He said, 'I am the servant of God, and I am the one who knows the secrets of the divine…

He said, 'I am the servant of God, and I am the one who knows the secrets of the divine decree.' [1]

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And may Allah bless our master and lord Muhammad, his family, and his companions, and grant them abundant peace. Its author—may Allah illuminate his heart with the light of faith, gladden his breast with the sweetness of Muhammadan love ¹, sincerity of intention therein, perfection of devotion and certainty, and grant victory to his countenance among the praisers, and preserve him from the accidents of deprivation and deficiency—said: Praise be to Allah, who made the Quran for the hearts of His servants an antidote of cure and healing, a ladder of attainment for those who desire closeness to their Lord and follow the paths of the guided and the imitators, and a path of lights for those who follow the Sunna and the Book and act upon what they covenanted with Allah and fulfilled, and a treasure of secrets for those who strive in Allah with true striving and drink from the fullest cup, from the fountain of purity and selection, and wash with pure love. And praise be to Allah, who removed by it from the eyes of their insights the darkness of ignorance, severance, and harshness, and chose from them for His presence what He willed and selected, and made among them ² friends, chosen ones, prophets, caliphs, generous ones, humble ones, intelligent ones, noble ones, and knowers. Blessing and peace be upon our master and lord Muhammad, the path of the monotheists, the crown of the nobles, the elite of the great and generous and the illustrious and elegant, who was taken by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, then the ladder was lowered for him, and he ascended upon it to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, then to the enclosures of light, layer upon layer, until he reached the presence of his Lord and attained might and honor. To proceed: When I finished compiling the first book of the Ascension and gathered in it what was available of hadiths—both summary and detailed, brief and lengthy—I followed it with the four books that hold the station of the Opening Chapter ³ of the revealed Book. I placed for each journey an opening to facilitate its use for those who wish to read and seek intercession through the brilliant prayers to Allah and to seek means. In this journey, I mentioned the reports of Jerusalem and the hadiths of the Rock, which, when he placed his noble foot upon it on the night of the Night Journey, leaned out of awe for his majesty until Gabriel fastened it for him, and it neither moved nor shook thereafter. I incorporated that into the beginning of our book, named "The Treasure of the Needy," so that it may be adorned like the adornment of a bride with a crowned diadem, and a kingdom with victory, support, and eternal glory, and so that its reader may increase thereby in faith, affirmation, love for him—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and longing, and thus his face may shine and beam. I ask Allah to make it among the pure, accepted deeds and the grateful effort that does not change with the passage of time and ages ⁴ nor alter. Amen, amen, amen. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. ❖ How great you are when you traveled alone ❖ And the Burāq stepped like lightning and faster ❖ And the callers from all directions ❖ Near you, hoping for your closeness ❖ When you reached the Mosque of Jerusalem, ❖ The prophets and angels prayed behind you, bowing ❖ And you ascended, and in the air you stepped purely ❖ In which nothing but your essence rose ❖ And with your Lord you were alone in seclusion ❖ In a vision that was from you and heard ❖ Two bow-lengths away, you were with Him visibly ❖ Thus love gathers the beloved O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those to whom You gave might, pride, and honor, and the most generous of those who abandoned family and beds in Your obedience and shunned them, whom You called to Your presence and took by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, to two bow-lengths, honored and ennobled. The Burāq was his mount, Gabriel veiled him, and the angels watched him and guided to him joy and felicity as gifts. When his mount reached the Farthest Mosque, he found it filled with prophets, and he led them in prayer, and each of them prayed for him and advised. Regarding him, He who specially honored him with the Night Journey said: "Exalted is He who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque." That was a pride and honor for him. Then the ladder was set up for him to the heaven, elevated and named, and he became revered, magnified ⁵, glorified, honored, respected, supported, venerated, advanced, authoritative, ruling, decisive. Gabriel did not seek to turn away from him in his journey, nor deviate. The gates of heaven were opened with glorification and veneration. It was said to him: "Who is with you, O Gabriel?" He said: "Muhammad, the Chosen One." It was said: "Has he been sent for?" He said: "Yes." It was said: "Welcome to him, and excellent is the coming he has come," crowned and honored. The noble angels received him, and he greeted the prophets and messengers with respect. Each welcomed him and became acquainted with his blessing. He passed them and proceeded, crossing the deserts, traces, and landmarks, without pausing or stopping. He heard the creaking of the spheres, the glorification of the angels, and saw Paradise and Hell, and what Allah had prepared therein for the righteous and the wicked. The blazing fire subsided by the blessing of his arrival, and Riḍwān ⁶ perfumed for him in Paradise palaces and chambers. Then he was raised to the Much-Frequented House ⁷, and beheld the radiance, light, and illumination, a lofty place into which seventy thousand rows of angels enter daily, never to return until the Day of Resurrection, the day when the wrongdoer will bite his hands in regret and sorrow. When Gabriel reached the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, he halted there. The noble Messenger said: "O Gabriel, does the friend leave the friend behind here?" He said: "O master of the messengers and beloved of the Lord of the worlds, you are the possessor of the hidden secret and the inscribed knowledge. From here, traces are obliterated and sciences are effaced. This is my known station. 'And there is none among us except that he has a known station.' ⁸ So proceed in the ascents of your rising fortune, honored, and ascend from the lights of your might and glory, layer upon layer." And they recited ⁹: "The layer of lights ascended, and the night cleared, The breeze of union blew, and harshness vanished. Sweet for him was the mention of the discourse, as a companion, And delightful was that drink, gentle." The Chosen One continued to pass through the veils of light, penetrate the curtains, and ascend layer upon layer until distance disappeared and vanished, separation ceased and was removed. The Chosen One followed good manners in his journey, and witnessed a beauty that was ever defined by Oneness and characterized by Solitude. He stood in the station of witnessing and presence, clothed in the robes of radiance, light, and illumination, embroidered with the embroidery of opening, joy, and delight, inscribed with the inscriptions of love, felicity, and happiness. He continued the bond of union and chose to abandon harshness. Peace greeted him with peace as a gift, and He greeted him with bounty and honor, tenderness and gentleness, compassion, mercy, and affection. He said to him:

O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His permission, and as an illuminating lamp. And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah great bounty. So the lamp of your prophethood shines upon your community until the Day of Resurrection, never weakening nor extinguishing. You are the witness, and I am the witnessed. You have attained the highest stations and the noblest witnessing. The witness, in the realization of his testimony, is neither hesitant nor wavering. So bear witness to what you have seen, that you may make people recognize ¹⁰ Oneness, and acknowledge ¹¹ servitude to Me. For I have made you hear My words directly, and made them a healing for you, and I have shown you My beauty, and you were yearning for it. Therefore, with My address, your hearing was delighted ¹². And I gave you to drink from the delightful drink of My cup, pure and clear of all turbidity. So say to those who sleep away from Me and are heedless, and who exchange My union for separation: O you who have slept in weakness and become heedless, What do the sleepers lose of loyalty? Arise, O heedless one from the union of your Beloved, And shed tears upon the cheeks in regret. Listen and leave aside affectation; indeed, What is pure from one whose love is affectation? For me, at ¹³ and between ¹⁴, A full moon, slender of stature, brown, and slim-waisted. If it appears in the night, you see a moon that shines, Or a heart intoxicated by a sharp sword. He is the master of the two worlds ¹⁵ and the light that Our Law ¹⁶ appeared through him after being hidden. He is the sole intercessor on the Day of Resurrection, For those who loved him, whether in the Fire or who transgressed. He is the possessor of great station, so none is seen Except forgiving, compassionate, and gentle. He is the companion of the ¹⁷, who was taken by night To the most sublime and noble station. The worlds were filled with his dazzling light, And he rose upon the back of ¹⁸, honored. The angels of heaven were servants to him, And for him are the gardens of eternity, displaying their adornment. Allah, exalted is His majesty, revealed to him His secrets, which for others will not be disclosed. O master of the two worlds, I come to you complaining Of the tyranny of a time that has become oppressive. I intend to journey to you, but it prevents me, While my heart toward you has become yearning. Life has passed in waste, regretfully, And for your sake I have perished in sorrow ¹⁹. Perhaps with you there is a firm resolve that fulfills My aim and a life that has become pure. May Allah bless you, O banner of guidance, As long as the dove of the ²⁰ coos and describes. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose light shone and illuminated in the expanse of the ²¹, and the most noble of those who glorified his Lord in the sanctuaries of holiness and the carpet of the White Pearl ²². When he reached the age of fifty-one years and nine months, he was taken by night from between ²³ and ²⁴ to the renowned ²⁵, full of blessing and honor. His chest was split by the command of the All-Knowing King, and his heart was taken out and washed with the water of ²⁶, flowing from pains. Then it was returned to its place after being filled with faith and wisdom, with gentleness and peace. Then he was taken by night to the most honorable place and the most exalted station. The ²⁷ was hidden from understanding, its wisdom's secret subtle from mankind, until He revealed to him His saying, Blessed and Exalted: "O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner." So he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "O Lord, You have prescribed for me that the witness does not testify except to what he sees." So Allah, Exalted, revealed to him: "O master, We take you by night to Us so that you may witness the highest ²⁸ and inform of the seen, of what the two eyes have seen in the gardens and the fires." And it is said: When He raised him and made him witness, He said to him: "O Prophet, you have testified for Me, so testify against Me." He said: "O Lord, with what shall I testify against You?" He said: "Testify against Me that whoever comes to Me while bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah, I will forgive him every sin he committed in secret and in public." And it is said: Allah, Exalted, removed the obstacles for him, lifted the intervening veils, folded the earth for him, brought the ²⁹ near to him, and presented it before him. Then He said: "O Muhammad, look and inform them." And whenever they asked him about something, he, peace and blessings be upon him, would look and tell them based on direct vision and witnessing. And Allah is over all things competent. So they were silenced and dumbfounded. Then he recounted to them his ascent from ²⁵ to heaven. When the proof was established for them by the verification of the ²⁷ to ²⁵ from Mecca in a single hour of the night, while between them is a month's journey for a swift traveler, they were compelled to acknowledge his ascent to heaven, because whoever is able to fold the earth, which is dense dust, is more able to do so with space and air, which are subtle things. And it was said to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: "We heard from you that Jesus son of Mary walked on water." He said: "Yes, and if he wished, he could have walked on air, but he observed etiquette with the companion of the ²⁷, since that was specific to the Chosen One when he ascended to the heavens and traversed the deserts, and was shown"

A thousand veils of light and a thousand veils of darkness, and walking in the air is greater than walking on water. Also, water is walked upon by the righteous and the wicked, the believers and the disbelievers, by means of a piece of wood, a plank, or a ship. But the air—none can walk upon it except through a divine care or a godly gift. It is related from some scholars that his companion was Gabriel ³⁰, the one holding his stirrup was Michael ³¹, the covering ³² was in the hand of Israfil ³³, the caller for him was the Majestic Lord, and the one called was Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, the chosen, the beautiful messenger. The place of the call was the distance of two bow-lengths or nearer ³⁴, and the robe of honor was intercession for the sinners of his community. Therefore, the Exalted said: "And your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied" ³⁵. So, O God, bless him and his family with a blessing by which You regard us with the eye of acceptance and satisfaction, and preserve us thereby from the depth of misery and evil decree, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Sufficient for him is pride that God's favor is upon the heaven and what is in it of the hosts. How many miracles does he have, apart from God's creation, recited to people in verses and chapters! The night of union ³⁶—how many wonders are folded within it! So marvel at its story, one of the most wondrous stories. It was without an appointment for his visit, and the sweetest union is an unexpected one. He revealed to him what He revealed, so no one—neither female nor male—knows the reality. He gave him beyond what he would be pleased with, and singled him out with proximity, success, acceptance, and victory. He perfumed the cosmos and all horizons with the fragrant scent of his sweet fragrance. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those to whom the fearful flee for his most exalted station and his presence, and the most excellent of those whose sweet remembrance the lover utters and fills with the wine of his drink. He—when You wished to honor him with an honor ³⁷ that the first and last had not attained, and to raise him to the noblest station that the elite and the near ones had not reached—You revealed to Gabriel, the Trustworthy Spirit, the near, obeyed, and established one, and said to him: "O Gabriel, stand on the foot of servitude, acknowledge the might of Lordship, frolic in the field of My gratitude, and know the loftiness of My station and the greatness of My power. For I have bestowed favor upon you, so listen to what is revealed to you." He said: "At Your service, my Lord, and at Your pleasure. All good is in Your hands, from You and to You. You are the Gentle Master, and I am the weak servant. You are the Powerful Master, and I am the needy servant." I said to him: "O Gabriel, take the knowledge of guidance and the Buraq ³⁸ of divine care, the robe of acceptance and sainthood, the cloak of messengership and the belt of majesty, and descend with seventy thousand angels to the door of the intercessor of nations, the master of Arabs and non-Arabs, described with generosity, virtue, and kindness, My beloved Muhammad. Stand at his door, seek refuge at his exalted threshold, for tonight you are holding his stirrup and among his companions and loved ones." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved of pure origin and structure, Your chosen one adorned with the jewels of names and the most beautiful essential attributes. When You wished to raise his rank ³⁹ and manifest his honor and distinction, You said: "O Michael, take in your hand the knowledge of acceptance, and descend with seventy thousand angels to the door of the Messenger's chamber. Tonight you are the keeper of his covering and the one appointed to serve him. O Israfil and O Azrael ⁴⁰, do as Michael and Gabriel have done. So tonight be submissive before the master of the first and the last. O Gabriel, increase the light of the sun over the light of the moon, and from the light of the moon over the light of the stars, and make them two candles before the master of the two worlds." Gabriel said: "My God, is the Hour near?" He said: "No, but I wish to bring My beloved near, inform him of secrets, and bestow upon him robes of light and illumination. He is Muhammad the Chosen, distinguished by truthfulness and loyalty. Descend to him, kiss the ground before him, and be his servant tonight and attendant to his stirrup." So Gabriel descended to him with glad tidings and congratulations while he was sleeping in the house of Umm Hani ⁴¹. He called him: "O chosen Prophet, rise to the presence of the Forgiving King, for the angels are waiting for you, the kingdom has adorned itself for your sake, and all existences have testified to your virtue." So he rose on the feet of longing, and Gabriel mounted him on the Buraq. He traveled from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque ⁴², covering a journey beyond measure and count. The angels walked before him and multiplied blessings and salutations upon him. They called out: "O noble master, O great messenger, turn your gaze to us and favor us with your kind attention." He said: "Whoever moves a foot toward other than the Beloved tires, and whoever steps for other than the Desired wearies ⁴³. And whoever reaches this highest station, how can he turn to other than the Master?" When the resolves of his will were firm and he was occupied with the Creator, not turning to any of His creatures, the tongue of his gratitude and humility submitted, saying: "If I fall short in His service, who am I?" When he was adorned with the qualities of etiquette and instruction, he was brought near to the ranks of veneration and glorification. So he drew near and approached, and was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer. They chanted: "Blessings to him for what he manifested by his light, and he attained from divine pleasure the highest station. The Trustworthy Spirit elevated him to the heights, and entrusted him with a secret, and he understood the meaning. He witnessed a meaning beyond description, and brought him near to the distance of two bow-lengths or nearer. How many virtues of grace do you have with God, O best of messengers, that neither perish nor fade! He said to him: 'I have granted you My vision; whoever obtains a glance from Me has become self-sufficient.'" O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved of high rank and station, Your chosen one regarded with the eye of kindness in journey and stay. When he reached the Lordly Presence, it was called: "O Muhammad, tonight you are Our guest. So what is your hospitality and what do you desire?" He said: "All that You have bestowed upon the prophets before me are used robes; I do not desire them." It was said: "Then what pleases you, O beloved, and what makes your soul content?" He said, in the tongue of his state, upon the realization ⁴⁴ of his actions: "O Possessor of generosity and bounty, You know best what is sought and intended." It was said to him: "O master who is granted intercession and intercedes, if you desire a robe that no one has attained, no aspirant has hoped for, no mention has entered the heart of a rememberer, and no hearer has heard, then take it: enter the treasuries of Our generosity and dispose of the garments of Our virtue and bliss." So his robe was: "The sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress" ⁴⁵; its embroidery: "He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord" ⁴⁶; then he was crowned with the crown of: "The heart did not lie about what it saw" ⁴⁷. Then it was said: "O Muhammad, do you know Me?" He said: "Glory be to You, we have not known You as You deserve to be known." Then it was said: "O Muhammad, do you know who you are and in what station you are?" He said: "You know best, and You are the Knower of the unseen." He said: "Beyond this station of yours, there is no station for any created being, and above your veneration, there is no veneration for anyone."

And no respect, I transferred you from station to station, from world to world, from ascension to ascension, until there remained no wonder in the dominion of the heavens and the earth but I showed it to you, and no rare gift but I conveyed you to it. Had it not been for you, I would not have created the angels, nor set the spheres in motion. Draw near to Me, My beloved, draw near to Me, My beloved, draw near to Me, My beloved." When the beloved stood upon the carpet of proximity ⁴⁸, and the cups of affection and love were passed around, he returned reciting: "The heart did not lie about what it saw" ⁴⁹ between his eyes, and the secret of "He revealed to His servant what He revealed" ⁵⁰ filled his heart and ears. He passed by Moses, peace be upon him, and the tongue of his state recited: O one who comes from the people of the neighborhood, tell me about my neighbors, grace the ears with the news. I adjure you by God, O narrator of their story, speak, for today my hearing has taken the place of my sight. The tongue of the state of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: Indeed, I was alone with the Beloved, and between us was a secret more delicate than the breeze when it blows at night. He permitted my sight a glance that I hoped for, so I became known after being unknown. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, pure of heart and soul, and Your chosen one, praised in the higher and lower worlds by every tongue: When his Lord brought him into the witnessing-places of the Eternal Presence ⁵¹, and he drank from the gifts of His secrets with the cups of Self-Sufficiency ⁵², all beings were illuminated by his countenance, and the angels of the heavens gave him glad tidings of attaining his goal. He was called, though he saw no one: "Allah is your Protector and Master, so thank Him for what He has bestowed upon you." He said: "I was inspired to say: 'All greetings, blessings, and good prayers are for Allah.' Then it was answered: 'Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.' So I said: 'Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah,' thus including my brothers among the prophets and my community in the abundant favor and dazzling grace with which I was singled out. The angels responded: 'I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.' Then it was called: 'Draw near, O Muhammad,' so I drew near. It is said: 'He drew near through knowledge, so the Lord drew near to him through love.' And it is said: 'Then he drew near and came down ⁵³; Muhammad drew near through his love, so revelation descended upon him from his Lord—a drawing near of mercy and gentleness, not a drawing near of travel or traversing distance. Rather, the distance ⁵⁴ vanished, and he was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer ⁵⁵.' Time and place ceased to exist, and he was with Him where there is no direction or place, no time or moment, no hour or season, no spheres or worlds; rather, he was before place and time existed, and before every time and moment. ❖ First, Last, All-Hearing, All-Seeing ❖ He is One, transcendent above a second ❖ To the noble Prophet was the Night Journey ❖ The master of messengers from the sons of Adnan ❖ Then He brought him near, two bow-lengths away ❖ And gave him the Book with clear exposition ❖ Then He revealed to him secrets of knowledge ❖ Dazzling, with the clearest proof O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who is constant in Your remembrance while sitting and standing, and Your chosen one who prays to You at night while people sleep, and Your intimate companion who, when he returned from the journey of his Night Journey ⁵⁶ with secrets, overwhelmed with expansion, joy, and glad tidings, and having attained complete felicity, delight, happiness, and bliss, was met by Moses, the master of the Mount ⁵⁷, who said to him: "O noble Prophet and clement Beloved, what has been prescribed for your community in terms of prayers, O master of beings?" He replied: "Fifty prayers each day and night." Moses said: "O master of mankind and bride of the Abode of Peace ⁵⁸, return to your Lord and ask Him for alleviation for them, for among them are the incapable and the weak." Moses kept repeating this until they were reduced to five prayers perpetually ⁵⁹. ❖ The secret in Moses' repetition was ❖ To behold the beauty of Layla ⁶⁰ when witnessing it ❖ Her radiance appears on the face of the Messenger, for ❖ How excellent is the saint who observed him! O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You raised in the stages of proximity and honored with Your Night Journey, and the most excellent of those for whom You tore the veils between You and him until he witnessed You with the eye of his heart and saw You. When he attained from visiting his Lord what he desired, and was alone in witnessing His vision and rejoiced, He said to him: "O Muhammad, ask what you wish from Us and what you desire and hope for, for We have permitted you to attain your goal." He said: "I wish that You bestow upon my community from the honor of my robe, so that they may receive abundant favors from the gifts of Your Presence." It was said to him: "O master of beings, and O you whose footsteps honor the earth and the heavens, We have bestowed upon them five robes, and the star of their fortune has risen from the horizon of their glory and shone. They are the five prayers, which they delight in during seclusions." He said: "What are the descriptions of these robes and their names, whose light has appeared and shone upon the horizons?" It was said to him: "Sit upon the stations of drawing near, O Beloved, for they are being presented before you and manifested to you. The first bride presented to you and brought to you is a bride radiant with lights, lofty in rank, whose fragrance has spread throughout all regions, and whose light has shone for those of intellect and insight. Then it was proclaimed: 'O you who are secure from rejection and separation through Our union, and whose community has obtained, through your blessing, abundant reward and recompense, this noble robe is called the Dawn Prayer.' Then a bride was presented to him in white garments, secure from rejection and aversion, and it was proclaimed: 'O possessor of luminous virtues, O you who have preferred your community over all other communities through ablution and purity, this noble robe is called the Noon Prayer.' Then a bride was presented to him in garments of dazzling light, and the universe shone with the light of his radiant face, and it was proclaimed: 'O you whose beautiful attributes have no limit or count, and who has girded with the sword of care, might, and victory, this noble robe is called the Afternoon Prayer.' Then a bride was presented to him in garments of perfection, having attained from his Lord all goals and hopes, and it was proclaimed: 'O most excellent of those who refined, and most noble of those who drew near and approached, this noble robe is called the Sunset Prayer.' Then a bride was presented to him in garments of fidelity, having obtained from his Lord might, pride, and honor, and reached the ultimate in glory, election, and choice, and it was proclaimed: 'O you who did well and grew up, and most excellent of those who hurried and walked, this noble robe is called the Night Prayer.' These are five prayers in obligation, and fifty in reward through multiplication. And I have increased you, O possessor of the Basin and Kawthar ⁶¹; indeed, I do not accept the remembrance of anyone who remembers Me until you remember. When the robes of prayers and the brides of blessings were presented to him, the herald of acceptance called out: 'Blessed is the one who preserves them and attains the goal and the hoped-for.' So say to the one who finds no release or escape from the captivity of his desire, and finds no way to reach Us or move: Weep for yourself.

