For a physical body’s covering of a vast distance was only possible because of the dominion Allah had granted him, just as the wind had been placed at his command:

“so that it flowed at his bidding, gently, wherever he wished,” (Ṣād 38:36) (36)

“and the devils, every builder and diver,” (Ṣād 38:37) (37)

“and others fettered together in chains.” (Ṣād 38:38) (38)

Such subjugation was a royal prerogative. By contrast, Muhammad’s—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—traversal of that immense distance occurred because of the signs Allah showed him, signs by which He distinguished him above all the other prophets. This, however, was a fitnah—that is, a test and trial for the people—so that those who believed in him might be set apart from those who denied him.

The hadith reports concerning the Ascension (miʿrāj), his rising beyond the heavens, the Lord’s imposing upon him at that time the five daily prayers, his beholding of the signs he witnessed—Paradise and Hell, the angels and the prophets in the heavens, the Oft-Frequented House (al-bayt al-maʿmūr), the Lote-tree of the Furthest Limit (sidrat al-muntahā), and much else besides—are all well known.