12 I" tIN FrxNsltpl of fix PrvpiNIIt is no less than inspiration sent down to him: he was taught by o nc mighty
in pou"er, endo ..... 1:d with wisdom. For he appeared in angelic form \\'hile he
was in the hi,ghcst pan of the horizon. Then he approached and came clos-
er, and was at a distance of but twO how lengths or nearer. So did God con-
vcy by inspiration to His Servant what H e mCint to convey. T he heart in
no ..... -ay belied that which he saw. WiU you then dispute with him concern-
ing what he saw? For indeed he saw him at anomer descent, ncar the Lotus
o f the utmost boundary-near it is the Garden of Abode-when that
which covered the Loms covered il. H is sight never swerved. nor did it go
wrong. For truly did he see, of the sign s of his Lord, the GrcatcstJl4T he Night Journey and ascension were to give rise to many commentS,
both when the Prophet recoumed the facts and later amo ng fI,'luslim
scholars. When Muhammad wem to the Kaha and reported his experi-
ence, jeers, sniggers and criticisms quickly followed. The Quraysh believed
:hat at last mey had proof that mis sO-l:aUul \Jl'Ophel was indeed mad,
since he dared claim that in o ne night he had made a journey to Jerusalem
:whicb in itself required several weeks) and that. he had, furthermore,
been raised to th e presence of his One God. His madness was obvious.
T he Night Journey experience, presemed in classical accoums o f the
Prophet's life as a gift fr o m God and a consecration for the ;\'lcssenger,
the Elect (aI-Mustafa) was a real trial fo r t>.luhammad and those around
him. It marked the boundary between those believers whose faith radiat-
ed in their trust in this P rophet and his mess~ge and the others, who were
taken aback b y the improbability of such a story. A Quraysh delegation
hastened to go and question Abu Bakr about his mad and senseless fr iend,
but his immediate, forthright answer surprised them: «If he says such a
thing, it cannot but be true!" Abu Bakr's faith and trust were such that he
was not in the least disrurbed, even for a second. After that, he personal-
ly wem to question the Prophe t, who confirmed the facts; as a result, Abu
Bake repeated forcefully: " I believe you, you have always spoken the
truth."IS From that dayan, the Prophet called Abu Bake b)' the epithet
As-Siddiq (he who is truthful, who confirms the truth).
The trial that Muhammad's Night Jourr:ey presemed for his fellow
Muslim s occurred at a moment when they werc struggling with a most
difficult siruation. Tradition reports that a few Muslims left Islam, but
most trusted Muhammad. A few weeks later, facts confirmed some ele-