With tears of regret for what has passed, and if you do not weep, then pretend to weep. And recite: * O one who goes towards the Beloved, may you * Convey the greeting when you arrive there. * And may you find mention of someone like me with Him, * For that is the cure for my ailment and yours. * And say: Peace be upon you, O best of creation, * From a lover who has longed for you endlessly. * You are the one; without you, the east wind would not blow, * No, nor would love be known without you. * Without you, Adam's slip would not have been forgiven * When he sought refuge in your protection at that time. * Without you, Jonah would not have been raised in rank * When he was saved from his whale through your guidance. * Without you, the son of Imran ⁶² would not have ascended * The Mount of Discourse ⁶³ and attained your intimate conversation. * Indeed, you journeyed by night to the All-Dominating ⁶⁴ one night, * And by God, no one has ever journeyed as you journeyed. * Your journey was with the body, without any doubt, * And your eyes held sway over His dominion. * You were asked to remove your sandals out of awe, * But the call came: "Do not remove your sandals." ⁶⁵ * And you ascended, piercing the highest heavens, * Continuously until you reached your goal. * Gabriel, the Trustworthy, called out, addressing you * With honor from your Lord's pleasure. * If Adam was the chosen one among His creation, * Then He chose you for His love and guidance. * Or if Noah was saved in an ark, * Then from enemies in the cave He saved you. ⁶⁶ * Or if Abraham was granted intimate friendship, * Then God chose you when He called you. ⁶⁷ * Or if Ishmael had a ransom from his Lord, * Then how many ransoms were your ransom? ⁶⁸ * Or if Moses conversed intimately with God, * Then on the Night of Ascension ⁶⁹ He conversed with you. * Or if Jesus attained a rank before you, * Then He gave you the ranks of all combined. * Through the Ascension you attained every virtue, * And you saw the Almighty of heaven, and He saw you. * So upon you, O best of mankind, be a greeting * That comes to you with acceptance from your Lord. Completion of the Night Journey and Return, containing secrets and benefits, and the great Buraq's ⁷⁰ honor in that night, and the manifest signs and breaking of norms that appeared to him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq took pride in carrying him on its back, and returned while exalting in his majesty and great rank. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq proclaimed his praise and the honor of his mention, and returned while uttering that in secret and in public. ⁷¹ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq rejoiced in the blessedness of his time and era, and returned while seeking refuge in his most secure sanctuary and being honored by his care and support. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq halted at his command and prohibition, and returned while swaying with the intoxication of the wine of his love. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq uttered his perfect praise and gratitude, and returned while awakening sleeping thoughts with his speech and true report. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq acknowledged his mastery and pride, and returned while wishing never to part from him for the duration of his life and the length of his age. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, ⁷² Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq was perfumed with his fragrant scent and sweet aroma, and returned while marveling at his abundant modesty, forbearance, and patience. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the face of the Buraq beamed with the light of his joy and the radiance of his pride, and returned while striving for his pleasure and seizing his reward through the blessing of his reward and recompense. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq, by his blessing, covered the distant miles in its going and traveling, and returned while seeking the abundant gifts of his grace and the increasing goodness. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which the one who prays attains forgiveness of his sins and great burdens, and is saved from the terror of the standing ⁷³ and the torment of Hellfire and its heat, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq sought refuge in his sanctuary and entered the sacred precinct of his inviolability, and returned while asking Allah to let it die in his love and service. ⁷⁴ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq was delighted by seeing and beholding him, and returned while feasting its eyes on his surpassing beauty and joyful comeliness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq was singled out to carry his noble essence and body, and returned while delighting in hearing his most holy speech and the sweetness of his address. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq was honored by accompanying and being with him, and returned while submitting to the loftiness of his station and high rank. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq took pride in belonging to him and being related to him, and returned while rejoicing in attaining its desire and the fulfillment of its wish. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, ⁷⁵ Your beloved, who journeyed by night, and the Buraq was blessed by having its reins placed in his grasp, and returned while clinging to his mighty presence and holding onto the curtains of his Kaaba ⁷⁶.

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, carried by al-Burāq (the celestial steed) on the wings of his longing and affection, and returned with blessing and felicity to his illuminated regions and his sacred soil. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, while al-Burāq was crowned with the crown of his might and exaltation, and returned, recounting his dazzling miracles and what he saw of the loftiness of his station before Allah and his favor. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing by which You cause us to die upon the Ḥanīfī (monotheistic) creed and his Sunnah (prophetic tradition), and by which You gather us with his pure company and the people of his cohort, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. I will praise him whose praise has come in the Remembrance (the Qur’an) * and in his praise, O companion, how many a verse is recited! Sufficient for us is his highness, exaltation and elevation * from the highest dust to the lowest dust. Through him Allah made the Night Journey atop his Burāq * and raised him above the heavens, and he ascended. And He spoke to him, for he was the best of those spoken to * with the best of speech—how delightful and sweet! So boast through him of whom you will, you will boast through his proximity * and excel through him over whom you will, for to him belongs excellence. O Messenger of Allah, O best of messengers * and O he through whom the Merciful sealed the messengers, Bestow favor upon ‘Abd al-Raḥīm (the servant of the Merciful) with a mercy * that becomes for him, in the severance from your bond, a connection. And may Allah bless you, O best of those who strove * and who circumambulated the House, or fasted, or prayed. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him snatching away sights with the light of his radiant beauty, and returned while the worlds of spirits roamed in his perfect, beautiful, and joyful splendor. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, which delights the core of souls and hearts, and returned, while his glad tidings foretell the Great Intercession and the removal of crises of distress and hardship. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him—praiseworthy is his journey in the night travel and the darkness—and returned, having perfumed the regions with the fragrance of his sweet, gentle, and aromatic scent. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, (24) Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, intense in radiance and brightness, and returned, while his answered supplications rectify hearts and remove crookedness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, greatly enraptured in the remembrance of his Lord and devotion, and returned, while his contentment extinguishes the fire of the great Blazing Flame (Lazā), with its fierce exhalation and heat. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, which surpasses in its journey those who flew and passed away, and returned, while his auspicious bird announces the departure of worries and sorrows from his community and the attainment of relief. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing by which You guide us to the paths of salvation, safe from discord and turmoil, and by which You lodge us in the high-ranking stations of Your beloved ones, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, brought forth from the treasuries of the unseen and the Garden of Bliss, and returned, while his light shines on the horizon of divine care as lightning shines in the pitch-black darkness of the night. (25) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, which our Lord, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, singled out for him to ride, and returned, while on his feet were two sandals of light, whose rustling is heard between the East and West, indicating the loftiness of his high rank and the vastness of his great intercessory station. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, observed by the eye of majesty and veneration, and returned, while the lights of the Lordly Presence shone upon his moon-like forehead and his handsome face. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, fluttering with the wings of contentment and submission, and returned, while his signs announce the firmness of his footing in the presence of sainthood (wilāyah) and the carpet of might and precedence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, created for his service and his pure, sincere love, and returned, while Allah fulfilled his request for his community regarding pardon, forgiveness, and deliverance from the heat of the Blazing Fire and the torment of Hell. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, (26) possessors of lordship and honor, and his Companions, people of divine care, excellence, and exaltation, with a blessing by which You guide us to his straight path, and by which You cause us to die upon his Ḥanīfī creed and his upright religion, by Your bounty and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, singled out for lordship and preference, and Your chosen one, observed by the eye of veneration and glorification, and Your noble one who journeyed by night, with al-Burāq beneath him, adorned with a blaze and white stockings (marks of beauty), and marked by beauty of form and perfection of speed and swiftness, until he reached a station from which the greatest of the saints, the messengers, the chiefs of the near-stationed angels, and the trustworthy Gabriel held back; then he was thrust into the Most Holy Light, to the carpet of direct speech and vision. So his Lord, the Majestic King, conversed with him in a manner befitting his lofty station and his magnificent, abundant rank. And he returned in the blink of an eye to his noble abodes, which were filled with the jewels of revelation and scripture, and his lofty regions, which the noble angels frequented at dawn and dusk. And in his illuminated courtyards, glorification, praise, magnification, and declaration of God’s oneness became manifest. And his soil encompassed manifest lights, dazzling secrets, abundant blessings, and immense goodness. And his sanctuaries contained felicity, blessings, multiplied good things, and qualities without peer or likeness. And how could it not be so, (27) when his illuminated dwellings and purified chambers are the abode of the Seal of the Prophets, the visitation site of angels, saints, and the chosen ones, and the best of Allah’s lands in general and in detail? And there the secrets of prophethood gushed forth and its flood overflowed, the lights of messengership shone and its book descended, and its clear signs were preserved from distortion, alteration, and change. And it is the first land where the Chosen One (al-Muṣṭafā) alighted and his noble body touched its dust, and it was honored.

By his mission, its regions, valleys, and plateaus became secure, and through him it became a sanctuary safe for the one departing and arriving, the one entering and the one staying. So bless him, O Allah, and bless his family, those of lofty lineage and noble honor, and his Companions, people of exalted glory and ancient majesty, a blessing that waters our hearts with the clouds of Your gentle mercy, and through its blessing have mercy on the weak, the poor, the incapable, and the negligent among us, and honor the lowly, and may its kindness accompany us in movements and stillness, in residence and travel, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. A Muhammadan Isra ⁷⁷ of wondrous composition and flow, and an Ahmadine Mi'raj ⁷⁸ of unique style and harmony. The evidences of eloquence shine upon the jewels of its sweet words, delightful in speech and taste, and the flashes of fluency radiate upon the subtleties of its meanings, like the rising of the morning sun upon all horizons. The Beloved traveled in it with his body to the presence of the King, the Creator, and with his soul to the carpet of nearness and meeting. So bless him, O Allah, and bless his family, pure in origin and roots, and his Companions, fragrant in bosoms and necks, a blessing that opens for us the locks, and releases from us the choke, and purifies our innermost beings from the disease of ignorance, deceit, and hypocrisy, and whitens our faces at the time of arrival before You and meeting, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose Isra with the heart and innermost soul indicates that he is the greatest of people in station with Allah; his Isra with witnessing and sight indicates that he is the gatekeeper of Allah's presence; his Isra with the secret and the open indicates that he is the beloved of Allah; his Isra with insight and vision indicates that he is the chosen one of Allah; his Isra with the eye of thought and contemplation indicates that he is the intimate confidant of Allah; his Isra in the manifestations of nearness and closeness indicates that he is the interlocutor of Allah; his Isra in the ascents of pleasure and satisfaction indicates that he is the best of Allah's servants; his Isra with the lights of knowledge and gnosis indicates that he is the elite of the elite among Allah's prophets; his Isra with sincerity and certainty indicates that he is the key to the doors of Allah's mercy; his Isra in the ranks of grace and favor indicates that he is Allah's gift and Allah's blessing; his Isra with holy aspiration and lordly states indicates that he is the light prostrating before Allah; his Isra with the eye and essence indicates that he is the perfect in virtues and attributes and the secret of existence supported by Allah's support; his Isra with love and longing indicates that he is the accepted intercessor whose intercession is not rejected for those who seek mediation through his rank to Allah; his Isra with might and care indicates that whoever obeys him has obeyed Allah and whoever disobeys him has disobeyed Allah; his Isra with guidance and direction indicates that he is the messenger of mercy guiding to Allah and calling servants to Allah; his Isra with favor and rank indicates that whoever loves him, Allah loves him, and the meaning of His words: "Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, they are only pledging allegiance to Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose Isra with spirit and body indicates that Allah showed him the scenes of His beauty, unveiled to him the descriptions of His perfection, clothed him in the robes of His pleasure and the awe of His majesty, informed him of the hidden of His unseen, and elevated him in the ascents of His nearness and union. So he saw the Truth through the Truth, and there he became described by the description of the Truth, so he was His form and His spirit. He saw the Truth with all his existence and the mirror of his witnessing, for he was with all of him from his sense and existence, so he became an eye from the eyes of the Truth, and saw the Truth with all eyes, and heard His address with all names, and knew Him with all hearts, until his eyes, ears, hearts, spirits, and intellects were annihilated in the Truth. So the Truth looked at the Truth for his sake, deputizing for him, because when the eyes of temporality were annihilated in the eyes of the Truth, they returned to the Truth, and he saw the Truth the Truth, and knew the Truth the Truth, and heard the Truth from the Truth the Truth, as a mercy from Him to him, and kindness to him, for He hears and sees. Do you not see His words at the end of the verse: "That We might show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who traveled with his self, traveled with his spirit, traveled with his body, traveled with his special secret, traveled with his heart, traveled with his intellect, traveled with his sight, traveled with his spirituality, traveled with his luminosity, traveled with his chosenness, traveled with his comprehensiveness, traveled with his belovedness, traveled with his totality, traveled with the loftiness of his station, traveled with the highness of his rank, traveled with his prophethood and messengership, and traveled with his secret coursing through the particulars and universals of the world, its higher and lower realms. So the secret did not know what the soul contained, nor did the soul know what the spirit contained, nor did the spirit know what the body contained, nor did the body know what the sight witnessed, nor did the sight know what the heart encompassed, nor did the heart know what the intellect understood, nor did the intellect know what spirituality perceived, nor did spirituality know what luminosity witnessed, nor did luminosity know what chosenness beheld, nor did chosenness know what comprehensiveness knew, nor did comprehensiveness know what belovedness possessed, nor did belovedness know what the loftiness of station attained, nor did the loftiness of station know what the highness of rank announced, nor did the highness of rank know what the secrets of prophethood and messengership indicated, nor did prophethood and messengership know what the special secret witnessed from the Truth without intermediary or remaining of human nature. Rather, He realized through His Truth by His servant, so He realized him and established him where there is no station, and addressed him with His words: "Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed. The heart did not lie about what it saw." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the opening of the book of revelation, renowned in blessing and title, the interpreter of the tongue of the unseen informing of Allah of what He decreed for His servants before the creation of existents and the invention of time and space, the mirror of the unveiling of the beauty of the Truth illuminating hearts with the lights of tawhid ⁷⁹ and pure faith, the master of creation praised in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Furqan ⁸⁰, the secret of the word of truth whom his Lord caused to travel by night to the presence of nearness and closeness, and informed him of the secret of "Be, and it is," so he witnessed of the dazzling power of his Lord what minds cannot encompass nor intellects comprehend. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the intimate friend of the Most Merciful, the mercy for the far and the near, the lamp of sainthood, knowledge, and gnosis, the throne of the spirituality of the essence and the ultimate goal of the people of witnessing and vision, the speaking tongue of the secret of the unseen and the gathering of the realities of the prophets, messengers, and all existents, the messenger of mercy calling creation to Allah and clarifying for them the paths of guidance to Him until they knew Him with the most complete knowledge.

And I bear witness that He is the One, the Unique, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner, the King, the Judge ⁸¹, and the Point of the Secret ⁸² that permeates His secret in the atoms of the higher and lower worlds and all the cycles encompassing everything that is and was. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the Pole of Prophethood ⁸³, the clear proof and evidence, the treasure of hidden secrets alluded to by noble character in the sacred hadiths and the surahs of the Qur'an, the basil of the Book of Eternity whose name is joined with the name of his Lord in the two testimonies ⁸⁴, the call to prayer, and the iqama ⁸⁵, the delight of cosmic creations whose name is written on the trees of Paradise, its chambers, its palaces, and on the necks of the beautiful houris. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the gift of grace and favor, the result of the true forms and the conscience of command and affair, the essence of glory whose honor permeates the Banu Abd Manaf, Qusayy, and Adnan ⁸⁶, the bride of the divine presences ⁸⁷ supported by Jibril, Mika'il, and Ridwan ⁸⁸ the keeper of the gardens, the Prophet of Allah named the possessor of proof, the possessor of eloquence, the possessor of authority, the eloquent of tongue, the pure of heart, the most honored of the honored whose name is inscribed on the Preserved Tablet ⁸⁹ and the Tablet of Manifestation ⁹⁰, whose lights shone upon all people of the inward and outward, and whose signs dazzled the minds of the insightful and the discerning, and the brilliant geniuses, so much so that some of them said concerning him: "There is nothing in possibility more wondrous than what was" ⁹¹—that is, there is nothing in the compositions of the Muhammadan nature, nor in the details of the stages of prophetic excellence, more wondrous than what was, i.e., appeared and became manifest to the eye, and hidden in the pillar of unveiling and elucidation. And the meaning of these words, by way of allusion and embellishment of expression and phrasing, is: "There is nothing in possibility more wondrous than what was," i.e., from the emergence of his Muhammadan essence from the purity of the divine lights and the sources of the angelic secrets. Or you may say: "There is nothing in possibility more wondrous than what was," i.e., there is nothing in the world of design better than what appeared to the eye from the pearl of the Beloved of the Merciful, the bride of the paradises of the gardens, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and honor, generosity, glory, and greatness. Or you may say: "There is nothing in possibility more wondrous than what was," i.e., there is nothing among the various forms of different kinds and colors, nor among the wondrous structures of craftsmanship and perfection, more wondrous than what was, i.e., more precious than the lamp of the worlds, the sultan of the kingdom whose fragrance fills the collars and sleeves, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Or you may say: "There is nothing in possibility," i.e., among what the pens of will have traced on the tablets of stability of sensory and spiritual inscriptions, more wondrous than what was, i.e., more noble than what appeared in the manifestations of the comprehensive emergence of perfections of one whose spirit ascended in the ascents of special elevations and descended in the stations of chosen descents, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Or you may say: "There is nothing in possibility," i.e., in the principles of intellectual and transmitted conceptions, nor in the premises of the results of sensory and spiritual forms, more wondrous than what was, i.e., than what appeared in the sphere of the rising moons of prophetic felicity and the gleams of the gifts of openings and the secrets of the divine presence, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Or you may say: "There is nothing in possibility," i.e., in the wonders of the secrets of the unseen and the unseen of the unseen, more wondrous than what was, i.e., than the night journey of the spirit of Muhammadan lordship and the ascension of the essence of Ahmadine glory to the station of "two bow-lengths or nearer" ⁹², and the witnessing: And visions: {Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed} ⁹³, And perfections: {The heart did not lie about what it saw} ⁹⁴, And majesty: {Do you then dispute with him about what he saw?} ⁹⁵, And station: {And he certainly saw him in another descent at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary} ⁹⁶, And speciality: {The sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress} ⁹⁷, {He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord} ⁹⁸. So send blessings, O Allah, upon him and upon his family, a blessing by which the gleams of felicity and good tidings shine upon our hearts, and by which our limbs are facilitated to the path of good and ease, and by which You have mercy on us in both abodes, this world and the Hereafter, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. * Abodes, may Allah honor the courtyards of their presence, * for the fragrance of their soil is kohl for the inner sight. * Abodes that Allah has gifted with glory and elevation, * so for their sake all senses are honored. * Why would they not surpass the two bears ⁹⁹ in station * and rise above all the shining stars? * In them is the Messenger of Allah, the most generous of the noble, * and the best of messengers among all communities. * And the greatest of those whose proofs of glory stand * from all creation in all circles ¹⁰⁰. * And the chosen one of the Lord of the Throne, the glorious one, * by whose feet the pulpits and high places are adorned. * And he whose veils of majesty were lifted for his eye, * so he saw what baffled all beholders. * And he whose station eludes the grasp of intellects, * even though it is a secret permeating the manifestations. * And how can one hope to grasp one who is inward * with the holiness of a dazzling majesty, how dazzling! * And though he is manifest to existence and apparent, * his manifestation in the assembly is one of the veils. * By his right, he never appeared in his essence * to the eyes of people, nor to the inner sights. * But a flash of his light appeared, and whoever * sees his light, how could he incline to a traitor? * He is the First, specially related to the Truth, * whose last manifestations have shone upon us. * He is the Opener, whose banner of perfection is unfurled, * he is the Seal, encompassing all glories. * He is exalted above the layers of glory without dispute, * and he occupies the tent of glory without arrogance. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whose night journey is by Allah, from Allah, and to Allah, indicating that he is the greatest of people in station with Allah; and his night journey with the support of Allah and the success of Allah indicates that he is the highest of the prophets in rank with Allah; and his night journey by striving for the pleasure of Allah and struggling in obedience to Allah indicates that he is the Friend of Allah and the Prophet of Allah; and his night journey by revelation, inspiration, ecstasy, and rapture indicates that he is the Spirit of Allah, the Trustworthy of Allah, and the ambassador of the unseen of Allah; and his night journey by immersion in the beauty of Allah and the majesty of Allah and the absence from all else in the presence of Allah indicates that he is the most honored of creation with Allah, the most beloved of the people of the earth and the heavens to Allah, and the most excellent of the messengers of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

