever lieth beyond it is hidden for none knoweth it save God" (Jami` al-Bayan, 27:63). Another similar tradition is recorded immediately after the above and again refers to the authority of Ka`b al-Ahbar: حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال أخبرني جرير بن حازم، عن الأعمش، عن شمر بن عطية، عن هلال بن يساف، قال: سأل ابن عباس كعباً، عن سدرة المنتهى وأنا حاضر، فقال كعب: إنها سدرة على رؤوس حملة العرش، وإليها ينتهي علم الخلائق، ثم ليس لأحد وراءها علم، ولذلك سميت سدرة المنتهى، لانتهاء العلم إليها. "... We informed the son of Wahb [ibn Munabbih] [and] he said `I was informed by ..... that Ibn `Abbās asked Ka`b [al-Ahbar] about the Sidrat al-Muntahā and I was present [witnessing that] Ka`b said. "It is a Lote-Tree (sidra) above the heads of the bearers of the Throne. At it terminates the knowledge of all the creatures. It is thus not for anyone to claim knowledge of what is beyond it. Wherefore is it named the Sidrat al-Muntahā (Lote-Tree of the Extremity) for knowledge terminates about it".
وقال آخرون: قيل لها
سدرة المنتهى، لأنها ينتهي ما يهبط من فوقها، ويصعد من تحتها من أمر الله إليها.
ذكر من قال ذلك: Tabari on Qur'an 53:16 إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى In context this verse reads in translation.
The key root-verb gh-sh-a indicating, to cover, envelop, enshroud... is also used in the oath opening the Surat al-Layl, the Surah of the Night which (Q. 92) which commences: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى Arberry translates these two verses [my transliteration added] of Qur'an 92:1-2 as [1] By the night enshrouding (wa'l-layl idha yaghshā) [2] and the day in splendour (wa'l-nahar idhā tajalla). Reminiscent of the biblical burning bush being "covered" or enveloped by the divine ADD On al-Tabari and the `Sidrat al-Munataha' see below on the Tarikh al-rusul wa'l-muluk ("The History of Prophets and Kings").
The Persian receation of al-Tabari's Tafsir by Bal`ami and others A very early Persian quasi-Tafsir work is the highly creative and Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā' (stories of the prophets) oriented translation (actually a recreation!) of the abovementioned Jami` al-Bayān Tafsir of al-Tabarī . This was accomplished by a group of `ulamā including Abu `Ali Muhammad Bal`amī (d. 387/997) for Manṣūr ibn Nūḥ (d.365/976), the Samānid ruler of Transoxiana and Khurasan who found the Arabic difficult. While the qur'anic Sūrat al-Nūr (Q. 24) all but becomes a Persian account of the `Slander of `Ā'isha' (Ayesha), the translation-recreation of the Sūrat al-Bani Isra'il (17) here named the Sūrat al-Isrā' (the `Surah of the Night Journey') and the (Per.) Sūrat-i Subḥān (Surah of Glorification) (see Q. 17:1 opening), includes a quite lengthy and unusual account of the Mi`rāj of the Prophet (Bal`ami, Tafsir, 909-918). The Sidrat al-Muntahā is not mentioned in this extended and sometimes eccentric Persian account of the ascent of the Prophet in which attention is often focused upon the "fourth heaven". Located therein the Sidrat al-Muntaha seems to be conflated with the Shajarat al-ṭūbā (Tree of Blessedness) (cf. Q. 13:29):
_____________________________ al-Rāzī, Fakhr al-Dīn (d. 606/1209) In his al-Tafsīr al-kabīr (Mighty/ Comprehensive Tafsir) or Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb ( Keys of the Unseen) Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī,
Abu al-Ḥasan `Ali Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athīr (d.1234 CE) The famous historian and author of al-Kamil fī al-ta'rikh ("The Complete History") Ibn al-Athīr (d.1234 CE.) taught that the Sidrat al-Muntahā "is in the furthest part of Paradise to which, as its furthest limit, extends the knowledge of ancients and moderns" (cited Lane Vol. 1:1331). Many Muslims reckon that even such exalted angels as Gabriel cannot bypass it (Jeffery 1980: 35 fn.1).
