Tn /hf Foots/Pi 0/ 1M Prophftprayer must in essence be: a reminder of and an elevation toward the
l\Iost High, five times a day, in order to detach from oneself, from the
world, and from illusions. The mirqj (the elevation during the Night
Journey) is thus more than simply an archetype of the spiritual experi-
e:1ce; it is pregnant with the deep significance of prayer, which, through
the Eternal \'V'ord, enables us to liberate our consciousness from the con-
tingencies of space and time, and fully comprehend the meaning of life
a:1d of life.
Toward Exile
It was 620, a year after the deaths of Muhammad's wife, Khadijah, and his
uncle Abu Talib, and the time of the yearly pilgrimage to the Kaba and
Mecca's annual market period was drawing ncar. Muhammad was still dis-
pensing his teachings in a climate of rejection, exclusion, and persecution.
About a hundred Muslims now lived under protection in Abyssinia, but
no solution seemed to present itself for the faithful who lived in Mecca.
The pilgrims, coming from all areas of the peninsula, started to settle in
the Mina area, to remain there throughout the festival period. Muhammad
often went there and conveyed his message to \vomen and men who, in
their distant dwelling places, had heard about it but did not know its actu-
al contents. He was far from always teceiving a favorable response.
At al-Aqabah, not far from Mina, the Prophet met a group of people
from Yathrib. T hey were from the Khazraj tribe, one of the t\vo great rival
tribes in Yathrib (the other being the Aws), md he began to deliver his
message to them. They had already heard of the message from the Je\\~sh
tribes \vho lived in their city, and they wished to know morl"' ~h()1lT ir. They
listened to the Prophet and eventually accepted the message of Islam:
they promised to inform the members of their tribe of the substance of
the message and to keep in petmanent contact with the ProphetP They
went back home and started preaching in Yathrib.
In Mecca, co nversions kept increasing, and Muhammad carried on
with his public call. As far as his private life was concerned, many advised
him to think of remarrying. Proposals had been made, but the Prophet
had never pursued the matte r. He had, however, had two drt:ams in which
the very young Aishah, Abu Bakr's daughter, who was then six yt:ars old,