In the descriptions of the perfections of God, it indicates that he is the wondrous origin of God’s nature (badī‘u fiṭrati llāh), and the one named by the names of God (al-musammā bi-asmā’i llāh), and the one who is characterized by the character traits of God (al-mutakhalliqu bi-akhlāqi llāh). His night journey (isrā’uhu) in the station of intimacy with God (al-uns bi llāh) and ecstatic yearning (al-walahi) upon the carpet of the Divine Presence (bisāṭi ḥaḍrati llāh) indicates that he is the Greatest Veil (al-ḥijābu l-a‘ẓam) standing before God (al-qā’imu bayna yadayi llāh) and the Most Straight Path (aṣ-ṣirāṭu l-aqwam) that leads to God (al-muwaṣṣilu ilā llāh). His night journey from station to station, from righteousness (burūr) to reverence (iḥtirām), and from conversation (muḥādathah) to speech (kalām) indicates that he is the Gatekeeper of the Divine Presence (bawwābu ḥaḍrati llāh), the Key to the Treasures of God’s Mercy (miftāḥu khazā’ini raḥmati llāh), and the comprehensive secret (as-sirru l-jāmi‘) of the meanings of the sciences of God’s words (ma‘ānī ‘ulūmi kalimāti llāh). His night journey from sanctuary (ḥaram) to sanctuary, from procession (mawkib) to procession, from world (‘ālam) to world, and from presence (ḥaḍrah) to presence indicates that he is the universals of the two worlds (kulliyyātu l-kawnayn), the spirit of the body of the two weighty ones (thaqalayn) (jinn and mankind), the very essence of the life of the two abodes (‘aynu ḥayāti d-dārayn) (this world and the Hereafter), and the Perfect Human (al-insānu l-kāmil) created upon the form of the All-Merciful (ṣūrati r-raḥmān), alluded to by the saying of some of the gnostics (al-‘ārifīn): “There is nothing in possibility more wondrous than what has been” (laysa fī l-imkāni abda‘u mimmā kān), meaning: there is nothing in the world of development (al-‘ālami t-taṭwīr), nor in the existence of determination (al-wujūdi t-taqdīr), more wondrous than his comprehensive form (ṣūratihi l-jāmi‘ah) which encompasses the meanings of spiritual spirits (al-arwāḥi r-rūḥiyyah), the beauties of human creation (maḥāsini l-khalīqati l-bashariyyah), the lights of transcendence (al-anwāri s-subūḥiyyah), the inspirations of the heart (al-ilhāmāti l-qalbiyyah), the intellectual comprehensions of possibility (at-ta‘aqqulāti l-imkāniyyah), and the secrets of divine and tablet-like sciences (asrāri l-‘ulūmi l-lāhūtiyyati l-lawḥiyyah). Or you may say: “There is nothing in possibility” (laysa fī l-imkān), meaning: there is nothing among encompassing bodies (al-ajsādi l-muḥīṭah), nor among composite and simple forms (al-ashkāli l-murakkabati wa l-basīṭah), more wondrous than what has been (abda‘u mimmā kān), i.e., more excellent than what the hand of eternal power (yadu l-qudrati l-azaliyyah) has delineated from the form of the Praiseworthy-Ahmadic tree (ṣūrati sh-shajarati l-ḥamdiyyati l-aḥmadiyyah), its prophetic and chosen perfections (awṣāfi kamālātihā n-nubuwiyyati l-muṣṭafawiyyah), and its secrets poured forth upon the hearts of the people of ocular unveilings (ahl al-kushūfāti l-‘iyāniyyah), inspirations, and divine receptions (al-ilhāmāti wa t-talaqqiyāti ṣ-ṣamadāniyyah). For indeed, this is the aspect of the Creator’s preference for him (peace and blessings be upon him) over all creation (al-barīyah), and His singling him out with the honor of being the Beloved (sharafi l-maḥbūbiyyah) and the perfection of servitude (kamāli l-‘ubūdiyyah), and the shining of the lights of divinity (anwāri l-ulūhiyyah) upon his essence (dhātihi) clothed with beautiful lordly attributes (al-awṣāfi l-jamīlati r-rabbāniyyah) and praiseworthy solitary character traits (al-akhlāqi l-ḥamīdati l-fardāniyyah). So, O God, send blessings upon him and upon his family, a blessing by which You illuminate our insights with the lights of his gnostic understandings (anwāri fuhūmihi l-‘irfāniyyah), and by which You pour forth upon us the maidens of his bestowed effusions (ḥūri imdādātihi l-wahbiyyah) and his abundant merciful secrets (asrārihi l-ghazīrati r-raḥmāniyyah), by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O God, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muḥammad and upon the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, whose night journey (isrā’uhu) is by the secret (as-sirr) to the secret, by the spirit (ar-rūḥ) to the spirit, by the eye (al-‘ayn) to the eye, and by the essence (adh-dhāt) to the essence, in a station (maqām) that no eye perceives, no eye sees, and no “how” (kayf) or “where” (ayn) can depict. This indicates that he is the Beloved (al-maḥbūb) manifest in the loci of theophanies (maẓāhiri t-tajalliyāt), the intimate one (al-muqarrab) hidden in the unseen of the unseen (ghaybi l-ghayb) and the stations of ascents (maqāmāti t-taraqqiyāt) and descents (at-tadalliyāt), and the Beloved (al-ḥabīb) whom his Master caused to journey by night from the locus of will (maḥalli l-irādah) to the locus of love (maḥalli l-maḥabbah), from the locus of love to the locus of knowledge (maḥalli l-ma‘rifah), from the locus of knowledge to the locus of Oneness (maḥalli t-tawḥīd), from the locus of Oneness to the locus of Uniqueness (maḥalli t-tafrīd), from the locus of Uniqueness to the locus of Annihilation (maḥalli l-fanā’), from the locus of Annihilation to the locus of Subsistence (maḥalli l-baqā’), from the locus of Subsistence to the locus of Attribution (maḥalli l-ittiṣāf), and from the locus of Attribution to the locus of Union (maḥalli l-ittiḥād). So there remained in him nothing of the traces of temporality (rusūmi l-ḥudūthiyyah) due to the dominance of Eternity (al-qidam) over temporality (al-ḥudūth). Thus he drew near to Him, then turned away from Him, then was annihilated in Him. So between his annihilation and his subsistence was the measure of two bow-lengths (qāba qawsayn): the bow of pre-eternity (qawsi l-azal) and the bow of post-eternity (qawsi l-abad). Between the two bows, he disappeared in the occultation (al-ghaybah), so his occultation remained, and He took possession, or “closer” (aw adnā), over him, and removed by jealousy (al-ghayrah) the occultation of his occultation, as if he were in the annihilation of annihilation (fanā’i l-fanā’), and the annihilation from the annihilation of annihilation. So his name remained with the name of indication (ismi l-ishārah), his spirit with the verification of expression (taḥqīqi l-‘ibārah), his spirituality with the glad tidings of rarity (bashā’iri n-nadārah), and his essence with the specification of dominion (takhṣīṣi l-mulk) and the perfection of command (kamāli l-imārah), and his night journey in the stations of vicegerency (maqāmāti l-khilāfah) with complete disposal (at-taṣarrufi t-tāmm), lordly care (al-‘ināyati r-rabbāniyyah), and ministry (al-wizārah). “Glory be to Him Who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque” (Sūrat al-Isrā’, 17:1), the verse. That is: from the mosque of righteousness (masjidi l-burūr) and reverence (al-iḥtirām) to the station of Majesty (maqāmi l-ijlāl) and Exaltation (al-i‘ẓām), to show him of His greatest signs (āyātihi l-kubrā) what the perceptions of understandings (madāriku l-afhām) are incapable of, and the scope of thoughts, ideas, and imaginations (majālu l-khawāṭiri wa l-afkāri wa l-awhām) falls short of, and from which he receives the secrets of the jewels of revelation (waḥy) and inspiration (ilhām) and wisdom (al-ḥikmah) in his ascension to the celestial kingdom (al-malakūt), so that he might see the beauty of the Omnipotent (jamāla l-jabarūt) in all its kinds. For he asked about the Truth (al-ḥaqq) and the manifestation of His attributes in the mirror of His signs (mir’āti āyātihi) by saying: “Show us things as they are” (arinā l-ashyā’a kamā hiya). So the Truth showed him what he asked in His saying: “That We might show him of Our signs” (Sūrat al-Isrā’, 17:1). And that is because when he becomes strong enough to see the attributes in the highest celestial kingdom (al-malakūti l-a‘lā) and the most exalted Omnipotence (al-jabarūti l-asnā), he is able to see the pure essence of His Self (ṣirfa dhātihi) without veil (ḥijāb), without gloom (qatām), without cloud (saḥāb), without mist (ḍabāb), without cause (‘illah) or its means (asbābihī), without signs (āyāt) or witnesses (shawāhid), without distance (bu‘d) or nearness (dunūw) or approach (iqtirāb). Rather, he sees Him by Him, not by anything other than Him. Exalted is God above the attributes of contingent beings (ṣifāti l-muḥdathāt), a great exaltation. The flow of Your secret in existence is wondrous And a tearer of the veils of his own self By his two hands, from the foot of attachment, its folding * His temporality and contingent things are a mist Until when is the delay from Su‘dā, when * The titles for the glory of her beauty have been perfected? The sun of beauty, coquetry is its abodes * The moon of majesty, splendor is its skin The tents of noble deeds were pitched in its courtyards * By the hand of highness, and the ropes were extended Where sovereignty, felicity, and loyalty * The doors have been opened for its seeker And abodes that are a holy paradise * In which are young maidens, peers And subtlety, vicegerency, elegance * And beauties by which the ages are blessed Their cups, by the hand of desire, circled over their lovers * And the goblets were passed around From a holy, unseen wine * And the bubbles of contingent beings are its attributes The ignorant thought its bubbles were other, but * The intelligent did not perceive, and that is from him correct So drink and be absent with a wine that has settled, for * There is no reckoning for its drinkers among the lovers Our spirits have cast off the dignity of its cheek in its love * And the intellects are at ease The light of its radiance offers you the engraving of desire * So you see other-than-Him being unveiled from its face And it has the gifts of the unseen as realities * And it has the forgetfulness of hearts as a book The beauty of Mī, its Hind, its Su‘ād * Salmā of passion, Zaynab, and Rabāb And an intercessory, luminous trial * Dark, solar, and a cloud A tearer, a slayer, a possessor * Its sultan is a plunderer of reason and of us Created as a trace, but as for its judgment * It is that by which the causes are established If you wish to unfold an inner aspect of its affair * Time would be too short, and speech about it too long So Adam’s names are its names, and Muḥammad’s * Are its names, and its effusion is the Bestower It is its vine from a drop from His Throne * From which seas overflow, their springs flowing So look, you are guided, at beloveds and brides * Who have no pavilions but the Thrones So it is a blessed, felicitous saying, a noble, praiseworthy arrival, and the return of a beloved from visiting his Clement, Generous, Glorious Master, with the glad tidings of victory, joy, congratulations, and increased good. O God, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muḥammad and upon the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his night journey (misrāh) while revelation was sending down upon his Muḥammadan heart its jewels, and knowledge was ascending

By the mention of his Ahmadī ¹⁰¹ hadith, his pulpils. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey ¹⁰², while forbearance praises the traces of his great character, and forgiveness grows the glories of his sublime majesty. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while honor elevates the elements of his pure lineage, and noble descent boasts of the bonds of high affiliation to his origins. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while truth's armies rally to his straight path, and falsehood's multitudes are scattered by the sword of his Muḥammadan law ¹⁰³. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while Islam's word is exalted by him and its sanctuaries rejoice, and faith's pillars are built and its manifestations shine with sincerity and certainty. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the chiefs of the dominions ¹⁰⁴ emulate him and accompany him, and the stars of the heavens ¹⁰⁵ face his radiant countenance and converse with him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while his bird ¹⁰⁶ was given glad tidings of attaining good pleasure and satisfaction, and his inner and outer aspects were rectified through piety and obedience. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while his beloved ones and clans were blessed by his auspicious arrival, and his exhortations and signs benefited those of insight and intelligence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while his glad tidings witnessed the attainment of hopes and desires, and whoever follows him in all his affairs and consults him achieves success and happiness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while his insights shone with the light of opening ¹⁰⁷ and inspiration, and his consciences were wrapped in doing righteousness, goodness, and reform. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the veils of the highest firmament ¹⁰⁸ and its curtains were rent for him, and the treasuries of the kingdom ¹⁰⁹ and the dominion ¹¹⁰ and the treasures of the guarded secret ¹¹¹ and its stores were opened for him. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which we become among those whose rites and rituals are clarified by following his Muḥammadan sunna ¹¹², and whose sources and resources become sweet by abundant prayer upon him, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of joy and happiness congratulates him and spreads its garments for his return, and the dawn of delight and bliss extends its cloak to meet him and opens its doors for his entry. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of blessing and security revives him with the best greetings and casts its robe upon him, and the dawn of glad tidings and congratulations welcomes him and facilitates and awakens his beloved ones to seek blessing from his arrival. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of nearness ¹¹³ and affection tells of the loftiness of his station and mentions his closeness to his Lord and his proximity, and the dawn of prophecies and messages spreads his virtues among the prophets and praises his going and coming. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of ascents ¹¹⁴ and descents ¹¹⁵ hastens in His pleasure and comprehends His address and response, and the dawn of inspirations and receptions recounts the story of his Night Journey and recites his Book in his illuminated assemblies. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of gnoses ¹¹⁶ and gifts ¹¹⁷ fills its vessels from his divine sciences, and the dawn of mercies and affections venerates and magnifies and says: Welcome and greetings to the inhabitant of Mecca and Ṭāba ¹¹⁸. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which the lover fills his cups from the drink of his love, and treats his apparent and hidden ailments and pains with its antidote, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of proximity and connection builds for him his tents and domes in the station of might, and the dawn of intimacy and boldness ¹¹⁹ uncovers the veil and mask of his lofty rank. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of good pleasure and acceptance regards his sanctity and magnifies his court, and the dawn of love and longing offers him cups of his wine and becomes addicted to his drink. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of divine care accompanies him and carries his lance and mount, and the dawn of guidance raises its curtains for him and rends its veil for his support. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muḥammad and to the family of our master Muḥammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the night of openings ¹²⁰ and gifts prepares its sides for him and widens its expanses, and the dawn of worship and remembrances hopes for acceptance from him and offers him its reward and recompense. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that encompasses his family, his wives, and his companions, and by which we become among those whom You have guided to praise his noble praise until he surpassed his peers and contemporaries in that, and whom You have guided by his blessing to the path of right guidance and righteousness and made its means easy for him, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful.

O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. His virtues filled time and shone forth, meteors of salvation for lowlands and highlands. Kind to his community, compassionate, sympathetic, affectionate in love and to the loving. We hope him in this world for the success of our desire, and we seek refuge through his intercession tomorrow. He is the one who reached the distance of two bow-lengths ¹²¹ in proximity, opening every locked door. To him belongs the Wasila ¹²² and the Fadila ¹²³ in rank, and the excellence, the nearness, and the seat of truth. The messengers are gathered under the shade of his banner, and his blessed Kawthar ¹²⁴ stands with abundant flow. Those who seek intercession use his rank, and he repels from them every grievous calamity. Clouds came upon his hills to the hills of Sala' ¹²⁵, and then continued to Baqi' al-Gharqad ¹²⁶. And watered the sides of a sacred garden, guarded in the shade of that mosque. There the spirits of souls are devoted, yearning for Ahmad ¹²⁷, melting in their hearts. Blessed is Tayyiba ¹²⁸ where the sun of glory settled in its abode, surpassing the distant sun. He descended upon the place, and it was honored by him, and he eradicated corruption, the corruption of every blackened one. O Master of the two weighty ones ¹²⁹, be my helper, for time, O my master, is not helpful. And may Allah bless you as long as the east wind blows from Tayyiba with the fragrance of fragrant musk. And upon all your Companions, and everyone who meets you, witnessing the virtue of that witnessed place. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey ¹³⁰, and the Book of Allah supports and strengthens him, and the tongue of revelation recites the account of his protected secret and narrates it. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the law of the secret watches and observes him, and the one who arrives at the cosmos on the day of his station seeks him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the witness of the state mentions his glories and praises him, and proclaims what he understands of the elevation of his great rank and affirms it. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the guide of truth leads him to the path of good and directs him, and the bird of good fortune sings in praise of his virtues among the noble messengers and chants. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the pioneer of divine care mentions his special status in the highest assembly and singles him out, and seats him in a seat of truth upon the highest prophetic ranks and settles him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the messenger of eternity fastens the crown of sainthood upon his head and knots it, and lights the lamp of guidance before him and kindles it. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the light of his prophethood revives the landmarks of Islam and renews them, and the interlocutor of Allah, Moses, urges him to seek reduction for his community and repeats it. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the interpreter of the unseen praises him with the most perfect virtues and glorifies him, and the one who is content with the supreme goals of his Lord guides him to what befits his lofty station and directs him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the chamberlain of the secret spreads for him the bed of "or even closer" ¹³¹ and prepares it, and clothes him with the robes of "Then he drew near and descended" ¹³², and covers him with their luminous blankets and pillows him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the world of his secret sanctifies his Lord from what is unbefitting to His majesty and affirms His oneness, and annihilates in the descriptions of His perfections and the proof of His unity, supporting and strengthening him. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing that lowers the gaze of its reader from the vanities of this lowly world and makes him ascetic, and restrains his heart from indulging in its carnal desires and strengthens him, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the hearts of lovers and beloved ones unite in love for him and harmonize, and the ears of devotees delight in hearing the praise of his chosen virtues and are adorned. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the great saints rub their faces on the places where his feet trod and are gentle, and seek his pleasure in this world and the next, and flatter before him and show affection. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the masters of stations pride themselves on his companionship and become known, and the possessors of miracles and extraordinary events rise by his lofty rank and are honored. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the innermost secrets of the gnostics are purified by seeing him from the impurities of intentions and become clean, and the eyes of the eminent near ones aspire to his Muhammadan openings and yearn. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the brides of the chambers show compassion upon hearing his prophetic speech and break into pieces, and the bright stars are ashamed of the radiance of the joy of his Ahmadine beauty and stop. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the abode of success and generosity adorns itself for his entry and is decorated, and its houris, youths, chambers, palaces, and tables of blessings increase in joy for him and multiply. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which one becomes among those who regret what was wasted of his life in idleness and grieve, and who watches his Lord in secret and public, and retreats from his sins and lags behind, and believes, through the blessing of sending blessings upon him, in what he feared and dreaded, by Your grace.

And Your generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. His Lord transported him to the highest heights * He granted him therein the ultimate treasures. Upon al-Buraq ¹³³ he ascended and journeyed * Passing from one honor to another. Gabriel ascended with him, accompanying him * How noble the companion and the accompanied! His Lord brought him near and drew him close * And he attained the ultimate proximity. All that occurred, and more than * That, in the watches of the night. How many angels ascending accompanied him * And around him the prophets stood like attendants. O chosen one of Allah, O hope of one * Who is on the brink of ruin due to his sins. My soul has perished through them and burdened me * With what I cannot bear of sin. Your praise is a shield for me, sufficient * Without coats of mail or weapons. My fortress to which I flee * I seek no shelter in palm-leaf or hut. O Lord, forgive a sinful, ashamed one * Who lingers at the door of the best of servants. If a calamity befalls him and distresses him * He turns to prayer upon him. O Lord, look upon a fearful, trembling one * Who has become a target for misfortunes. Cover him, O Lord, with the cloak of well-being * For he is enamored at the door of Your bounty. Then blessings and peace be upon * Muhammad, possessor of splendor and honor. The purest blessings, through which he is lodged * In the Gardens of Eden, in lofty chambers. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey ¹³⁴ with the crown of prophethood and messengership tied upon his brow, and the masters of secrets draw from the oceans of his support and the abundant spring. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey with the glad tidings of acceptance and victory shining upon him from his time, and the worlds of the unseen and the manifest seek the growing blessings from the purity of his body and the kissing of his right hand. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the leaders of the prophets and messengers adopt his character and perfect certainty, and all the saints and righteous follow his Muhammadan law and desire his religion. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the eminent angels brought near testify to his precedence for the supreme imamate and his appointment, and all the revealed books inform of his superiority over all creation before his appearance and formation. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the worlds of the celestial kingdom testify to the extension of his hand in the sovereign dominion and his empowerment, and the master poets compete in refining his exquisite praise and beautifying it. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that helps us to compile and record the account of his prophetic Night Journey, and strengthens us to clarify and explain the path of his upright religion, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the breeze of love delivers his messages, and the pioneer of proximity magnifies his status and elevates his means. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the caller of acceptance answers his petitioner, and the agent of contentment hastens to obey him and fulfills his requests. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the address of Truth praises his noble qualities, and the Holy Spirit acknowledges his mastery and mentions his characteristics. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the proof of truth clarifies his evidences, and the envoy of the unseen explains his distinction and manifests his virtues. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the fragrant breezes of divine mercies cover his stations, and the growing holy blessings encompass his gatherings and assemblies. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the fragrant blessings of the Merciful perfume his garments and tunics, and the lights of the Eternal openings sweeten his resources and springs. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the hearts of the righteous incline and lean towards him, and all the needy and widows covet what he has and seek his bounty. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey while the eyes of happiness watch his spouses and consorts, and the precedents of the will single him out with favor and honor his assemblies and tribes. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that preserves us from chronic and prolonged diseases, and repels from us the calamities of time and its terrible afflictions, by Your favor and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. So I say: Ahmad ¹³⁵ is the best of those who trod the earth * There is none like him in the worlds. The treasure of gifts and virtues is his essence * Who is like Ahmad, encompassing all beauties? When he ascended, he surpassed the prophets * And the messengers, and who can reach the station of Taha ¹³⁶? I would ransom a beloved who traveled through the air * With Gabriel, then go forth, and he is the giver. He surpassed the first and the last, ascending * When the messages called him to union. The unveiling of the bride is his unveiling above the sky * And through it the last and the first were illuminated. Within two bow-lengths ¹³⁷ he stood, addressed * Who else has such an address for Ahmad? The beloved returned from the Beloved, honored * Carrying the ocean of the secrets of the hidden. And he came to inform his people of the unseen * And he has proofs of those unseen things. How noble is he, Ahmad and Muhammad * The pebbles spoke to him with greetings.

He is the Seal of the noble Messengers, their Imam ¹³⁸; He arranged for him above all the sublime things. May Allah, whose Majesty is exalted, bless him, and the Family and the Companions who attained perfection. (56) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey ¹³⁹, and from whose Chosen Book ¹⁴⁰ the doctrines of Tawhid ¹⁴¹ are gathered, and from whose prophetic wisdom's hadiths the benefits of knowledge are taken. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and by the light of his Praiseworthy Essence ¹⁴² the scrolls of faith are illuminated, and in the thread of the pearls of his Ahmadine ¹⁴³ Sharia ¹⁴⁴ the pearls of Islam are strung. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and by his pure character the foundations of Ihsan ¹⁴⁵ are clarified, and by his Sunnah ¹⁴⁶ states the stations of Yaqin ¹⁴⁷ are established. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and from his holy secrets the witnesses of Ikhlas ¹⁴⁸ shine upon the faces of the lovers, and the secret of Sidq ¹⁴⁹ flows in the innermost hearts of those yearning for his vision, and its unique pearls shine in the sky of their hearts. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad (57) Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and upon the stations of piety the mosques of the religion are founded, and by his widespread generosities and dazzling miracles the institutes of righteousness live. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and by his Sunnah conduct the spiritual stations of the people of Wilaya ¹⁵⁰ are elevated, and by his approved actions the sources of devotion are made wholesome for the people of goodness and guidance. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and by his richness in Allah the aims of Zuhd ¹⁵¹ are rectified for the people of contentment and trust, and by the secret of his care the praises of chastity are perfected for the people of obedience and infallibility. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and grace prepares His blessings for him and spreads before him His tables, and generosity flows at his arrival and increases by his blessings. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and by him the gleams of joys illuminate his stations and seats (58) and the fragrant breezes of good things delight his family and companions, his visitor and his guest. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed his companion and helper succeeded in attaining the greatest pleasure of Allah, and wretched is his enemy, envier, denier, and opponent, by Allah. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which one's yearnings and ecstasies are multiplied, and by the blessing of sending blessings upon him his desires in Allah and His promises are fulfilled, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Excellent is my absence in the Beloved, a witnessing ¹⁵²; and how many witnesses do I have for love of the Beloved. If his pleasure is sound for me, my lineage to his overflowing grace is sound, and the Truth is witness. So whoever hopes for the Pole ¹⁵³ of the Messengers and his grace, from the hand of the All-Merciful flow benefits for him. For the door of Allah's grace is none but Muhammad; through him the goals are given to the possessors of hearts. Muhammad is the Praised, Ahmad ¹⁵⁴, the Praiser; and who is like him among people in praising Allah? A beloved, beloved to all existence; his praises remain above the leg of the Throne. Upon him be the blessing of Allah, and all his Family, and the Companions from whom the principles came to us. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad (59) Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the dazzling signs of his verses bewilder thoughts and dazzle minds, and the lights of his miracles and graces guide the astray to the path of good and lead the ignorant. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the descriptions of his perfections fall short of understanding their meanings by the perceptions of the masters of reason and tradition, and the chiefs of the near ones and the great scholars swim in the seas of his gifts and knowledges. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed Allah placed in his hand the keys of nearness to the presence of his Lord and entry, and He made the lovers mad for his Chosen beauty, and instilled love for him in children, youths, and the elderly. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed Allah honored through him the origins and the branches, and bestowed upon him the robes of the good pleasure of honor and the garments of care and arrival. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed on his face shone the glad tidings of victory and acceptance, (60) and his secret flowed in the innermost hearts of the people of his Wilaya and nearness, so they became proud of that and prevailed. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed he overwhelmed the servants with the flood of his bestowed bounty, and his generosity filled the valleys, the highlands, the mountains, and the plains. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed Allah raised high the word of Islam by the drawn sword of his Sharia, and by the appearance of his mission He defeated the army of the wretched disbeliever and the hypocrite who deviated from the religion, the forsaken. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed his Lord clothed him with the robes of His eternal glory that never fades, and gave him beyond what he wished, and conveyed to him from His pleasure the utmost of desire and request. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and indeed his Lord preferred him over every prophet and messenger, and through him He repelled from his community every great calamity and dreadful matter. (61)

So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that makes easy for us the difficult and the easy, and through it have mercy on the negligent, the incapable, the lazy, and the weary among us, and make it a treasure for us whose blessing we find on the day of arrival before You and departure, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey ¹⁵⁵, while the guide of success walks behind him and before him, and the light of truth supports his sacred discourse ¹⁵⁶ and strengthens his speech. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the one who comes to watch over his covenants and pledges, and the spirit of the secret ¹⁵⁷ gives glad tidings of his arrival and conveys his greeting and peace. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the sword of the Sharia ¹⁵⁸ executes his commands and judgments, and the honor of the caliphate raises his rank among the prophets and messengers and presents him for leadership. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad (62) and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the noble angelic envoys hold his stirrup and raise his sleeves, and the inhabitants of the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ¹⁵⁹ venerate him, magnify him, and serve his station. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the dwellers of the highest heaven ¹⁶⁰ carry his covering and spread his banners, and the eminent angels brought near kiss his palm and increase their reverence and magnification of him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the kings of spiritual souls ¹⁶¹ revive his carpet and manifest his piety and respect, and Gabriel the Trustworthy presents the Buraq ¹⁶² for his riding and leads its reins. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and Allah has fulfilled his wish for his community and his desire, and the herald of love gives glad tidings of his arrival to the inhabitants of honored Mecca and Rama ¹⁶³. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that preserves us in travel and residence, and makes it for us among the praisers and lovers a symbol and a sign, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds (63). * Raise him high with Tiba ¹⁶⁴ and Barama ¹⁶⁵, and with the sand dunes of Naqa ¹⁶⁶ and the valley of Tihama ¹⁶⁷, * And carry from him to the Beloved a greeting, for by love, how sweet is its greeting! * For he is a rain, a refuge, and a sanctuary, and a bringer of glad tidings and an intercessor on the Day of Resurrection. * Allah singled him out for intercession on the Day of Gathering and raised his station above all mankind. * And He gave him the Buraq on the night of the Isra ¹⁶⁸, with Gabriel in the heaven before him. * He led the prophets and messengers all together, then concluded his prayer and standing. * And his Lord truly watched over him with His eyes, awake, truly hearing His speech. * So upon him be a greeting like the scent of amber in every journey and stay, * As long as the breeze of the Ghawr ¹⁶⁹ blows at dawn, stirring the lovesick and rousing the doves. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the lofty stations ¹⁷⁰ lower their heads to his sovereignty, and the ascents of the high ones guide souls to his sublime virtues. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the subtle meanings ¹⁷¹ spread their scrolls before him, and the foundations of structures build their bases on the principles of his prophetic traditions. (64) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the secrets of purification ¹⁷² hand him their cups, and the lights of nearness shine their suns upon him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the vanguards of days laugh away their frowns in his blessed face, and the omens of misfortune depart by the auspiciousness of his blessed fortune. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the refractory souls ¹⁷³ subdue their suns to him, and the calamities of the ages ward off their harm and misery by his great standing. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the gifts of grace and favor bestow their garments upon him, and the difficulties of affairs untie their knots and ease their adversities. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad (65) and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the gardens of Paradise adorn their plants for him, and the pavilions of tents display their beauty and rejoice their brides for him. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that shows mercy to the community and illuminates its graves, and removes its worries and sorrows, and releases its prisoners, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the hidden things of the universe tear open their veils for him, and the brides of the garment of protection uncover their face-veils for him and reveal the secrets of his perfect prophethood. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the subtle sciences ¹⁷⁴ impart their reports to him, and the faculties of understanding narrate from him and borrow lights from his lamp. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the cities of hearts open their metropolises to him, and the springs of wisdom take their meanings from him and gush forth their rivers for him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad (66) and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, and the buds of inspirations blossom their flowers for him, and the subtleties of divine teachings spread their coverings for him and untie their blossoms for him.