'Abd-Allāh ibn 'Umar al-Bayḍāwī (d. c. 700/1300). The very widely read Sunni Tafsir work Anwār al-tanzīl wa-asrār al-ta'wīl (The Lights of Disclosure and the Mysteries of Exegesis) of al-Bayḍāwī , a native of a small town near Shiraz (Persia-Iran), offers a succinct and clear interpretation of Qur'an 53: 14-16 though details are lacking: عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى ("nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā, the Lote-Tree of the Extremity"= Q. 53:14). At this terminates the knowledge of all created beings (`ilm al-khalā'iq) or their activities, or [furthermore] whatsoever descends from above it [ the Sidrat al-Muntahā ]or ascends from beneath it. And it would seem that the Sidrah is the tree of the nabq (fruit) (shajarat al-nabq) for they are gathered up in its shadow. It has been relayed that its uppermost heights (marfū`āt) are [located] in the seventh heaven. عِنْدَها جَنَّةُ المَأْوَى ("nearby the Garden of Repose, jannat al-māwā = Q. 53:15). The Garden (al-jannat), that is, nigh which find repose the righteous or the souls of the [martyred] witnesses (arwāḥ al-shuhadā').إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى ("when there covered the Sidrah (Lote-Tree) that which covered it = Q. 53:16). It magnifies and multiplies when there covers it ADD HERE
Tāqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) The polymathic controversialist Ibn Kathīr, 'Imād al-Dīn Ismā'īl b. 'Urnar b. Kathīr ( d.774 / 1373). In his weighty Tafsīr al-Qur'an al-'azīm Ibn KathirTafsīr Jalalayn: the Tafsir of the two Jalāls. This Qur'an commentary of the two Jalāls (Jalālayn) was jointly authored by Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī (d. 864/1459) who began it and Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d.911/1505) who completed it. What is stated here is very similar to the Tafsir of al-Baiḍawī and others: وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ) : that is to say, Gabriel (Jibrīl) according to his [own supernatural] "form-image" (fī ṣūratihi) نَزْلَةً (= "descending" Q. 53:13a) one time [that was another] . أُخْرَى (= "another" Q. 53:13b) عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى ("nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā, the Lote-Tree of the Extremity" = Q. 52:14). [This] when he [Muhammad] journeyed by night (asrā) unto it [the sidrat al-muntahā] throughout the heavens. It is the tree of the nabq (fruit) at the right-hand side of the [Divine] Throne (al-`arsh). No one has the ability to bypass it ( lā yatajāwuzihā [= j-w-z VIth verbal form ]) among the angels (aḥad min al-malā'ikat) or any others besides. عِنْدَها جَنَّةُ المَأْوَى ("nigh the Garden of Refuge" = Q. 53:15). Thereat seek refuge the angels (al-malā'ikat) or the souls of the [martyed] witnesses (arwāḥ al-shuhadā') [Ibn `Abbās said] or the righteous Godfearing ones (al-mutaqūn), .إِذْ ("when", = Q.53:16a) [this has the sense of the] moment (ḥīn) [when]. يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى there covered the Sidrah (Lote-Tree) that which covered it = Q. 53:16b). [Indicating covering] with birds (min al-ṭayr) and other things besides. ADD MORE . (Tafsir Jalalayn [1984] p.XX). Worth noting here is a footnote (3) in the 19th century Rodwell translation of Q. 53: 14 (see above) which includes the following comment on Q. 53:14 partly based on the Tafsir of the two Jalāls (Jalālayn) and registering various legendary traditions :
_________________________________ The "Great Shaykh" Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-'Arabī (d. 638/1240), his diciples and select Sufi interpretations of the Lote-Tree.
This Spanish born central figure in Islamic mysticism was highly influential in numerous post 13th century CE and later Sufi and the Shi`i exegetical and mystical worlds of Islamic discourse. In the lengthy Futuḥāt al-makkiyya (Meccan Disclosures) Ibn al-`Arabī mentions the Sidrah/ Sidrat al-Muntahā around 30-40 times. The Shajarat al-kawn ("The Cosmogonical Tree") In his Shajarat al-kawn ("The Cosmogonical Tree") the great mystic Ibn al-`Arabī (d. 1270) has much to say about the celestial universe and the symbolic relationship between aspects of its realities including the Sidrat al-Muntahā. He speaks of the Sidrat al-Muntahā as a celestial tree which is one of the shoots of the ideal, archetypal cosmogonical or cosmological Tree. He further mentions a fourth "vehicle" (markab) for actualizing a spiritual relationship between the reality of Muhammad and the celestial Throne of God (al-`arsh) aside from (1) the celestial steed Burāq, (2) the Mi`raj (ladder for ascent) and (3) the wings of angelic beings proceeding from heaven to heaven (ajnihat al-malā'ikat min al-samā' ilā samā'); namely (4) "the wing[s] (flight) of Gabriel" (janāḥ jibrā'il) (which incline) "towards (ilā) the Sidrat al-Muntahā". Having stated this Ibn al-`Arabī pictures Gabriel as attempting to draw nigh to the Sidrat al-Muntahā (`indahā, cf. Q. 53;13a). The personified Reality of the "Lote Tree" then says to Gabriel, "We are the Night" (al-laylat), your guests (aḍyāfika)". This perhaps indicates the appearance of spectral personifications of the "darkness" of impenetrability (Shajarat, 350). ADD The Sidrat al-Muntahā also appears as a Reality surrounded by a special class of angels. All things mundane, the "fruits" of existence, are registered in a related celestial Book (Jeffery tr. 1980: 35). Drawing indirectly on Ibn a-`Arabī Winter has written,
