The hadiths dealing with the nuzūl (Divine Descent) have been gathered together in a separate booklet, and I am certain that they reach the level of tawātur (mass-transmission).

Among the creedal points affirmed by the leading scholars of the Sunnah—both early and later—is that our Prophet ﷺ was taken up through the highest heavens to the Lote Tree at the Utmost Boundary, where he was “two bow-lengths away, or even closer.”

It was on that occasion that Allah made the five daily prayers obligatory. The Prophet then descended and passed by Moses, informed him of it, and Moses said, “I have dealt with people before you; your community will not be able to carry fifty prayers. Go back to your Lord and ask Him to lighten the burden.”

Some of the reports about the Miʿrāj (the Ascension) have already been cited; they are lengthy and well known. The ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Ghanī gathered them together—I have seen them in two fascicles of his. Had the Prophet’s ascent been no more than a dream, and his reaching the Lote Tree occurred merely in the realm of the imagination, like the experiences claimed by certain mystics, the Chosen One ﷺ would possess no great distinction over many of his righteous followers in that regard. Moreover, Allah—the Truth—confirmed his Ascension and exalted its mention as an episode that took place while he was fully awake, beholding with his own eyes, in His words: “When the Lote Tree was covered by that which covered it; the sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress” (Q 53:16–17). The scholar of this community, Ibn ʿAbbās, said: “It was a vision of the eye that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw.”

Section: There is a difference of opinion concerning whether the Prophet ﷺ saw his Lord that night. A group of the early scholars held that he did behold his Lord, while others—such as the Mother of the Believers ʿĀʾishah and others—maintained that he did not; a third group preferred to remain silent and suspend judgment, and some said that he saw Him with the eye of his heart.

Ibn Khuzaymah cited the hadith of Abū Dharr: “I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, did you see your Lord?’ He replied, ‘There was light—how could I see Him?’” Ibn Khuzaymah regarded this report as munkar (irregular). He then said: “What I hold in this matter is what Bundār narrated to us: Muʿādh ibn Hishām related to us, saying, ‘My father told me, from Qatādah…’