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the souls of the yearning ones—their sights roamed in the beauty of his essence, and the forms of the lovers—their thoughts came and went with the breezes of blessings (ṣalawāt) upon him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the inhabitants of the celestial spheres proclaimed his praise, and their cycles revolved by his name, and the chiefs of the angels extolled his virtues, and their ranks were honored by his mention. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the clouds of good deeds sought to send down rain through his blessing, and their rains poured forth before him, and the men of spiritual disposal sought victory through him, and their regions were guarded by the secret of his protection. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad (67) and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the people of faith increased in certainty through him, and spent their lifetimes in his love, and the masters of needs sought intercession through his rank (jāh) to Allah, and attained their desires through his blessing. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the regions of dominion (mulk) and the celestial kingdom (malakūt)—their moons shone with the light of his countenance, and the transmitters of ḥadīth wrote his virtues, and their lines rejoiced in praising his noble traits (shamāʾil). O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the riders of the lovers tightened their saddle-girths for his visitation, and the companions of longing proclaimed the loftiness of his glories and recited poems for him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the notables of the near ones (muqarrabūn) cast off their reins upon hearing his remembrances, and the people of spiritual ecstasies (mawājid) trembled and swayed with the breeze of the wine of his love, and drank its pure draught. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the companions of the exalted Divine Presence followed his imamate, and raised high its minaret at his dawn, (68) and the noble ones of the Arabs sought refuge in his most sublime court, and protected their honor through his care. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the chiefs of the sons of Maʿadd traced their lineage to his loftiness, and their origins were honored by him, and the masters of the Emigrants (Muhājirūn) and Helpers (Anṣār) rejoiced at his arrival, and prepared their homes for his hospitality. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing that clears away from rusted hearts their sorrows and troubles, and lightens from backs burdened with sins their misdeeds and heavy loads, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the masters of spiritual states (aḥwāl) became absent in his Muhammadan beauty out of longing and ecstasy, and the inner sights of the people of special distinction and perfection were illuminated by seeing him, and increased in the sciences of unveilings (kawāshif) in clarity and exposition. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the tongues of those who remember (dhākirūn) proclaimed his praise secretly and openly, and the hearts of the knowers (ʿārifūn) rejoiced at his approach, and increased in love and faith. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad (69) Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the treasuries of the angels were blessed by seeing him, and gained from him bounty and good pleasure, and the regions of the earth sought blessing through his arrival, and were filled with equity, justice, and beneficence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while the eminent masters (fuḥūl al-akābir) derived sciences and gnosis from his wisdoms, and the great ones of renown strove for the judgments of his sacred law, and established proof and evidence for it. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing through which You grant us from the gifts of Your grace pardon and forgiveness, and through which You pour down upon us the clouds of Your mercies with generosity and favor, and through which You bestow upon us in the abode of Your honor everlasting bliss, chambers, palaces, houris, and servant-boys, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O best of those who trod the pebbled ground, may a time of nearness to you not distance us, for tomorrow we shall be humbled. In it you became a guide through guidance that erases error and purifies faith. In it you conveyed from the God a message, in which you made clear for all creation an exposition. And you guided us to the paths of right guidance—oh, what a blessing that increases the fearful with security! If that light had remained among us, our inner sights would have seen the unseen with their own eyes. Were it not for the Prophet Muhammad and his existence, neither religion nor the world would have existed. Whoever seeks the stature of Muhammad has sought the impossible, and its very existence is a possibility. The era of the Hashimite Prophet Muhammad has become, among all eras, a garden. (70) By the Chosen One (al-Muṣṭafā), the soil of Ṭaybah became fragrant, and through him it became a spring adorned with blossoms. Oh, how delightful is a breeze from the direction of Ṭaybah, whose fragrance revives us at eventide! May God water a heart, pure and thirsting for its sweet waters, that has never ceased to be thirsty for it. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj) with glad tidings of joy and congratulations, having attained from his Lord stations of nearness and closeness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj) with the attainment of purpose and aspirations; his Lord honored him over the spiritual and physical worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while his Muhammadan dawn overflowed with the gifts of sciences and subtle meanings, and his Lord supported him with the revelation of the Mighty Qurʾān and the Seven Oft-Repeated Verses (al-Sabʿ al-Mathānī). O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while his palm exuded streams of generosity and benevolent giving, and he filled hearts with his Aḥmadī secret and the light of his divine knowledge. (71) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey (Miʿrāj), while his glad tidings testify that he is the Book of the Revealed Criterion (al-Furqān), and he established the religion with the sword of his just law and his sovereign dominion.

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who returned from his Night Journey, while the outpourings of his mercies encompass the far and the near, and his supplications for his community were answered, and his blessing encompassed the seeker and the humble. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing by which You illuminate our hearts with the light of his samadani ¹⁷⁵ opening, and quench our hearts with the nectar of his most delightful Kawthar ¹⁷⁶ and the flow of his rahmani ¹⁷⁷ secret, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful, O Lord of the worlds. By my soul is he who journeyed by night and ascended until he observed the veils of Majesty folding before him, and the Dominant ¹⁷⁸ called him: 'O My beloved, come to Our union, and joy be yours.' So say and intercede, you shall obtain generosity and glory; ask and you shall be given, for Our nature is giving. The treasuries of My mercy and the bliss of My kingdom are by your decree; judge therein as you will. Yours is the abundant pool ¹⁷⁹ as an honor, O Muhammad, and intercession and the banner. Your station is beyond the reach of angels, and your excellence the prophets have not attained. How many miracles and signs have you in the heights, by which destiny has been preceded? When they enumerate noble qualities and high ranks, you are their completion and beginning. Who can count your noble qualities, which in every station have splendor? Upon you be the blessing of your Lord as long as the stars of the sky are hidden or the gentle winds blow, a blessing that attains the hoped-for therein: your noble, pious Companions. O Allah, I ask You, O our Lord, by the sanctity of this noble Prophet, by his immense rank, his lofty station, and by what transpired between You and him on the Night of the Ascension of conversation and speech, and by what You specially granted him of proximity, nearness, majesty, and glorification, that You bless him and his family with Your blessing which You bestowed upon him in pre-eternity by Your eternal Word, and which You announced in the clear verses of Your Wise Book, and that You draw my spirit, O Allah, to Your holy presence and the carpet of Your intimacy, and purify my thought in the gardens of Your kingdom and dominion and the enclosures of Your holiness, and make me among those whom You have singled out for the secrets of love, whose minds You have snatched away with the lights of attraction, and whom You have chosen for Your conversation and speech in the station of proximity and nearness, and whom You have preserved by the perfection of Your care from the accidents of deficiency and deprivation. And mount me, O Allah, on the mounts of speed and racing to the gardens upon the paths of piety and journeying to the Hereafter by turning away from this world, just as Your beloved, our master Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mounted the Buraq ¹⁸⁰ to the world of the highest barzakh ¹⁸¹. And raise my thought to the heaven of the world of intelligibles, and elevate me through righteous deeds and cutting off distractions to the highest degrees, just as Your beloved, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ascended the Mi'raj ¹⁸² in the world of the heavens. And support me with the spirit of spiritual faith, just as You supported Your beloved, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the wings of angels and the Holy Spirit of the Merciful. And make me among those whom the wings of yearning have carried in seeking proximity to the Truth, just as the lowered Rafraf ¹⁸³ carried Your beloved, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. And bring me near to You with the nearness of beloved ones, just as Your beloved, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew near and descended, and was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer. And let me taste the sweetness of ecstasy, and bring me out from ecstasy to existence, and make me heedless of the existence of things and of the existence of ecstasy and existence, and annihilate me from all that was and will be, and preserve me in that which has never ceased, so that I may be among those who have trodden the path of the most perfect Chosen One and inherited some of his stations outwardly and inwardly, and followed his excellent way and his straight and most virtuous path. And make me, O Allah, among those whom Your love has distracted from Paradise and its splendor, and whose yearning has disturbed their enjoyment of the base adornments and ornaments of this world, so that their concern is in You, their rest in Your remembrance, their insights roam in the enclosures of Your holiness, and their thoughts wander on the carpet of Your intimacy. The lights of Your Essence have overwhelmed them, and the secrets of their innermost beings have disappeared in the perfections of Your attributes. They are the brides of Your hidden secret in the consciences of the unseen, and the companions of Your presence concealed under the veil of Your guarded protection. No one perceives their reality except You, just as they know no one in existence except You, O Most Generous of the generous, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. The best of mankind is the object and the quest, sent and commissioned with truth for creation. The Chosen One is the qibla ¹⁸⁴ of faith, its disseminator; from Allah he has glorification and veneration. The Elected is the standard of Islam, its supporter; his law is like a lamp in the night. The Elected is the master of masters, the most generous of those who have walked on earth with sandals on their feet. The Chosen is the possessor of faith, Ahmad ¹⁸⁵, who has superiority over all of Allah's creation. He ascended from a bed to the Throne, and on the back of Buraq he soared, carried, until he drew near and descended in elevation and rose, like two bow-lengths, drawing near while being perfected. It was said: 'Ask, you shall be given what you choose, out of generosity; intercede, your intercession shall be accepted.' And he went, traversing the seven heavens until Gabriel came to him with noble revelation. He alighted in a presence filled with Allah, noble, its abode encompassed by intimacy, until he saw his Lord truly with his eye, and spoke to Allah openly while being connected. He attained such honor as no one among the prophets, whether superior or inferior, has attained. He is their imam, their pride truly, and their master, as if he were a white blaze and all others are white-footed horses. Like the full moon, stars revolve around his presence, and the light of his countenance is a crown on the horizon. All his states are established by Allah, and all his times are remembrance and declaration of His oneness. His soul is pure, his spirit is holy, his heart is occupied with thought in divine pleasure. His essence never ceases to act by Allah, adorned by descriptions and forms from Him. In him, along with beauty and beneficence, are four: pride, generosity, honor, and veneration. His generosity encompasses all people, in this world and the next, and from him favor is bestowed. So seek refuge in him and seek his help if you are fearful, for the door of contentment and the matter is locked. O most noble of creation, whether barefoot or shod, my heart is molded on love of you, which is obligatory. You are the best intercessor to seek aid from, and his heart contains fear and awe. You are the one whose seeker never fails, and there is no turning away for the servant from his Lord. O companion, repeat the hadith ¹⁸⁶ of the Chosen One openly, for that is a washing away of sins. Recite his praises and his biography aloud, for that is a weight in the balance. Then blessings upon the best of mankind forever, a rain descending upon his blessed grave, and upon his family and his Companions, as long as a bird sings with sorrow and melody. A noble, beautiful composition whose hearing brings joy and removes sorrow, and a splendid ascension whose discourse is pleasant in mouths, and its hearer says: 'Bravo, bravo, beautiful, excellent.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whose eye You filled with Your beauty, so he became joyful and delighted; and Your chosen one, whom You crowned with the crown of the awe of Your majesty, so he became among Your prophets, brought near and blessed; and Your intimate friend, whom You seated on the throne of Your vicegerency and appointed in the sphere of Your kingdom, so he became supported and victorious.

Your saint ¹⁸⁷ whom You made journey by night to the station of Qāb Qawsayn ¹⁸⁸, thereby increasing his fame and manifestation; and Your prophet ¹⁸⁹ whom, when You wished to manifest his nobility in the enclosures of Your holiness and elevate his station upon the carpet of Your intimacy, You sent to him Gabriel ¹⁹⁰, the peacock of the carpet of Your holy presence, the treasurer of the secrets of Your eternal sciences, and You said to him: 'Ascend gradually with your peacock-like wings, and don the robes of Your majestic and merciful perfections, and do not emerge from the expanse of the Malakūt ¹⁹¹ and the annihilation of the Jabarūt ¹⁹² except with seven hundred thousand wings and seven hundred thousand sashes; make some green emerald, some red gold; open the doors of mercy, close the doors of punishment and vengeance; gird yourself with the belt of etiquette and service; observe the station of veneration, exaltation, and sanctity; and prepare to utter what befits the Muhammadan station of secret and wisdom.' Then he said to You: 'Has the Hour come?' You said to him: 'No, but tonight we have a private meeting with the Beloved and a manifestation with the Truthful and Verified ¹⁹³. Go to Paradise, with its pure foods, radiant tastes, and many chambers and palaces full of light and illumination, for therein are forty thousand Burāqs ¹⁹⁴ with written on their foreheads: 'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the chosen one of the King, the Creator'; and in their midst is a Burāq that dazzles the eyes with the brilliance of its radiant beauty, weeping, solitary, having isolated itself alone out of intense love for him, longing and yearning for him, having abandoned eating and drinking for forty thousand years since it heard his Muhammadan name before his manifestation to sight and his appearance to the horizons. It is a beast above the donkey and below the mule, its face like a human face, with large black eyes, delicate ears like a peacock, its forehead like emerald, its body of red ruby, its hooves like those of a cow, of green emerald, studded with ruby and yellow coral; its head of strong musk, its neck of grey ambergris, its forelock of white pearl, tied with a chain of gold crowned with pearl and jewel; upon it is a saddle of brocade; its stride is the extent of its sight; it is saddled with a saddle of red ruby, bridled with a bridle of green chrysolite. Descend with it to the abode of the world, go with it to the land of the Hijaz, head for the mountain of Hirā', enter Mecca and its exalted, noble dwellings, and stop at the valley of Banī Hāshim; for in that valley is a fragrant quarter, and in that quarter a house, and in that house a description; upon that description is an orphan sleeping, lying down, neither sitting nor standing, wrapped in two garments of camel hair, enwrapped in the robes of beauty, splendor, and perfection, not arrogant, not tyrannical, not conceited, not boastful, not proud, not inclined to the vain adornments of this lowly world, nor leaning. When you reach him, respect him with the utmost respect, and behave with him with the etiquette of the noble celestials and great kings; kiss his feet, and send abundant blessings and salutations upon him, and say to him: 'Arise, O sleeper, for the spoils have been prepared for you.' Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the objectives have been prepared for you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the ranks have been raised for you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the drinks have become sweet for you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the lineages have been honored by you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the companions and relatives take pride in you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the witnesses and stars are adorned by you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the feet and positions are elevated by you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the assemblies and schools are perfumed by your name. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the mosques and prayer niches are inhabited by your remembrance. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the rising stars and experiences are blessed by your appearance. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the Easts and Wests are illuminated by the brilliance of your countenance. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the treasuries of secrets and gifts have been opened for you. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for all laws and creeds have been abrogated by your law. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the masters of ecstatic states and attractions are delighted by the praise of your qualities. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for by your mission have appeared the breaking of customs and the flashes of miracles and virtues. Arise, O orphan of Abū Tālib, for the inhabitants of the highest heaven rejoice at your arrival, and the enclosures of holiness and the manifestations of the most sublime secret are delighted by the light of your radiant face. 'Arise, O you wrapped in garments, O you enwrapped, your Lord calls you to Him, and commands you to stand before Him, and says to you: Distance has become distant, separation has separated and lost, union has connected, the time of grace and generosity has arrived, the lights have surrounded, the obstacles have ceased, the armies of victory and triumph have lined up, the brides of proximity and congratulations have been gifted to you and presented. And bring to him the Burāq full of love and longing for him, and say to him: 'Ride, O seal of the forerunners, O piercer of the seven heavens, O essence of pure origins and roots, for tonight...'

To God is your desire, and the dominion is your dominion, and your aspiration is directed towards Him, and hearing His address is your proof, and seeing His face is the ultimate goal of your hope and desire. Mount, O Muhammad, for the abode was prepared only for your sake, and existence came to be only through your merit, and the cup of love was filled only for union with you, and the worlds of this life and the Hereafter were honored only through your origin and merit. Mount, O Muhammad, for the gifts of goodness are present for your sovereignty, and the robes of generosity are extended for your sultanate, and the seasons of days are praised for your meeting, and what God has prepared for you of gifts and favors in the abode of His honor is without end or count, and the means of response to your supplications are accepted, not rejected. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard this from him, he said: "O Gabriel, have you brought me a sign of mercy or a sign of chastisement?" He said: "O Muhammad, mercy is for those who love you, believe in you, and affirm your message, and chastisement is for those who deny you, deviate from your religion, and abandon obedience to you. Indeed, God Most High sends you greetings, honors you with salutations and veneration, and invites you to His exalted presence and station, and to His carpet specially designated for nearness and proximity." He said: "O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to Him; what will He do with me upon arriving before Him and standing in His presence?" He said: "O Muhammad, that He may forgive you your past and future sins." Then he said: "O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to Him to forgive me my past and future sins; there is no sin with His pleasure, and no reproach for one whom He has chosen for Himself and selected. For this was decreed while I was in the loins of Adam on the day when the spirits testified to His Oneness, and creation was in the darkness of non-existence, when there was no existence nor non-existence, no clay nor Adam. So He knew my state before formation and creation, and designated me for His address and message in the prior designation, and illuminated my heart with the light of faith, sincerity, and certainty, and promised me Paradise, which is prepared for the righteous, and gathered in my essence the sciences of the first and the last, and revealed to me in the clear verses of His wise Book: "Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment" ¹⁹⁵ up to His words: "nor of those who go astray" ¹⁹⁶ — Surah al-Fatiha. O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to forgive me my past and future sins, as a favor from Him, a bounty, generosity, and beneficence. His mercy preceded His wrath, and He named me with what He named Himself: the Kind, the Compassionate, the Pardoning, the Forbearing. He sent me as a mercy to the worlds, and made me the bestowed mercy for His believing servants, and the precursor of happiness for the prophets and messengers, and all of God's honored servants. He made the entire cosmos encompassed by the mercy of my essence and the attributes of my perfections, and no atom remained in the realm of dominion and sovereignty ¹⁹⁷ except that it testified to my distinction and high rank. "And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds" ¹⁹⁸. O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to Him to forgive me my past and future sins, and to grant me a manifest victory, and to guide me to His straight path, and to complete His favor upon me, and to grant me a mighty victory, as He informed me in His wise Book, in His words: "Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory, that God may forgive you" ¹⁹⁹. O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to Him to forgive me my past and future sins, and He gave me glad tidings of that when He entered me into the school of instruction and taught me on the tablet of contentment and submission: "Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful" ²⁰⁰. O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to Him to forgive me my past and future sins, and to grant me the gifts of pleasure and good pleasure, and to wash my heart and remove from it the share of Satan, and to fill it with knowledge, forbearance, wisdom, and the light of faith, and to draw me to His presence and seat me on the platform of nearness and proximity. He alluded to this in His words: "Exalted is He who took His servant by night" ²⁰¹. O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to Him to forgive me my past and future sins, and He honored me with that when He created me from His light, and looked upon me with the eye of His honor and goodness, and made me a locus of manifestation for His self-disclosure to His creation, and a light standing before Him with the due of His right. "Blessed is God, the best of creators" ²⁰². O Gabriel, the Lord invites me to Him to forgive me my past and future sins, and the evidences of that appeared upon me when He nurtured me in the lap of His protection, and suckled me with the milk of His Oneness and religion, and made faith beloved to me, and made disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience hateful to my heart, and revealed to me the jewels of revelation and the sciences of the Quran: "Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Quran to you to cause you distress" ²⁰³. Then he said: "O Gabriel, this is for me; what about my family?" He said: "O Muhammad, 'And your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied'" ²⁰⁴. And he said: "O Gabriel, wait until I perform ablution and prostrate to God in the station of contentment, and praise Him, thank Him, extol Him, and ask Him to intercede for me for those of my community who come and those who have passed." He said: "O Muhammad, I have brought you water of Salsabil ²⁰⁵ in a pitcher of pearl, a basin of red ruby, a robe of green silk brocade, and a turban of light on which are written four lines: first: Muhammad is the Prophet of God; second: Muhammad is the Messenger of God; third: Muhammad is the Beloved of God; fourth: Muhammad is the Intimate Friend of God. Ridwan ²⁰⁶ descended from Paradise with it, along with forty thousand angels, and before that they used to invoke blessings upon you as the bearer of the turban before the creation of the heavens and the earth. When this night came, the angels said: 'Our Lord, You commanded us to invoke blessings upon the bearer of this turban; so honor us tonight with his service and permit us to walk before him.' When he performed ablution (peace and blessings be upon him), God Most High commanded Gabriel (peace be upon him) to raise the water of his ablution to Michael, so he raised it to him. Then God Most High commanded Michael to raise it to Azrael, then to Israfil (peace be upon them), then to Ridwan, then to Paradise. Then God Most High commanded the houris ²⁰⁷ to wipe their faces with it, and they did so, thereby increasing in beauty, radiance, light, love for him, and longing."