The Kitāb al-isrā' ilā maqām al-asrā... (The Book of the Night Ascent....) The Kitāb al-isrā' ilā maqām al-asrā... (The Book of the Night Ascent unto the realm of the Night Ascent...) of Ibn al-`Arabi (see Osman Yahya, Historie... vol.1: 320-322, no.313, sometimes also known as the Kitāb al-mi`rāj) contains a brief section headed and entitled Sidrat al-Muntahā. Partly cast in the form of an allegorical narrative closely related to the traditional accounts of the Isrā (night ascent) and Mi`raj of Muhammad this section is introduced as follows:
`Abd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. 1330 C.E.) The Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-Karīm (Commentary upon the Noble Qur'an) attributed to Ibn al-Arabi reflects his often non-literal hermeneutic or mode exegesis but is actually the work of his major disciple by `Abd al‑Razzāq al‑Kashānī (d. 1330). The commentary on the Sūrat al-Najm ("The Surah of the Star" = Q. 53) verses 13-16 contains some interesting statements: وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ) : that is to say, Gabriel (Jibrīl) in his "form-image" which is his [elevated] Reality (fī ṣūratihi al-ḥaqīqat). نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى (= "descending another time") through a withdrawal from the Ultimately Real (`ind al-rujū` `an al-ḥaqq) and a descent unto the realm of the Spirit (maqām al-rūḥ). عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى ("nigh the Sidrat al-Muntahā, the Lote-Tree of the Extremity"). It is said that such is a Tree (shajarat) in the seventh heaven at which terminates the knowledge of the angels (`ilm al-malā'ikat). And none knows what is beyond it for it marks the termination of the levels of Paradise (marā'tib al-jannat). The [celestial] spirits of the witnesses [martyrs] (arwāḥ al-shuhadā') do seek shelter about it for it is the Most Great Spirit (al-rūḥ al-a`ẓam). There is nothing apportioned beyond it, neither any level or thing placed above it, save the pristine [Divine] Ipseity (al-huwiyya al-mahḍa). "Wherefore was there descent nigh unto it at the moment of the disassociation from the state of the pure nullification [of self] (al-fanā') unto that of permanence [in God] (al-baqā'). And he saw nigh it, Gabriel (Jibrīl) -- upon him be peace -- in his form-image (ṣūrat) which he fashioned upon him. عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى ( jannat al-māwā = "nearby the Garden of Repose"), [indicating the place] wherein sought refuge the spirits of those who are nigh unto God (arwāḥ al-muqarrabin)".(cf. Tafsir Muqatil transalted above). إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ (idh yaghsha al-sidrat = "when there encompassed the Sidrah (Lote-Tree)" [this covering was] on account of the Sublimity [Glory] of God (min jalāl Allāh) and His Grandeur (`aẓimat), مَا يَغْشَى (mā yaghsha = "that which covered it"). This in that he [Muhammad] saw it [the Lote-Tree] through the eye of God (bi-`ayn Allāh) proximate to (`ind) his own Reality (taḥqīq), [transfigured] in Ultimate Existence (bi'l-wujūd al-ḥaqqānī). He visioned the Real (al-haqq), Self-divulged-transfigured one (mutajalli an) in its-his "Image-form" (ṣūrat). The Lote Tree (al-sidrah) was indeed enveloped on account of the Divine Self-disclosure [transfiguration] (al-tajallī al-ilāhī) which veiled it and resulted in a mystical passing away [death] (fanā'). Thus he [Muhammad] saw it [the Lote-Tree] through the vision which prompted by [his] mystical death (bi-`ayn al-fanā'). He was not veiled thereby for he [Muhammad] experienced its-his "image-form" (ṣūrat) though not through [the intermediary of] Gabriel (jibril) nor any Reality contrary to the Ultimate Reality (al-haqq). ADD (Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-Karīm, vol. 2 : 277-8). In the above paragraphs translated from the Tafsir of [Ibn al-`Arabi] al-Kashani, this devotee of Ibn al-`Arabi follows Islamic tradition in locating the Sidrat al-Muntahā in the seventh heaven where even angelic knowledge falls short. Celestial spirits seek refuge about the heavenly "Lote-Tree" since it is in reality the Most Great Spirit (al-rūḥ al-a`ẓam). beyond which there is nothing save the pristine Divine Ipseity , "He-ness" or Self identity (al-huwiyya al-mahḍa). For al-Kashani the qur'anic mention of نَزْلَةً "descent" (nazlat) in a visionary context at Q. 53:13, indicates a transition from the spiritual condition of fanā indicating the mystical "death" of the lower "self" to that of baqā' which is indicative of the mystical condition of "permanence" in God. This verse indicates that the prophet Muhammad's experience of the divine tajallī, His self-disclosure or theophany, was an experience of the divine "image" expressive of His Real Being (al-haqq) beyond the intermediary angelic figure Gabriel.