To Him, with joy and delight. So, O Allah, send blessings upon him and upon his family, a blessing that multiplies for us thereby reward and recompense, and grants us thereby in the abode of Your honor chambers and palaces, and everlasting bliss, and young boys and houris ²⁰⁸, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. He is Ahmad ²⁰⁹, the Chosen, the elect of Hashim ²¹⁰, the caller of mankind to the most guided path. Unique in virtues, excellences, and generosity, the lion of the battlefield in the blazing war. He surpassed mankind in rank, munificence, lofty station, and noble lineage. The signs ²¹¹ continued to radiate their light before his birth and after his birth. Allah made him journey by night ²¹² and raised his mention in the highest presence ²¹³ in the best of scenes. He pierced the seven heavens ²¹⁴ by night and ascended to the highest stations with singular perfection. He surpassed the best of messengers in excellence, and the Merciful granted him the loftiest sovereignty. O best of those sent, most generous of messengers, most noble of those who wear sandals, most beautiful of those who wear garments! Upon you be torrents from the clouds of blessings, and upon the family and noble companions, the renewed. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, the imam of Your intimate friends ²¹⁵, the model of Your sincere, certain elect, the choicest of Your pure ones, the loving and beloved. When Gabriel came to him with the Buraq ²¹⁶, brought forth from the gardens of Paradise and the highest 'Illiyin ²¹⁷, prepared for his riding in the eternity of eternities and the prior determination, and informed him of what his Lord would bestow upon him upon his arrival, from the gifts of good things and the subtleties of the hidden secret, he said to him: "O Gabriel, now my heart is delighted, the rose of my love is stirred, my time and my drink are pure; behold, I am going to my Lord." So he journeyed, and Gabriel took hold of his stirrup, and Michael clung to his side. Gabriel said to him: "O Muhammad, I have only come to you tonight to be the servant of your state and the chamberlain of the secret of your sovereignty. I have brought you the mount to manifest your honor and distinction, and to proclaim the loftiness of your rank and the elevation of your station. It was the custom of kings, when they invited a beloved and summoned a close one, and desired to show honor and respect, and to magnify his standing and raise his rank, to send their most special servants and their most honored deputies instead of moving their own feet. So we have come to you following the custom of kings and observing the etiquette of conduct, so that you may witness your Lord in the station of two bow-lengths ²¹⁸ and see Him with the eye of sight." So Gabriel took the reins of the Buraq and continued to traverse the seven heavens, and he journeyed while the Throne ²¹⁹ was on his right, the Footstool ²²⁰ on his left, the Tablet ²²¹ and the Pen ²²² behind his back, and the worlds of angels praised him and proclaimed the majesty of his rank, until he reached a station that no one else had reached, nor had any truthful one or prophet ascended its height. His Lord said to him: "Advance, O Seal of the Prophets ²²³, and draw near to Me, O My beloved, O Muhammad! By My might and majesty, I will surely spread your mention, expand your breast, raise your rank, grant you intercession for those who believe in you among the disobedient and sinners, and send blessings upon whoever sends blessings upon you from My believing servants." He was brought, like the Buraq, with the Buraq for him; for the beloved, such is brought. And the trustworthy one ²²⁴ on the right accompanies the stirrup; thus do the commanders. Saddled and bridled, it came to him, and in it was stubbornness, joy and pride. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master and lord Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, Your clement, compassionate beloved, Your pure friend of great rank and standing, Your intimate one whose praise the tongues of praisers fall short of exhausting, and Your prophet who, when he rode the Buraq and journeyed cutting through the expanses of space and horizons, said: "I saw a handsome young man of pleasant fragrance; he kissed me between my eyes, then disappeared from me. I asked Gabriel about him, and he said: 'O Muhammad, this is the religion; rejoice, for your community will live as believers, die as believers, and enter Paradise secure.' Then I was brought three cups: a cup of water, a cup of milk, and a cup of wine. I took the milk, and Gabriel said: 'You have hit upon the natural disposition ²²⁵; had you drunk the water, your community would have drowned; had you drunk the wine, your community would have gone astray.' So I drank some of the milk, and Gabriel said: 'Had you drunk all the milk, none of your community would have entered the Fire.' I said, 'Return it,' but he said: 'Far from it! The Pen has run with what has been decreed.' Then I was brought white, green, yellow, and black garments. I took the white and green, and Gabriel said: 'The white garments are the garments of the people of Islam, and the green garments are the garments of the people of Paradise; Paradise is assured for your community. The yellow garments are the garments of the People of the Book; your community is saved from Judaism and Christianity. The black garments are the garments of the people of the Fire; your community is saved from the Fire.' Then he said: 'When we reached Jerusalem, Gabriel tied the Buraq to the ring, and I entered the Aqsa ²²⁶ and found half of it filled with angels. I saw the prophets in rows, and I said, "O Gabriel, who are these?" He said, "O Muhammad, these are your brothers the prophets." So Gabriel stood and said, "Advance, O most honored of Allah's creation before Allah." So I advanced and led them in two rak'as ²²⁷. When we finished, Gabriel said to me, "O Muhammad, do you know who prayed behind you?" I said, "No." He said, "Every prophet Allah has sent." So, O Allah, send blessings upon him and upon his family, possessors of rank and standing, and upon his companions who complied with what he commanded them of obedience to him and his Lord, a blessing by which our faces are illumined with the light of his Muhammadan beauty and radiance, and by which the seas of his Ahmadine generosity and munificence flow upon us, and by which You make us among the successful on the Day of Resurrection through Your pleasure and his pleasure, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. For him the truth of certainty ²²⁸ drew near to gain approval. While the prophet was lying on his side in the Hijr ²²⁹, The trustworthy one came to him with the Buraq prepared, And said to him: "Ride, you are ascending to the Throne." So he journeyed, and Gabriel walked with his stirrup, And before him was Michael, and the light was shining. When he came to Jerusalem, a caller called out, And the angels and messengers came, all following. He led them, then ascended, rising to A lofty place that no aspirant had desired. And Gabriel handed him over thereafter in the heights, And said to him: "Here is the Lord; nothing prevents." Beloved and loved, and a moment of solitude, Between them the secret of discourse is exchanged. A pure, holy house, a complete, established honor, a lofty station in which the souls of lovers find rest and delight, a radiant light that dazzles minds in the flashes of its signs and ponders, a blessed scene whose fragrance diffuses in the assemblies of the intimate and breathes, a sound tradition whose traces are transmitted, not criticized nor interpolated, a noble place from which the master of messengers ascended to the presence of his Lord, who is transcendent above likeness and peer, the Holy. So, O Allah, send blessings upon him and upon his family, a blessing that makes us among those who have pitched their tents in his noble courtyard and settled, and who have given themselves to the service of his lofty presence and confined themselves, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Its author, may Allah populate the corners of his heart with love of the possessor of the banner and crown, and protect him from deviation from the path of truth and crookedness, and lead him on the clearest path to truth and the highest way, said: When I composed this radiant Mi'raj ²³⁰ of lofty constructions and high ascents,

Of surpassing meanings, rare in forms and production, I have brought forth in it what expands the breasts (al-ṣudūr) and illuminates the hearts (al-qulūb), and accords with nature and temperament. In the course of it, I have arrived at this station, observed with the eye of veneration and exaltation, singled out for blessing, benediction, piety, and honor. My soul yearned to mention the Holy Land (al-arḍ al-muqaddasah), the Holy House (Bayt al-Maqdis), and the Furthest Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqṣā), in which our master and lord Muḥammad—may Allāh bless him and grant him peace—led the prophets and noble messengers in prayer, and the Glorious Rock (al-Ṣakhrah al-Jalīlah) upon which he placed his noble foot by night while people slept, and the Lofty Station (al-Maqām al-Asnā) from which he ascended to the presence of his Lord, the All-Knowing King (al-Malik al-ʿAllām); and that I might depict in this book the description of those great places, illuminated by the light of revelation and the descent of blessing and mercies throughout the passage of nights and days, so that the souls of the people of ecstasy and yearning may find rest in the gardens of their blessed courtyards, and the eyes of the people of longing and passion may stroll in the gardens of their orchards; and that I might mention their virtues as some of the eminent scholars (al-jahābidhah al-aʿlām) have mentioned them, and extol their worth as has come in the traditions (al-aḥādīth) transmitted from our prophet Muḥammad—upon him be the most excellent blessings and the purest peace—and intersperse them with prayers of surpassing style and order, exquisite in beginning and end, which ears delight in and minds find sweet, and whose reading increases faith in the hearts of lovers and removes from them kinds of doubts and veils of illusions. And I have placed before them these two sermons (al-khuṭbatayn), as some of the imams followed as exemplars have mentioned them, so that this might be a means to attaining the goal and achieving the aim: the first concerning the extolling of the Holy Land (arḍ al-Maqdis), and the second concerning its conquest. (89) So I say—and from Allāh I hope for victory, assistance, and acceptance: Praise be to Allāh, who made the Holy Land (arḍ al-Maqdis) lofty in elevation, exalted in regions, abundant in blessing and benefit, fertile in its sides, diverse in vegetation, extended in shades, beloved in qualities, hoped-for in happiness, blessed in aspirations; and made its city firm in construction, vast in expanse, witnessing to its inhabitants wealth and splendor; it has taken from every beauty a portion, and has aimed at the target of virtues with a hitting arrow; it has been filled with refinement and courtesy, and has been given of everything a means. A place as if the sun is ashamed whenever * it sheds its garment from his shoulders, concealed. The winds of paradise breathe from it for its people * and it puts Tasnīm to shame and exudes fragrance. In it is a dense shade and a flowing water (sal-sabīl), whose streams flow like the slithering of serpents along every path, and gardens that revive with their gentle breeze, and display to the beholder a polished vista, and call to them: “Come to a camping ground of beauty and a resting place!” And He made in it the Holy House (Bayt al-Maqdis) the most honorable of houses in rank, and extolled it and raised its mention among all creeds, and preferred it over most regions in honor and pride, and united hearts in love for it, magnifying its station, and multiplied for them thereby reward and recompense; and He caused the best of His creation to journey by night to it, then revealed upon him in His Book: “Glory be to Him who journeyed by night” (subḥāna alladhī asrā). So glad tidings to him who builds for Allāh in it a house, even if it be a span; and what profit for him who offers in it to Allāh reward and piety, for His saying, exalted be He: “And whatever good you send forth for yourselves, (90) you will find it with Allāh—it is better and greater in reward” (wa mā tuqaddimū li-anfusikum min khayrin tajidūhu ʿinda Allāhi huwa khayran wa aʿẓama ajran). So what good is greater than the establishment of this place and the construction of this hall (al-īwān), before which the Gate of Mercy (Bāb al-Raḥmah) is opened, with the Mount (al-Ṭūr) before it and the tree beneath its feet, and the Congregational Mosque of al-Aqṣā (al-Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā) like the moon gazing upon it, and the Noble Rock (al-Ṣakhrah al-Sharīfah) like the sun approaching it, while it is like the crescent appearing between the sun and the moon, and the lush gardens among the ripe orchards and varieties of flowers? What is the sun, what is the full moon in the bounties of its delight? * In every direction from its face is a moon. So I hope for its builder that he be granted his wishes, and that he gain from the Majestic King abundant giving, beautiful praise, and dense shade. Allāh suffices us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs. For from it, ʿĪsā (Jesus)—peace be upon him—was raised to the lowest heaven, as is mentioned, and it is east of this great, renowned sanctuary (al-ḥaram al-ʿaẓīm). In it is a blessed hill, at the top of which is a noble, crowded mosque, founded upon fine, massive columns, hard white marble, and clear hewn stone; people visit it for blessing. A little below it is a blessed dome, to which stairs lead, and beneath it is the tomb of the righteous saint (al-waliyyah al-ṣāliḥah) Rabīʿah al-ʿAdawiyyah. Below it, at a distance, is a large dome, disputed, containing the tomb of Maryam (Mary)—peace be upon her. In this noble city are pure places, upon which are manifest blessings, and in it are the graves of the prophets—the blessings of Allāh be upon them all. And this venerated, noble sanctuary (al-ḥaram al-muʿaẓẓam al-sharīf), and the revered, lofty mosque, which Allāh, exalted be He, has blessed around it, and every community has known its honor and virtue, is the Furthest Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqṣā), (91) and the place of the Ascension (al-Miʿrāj) and the Night Journey (al-Isrā’). Sufficient is this for it as might and pride—a site possessing light, complete, transmitted virtue, known, mentioned honor. A mosque with sanctities, a station where breezes attend, a place upon which blessings overflow, where supplications are answered, a location beyond description, from which one cannot turn away, and which exhausts in classifying its beauties the expressions and words. It has combined the honor of high rank with the goodness of the soil and the excellence of the abode. Its merits and glories have become renowned to the utmost, with regions vying with it and boasting against it. Its noble qualities and beauties have become pleasing, so no sight rivals or competes with it. Its traits and virtues have surpassed all that approaches or contends with it. As if, from its beauty, it has never ceased * to employ success and good fortune. Its builder established it, and its stature rose high, * and it vied with Gemini and the Pole Star. And this noble mosque is the greatest of the mosques of the world. Its length is seven hundred and eighty cubits (dhirāʿ), and its width is four hundred and fifty cubits as well. Thus, its area, according to Maghribi measures, is one hundred and forty-five measures (marjaʿ). Its columns are four hundred and fourteen columns. Its doors are fifty doors. A wall surrounds it, with a width of three steps, founded upon great stones, and its huge, hewn, colossal slabs from the construction of the jinn for Sulaymān (Solomon)—peace be upon him. Currently open among its doors are twelve doors, each door having an engraved face, embellished and decorated. Among them is a door plated with gold (al-ʿiqyān) and silver (al-lujayn), supported by both, which has stood as a delight to the eyes and a wonder to the beholders. Among them are the Gate of Mercy (Bāb al-Raḥmah) (92) and the Gate of Repentance (Bāb al-Tawbah), two gates on the eastern side. The commentators (al-mufassirūn) have narrated from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās concerning His saying, exalted be He: “Then a wall will be set between them” (fa-ḍuriba baynahum bi-sūrin), that it is the eastern wall of the Holy House (Bayt al-Maqdis), and it has a gate called the Gate of Mercy (Bāb al-Raḥmah). Kaʿb said: Its interior is the mosque, and its exterior is a valley in Hell. On the qiblah side is the Greatest Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aʿẓam), which today is predominantly called the Furthest Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqṣā), and in it are the sermon (al-khuṭbah) and the Friday prayer (al-jumuʿah), and the pulpit (al-minbar) in which Allāh has gathered every wondrous craft and strange invention, and the enclosures (al-maqāṣīr) with no equal in strangeness, workmanship, and excellence of construction, and the columns adorned with silver, colored in various hues—deep red, bright yellow, pure white, and from the jet-black, clear variety.

of exquisite variegated marble, all their tops coated with molten gold and pure nuggets. Before the mihrab ²³¹ stood a great, magnificent dome, divided into sections by customary intersecting arches, set with various colors and strange designs. Its interior was gilded with octagonal, hexagonal, and square patterns, the gilding adorned with trees and leaves of gold, perfecting the beauty and completing its sections with lines of mastery. It had a splendid appearance and a dazzling decoration; you would see it ablaze with gold, astonishing in its elegance. In it were inscriptions written in gold on a turquoise ground and on a red vermilion ground. To the east of this mosque, inside and connected to it, is the blessed mosque built by the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ²³², may God be pleased with him. In its interior is a square enclosure behind which is the mihrab of Zakariyya ²³³, peace be upon him, inscribed in gold: "O Zakariyya, indeed We give you good tidings of a boy whose name is Yahya ²³⁴." Outside the Great Mosque, on the eastern side, is a mosque with two domes near the Mosque of 'Isa ²³⁵, peace be upon him. To its east is a gate with many stairways leading underground to a large, fine place for the Malikis ²³⁶ called the Mosque of the Maghribis ²³⁷, adjacent on the west to a flourishing school called al-Fakhriyya ²³⁸. Outside the Great Mosque is a large rock bearing various fruits and large trees of different kinds, and in it are many cisterns. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Habib ²³⁹ narrated with his chain to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, that when he came to Jerusalem, a man from his companions went to draw water from the Cistern of Sulayman ²⁴⁰, which is a cistern inside the mosque. His bucket fell into the cistern, so he descended to retrieve it. While he was wandering in the cistern, two angels came, took him by his shoulder, and brought him until they entered Paradise. They walked with him, and whenever they passed by a tree with fruit, he would reach out his hand to its fruit, but the angels would hold him back, until they passed by a tree with branches. He reached out and took a single leaf. The angels said to him: 'If you had control of your hands, we would have taken you until the Day of Resurrection.' Then they returned him to the cistern, and he came out at the time of the noon prayer. He went to 'Umar and told him what had happened, keeping his hand closed over the leaf. 'Umar said to him: 'Keep your hand closed over it.' Then he sent for Ka'b al-Ahbar ²⁴¹. When he came, 'Umar said: 'O Abu Ishaq, do you find in your knowledge that a man from the nation of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, enters Paradise and then comes out of it?' He said: 'Yes, O Commander of the Faithful.' 'Umar said: 'Is there a name for him?' He said: 'Yes, he is Sharik ibn Khamasha al-Numayri ²⁴².' 'Umar said: 'Look, do you see him?' Ka'b looked for a long time, then said: 'There he is.' It was said to Ka'b: 'Describe the leaf to us.' He said: 'Yes, it was like a large palm, most resembling a peach leaf ²⁴³.' In Jerusalem there are twelve cisterns, none more pleasant, cooler, or sweeter than this one. It is called the Well of the Leaf. End. At this blessed rock is an aqueduct bringing water from a difficult distance and a far underground depth, cutting through mountains and splitting great rocks, with immense wealth and strong hands, until the waters poured onto the Aqsa Mosque ²⁴⁴, irrigating and overflowing into a large marble basin before the Great Mosque, in the middle of which is a fountain where water flows. In the middle of this last elevated courtyard is the great dome of immense worth, in which the beauties of the world were gathered and confined within its sides. It is one of the wonders of time, the finest sight to behold and imagine. In it is the noble Rock ²⁴⁵, which is a mosque made of an octagonal dome in walls and corners, inside and out, with a vaulted ceiling, its top of beaten gold in wondrous craftsmanship. All its interior sides are clad with various types of marble, joined and affixed firmly, striped with black lines like divine power, beside it wondrous seals and diverse strange craftsmanship. In the center of this octagonal, vaulted dome is another dome whose ascent in the sky is so high that its Pleiades ²⁴⁶ equal the Pleiades, surpassing Gemini ²⁴⁷ in its direction, surpassing the isolated Spica ²⁴⁸ in its thickness, rising in the air, whispering secrets to the sky, reaching the ultimate limit of beauty. It is as if it were fashioned as the Garden of Eternity, imbued with the core of the heart ²⁴⁹, widening the delight of the eye, spreading across the breadth of the earth, and displaying pure, refined gold. Its fame is agreed upon, its perfection proverbial, its news reaching elite and commoners, its renown spreading far, its mention elevated, its matter great and its importance immense. People flock to it from near and far, east and west, contemplating it, marveling at its splendid sight and the luster of its radiance. Men who have traversed lands, exchanged homelands, journeyed through cities, and traveled across regions met there, and each of them swore earnestly that they had never seen the perfection of its beauties complete, nor the elegance of its vistas so well-arranged, nor the wonders contained in its splendor and encompassed by its branches, of secret engravings and lofty crafts that the crafts of the people of India cannot attain, nor the embroidery of the people of China resemble, nor the designs of its people reach, nor the brocades of Tustar ²⁵⁰ rival, nor the figured silk of Yemen compare in workmanship. Even if it had only the polished terrace overlooking the great courtyard, the dome, and the wonders of its perfect craftsmanship, grandeur of ambition, beauty of the eastern exposure, and purity of the cladding and covering—of polished marble, weighed gold, columns as if cast in molds, engravings like pieces of basins, and arbors like garden beds—it would suffice. The learned scholar, the exemplar Shams al-Din al-Kurki ²⁵¹ said: 'The weight of the lead on the roof of the Dome of the Rock reached thirty thousand qintars ²⁵² by the Damascene measure, which is one hundred and twenty thousand qintars by the Mu'mini ²⁵³ measure, exactly.' 'Abd al-Malik ibn Habib, may God have mercy on him, mentioned that 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ²⁵⁴, may God be pleased with him, built the dome over the Rock and placed on the pinnacle at the top of the dome eight thousand sheets of copper plated with gold, each sheet weighing seven and a half mithqals ²⁵⁵, and he poured on the tops of the columns one hundred mithqals of gold. Beneath this wondrous dome is the noble Rock, which is like a firmly fixed mountain and a great mount, suspended in the midst of space between earth and sky, neither ascending nor descending. Only He who holds the heavens and the earth from vanishing holds it. In this noble Rock and the building surrounding it, a kind of large cave has been made, leading to it by stairs totaling fifteen steps. In it is a surface paved with variegated marble of different colors and exquisite workmanship, a blessed place for prayer. At the qibla ²⁵⁶ side of the noble Rock is the trace of a foot, which, as is mentioned, is the foot of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. People seek blessing from it and rub their cheeks on it. The noble Rock is encircled by a wooden grille, and beyond it another grille of iron with three doors. Between the two grilles is a spacious area for prayer. The octagon has four doors. The inner door is called the Gate of Paradise, and above it is written in beautiful thick script: 'This is the Gate of Paradise.' Above the second door is a large copper plate inscribed with firm engraving, its text: 'In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to God, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, no partner with Him, the One, the Eternal, He begets not nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him.'

One, Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. He sent him with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all [other] religions, even if the polytheists dislike it. We believe in Allah and in what was revealed to Muhammad, and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction (97) between any of them, and we are Muslims (submitting) to Him. May Allah bless our master Muhammad, His Prophet and servant, and peace be upon him, and the mercy of Allah, His blessings, forgiveness, good pleasure, and greetings. [This is] from what was commanded by the servant of Allah, the Imam al-Ma'mun, Commander of the Faithful—may Allah prolong his life in the guardianship of the brother of the Commander of the Faithful, Abu Ishaq ibn al-Rashid, may Allah preserve him—and was executed by the hands of Salih ibn Yahya, the client (mawla) of the Commander of the Faithful, in the month of Rabi' al-Akhir, the year two hundred and sixteen. At the top of the second gate of the Eastern Gate, there is also another bronze tablet inscribed with this entire mentioned text. In front of the aforementioned Gate of Paradise (Bab al-Jannah) is a dome that overwhelms the eyes with its radiance and snatches away the sight with its brilliance, and it is called the Dome of the Chain (Qubbat al-Salsalah). It is the one by which David (peace be upon him) used to judge. It is a wondrous, magnificent dome, erected upon diverse columns, encompassing craftsmanship of beauty. Its inscription is: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful: 'When they judged concerning the field, when the people's sheep had strayed into it by night, and We were witnesses to their judgment. Then We gave understanding of it to Solomon, and to each We gave judgment and knowledge.'" The completion of the stripping of the interior of the blessed Dome of the Chain, the engraving of its ceiling, and its dismantling occurred in the months of the year five hundred and ninety-six. In the western corner of this aforementioned elevated courtyard is a mosque containing two well-ordered, wondrous domes with gilded inscriptions and various dates. The most recent of them is the following text: "Praise be to Allah, and His blessings be upon the best of His creation, Muhammad, and his family and companions. To proceed: The aspirations of the kings of Islam have never ceased to support one another in establishing monuments by which their remembrance endures, and in constructing beauties with which they vie with nations, finding traces (98) upon which spiders have long woven, and inscribing upon the pages of days a writing to which the stars aspire. Thus the eyes of hopes are delighted by their noble deeds, and the branches of their loved ones are verdant and flourishing with their glories. Allah gave them power, and they directed it to elevating their ranks; He granted them the world, and they did not neglect it, heedless of the beauties of their monuments." In the western direction are three minarets, and in the western and inner (jawfiyyah) directions are various domes, among them: the magnificent Dome of the Eastern Corner, the surpassing Dome of the Ascension (Qubbat al-Mi'raj), the marble Dome of the Balance (Qubbat al-Mizan), the exquisite Dome of Moses (Qubbat Musa), and the splendid Dome of Solomon (Qubbat Sulayman). In each of these domes is an imam devotedly residing in it, standing over it. The number of places for intercessory prayers (ashfa') and Tarawih prayers therein during the month of Ramadan is approximately forty places. In the western direction of the great courtyard is a wondrous madrasa (school) of strange form, abundant in water, magnificent in construction; its door adjoins the door of the Sanctuary (al-Haram). Sufis reside in it. It is surrounded by wondrous gilded inscriptions, strange literary sermons, and exquisite, accessible expressions that bring wonder and reveal chosen beauty. I say: What I have mentioned of the description of these noble sites of mention, the great mosques of high status, and the illustrious institutes of pride, is but like a dot falling in the sea, or a speck of dust falling in the desert. It suffices for their virtue that in them is one of the three mosques to which journeys are only directed, the noble Sanctuary (al-Haram al-Sharif) to which travel and departure are rightful, and the illustrious Station (al-Maqam) whose proximity is chosen and whose adherence is preferred—the descent of mercy, the gathering place of the community, the place of relief from distress and grief, the sites of the noble prophets, (99) and the circumambulation place of the great angels. Upon them be the best of Allah's blessings and the purest of peace. If you ask where Muhammad's rank is among mankind, Look to his manifest sight, you will attain your piety in commands. How noble is a servant whose precedence the noble messengers acknowledged, In a presence of sanctity, they honored him with resolve and respect. They lined up and prayed behind him; indeed, the congregation is with the imam. The shooting stars have a clear light, but the virtue belongs to the full moon. A brilliant one traversed prophethood, and with Ahmad the system was sealed. The tongues of the eloquent disputants testified for him after their incapacity. So upon him be from the Lord of creation the purest blessings with peace. The first sermon on the exaltation of the land of Jerusalem (al-Maqdis) and what it contains of lofty construction and exquisite workmanship has ended. It will be followed by the second sermon on the conquest of Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis), which is the first Friday sermon prayed in noble Jerusalem (al-Quds al-Sharif) after the conquest. It was delivered by the judge Muhyi al-Din ibn Zaki al-Din 'Ali al-Qurashi. He began it with Surat al-Fatihah to its end, and recited: "So the roots of the people who wronged were cut off. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds." Then he recited the beginning of Surat al-An'am. Then he recited from Surat al-Isra': "Exalted is He who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqsa), whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing." Then he recited: "And say, 'Praise be to Allah, who has not taken a son and has had no partner (100) in [His] dominion, nor any protector out of weakness. And magnify Him with [all] magnificence.'" Then he recited the beginning of Surat al-Kahf. Then he recited from Surat al-Naml: "Say, 'Praise be to Allah, and peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen. Is Allah better, or what they associate [with Him]?'" Then he recited the beginning of Surat Saba'. Then he recited the beginning of Surat Fatir. Then he commenced the sermon and said: Praise be to Allah, who honors Islam with His victory, humiliates polytheism with His subjugation, disposes of affairs by His command, administers blessings through gratitude for Him, and gradually seizes the disbelievers by His stratagem. Praise be to Allah, who made days alternate between states, and the final outcome is for the righteous by His grace; He returned to His servants from His shade, and made the religion of Muhammad prevail over all religions. He is the Subduer above His servants, so none can oppose Him; the Manifest over His creation, so none can dispute Him; the Commander of what He wills, so none can question Him; the Judge of what He desires, so none can repel Him. I praise Him for His concealment and manifestation, for His strengthening of His allies and His support of His helpers, and for His purification of Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) from the impurities of polytheism and its defilements—the praise of one who has imbued praise within the secret of his heart and outwardly aloud. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, the One, the Eternal, who "has not begotten, nor was begotten, nor is there to Him any equivalent." A testimony of one whose heart is purified by monotheism and who pleases his Lord thereby. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

The Remover of doubt, the Refuter of polytheism, and the Rejecter of falsehood; He who was taken by night from the Sacred Mosque to this farthest Mosque, and ascended from it to the highest heavens, to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ²⁵⁷, near which is the Garden of Refuge, when there covered the Lote Tree that which covered it; his sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress. May Allah bless him, his family, his successor Abu Bakr al-Siddiq ²⁵⁸, the foremost in faith, and the Commander of the Faithful 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ²⁵⁹, the first to raise the rites of the cross from this House, and the Commander of the Faithful 'Uthman ibn 'Affan ²⁶⁰, possessor of the two lights, compiler of the Qur'an, and the Commander of the Faithful 'Ali ibn Abi Talib ²⁶¹, the shaker of polytheism and the breaker of idols, and his family, his companions, and those who follow them in righteousness. O people, rejoice in the pleasure of Allah, which is the ultimate goal and the highest rank, for what Allah has facilitated through your hands: the recovery of this lost one from the misguided nation, and its return to its place in Islam after it had been degraded in the hands of the polytheists for nearly a hundred years, and the purification of this House which Allah has permitted to be raised and in which His name is mentioned, and the removal of polytheism from its paths after its creatures had extended over them and its mark had settled therein, and the raising of its foundations with monotheism, for it was built upon it and erected in its construction with glorification, and founded on piety from behind and before it. It is the abode of your father Abraham, the ascension of your noble Prophet Muhammad (may the best prayers and purest peace be upon him), your qibla ²⁶² to which you prayed at the beginning of sublime Islam, the abode of the prophets, the descent of the saints, the abode of the messengers, the descent of revelation, the place where command and prohibition were sent down, the land of the gathering and the plain of resurrection, the holy land which Allah mentioned in His clear Book, the Farthest Mosque in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed with the angels brought near, the city in which Allah sent His servant and messenger Jesus (peace be upon him), His word which He cast to Mary, and raised him to Himself and honored him with His message and ennobled him with His prophethood, without departing from the rank of His servitude. He said: "The Messiah would never disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor would the angels brought near." Those who deviate have lied and gone far astray. "Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. Then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe." It is the first of the two qiblas ²⁶³, the second of the two mosques ²⁶⁴, and the third of the two sanctuaries ²⁶⁵. Journeys are not undertaken after the two mosques except to it, and fingers are not clasped after the two places except for it. Were it not that you are among those whom Allah has chosen from His servants and selected over the inhabitants of His lands, Allah would not have singled you out for this virtue which no one can rival or compete with you. So blessed are you, an army through whose hands have appeared the prophetic miracles, the Badr-like events ²⁶⁶, the Siddiq-like determinations ²⁶⁷, the 'Umar-like conquests ²⁶⁸, the 'Uthman-like armies ²⁶⁹, and you have renewed Islam in the days of al-Qadisiyya ²⁷⁰, the battles of Yarmouk ²⁷¹, and the Khalid-like attacks ²⁷². May Allah reward you on behalf of your Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the best reward, and thank you for what you have sacrificed of your lives in fighting the enemy, and accept from you what you have offered of spilled blood, and grant you Paradise, the abode of the blessed. So appreciate, may Allah have mercy on you, this blessing as it deserves, and fulfill the duty of gratitude to Allah. For Allah, the Exalted, has bestowed favor upon you by singling you out for this blessing and distinguishing you for this service. This is the conquest for which the gates of heaven were opened, the faces of darkness were illuminated by its lights, the angels brought near rejoiced, and the eyes of the prophets and messengers were delighted. What greater blessing is there than that He has made you the army through whose hands the Holy House will be conquered at the end of time, and the troops by whose swords the green banners of faith will be raised after a period of cessation of prophethood? Soon Allah will open similar conquests through your hands, and congratulations to the people of good will be more than congratulations to the people of dust. Is it not the Holy House which Allah mentioned in His Book and specified you in His decisive address, saying: "Exalted is He who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing." Is it not the Holy House which the King magnified and the messengers affirmed, and in which the four revealed books from Allah Almighty were recited? Is it not the House for which Allah held back the sun from setting for Joshua ²⁷³, and distanced its steps to facilitate its conquest and bring it near?

It is the House ²⁷⁴ which Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded Moses to order his people to enter, but only two men entered it. He became angry with them and cast them into the wandering ²⁷⁵ as a punishment for disobedience. So praise Allah who carried out your determinations when the Children of Israel, despite being favored over the worlds, shrank from it, and who granted you success in what previous nations among those who have passed away failed to do, and who united your word for its sake when it was divided, and enriched you with what He decreed, which was, and from, and will be, and until. So may it be well for you that your mention is among those with Him, and that He made you, after you were soldiers of your passions, His soldiers, and that the near-stationed angels ²⁷⁶ thanked you for what you offered to this House of the purest monotheism, and the spreading of sanctification, praise, and glorification, and for what you chose in it from the filth of polytheism and trinitarianism ²⁷⁷, and the wicked, vile belief. Now the angels of the heavens seek forgiveness for you, and blessed prayers are sent upon you. So preserve, may Allah have mercy on you, this gift among you, and guard this blessing with you and in your hands, through the fear of Allah, by which whoever holds fast is safe, and whoever clings to its firmest handhold is saved and protected. Beware of following passion ²⁷⁸ and agreeing with perdition and turning back, and seize the opportunity, and remove what remains of the distress, and strive for Allah with the striving due to Him, and sell yourselves to the servants of Allah in His pleasure, since He has made you among the best of His servants. And beware lest Satan let you loose, and tyranny enter into you, so that it seems to you that this victory is by your sharp swords, your swift horses, and your bravery in the regions of the lands. No, by Allah: "And victory is only from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise." ²⁷⁹ And beware, O servants of Allah, after He has made known to you this great conquest and favor, and has singled you out for His manifest, great victory, lest you commit many of His prohibitions and commit great sins against Him, and thus become like she who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong ²⁸⁰, or like him to whom We gave Our signs, but he stripped himself of them, so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators ²⁸¹. And jihad, jihad, for it is the best and most honorable of your practices. And help Allah, and He will help you; and guard Allah, and He will guard you; and thank Allah, and He will increase you. And purify the earth from these impurities that have angered Allah and His Messenger, and cut off the branches of unbelief and uproot its roots, for the days have called for Islamic vengeance and the Muhammadan religion. Allahu Akbar! Allah has opened and granted victory; Allah has prevailed and subdued; Allah has killed whoever disbelieved. And know, O servants of Allah, may Allah have mercy on you, an opportunity, so seize it; a prey, so attack it; and march towards it with a march... Some of the commentators ²⁸² on that, and on the meaning of His statement, Exalted is He: "Exalted is He who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing." ²⁸³ So I say: The commentators, may Allah be pleased with them, said: "Subhana" ²⁸⁴ is the exaltation of Allah, Exalted is He, from every evil and describing Him as free from every deficiency, and "Subhana" can mean wonder. "And He took His servant by night": the servant is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and no one from the community differed on that. "From al-Masjid al-Haram": meaning the mosque of Mecca. "To al-Masjid al-Aqsa": it is the mosque of Bayt al-Maqdis ²⁸⁵. "Whose surroundings We have blessed": meaning with rivers and fruits. Ibn Abbas said concerning His statement: "Whose surroundings We have blessed": it is Palestine and Jordan. And it was said concerning His statement: "Whose surroundings We have blessed": meaning al-Sham ²⁸⁶, and al-Sham in Syriac means the good, and it was named that for its goodness and fertility. And it was said: "Whose surroundings We have blessed" with the graves of the prophets. And other things were said. And it was said He called it blessed because it is the abode of the prophets and their qibla ²⁸⁷, and it is the descent of the angels, and in it people will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection. And it was called al-Aqsa ²⁸⁸ for the distance between it and al-Masjid al-Haram. And it was said it was the farthest mosque on earth for the people of Mecca that was venerated by visitation. And it was said for its distance from impurities and filth. And it was said it was called al-Aqsa because it is the center of the world, neither increasing nor decreasing. Among the names of Bayt al-Maqdis are Iliya ²⁸⁹, and al-Maqdis (with a fatha on the mim and sukun on the qaf) is the place purified from sins, and its derivation is from al-quds ²⁹⁰, which is purity and blessing. So the meaning of Bayt al-Maqdis is the place where one is purified from sins, and al-Bayt al-Muqaddas is the purified house, and its purification is emptying it of idols. Among its names are Yushalam ²⁹¹ with a shin and shadda on the lam, and Burushalam, meaning in Hebrew the house of peace, and Sihyun ²⁹² with a kasra on the sad. And the mosque of Bayt al-Maqdis is called al-Zaytun ²⁹³, and it is not called al-Haram. The first to build it was David, peace be upon him. And from some scholars that the first to build it were the angels by the command of Allah, Exalted is He. And it is said that the one who built it was Israfil, peace be upon him. And the holy land that Allah mentioned in His Book, informing about His prophet Moses, peace be upon him, in His statement: "O my people, enter the holy land which Allah has written for you" ²⁹⁴ is the land of Bayt al-Maqdis. And from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both: Bayt al-Maqdis has had shade and rain since Allah created the years and days. And it was narrated concerning His statement, Exalted is He: "And We saved him and Lot to the land which We have blessed for the worlds" ²⁹⁵, it is the holy land: Allah blessed it for the worlds, because every sweet water on earth comes out from under the Rock ²⁹⁶, then spreads throughout the earth. And it was narrated concerning His statement, Exalted is He: "Indeed, the earth will be inherited by My righteous servants" ²⁹⁷, in one of the sayings, it is the holy land, inherited by the community of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And His statement: "And We sheltered them to a hill of settled ground and flowing water" ²⁹⁸, the hill is the elevated place, and it is the holy land. Ka'b said: It is the closest land to the sky by eighteen miles, according to what some commentators mentioned. And His statement, Exalted is He: "And listen on the Day when the caller will call from a near place" ²⁹⁹, the caller is Israfil, peace be upon him, calling from the Rock of Bayt al-Maqdis at the gathering place. And it was narrated that the strange place is the Rock of Bayt al-Maqdis. And His statement, Exalted is He: "And a wall will be placed between them, with a door, the interior of which contains mercy, and the exterior of which faces the punishment" ³⁰⁰, meaning between the believers and the hypocrites, and it is a wall between Paradise and Hell. And from Ibn Umar, he said: I heard that the wall that Allah mentioned in the Great Quran is the wall of noble Bayt al-Maqdis, its interior containing mercy, the mosque, and its exterior facing the punishment, the Valley of Hell. And Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from the hadith of Abu Umama, he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "A group of my community will continue to adhere to the truth, dominant, not harmed by those who oppose them nor by what befalls them, until the command of Allah comes while they are like that." They said: O Messenger of Allah, where are they? He said: "Bayt al-Maqdis."

For God has a house whose rank God has honored, and singled it out for sanctification in the world of the unseen ³⁰¹. And He exalted its glory and raised its pride, and sanctified it with lights, the secret ³⁰², and proximity. And He made its remembrance beloved in every place, so that caravans traveled with it in the East and the West. And good things surrounded it from every side, and He magnified it in the highest, O Friend of the Lord. And He made His servant Ahmad ³⁰³, the master of creation, journey by night to it, and he led the messengers in prayer truly without doubt. And He said in praise, mentioning its virtue, hadiths that remove sorrows from the heart: that whoever visits it believing in Him, He will forgive him the sins he has committed. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, pure in garment and assembly, and Your chosen one, whose favor is bestowed on the rich and the poor, and Your friend, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis ³⁰⁴ that he said: "Four are the breasts ³⁰⁵ of Paradise: Mecca, Syria ³⁰⁶, Medina, and Bayt al-Maqdis." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who guides his community on the paths of guidance and sincerity, and Your chosen one, whose bird gives glad tidings of victory, support, and conquest, and Your intimate, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Syria, surrounded by abundance of growth, virtue, and profit, that he said: "God Almighty said: 'O Syria, you are My chosen one among My lands, and I am driving to you My chosen ones among My servants. Whoever is born in you and chooses another over you, it is due to a sin that afflicts him; and whoever is born elsewhere and chooses you over his birthplace, it is due to a mercy from Me. O Syria, provision expands for your people as the womb expands for the child, and My eye is upon you with shade and rain since I created the years and days. Whoever lacks wealth in you does not lack good. O Syria, you are the abode of My light, and in you will be the gathering, and I will bring you on the Day of Resurrection as a bride is brought to her bridal chamber. And whoever enters you becomes independent of oil and wheat.'" O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who walks in the garments of virtue and honor, and Your chosen one, called the companion of the mole ³⁰⁷ and the companion of the mark ³⁰⁸, and Your prophet, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis that he said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal ³⁰⁹: "O Mu'adh, God will conquer Syria for you, from Egypt of the Quraysh to the Euphrates; its men, women, and rulers will be stationed ³¹⁰ until the Day of Resurrection." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, to whom longing souls yearn, and the most generous one whom caravans seek and hope for what he possesses, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis that he said: "Whoever visits Bayt al-Maqdis seeking reward, God Almighty will give him the reward of a thousand martyrs." And it is narrated that God Almighty said: "O Bayt al-Maqdis, you are My Garden, My chosen one, and My Paradise from afflictions; whoever dwells in you is by My mercy, and whoever leaves you is by My wrath upon him." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those under whose tree of prophethood all creatures enter and seek shade, and the most excellent one by whose love hearts are illuminated and purified from envy and malice, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis that he said: "Whoever visits a scholar, it is as if he has visited Bayt al-Maqdis; and whoever visits Bayt al-Maqdis, God will forbid his flesh and body to the Fire; and whoever visits Bayt al-Maqdis, all his past and future sins will be forgiven." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, beautiful in awe and description, and Your chosen one, sent with gentleness, compassion, tenderness, and affection, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis that he said: "Do not face the two qiblas ³¹¹—meaning Bayt al-Maqdis and the Sacred House—with urine or excrement." And it is narrated that: "Whoever comes to Bayt al-Maqdis and prays to the right of the Rock ³¹² and to its left, and makes a covenant at the place of the Chain ³¹³, and gives charity, little or much, his supplication will be answered, and God will remove his sorrow, and relieve him of his trials, and grant him his offspring; and if he asks God for things, He will give them to him." And from Jarir ibn 'Uthman and Safwan ibn 'Imran, they said: "A good deed in Bayt al-Maqdis is worth a thousand, and a bad deed is worth a thousand." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the forbearing and oft-returning ³¹⁴, and Your chosen one, great in rank and status, and Your intimate, from whose virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis it is narrated from Umm Salama ³¹⁵, may God be pleased with her, that she heard him say: "Whoever begins the talbiya ³¹⁶ for Hajj or 'Umra from al-Aqsa Mosque ³¹⁷ to the Sacred Mosque, his past and future sins will be forgiven, Paradise will be obligatory for him, and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ³¹⁸, may God be pleased with him, began the talbiya from it, and his son 'Abd Allah ³¹⁹ began the talbiya from it." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose full moon has risen in the horizon of happiness and settled, and the most majestic of those who called creatures to the path of rectitude and guidance and guided, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis that he said: "The sweet waters and the fertilizing winds come from beneath the Rock of Bayt al-Maqdis, and the four rivers—Sayhan ³²⁰, Jayhan ³²¹, the Nile, and the Euphrates—and everything that the son of Adam drinks comes from these four, issuing from beneath the Rock of Bayt al-Maqdis. And among the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis is that whoever visits it and wishes to drink water in the middle of the night should say: 'O Ta', Ta' of Bayt al-Maqdis sends you greetings,' then drink, for there will be no thirst for him, and God Almighty will provide for him." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the pious and brought near, and Your chosen one, whose mention is sweet in loving hearts, and Your intimate, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis that he said: "God has three angels: one appointed over the Ka'ba ³²², one appointed over the Mosque ³²³, and one appointed over al-Aqsa Mosque. As for the angel appointed over the Ka'ba, he calls out every day: 'Whoever abandons the obligations of God Almighty has left...'"

God Almighty came to me, and I am the one entrusted with my mosque, and every day it seizes ³²⁴ whoever abandons the Sunnah ³²⁵ of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, so that they do not see his Basin ³²⁶ nor does his intercession reach them. And I am the king entrusted with al-Aqsa Mosque ³²⁷, and every day it seizes whoever consumes unlawful food, and his deeds are struck in his face." It is narrated that in Jerusalem ³²⁸, there is no span of ground where a sent prophet has not prayed or a close angel has not stood. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved who stands for You in supererogatory and obligatory acts, and Your chosen one, the intercessor whose intercession is accepted on the Day of Reckoning and Presentation, and Your intimate one from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Jerusalem that he said: "Whoever lights a lamp in Jerusalem, the angels will continue to ask forgiveness for him as long as its light remains in the mosque." And in the prophecy of John son of Zechariah: "Whoever builds a structure in Jerusalem and leaves a good mark therein, and builds something there, God will increase his lifespan by fifteen years, and increase his wealth and children; and if he is a king, he will rule the earth." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the close and blessed one, and Your chosen one crowned with the crown of splendor and light, and Your intimate one from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Jerusalem, from Abdullah ibn Umar ³²⁹, who said: "Indeed, the Sacred Sanctuary ³³⁰ in the seven heavens is equal in size to its counterpart on earth, and indeed the Holy Jerusalem in the seven heavens is equal in size to its counterpart on earth. And men do not travel to Jerusalem." And from al-Dahhak ³³¹: "The men have no beard, but a full mustache, the length of his face and two forearms, and his stature in heaven is eighty cubits, and the width between his shoulders is thirty cubits. His garments, boots, saddle, and bridle are of gold and jewels; in his hand is a sitting posture. His bow is fire, and his speech is in Persian. The earth is folded for him and his companions, fold after fold, swiftly, and they see from us only the four markets: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, and Mount Sinai." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, narrated with love for those thirsting from drought, and Your chosen intercessor with his antidote for the insights of the people of error from the disease of ignorance and blindness, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Jerusalem that a man said: "O Messenger of God, which creation is first to enter Paradise?" He said: "The prophets." He said: "Then who?" He said: "The martyrs." He said: "Then who?" He said: "The muezzins ³³² of Jerusalem." He said: "Then who?" He said: "The muezzins of the Sacred Mosque ³³³." He said: "Then who?" He said: "The muezzins of my mosque." He said: "Then who?" He said: "The rest of the muezzins." And it is narrated that the martyrs hear the call to prayer of the muezzins of Jerusalem, and that the call to prayer of the muezzins of Jerusalem is heard from heaven. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved of high rank and station, and Your chosen intercessor whose intercession is accepted on the Day of Presentation and Crowding, and Your intimate one from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Jerusalem that he said: "Whoever dies in Jerusalem is as if he died in heaven." And it is narrated that there are a thousand graves of prophets, peace be upon them, in it. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved of pure speech and remembrance, and Your chosen one beneficial in exhortation and excuse, and Your intimate one from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Jerusalem that he said: "The lands of the earth will be raised by the lands of Jerusalem, and the rocks will be raised by the Rock of Jerusalem." And it is narrated that whoever gives charity in Jerusalem with a dirham ³³⁴ will be saved from the Fire, and whoever gives charity with a loaf of bread is like one who gives mountains of gold in charity, and whoever fasts a day in Jerusalem, God will grant him immunity from the Fire, and whoever asks forgiveness for believing men and believing women in Jerusalem three times, God will record for him the equivalent of the good deeds of the believing men and believing women, and seventy acts of forgiveness will enter upon every believing man and woman from his supplication every day and night. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, possessor of pure states, accepted and blessed deeds, transmitted chains, and authentic narrated hadiths, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Jerusalem that he said: "The Rock of Jerusalem is from the chests of Paradise, and the Rock of Jerusalem is upon a garment, and the palm tree is upon a river from the rivers of Paradise, and under the palm tree is Asiya ³³⁵, the wife of Pharaoh, and Mary, daughter of Imran ³³⁶, who gather the fruit of the people of Paradise until the Day of Resurrection." And it is narrated that the Hour will not come until the Kaaba ³³⁷ hastens to the Rock and clings to it, and all who have performed Hajj ³³⁸ and Umrah ³³⁹ to it will cling to it. When the Rock sees it, it says: "Welcome to the visitor and the visited." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved who stands for You in obligatory and supererogatory acts, and Your chosen one specially favored with gifts of grace and bounty, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Jerusalem that when Abu Huraira ³⁴⁰ asked him about the first mosque on earth, he said: "The Sacred Mosque." He said: "Then which?" He said: "Al-Aqsa Mosque." He said: "How long between them?" He said: "Forty years. Then wherever you are, pray, for the virtue lies therein. And whoever visits Jerusalem out of longing for it, all the prophets will visit him in Paradise." O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those You have moved in hearts, both coming and going, and the most noble of those who possess beautiful praise, ancient and new, from whose virtues of Jerusalem it is narrated that Solomon, peace be upon him, when he finished building Jerusalem, asked his Lord for three qualities: he asked Him for a kingdom that would not befit anyone after him, and He granted it to him; and he asked Him for a judgment that would match his judgment, and He granted it to him; and he asked Him that whoever comes to this house intending only to pray therein, He would remove him from his sins as on the day his mother bore him. And I hope that He granted him the third. O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the humble, pious, and fearful, and Your chosen one who gives faith to whoever seeks refuge with him in places of bewilderment from perils and fears, from whose virtues of Jerusalem it is narrated that he said: "Whoever goes out to Jerusalem for no need except to pray therein, and prays therein five prayers: dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night, he will emerge from his sin as on the day his mother bore him."