The aforementioned `Abd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. 1330 C.E.) wrote a lexicon of Sufi technical terminology entitled al-Iṣṭilaḥāt al-sūfīyyah) ("Sufi Lexicon"). Therein the Sidrat al-Muntahā is said to signify the greatest intermediate realm, the al-barzakhiyya al-kubrā or (loosely) "greatest isthmus" at which all knowledge and activity terminates. It is said to be the last of the named spiritual ranks (al-marātib al-asmāiyya) without superior ([p.60 Eng.] p. 83 Arabic [personal trans.]). `Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī (d. c.1428 C.E.), In his influential al-Insān al-kāmil. .. ("The Perfect Human" ) `Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī (d. c.1428 C.E.), a visionary adherent of the school of the "Great Shaykh", Ibn al-`Arabi, has a section entitled "About the Sidrat al-Muntahā" (see text and trans. Appendix below). Therein he writes that this "Tree" signifies the extremity of the locale which created beings reach in their journey towards God. He, among other things, underlines the literal sense of the traditions about the "Tree of the sidrah" (shajarat al-sidrah) but interprets its esoteric meaning as religious "faith" (al-īmān). This, in the light of a prophetic tradition which reads, "Whoso filleth his belly with nabq (the fruit of the sidrah) God filleth his heart with faith [īmān] " (al-Insan, 2:12), (see further Appendix below).
The Sidrat al-Muntahā in Islamic Mi`raj related writings. The chronologically arranged list of Islamic writings about the Mi`raj of the Prophet Muhammad many of which contain significant materials about the Sidrat al-Muntaha or Lote-Tree. ADD URL =
Shī`ī
Ḥadith and Qur'ān
commentary.
A statement of Imam `Alī
b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/ 661 CE.), Imam `Alī
b. Abī Ṭālib (d.
40/ 661 CE.), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, is said
to have responded to a
question about the nafs which term in qur'anic and post qur'anic
times has a wide range of meanings; including, "identity", "person" "soul"
and
"Logos-Soul". He identified a variety of meanings for this
Arabic term nafs
including the individual human soul and the Divine Universal Logos-Soul'
-- this latter sense being frequently associated in Babi-Baha'i scripture
with the "Reality" or "Identity" of
the (per.) mazhar-i ilahi or "Manifestation of God". This first Shi`i Imam
equates this nafs as the Divine Logos-Soul with (among other things) the
Sidrat
al-muntahā) or the "Lote-Tree of the Extremity" (see Mulla Muhsin Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Kalimāt-i-maknūnih cited Fayḍī, La'āli' :
247-9). This tradition ascribed to Imam `Ali is referred to and variously interpreted by both the Bāb
and Bahā'-Allāh (refer ESW : 112; cf. the Bāb, Commentary on the Sūra of the
Cow (Tafsīr Sūrat al-Baqara) Ms., 59-60).
In his massive Shī`ī Qur'an Tafsir entitled al‑Tibyān fī tafsīr al‑Qur’ān (The Clarification of Qur’ān Commentary) al‑Ṭūsī explains the verse "when there encompassed the Sidrah (Lote-Tree) that which covered it" (Q. 53:16) as alluding to that which emanates from or covers the Sidrat al‑muntahā. He further has it that "the Sidra (Lote‑Tree) was covered with al‑nūr (Light), al‑bahā’ (Splendour), al‑ḥusn (Beauty) and al‑safā’ (Purity) so delightful that there is no end to its depiction" (Tibyān, 9:432). Such is in line with the implications of Qur'an 53:18 which associates the visionary experience of the Lote-Tree and related things as among the "greatest" (al-kubrā) of the "signs" of the "Lord" . Ṭabrisī [Tabarsī], Amīn al-Dīn, Abū `Alī al-Faḍl ibn al-Ḥasan (d. 548 /1154). In the Shī`ī Qur'ān commentary of al-Ṭabrisī on Qur'an 53:14 entitled Majma' al-bayān fi tafsīr al-qur'ān (6 vols. Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, 1380) an opinion is registered to the effect that the "Lote-Tree" is the shajarat al-nubuwwat, the "Tree of Prophethood" (vol. |