It is narrated that Allah has an open door ³⁴¹ from the lowest heaven to Bayt al-Maqdis ³⁴², from which seventy thousand angels descend every day, seeking forgiveness for those who come to Bayt al-Maqdis and pray therein. A good deed therein is like a thousand good deeds, and a sin therein is like a thousand sins. Whoever dies therein will cross the Sirat ³⁴³ like a flashing bolt of lightning. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Imam of the awliya' ³⁴⁴ and the pious, the seal of the messengers and prophets, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis that he said: "Do not set out on a journey except to three mosques: the Masjid al-Haram ³⁴⁵, my mosque ³⁴⁶, and the mosque of Iliya' ³⁴⁷." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose praises gladden the hearts of lovers and by whose remembrance they rejoice, the most beautiful of those in whose radiant joy and gardens of beauty the eyes of lovers delight, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis when it was said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, if we are afflicted with remaining after you, where do you command us?" He said: "You must go to Bayt al-Maqdis, for perhaps a progeny will arise for you who will go to that mosque morning and evening." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those upon whom You bestowed prophethood and messengership and favored, the most perfect of those whose community You facilitated for the path of goodness and happiness and deemed worthy, from whom it is narrated concerning the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis when it was said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, is prayer here better or prayer in Bayt al-Maqdis?" He said: "A prayer in my mosque is better than four prayers therein, and what an excellent place of prayer it is. It is the land of the gathering and the resurrection. The virtue of a prayer in the Masjid al-Haram over others is a hundred prayers, and in my mosque a thousand prayers, and in the mosque of Bayt al-Maqdis five hundred prayers. Indeed, Allah, majestic is His glory, when He created Bayt al-Maqdis, it grieved, so He said to it: 'What makes you grieve, when I have named you after My name out of My love? I am al-Muqaddis ³⁴⁸ and you are al-Muqaddasa ³⁴⁹.' It said: 'My Lord, then make people attached to me, and whoever comes to me and prays in me, accept from him; whoever dwells in me, provide for him; whoever repents in me, forgive him and have mercy on him.' So the Lord said to it: 'You have what you asked.'" O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, the Imam of the beginning and the musk of the conclusion, the Imam of the chosen ones and the orator of the noble messengers, for whom all the prophets gathered in Bayt al-Maqdis, and he led them in prayer in their own place and abode, to indicate that he is the foremost leader and the greatest Imam. Then each prophet praised his Lord with beautiful praise, and he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "That one praised his Lord, and I will praise my Lord." Then he began to say: "Praise be to Allah, who sent me as a mercy to the worlds, and as a bringer of good tidings and a warner to all people, and sent down to me the Qur'an in which is an explanation of everything, and made my community the best community brought forth for mankind, and made my community a middle community, and made my community the first and the last, and expanded my breast, and removed from me my burden, and raised high my mention, and made me the opener and the seal." Then Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said: "By this, your virtue is great, O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those to whom You granted Your secrets, and in whose noble heart You deposited Your lights, who said: "Indeed, the key to Bayt al-Maqdis was with Sulayman ³⁵⁰, peace be upon him. He stood to open it, but it was difficult for him, so he sought help from humans and jinn, but it was difficult for them. Then an old man came to him and said: 'Shall I teach you words that your father Dawud ³⁵¹, peace be upon him, used to say in distress, and Allah would remove it from him?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Say: O Allah, by Your light I am guided, by Your bounty I am enriched, and by You I enter the morning and the evening. My sins are many before You; I seek Your forgiveness and repent to You. O Hanan ³⁵², O Mannan ³⁵³.' When he said them, the door opened. And Allah revealed to the Rock of Bayt al-Maqdis: 'Upon you I place My Throne, to you I will gather My creation, and in you are My Garden and My Fire. I will cause your rivers to flow with milk, honey, and wine. Blessed is the one who visits you.'" O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pole of sainthood, the one whose prayers are answered, the means, the clear path of guidance with manifest proofs and evidences, who was taken by night to Bayt al-Maqdis, which was built by Sulayman ibn Dawud, peace be upon him, and has remained honored and venerated in past ages and early centuries. It is the gathering place of the souls of the prophets from the time of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and for that reason he, peace and blessings be upon him, was their great orator therein and their Imam who gathered the scattered perfections and qualities. The wisdom in his Night Journey was to achieve ascension straight without deviation, for it is narrated that the gate of heaven called the Ascension of the Angels faces Bayt al-Maqdis, and it is the closest part of the earth to heaven by eighteen miles. It is the place of migration of most prophets, so his journey to it was in summary for the honor of all prophets through his visit, and it combines the caliphate and the imamate, and all kinds of excellences and virtues. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, with a blessing that purifies us from abominations and vices, and saves us from spiritual and satanic afflictions and all calamities, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, and to the family of our master Muhammad, the brightest star of prophethood, the most abundant outpouring of sciences and gifts, who said: "When I reached Bayt al-Quds ³⁵⁴ and led the prophets in prayer, peace be upon them, Jibril ³⁵⁵ brought out a ladder to the side of the Rock and said: 'O Isma'il ³⁵⁶, take the ascension.' So it was brought from al-Firdaws ³⁵⁷, red, its two parts: one of red ruby, the other of green emerald, adorned with pearls, the most beautiful thing Allah created. Every believer sees it at the time of death. Do you not see him staring with his eyes toward heaven? Its base is on the Rock, and its head touches the lowest heaven. It has a hundred steps of gold, silver, emerald, ruby, musk, and ambergris." So bless him, O Allah, and his family, those of the most noble lineage, and his Companions, who are distinguished by the dazzling secret and the most abundant support, with a blessing that makes us inhale the fragrant breezes of his most fragrant gardens, and makes us among the secure on the day of the earthquake, the tremors, and the greatest terror, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. This is the description of the pure and most purified Bayt al-Maqdis, and the Rock surrounded by subtle blessings and the most manifest secret, which inclined with him, peace and blessings be upon him, when he placed his foot upon it to mount the radiant and luminous Mi'raj ³⁵⁸. Jibril, the trustworthy, fastened it for him. Al-Buraq ³⁵⁹ is the description of the Mi'raj that descended to him from heaven to ascend upon it to the enclosures of the Kingdom and the carpet of the most renowned Might.

My intimate friend ³⁶⁰ in the abode of the Intimate Friend ³⁶¹, my soul is for you, and my heart is in you, O sanctuary of Jerusalem ³⁶². I yearn with longing towards this one, and from that one I glimpse the radiance of the full moon and the sun. These are places that, if I were fair, I would visit upon my eyes, cheeks, and head. If I were granted my desire among them, my camels would never depart from them. And how could I depart from haunts that remain, in ease and travel, my utmost joy? I go and come between them yearning for them, and I become in them infatuated as I was yesterday. The land of the Friend of God ³⁶³ and the mosque where prayer is equal in reward to five hundred prayers. The place of the Ascension ³⁶⁴ of the Prophet Muhammad, when the sleep of drowsiness had crept into sleepy eyes. The place of the feet of the Message and Guidance, when the hard rock softened from that touch. O mosque that God has blessed around it, and its greatness among the West, the non-Arabs, and the Persians. O dwellings whose virtue God has manifested and honored today, tomorrow, and yesterday. I departed with a burning in my heart for you, which time has not worn away nor forgotten. Distance has disturbed me from you, and it always treats me contrarily in gathering my scattered self. I have such longing to meet you that I spend my days and even enter my grave with it. Perhaps a return or a visit will quench my thirst and remove from me the garment of affliction and confusion. And if it is the latter [death] and there is no return, then I send my greeting in letters with my soul. It is completed by the praise of God. (125) O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the master of all beings, the cultivation of the heart and the soul, who, when he placed his foot on the noble Rock ³⁶⁵, it became adorned in the garments of divine pleasure and satisfaction, and its state of tongue said: 'Praise be to God who honored me with the walking of the Beloved of the Merciful and the Bridegroom of the Paradises of the Gardens, my master and lord, the Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Pole ³⁶⁶ of sovereignty, clear in proof and evidence, the mountain of generosity, great in rank and station, who, when he placed his foot on the lofty Rock, its scenes dazzled minds and delighted eyes, and its state of tongue said: 'Praise be to God who honored me with the tread of the Eye of the Eyes ³⁶⁷, and the master of the sons of Ma'd and Adnan, my master and lord, the Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the light of insights and sights, the beauty of times and ages, who, when he placed his foot on the pure Rock, its emerald boasted over all other gems and stones, and its state of tongue said: 'Praise be to God who honored me with the touch of the foot of the Master of the Righteous, and the Ornament of the Chosen Messengers, my master and lord, the Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Sultan of the Kingdom, great in dignity and measure, praiseworthy in movement, clad in the garments of might and pride, (126) who, when he placed his foot on the delicate Rock, its pearl vied with its radiance against the suns and moons, and its state of tongue said: 'Praise be to God who honored me with the kissing of the dust of the foot of the pure in branch and lineage, and the master of the Emigrants and Helpers, my master and lord, the Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the essence of noble origin, possessor of lofty glory and ancient majesty, who, when he placed his foot on the blessed Rock, it leaned, so Gabriel ³⁶⁸ steadied it from the other side, and its state of tongue said: 'Praise be to God who honored me with the kissing of the foot of this great and majestic Prophet, my master and lord, the Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those You sent as a supporter for Your religion, the most generous of those You granted a great portion and abundant lot from the secrets of Your gifts, who, when he placed his foot on the venerated and honored Rock, it softened beneath him, and the trace of his foot remains visible in it to this day, and its state of tongue said: 'Praise be to God who honored me with the touch of sandals from a womb through which servants are [blessed] first and last, my master and lord, the Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, clear of brow and forehead, Your chosen one, blessed in vision and sight, who, when he placed his lofty foot on the Rock, it welcomed him and said: 'Welcome and ease to you, O noble of tribe and family, O honorable of progeny and lineage, O my master, O Messenger of God.' (127) O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, blessed in tree and seed, Your chosen one, swift in aid and victory, who, when he placed his radiant foot on the Rock, it welcomed him and said: 'Welcome and ease to you, O blessed of arrival and emigration, O blessed of soil and chamber, O my master and lord, Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, with abundant hair and locks, Your chosen one, radiant of face and forehead, who, when he placed his beautiful foot on the Rock, it welcomed him and said: 'Welcome and ease to you, O clear in indication and fame, O illuminator of the carpet and the presence, O my master and lord, Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the clement and oft-returning, Your chosen one, lofty in station and rank, who, when he placed his foot on the Rock, peerless and without likeness, it welcomed him and said: 'Welcome and ease to you, O whom God loved and chose, and selected for prophethood and messengership and elected, O my master and lord, O Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, dear in family and neighbors, Your chosen one, savior of those who seek refuge in him from the heat of hellfire and the torment of flames, who, when he placed his foot on the Rock, lofty in rank and station, it welcomed him and said: 'Welcome and ease to you, O fortress of security and safety, O season of joy and happiness and congratulations, O my master and lord, Messenger of God.' (128) O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, reviver with the subtleties of his remembrances the worlds of spirits and bodies, Your chosen one, opener of the doors of proximity for the people of goodness and righteousness, who, when he placed his foot on the Rock, delighting with the gleams of joy and happiness, it welcomed him and said: 'Welcome and ease to you, O star of happiness, bright and clear, O model of success and prosperity, my master and lord, Messenger of God.' O God, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, fragrant in sleeves and collars, Your chosen one, informed of the secrets of the kingdom and the dominion and the treasuries of the unseen, who, when he placed his foot on the Rock, expiating for those who wipe themselves with it the greatest crimes and sins, it welcomed him and said: 'Welcome and ease to you, O treasure of the sought secret, O life of spirits and sustenance of souls, O my master and lord, Messenger of God.'

O hearts, my master and lord, O Messenger of Allah. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the illuminated one of the witnessed place and the assembly, and Your chosen one, honored in the two noble sanctuaries and Jerusalem, who, when he placed his foot upon the rock ³⁶⁹ prepared for the benefit of the visitor and the seeker, it welcomed him and said: "Welcome and ease to you, O lamp of the knower and the seeker of light, and reliever of the distress of the anguished and the imprisoned, O my master and lord, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, sent to humans and jinn, and Your chosen one, supported by guidance and the criterion ³⁷⁰, who, when he placed his foot upon the famous rock of blessing and proof, it welcomed him and said: "Welcome and ease to you, O gift of the Merciful, and bride of the paradises of gardens, O my master and lord, O Messenger of Allah." So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing that clothes us with garments of contentment and satisfaction, and through it brings upon us in the arenas of the Resurrection the breezes of spirit and basil ³⁷¹, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. The remembrance of the beloved stirred up longings and cauterized the heart and wounded the eyes. Am I to attain their union? Long has the one promised union endured hardships. This, and no union equals the union of the one nicknamed Taybah ³⁷², Ahmad ³⁷³, the truthful. Sun of guidance, rain of generosity, sword against enemies, sea of bounty that encompassed all creation in spending. He who was singled out with the Qur'an as a miracle, and for whom the sun of the day was detained and surpassed. And he walked upon the hard rock, and his two feet left traces in it and burned it with burning. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the banner of guidance unfurled, and the sultan of the kingdom supported and victorious, who, when he ascended the lofty, famous Ascension ³⁷⁴, it rejoiced in him and the glad tidings of joy and happiness shone upon him, and the tongue of his state recited: "Praise be to Allah who has removed from us [all] sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving and Appreciative." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You made a ladder and an ascension for the path of goodness, and the most noble of those whose purity elevated lineage, companions, and spouses, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and delighted with delight, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one whom Allah made a key to the doors of happiness and a clear path." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You sent as a blazing lamp, and the most noble of those whose character and temperament are good, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and shook with shaking, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one whom Allah made a mercy for servants and a cloud of good pouring forth." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those who journeyed by night to the presence of his Lord and traveled late, and the most noble of those who illuminated with the light of his countenance the celestial spheres and towers, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and inserted him into the thread of His beloved people with insertion, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one to whom all creatures hastened to believe, individually and in pairs." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You clothed with robes of Your love, lofty garments and brocade, and the most noble of those who laid out for his community a straight path and a wide road, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and clung to his Muhammadan religion, which has no deviation from truth nor crookedness, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one whom Allah made an antidote for the diseases of hearts and a cure." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose dawn shone in the sky of high stations and radiated with radiance, and the most noble of those who removed worry from the distressed and brought relief, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and trembled from his awe with trembling, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one through whom the religion became good and the one who was stubborn became ashamed." So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which we become among those who entered into his prophetic presence with entry, and yearned for his noble station, so that longing agitated them and disturbed them with disturbance, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, the best of those who spoke the truth and said what is correct, and the most excellent of those whom You honored among the prophets and companions, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and trembled with trembling, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one whose completion of Allah is the secret of His prophethood, and He made him a counterpart to the sciences of His sainthood and a book." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom the petitioners approach and stand at his door, and the most excellent of those through whose rank all creatures seek intercession and seek refuge in his presence, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and clung to his eyelashes, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one through whom the angels seek blessing in his going and coming." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those from whose sea of generosity and gifts the delegations draw, and the most excellent of those whose words and deeds all creatures follow, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and kissed the straps of his sandals, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one whom the trees and stones greeted, and the wild animals clung to his garments." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose hearts are at ease with his closeness and union, and the most excellent of those through whose chain and connection the narrators are honored, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and submitted to the loftiness of his station and the greatness of his majesty, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one who dazzled minds with his surpassing beauty and comeliness." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom all creatures benefited from his supplication and entreaty, and the most excellent of those whose forehead and crescent face illuminated the worlds, who, when he ascended the Ascension, it rejoiced in him and desired that he be mindful of it, and said: "Welcome and ease to the one whom Allah adorned with the attributes of His perfection and made him a mercy for his petitioners and dependents." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those

The human world was honored by him, and the best one by whom he was taken to the enclosures of proximity and nearness. When he ascended the Mi'raj ³⁷⁵, it rejoiced in him and spread its structure for the walk of his luminous bride, saying: 'Welcome to the crown of divine sainthood ³⁷⁶ and the sultan of the Furqan ³⁷⁷ kingdom.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose praise lovers compete in, and the best of those whose sight and meeting bring joy to visitors. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and spread for him the cushions of its beauty and splendor, saying: 'Welcome to him by whose face the clouds are sought for rain and by whose care the rain is drunk.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose souls covet the gifts of his grace and favor, and the best of those whose spirits long to see his noble station and homeland. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and humbled itself before the might of his sovereignty, saying: 'Welcome to him who led the servants through the tunnels of his generosity and beneficence.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose hearts rejoice in his love and friendship, and the best of those whose beloved boast of his gifts and rewards. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and veiled itself with his supreme beauty for his meeting, saying: 'Welcome to him who was taken by night, whom He took care of for meeting and intimate conversation.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom his Lord chose and prepared to stand before Him, and the best of those whom He drew to His presence and gifted with every good that is with Him. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and took pride in the tread of his feet upon it, saying: 'Welcome to him by whom ranks are elevated and honor is gained through affiliation with him.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose mention sweetens states and souls, and the best of those whose name gladdens tablets and scrolls. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and placed its supports for standing and sitting, saying: 'Welcome to him to whom necks and heads bow, and who hastens to the presence of his Lord as a bride is led.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those upon whom the glad tidings of divine openings shone, and the best of those who was adorned with the sash of divine beauties and perfections. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and spread for him the illuminated holy sheets of its carpet, saying: 'Welcome to him whom Allah exalted in His high presence and extended his hand to dispose in His sovereign kingdom.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those through whose love You illuminated insights and understandings, and the best of those upon whose tongue You caused the subtle knowledge and sciences to flow. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and revealed to him the hidden secrets of its mystery, saying: 'Welcome to the treasurer of the secret of divinity ³⁷⁸ and the companion of the presence of the One, the Self-Subsistent.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whose hearts yearn for his soil and abodes, and the best of those whose states are rectified by his company and neighborhood. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and gifted him the precious jewels and stones, saying: 'Welcome to him whose delegations are blessed by visiting his illuminated regions and borders.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You gifted with Your magnificent gifts, and the best of those whom You adorned with the noble and beautiful traits of Your character. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and carried him upon the back of its ample steps, saying: 'Welcome to the possessor of the high rank, the means ³⁷⁹, and the virtue.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those through whose blessing the treasuries of the unseen are opened, and the best of those through whose blessing adversities are repelled and distresses are relieved. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and gave him glad tidings of attaining the goal and achieving the desired, saying: 'Welcome to him by whose ablution water the grass turned green, and by whose intercession great sins and offenses are forgiven.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those by whom the two presences ³⁸⁰ were adorned, and the best of those through whom the religion appeared and the two qiblas ³⁸¹ were honored. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and placed his foot upon the cheek and the two cheeks, saying: 'Welcome to him whom his Lord drew to His presence, "and He spoke to him from a distance of two bow-lengths" ³⁸².' So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which You have mercy on us in both abodes, and by which You make us among those whom You have distinguished with the supreme veracity ³⁸³ and made one of the two imams ³⁸⁴, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You informed of the treasuries of Your merciful secrets, and the best of those whom You singled out with the gifts of Your kingdom's wisdom. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and gifted him its fragrant scents and musk-like breaths, saying: 'Welcome to the possessor of the descending revelations from My presence, and the Meccan and Marinian ³⁸⁵ openings.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You adorned with the jewels of Your unseen sciences, and the best of those whose breast You expanded with the emotions of Your holy mercies. When he ascended the Mi'raj, it rejoiced in him and gifted him its ambergris limbs and moist paths, saying: 'Welcome to the possessor of the Masfuqiyya ³⁸⁶ manifestations and the Sa'riyya ³⁸⁷ glad tidings.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those whom You adorned with pure traits and pleasing states, and the best of those whom You created with lofty virtues.

And the pure qualities ¹³⁶—He who, when he ascended the Mi'raj ³⁸⁸, rejoiced in it and offered him his passionate mounts and lofty stations, saying: "Welcome to the possessor of widespread miracles and brilliant, clear signs." So, O Allah, bless him and his family with a blessing that makes us happy by seeing his radiant and exalted countenance, and that imbues us with his prophetic, chosen character, and that makes us inhale the fragrance of his Muhammadan and Ahmadi ³⁸⁹ secrets, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah honored the Mi'raj by his ascent upon it and delighted it by his beautiful gaze upon it. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, whom Allah magnified the Mi'raj by its attribution to His gardens, and raised its rank by its entering under his tents. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah elevated the Mi'raj by his drawing near and approaching it, and strengthened it by its attachment to his fringes. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah made the Mi'raj love his ascent upon its steps and guided him by his traversing its paths. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah made the Mi'raj happy by his descending to His presence, and perfected it by witnessing the beauty of his forelock. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad ¹³⁷, Your beloved, whom Allah adorned the Mi'raj with the brilliance of his pearl, and beautified it by his gaze and the vision of his countenance. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah exalted the Mi'raj for love of him, and honored it by his good companionship and company. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah subjected the Mi'raj to his obedience and service, and entered it into his fortress and the sanctuary of his inviolability. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah preferred the Mi'raj by the touch of his palm, and strengthened it to bear his secrets and preserve his trust. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah embroidered the Mi'raj with the garments of his excellence, and adorned it with the glory of his pride and noble sovereignty. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah supported the Mi'raj by his closeness and guardianship, and made it in his trust and the protection of his preservation. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah protected the Mi'raj with his fortress and guardianship, and guarded it with the loftiness of his resolve and care. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah gifted the Mi'raj with the gifts of his miracles, and made it know his majesty and the exaltation of his stations. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, whom Allah clothed the Mi'raj with the attributes of his perfections, and marked it with his distinguishing mark and the signs of his tokens. ¹³⁸ O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah perfumed the Mi'raj with the fragrance of his breaths, and made it fresh by his ascent upon the peaks of his degrees. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah illuminated the Mi'raj with the lights of His essence, and greeted it with the outpouring of His mercies and the breeze of His wafts. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah sanctified the Mi'raj by answering his supplications, and made it rejoice by his domination over it in his morning and evening. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom Allah overwhelmed the Mi'raj with abundant blessings, and studded it with the subtleties of His sciences and the jewels of His wisdom. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom the Mi'raj boasted of the happiness of seeing him, and became supreme by his walking upon its steps and his sitting upon its platform. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master and lord Muhammad, Your beloved, whom the Mi'raj strolled in its gardens and the meadows of its paradise. Exalted in glories and virtues, noble in stations and mounts, blessed in sights and processions, illuminating regions and sides, he descended from the presence of openings and gifts and the heaven of the descents of the secrets of wonders and marvels to the treasure of desires and requests, and the master of the sons of Lu'ayy and Ghalib. ¹³⁹ So, O Allah, bless him and his noble, pure family, and his companions who clarify the paths and ways, with a blessing that makes our outcomes good, and preserves us from the afflictions of perils and disasters, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Glory be to the Possessor of the Throne, a glorification by which he attained a drink of His knowledge, so that my drink ceases. He was taken on a night journey, with the spirit as his companion—O best companion for the best companion—until he came to the Aqsa Mosque ³⁹⁰, where the assembly of prophets and angels stood with desire. Then he ascended the steps of the Mi'raj, raising him until he reached a place beyond seeking. He revealed to him what He revealed, and he brought it, and glory overwhelms us with its deep sea. The God of the Throne blessed him, as long as the gardens of intimacy bring forth fragrance, and the joyful one trembles, and his radiant family and all his companions, and the follower of their guidance until the seal of ages. A transcendent composition, a splendid Mi'raj, and a transmitted tradition, from a yearning heart and a tasting lover to the Reality of realities, the noblest of creatures, the praised in attributes and character, the treasure of sciences and subtleties, the clarifier of paths and ways—my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Its author, may Allah forgive him, said: ¹⁴⁰ When I finished recording this Mi'raj, lofty in mounts and towers, and mentioned the number of its elevated pillars and steps, I appended to it another Mi'raj, abundant in beauty and joy, clear in light and radiance, which I extracted from the hidden depths of openings and inspiration, and the subtle esoteric sciences and delicate understandings. The motive of longing and passion, and the influx of ecstasy and rapture, moved me to that, to make it the brick of completion for that, and the musk of

the seal ³⁹¹, and the ruby of the order ³⁹², and I dedicate its subtleties to the station of the Master of Mankind ³⁹³, and the Crown of the Noble Messengers, and the Imam of Medina and Mecca ³⁹⁴, upon him be the best of prayers and the purest of peace. I say, and Allah is the One sought for help and upon Him is reliance: O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Sultan of the sublime kingdom of rank and status, and the blessed of guardianship, pure of lineage and origin. When You willed to transfer him from the world of the unseen to the world of witnessing, and to raise him to the presence of the radiant lights and illuminations, and to admit him into the Garden of gnosis and spiritual gifts ³⁹⁵ surrounded by the subtleties of gifts and secrets, You commanded the angel of the divine secret ³⁹⁶ to lower for him the ladder of honor and pride. So he came, trailing in the robes of miracles and abundant openings ³⁹⁷, and strutting in the meadows of safety, support, and proximity to the presence of the Forgiving King. His root is upon the White Pearl ³⁹⁸, the station of the righteous and the pious, and his head is attached to the canopy of the sublime, blessed presence of the witnessed and the visited ³⁹⁹, embroidered with the stages of divine care and the loftiness of destinies, studded (141) with the jewels of solitary guidance and the subtleties of remembrances. The flash of his lightning almost takes away the eyesight, and the radiance of his light belittles the splendor of suns and moons, and the beauty of his countenance confounds minds and enraptures thoughts, and the fragrance of his scent is more pungent than musk, ambergris, and the breeze of flowers. He has a hundred degrees of gold, silver, emerald, and precious stones, prepared for the Master of the Pious ⁴⁰⁰ and the Ornament of the Chosen Messengers, and the most noble of those over whom night has darkened and day has dawned. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, the noble pure ones, and his companions, the discerning transmitters ⁴⁰¹, a blessing that purifies for us our lifetimes, forgives us our sins, suffices us against the evil of the wicked and the plot of the immoral, and gathers us with his beloved ones among the Emigrants and Helpers ⁴⁰², by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the sea of generosity with crashing waves, and the raincloud of good with pouring torrents. When he ascended the first step of the Ascension ⁴⁰³, which is the step of joy and delight, the outpourings of divine mercies called out to him with glad tidings of victory and relief: "Come forward, O bearer of the banner and the crown, and the treasure of the rich and the needy, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad, the essence of honor, lofty in rank and degree, and the flower of fragrant breezes, scent, and aroma. When he ascended the second step of the Ascension, which is the step of victory and joy, the voices of spirits and hearts called out to him: "Come forward, O noble of origin, and clear of proofs and arguments, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." (142) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the best of those who ascended upon the back of al-Buraq ⁴⁰⁴ and rose, and the most excellent of those who guided his community on the paths of rectitude and trod. When he ascended the third step of the Ascension, which is the step of passionate devotion to the remembrance of his Lord and persistence, the voices of divine favors that save from distress and hardship called out to him: "Come forward, O you through whom the dawn of truth has shone and become clear, and every worry has been removed by his rank and relieved, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the life of spirits and bodies, and the mirror of witnessing and vision. When he ascended the fourth step of the Ascension, which is the step of grace and favor, the voices of proximity and nearness called out to him: "Come forward, O bridegroom of the paradises of gardens, and the key to the doors of contentment and good pleasure, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the delight of cosmic creations, and the stage of theophanies of beneficence. When he ascended the fifth step of the Ascension, which is the step of divine openings and the God-given sciences of mercy, the subtleties of lordly secrets and the witnesses of gnostic truths called out to him: "Come forward, O most noble of human creatures, and the Sultan of the solitary kingdom, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the beacon of the established truth, and the string of pearls of prophethood arranged. When he ascended the (143) sixth step of the Ascension, which is the step of exalted, supported honor, and complete, eternal victory, the pangs of renewed longing and the impulses of sincere, confirmed love called out to him: "Come forward, O everlasting, eternal Garden of Bliss, and the possessor of the clear, well-paved religion, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the star of the land of prophethood, radiant, and the sun of the message, clear in paths and methodology. When he ascended

Upon the seventh station of the Ascension ⁴⁰⁵, which is the station of radiance and illumination, his light began to sway as the light of a lamp sways, the rising stars, constellations, and the stations of high degrees and ranks called out to him: "Come forth, O pure one of lawful things and spouses, O antidote of beneficial medicine and cure, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the imam of the people of goodness and righteousness, the mine of forbearance, pardon, and forgiveness, who, when he ascended to the eighth station of the Ascension, which is the station of success and triumph, joy, spoils, and profits, the glad tidings of acceptance and joys, and the signs of blessing and expansiveness called out to him: "Come forth, O axis ⁴⁰⁶ of beauty, O Kaaba ⁴⁰⁷ of the circumambulation of spirits and bodies, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the axis of majesty and veneration, the pride of lordship and honor, who, when he ascended to the ninth station of the Ascension, which is the station of discipline, teaching, contentment, submission, and surrender, the precedents of felicity and ancient glory, and the particularities of will and effective authority called out to him: "Come forth, O possessor of immense reward, vast generosity, and abundant good, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the exemplar of the people of righteousness and religion, the quintessence of the elite of the chosen ones brought near, who, when he ascended to the tenth station of the Ascension, which is the station of might, empowerment, victory, support, and manifest conquest, the chiefs of the dominating angels and the eminent persons of the cloisters of sanctified light called out to him: "Come forth, O light of the clear Book, O seal of the prophets and messengers, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the gardens of virtues and beauty, the embroideries of the robe of splendor and perfection, who, when he ascended to the eleventh station of the Ascension, which is the station of arrival and connection, attainment of the desired and fulfillment of hopes, the spirituality of the prophets and messengers, and the aspiration of the masters of hearts and states called out to him: "Come forth, O locus of veneration and exaltation, O object of desire of the people of intimacy and boldness, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the desire of the people of wills, the path of the people of devotion and worship, who, when he ascended to the twelfth station of the Ascension, which is the station of victory and felicities, gifts, treasures, and reinforcements, the ranks of the people of pride and glories, and the positions of those of high degrees and lordships called out to him: "Come forth, O lord of lords, O fountain of sciences, wisdoms, and benefits, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the opener of the openings of the sciences of the Essence ⁴⁰⁸, the manifestation of the secrets of particularity and perfections, who, when he ascended to the thirteenth station of the Ascension, which is the station of states and stations ⁴⁰⁹, the breaking of habits and miracles, the incoming inspirations and illuminations, and the precedents of the envoys specifically charged with delivering messages and trusts called out to him: "Come forth, O clear one of proofs and evidences, O accepted intercessor, O pleasing of sayings, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the setting of the jewels of descents, the interpreter of the sciences of the tablets of effacement and establishment ⁴¹⁰, who, when he ascended to the fourteenth station of the Ascension, which is the station of blessing and benedictions, preservation and infallibility in movements and stillnesses, the gleams of lights and manifestations, and the voices of ascents and descents called out to him: "Come forth, O tablet of the secrets of rational and transmitted sciences, O life of the spirits of the higher and lower realms, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the crown of glories and attentions, the center of the circle of the people of the beginning and the ends, who, when he ascended to the fifteenth station of the Ascension, which is the station of secrets and sanctities, uprightness and guidances, the voices of preservation and care, and the factors of trust and sufficiency called out to him: "Come forth, O refuge of security and protections, O fortress of fortification and safeguards, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the fragrant musk of collars, the fresh rose of prophethood, who, when he ascended to the sixteenth station of the Ascension, which is the station of love and affirmation, sincerity and success, the voices of witnessing and verification, unveiling and precision called out to him: "Come forth, O firm pillar of religion, O ancient column of lineage and nobility, O my master, O Messenger of Allah."

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the flower of the gardens of exquisite love, the possessor of surpassing beauty and graceful stature, who, when he ascended to the seventeenth step of the Mi'raj ⁴¹¹—which is the step of compassion, mercy, and tenderness toward the free and the enslaved, and of good companionship with family, companion, and friend—the heralds of the True Reality called out to him, and of conduct on the straight path and way: "Come, O best of beloved and truthful ones, O house of honor and ancient glory, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the elite of the most virtuous, of pure origin and growth, the pearl of the most excellent, perfect in names and attributes, who, when he ascended to the eighteenth step of the Mi'raj—which is the step of certainty and steadfastness, and of honor and elevation above degrees—the heralds of good things, blessings, means of obedience, and acts of nearness called out to him: "Come, O spirit of essences, O bride of the pavilions and presences, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the fountain of love and friendship, the antidote of healing and recovery, who, when he ascended to the nineteenth step of the Mi'raj—which is the step of contentment and seeking favor, and of tranquility, affection, and harmony—the heralds of bounty and kindnesses, and of protection from fears and afflictions called out to him: "Come, O abundant in gifts and rewards, O element of pure honor in lineage and attributions, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the leader of spiritual souls, the lamp of the lamps of the lights of transcendence, who, when he ascended to the twentieth perfect step of the Mi'raj—which is the step of truthfulness and sincerity of servitude, and of humility and acknowledgment of the right of Lordship—the heralds of the chosen stations and the secrets of prophetic individuations called out to him: "Come, O possessor of Muhammadan characteristics and Ahmadine ⁴¹² landmarks and virtues, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the key to the secrets of existence, the treasury of generosity and munificence, who, when he ascended to the twenty-first step of the Mi'raj—which is the step of ascent and rising, and of care, felicity, and bliss—the heralds of vigilance and witnessing, and the glad tidings of arrival before Allah and of delegations called out to him: "Come, O possessor of fulfillment of covenants and standing at the limits, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the possessor of the overflowing pool ⁴¹³ and the extended shade of the throne of prophethood, who, when he ascended to the twenty-second step of the Mi'raj—which is the step of customary generosity, and of existing good and secret—the heralds of beautiful action and praiseworthy command, and of attaining the hoped-for and reaching the intended called out to him: "Come, O possessor of the witnessed station, O bearer of the banner of bound glory, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the pearl of shells, the elite of the noble and the honorable, who, when he ascended to the twenty-third step of the Mi'raj—which is the step of asceticism and chastity, and of acceptance of truth and fairness—the heralds of gratitude for blessings and acknowledgment, and of being characterized with the most complete virtues and beautiful attributes called out to him: "Come, O vast of sides and gentle of inclinations, O pure of kinds and types, O my master, O Messenger of Allah." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the spring of generosities that cannot be fully enumerated, the manifest of forbearing traits toward those who did evil and disobeyed from his community, who was taken by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque ⁴¹⁴, and upon whom were poured gifts of good things beyond count and reckoning, and he continued to ascend in the Mi'raj of majestic and beautiful manifestations and to rise through the degrees of sensory and spiritual perfections, and to pierce the veils of holy and luminous barriers, and to surpass the highest stations and the loci of theophanies, and to traverse the distances of the malakutic ⁴¹⁵ curtains and the deserts of hidden secrets, and a messenger after messenger from the presence of the Lord of the earths and heavens, saying: "Hasten with Muhammad, the guide to good things and the rectifier of good deeds," until he reached the station of elective proximity and the heaven of preferential love. Then Jibril ⁴¹⁶ of destiny opened the door of bounty and generosity, and the confidant of the secret said to him: "Who is with you?" as an inquiry about the great worth and high aspirations. He said: "Muhammad." He said: "Has he been sent for?" He said: "Yes." Thereupon his breast expanded with joy and his happiness increased, and his heart was reassured, and he said: "An accepted pilgrimage and a thanked endeavor, and a preceding care, and a happiness whose promise was inscribed in the Book." What a gift that came by decree, and a generosity that the Generous bestowed upon the angels, jinn, and humans, and a treasure that rejoiced the spirits and forms, and a care through which the verses and surahs descended. Glory be to Him who took His servant by night, opening for him the door of contentment and good pleasure, and prepared for him the stations of proximity and nearness, and set up the thrones of sovereignty for the might of His dominion, and spread out the cushions of glory for the attendees of His presence. Then the inhabitants of the highest horizon came to seek blessing from his sight, and the chiefs of the cherubim ⁴¹⁷ hastened to serve him, and no veiled one remained in the enclosures of holiness without uncovering her veil, nor any houris ⁴¹⁸ on the carpet of intimacy without tearing the curtains of her covering. {That is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.} And whenever he passed by a group of the noble angels and great messengers, they welcomed him and said: "Welcome and ease to the master of mankind, the bride of the Abode of Peace." Then he was ascended to the second heaven, which is the heaven of bounty and favor, and the locus of generosity and beneficence, and it was opened as was done in the first, and he spoke, and it was said to him, and the door of honor and care, and of the secret and sainthood, was opened for him. Then a divine robe was bestowed upon him therein, by which he was distinguished and honored above the prophets, inscribed upon it: {Indeed, We have granted you a clear conquest, that Allah may forgive you your past and future sins, and complete His favor upon you, and guide you on a straight path, and that Allah may give you a mighty victory.} Then he was ascended to the third heaven, which is the heaven of blessing and security, and of joy and congratulations, and it was opened, and he spoke, and it was said to him, and the door of prophethood and messengership, and of calling to Allah and guidance, was opened for him. Then a luminous robe was bestowed upon him, by which he attained great pride among the chosen ones, inscribed on its sleeves: {O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news, and a warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His permission, and as a luminous lamp.}

The sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress. Indeed, he saw of the greatest signs of his Lord. ⁴¹⁹ When he reached the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary ⁴²⁰, to which the knowledge of those below and above extends, he stood in its deep shade and rested in its abundant station. Then there enveloped him from the radiant lights and flashing secrets what minds cannot encompass nor eyes perceive. He bathed in its delightful Kawthar-like rivers ⁴²¹ and bowed in its splendid, luminous prayer niches ⁴²². He drank from its seas of divine, unseen gnosis and quaffed from its fountain of life a holy, divine draught, mixed with the gifts of Jabarut ⁴²³ and Rahmut ⁴²⁴ secrets, with no admixture to alter its pure source, nor any dust to trouble its goodly, pleasant life. The clusters of its blooming fruits hung down to him with varieties of gnosis and spiritual gifts; the lights of its flowers opened to him with the gifts of subtle truths and gentle favors; the nightingales of its branches sang to him with the voices of inspirations and unveilings; the tender shoots of its willow swayed for him with the breezes of mercies and affections. Then a cupbearer of its tavern called out with the melodies of its tunes: "Union has drawn near and aversion has ceased; the secret is disclosed and the hidden is revealed; the carpets of love and election have been spread upon the bed of guidance and following, for the master of the noble, the lamp of the gnostics, the path of the hanifs ⁴²⁵, the imam of the people of truth and loyalty, the best of those around whom the cups of love and purity revolve, among the companions of the Divine Presence. So the time of meeting with his Beloved was pleasant and pure for him; the influx of yearnings sang in the assemblies of lovers; the breeze of encounter blew from the presence of the Creator King; the angels of the spheres stood ready, awaiting the rising of the sun of horizons, the full moon of perfect radiance, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah. The lover drank from our remembrance a wine ⁴²⁶ — holy, whose cups are absolute ⁴²⁷. Its trees are planted in a garden of Oneness ⁴²⁸, neither overflowing nor gushing. It circulated by him, from him, upon him, so that the eyes gazed at him with their glances. A sun, but its constellation is His Oneness; a moon, but its night is illumination. And you see in the gathering of gathering ⁴²⁹ the yearning of a gnostic, for whom the harmonies have been rectified in its decree. Allah is greatest! Indeed, it is an everlasting wine, by which the beloved and lovers are intoxicated. Its filter is the Unseen of the Unseen ⁴³⁰, and it is a grace whose effusions flow from the Creator. The unity of the Eternal ⁴³¹ has turned to it, whom none knows but the foremost youth. Then the caller of Truth called out: "Draw near to Me, My beloved, for the locks have been opened for you, and I have rent the seven heavens for you, and prepared for you the carpet of intimate conversation and speech, and preferred you over the higher and lower worlds, and unveiled for you what is above the above and below the below, comprehensively and absolutely." When he heard the address of Truth, he began to sway as the light of a lamp sways when the breeze blows upon it, moving it but not extinguishing it, and his light shone as the flash of lightning shines in the clarity of glass, and everyone who saw him was illumined by the light of his guidance and followed him; or like a tender branch in gardens of flowers, so that whoever inhaled its fragrance admired and desired it, and whoever beheld him kissed the hem of his carpet, greeted him, honored him, venerated him, and was pleased with him. At that point, he looked for the messenger of pre-eternity, the trusted one of the revealed revelation, and found him standing at the Greatest Veil ⁴³², the Most Magnificent Station, and the marked Garment of Inviolability. He said to him: "Advance, O Seal of the Prophets, Master of the Messengers, Imam of the Cherubim, and Orator of the Presence of Might and Majesty." He replied: "Rather, advance you, O envoy of the Unseen, truthful in speech and word, trusted one of the great revelation in merits and qualities, for Allah has made you a guide for the people of proximity and union, and a companion for the attendees of the Presence of Nearness and Connection." He said: "O Muhammad, this is my station; I do not go beyond it, and it is not fitting for anyone to surpass this station except you, O Beloved of Allah." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked for his companionship to the stations of nearness and closeness, fulfilling his right and perfecting his love and sincerity for him, for the way of the noble is to observe the beloved in every great witnessing and station, and to bring them along when attaining every goal and aspiration. He said: "I cannot do that; if I took a step or advanced the measure of a needle's eye, I would be burned by the fire of Might and Power. 'And there is none among us but has a known station' ⁴³³, and a secret between him and his Lord that is hidden." He (peace and blessings be upon him) continued in the protection of his perfect courtesy with Allah and the completion of his station of servitude until he rent the veils of the heavens and passed beyond the seven heavens. Then a canopy of light was brought for him, whose light overpowered the light of the sun and moon, whose fragrance surpassed that of clove, rose, musk, and ambergris, and whose beauty excelled that of ruby, coral, and green emerald. But his sight did not turn to what he saw of its beauty and splendor, nor did his mind dwell on what he witnessed of its light and radiance. When he sat upon it, Gabriel handed him over to the angel descending from the Presence of Secrets and the Manifestations of Radiations and Lights. He carried him to the Presence of Conversation and Discourse, hearing the Address, and receiving the Sciences of the Essence. There he saw what no eye has seen nor ear has heard of the currents of Names and Attributes, the secrets of created beings, and the clear signs. He asked Allah to bestow upon him support and steadfastness, and to strengthen him for the Address of Truth and the vision of His Essence, transcendent beyond modality, location, and all contingent things. He granted him what he asked, and observed him with the eye of His care in secret and whispered converse, and honored the essence of his humanity with the secret of particularity. Then a drop of the hidden knowledge descended upon his tongue, cooler than snow and sweeter than honey; by it he knew the knowledge of the first and the last, and inherited the secret of the prophets and messengers. Then he plunged into the seas of the lights of Oneness and the subtle secrets of the sciences of Unicity, until he pastured the precedents of pre-eternal felicity and heard the screeching of the pens of the primordial Will, writing upon the pages of the Supreme Tablet what Allah had decreed of the dispositions of the Command and wisdoms. The spirit of the secret conversed with the secret of the secret, and he witnessed the inner of the secret, the reality of the Command; the mirror of the eye confronted the Eye of the Eye; the light of the eye vanished in the Eye of the Eye; and the letter of modality and location ceased, by the vision of the Truth without doubt or falsehood. * The glass became fine and the wine became fine, * so they resembled each other and the matter became alike. * As if it were wine and no cup, * and as if the cup were wine and no wine. Then the light of the Essence overflowed upon the isthmus ⁴³⁴ that gathers the meanings of Names and Attributes, and the Perfect Man received the secrets of the goodly words from the Lord of the earths and heavens: "This is Our gift, so bestow or withhold without account." ⁴³⁵ Then the Truth (Exalted is He) treated him with the tenderness of a beloved to a beloved, and whispered to him as a beloved whispers to a beloved, and signaled to him with His words: "So He revealed to His servant what He revealed." ⁴³⁶ That is: there occurred what occurred of the secret between Me and you, and there transpired what transpired of the matter. So the secret was hidden in the subtle intricacies of sciences. "So He revealed to His servant what He revealed."

He did not know what was revealed except the One who revealed ⁴³⁷. So glory be to Him who took His Beloved ⁴³⁸ on a night journey to the station of acceptance and contentment, and gifted him with the bestowals of might and perfect contentment, and fulfilled for him what He promised him in His words: “And your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied” ⁴³⁹. So he returned from His Lordly Presence ⁴⁴⁰ with glad tidings of joy and congratulations, perfect attainment of the desired, reaching the goal, and obtaining aspirations. Then he said: “Indeed, my Lord gave to me and sheltered me, chose me from among His servants and selected me, gave me glad tidings in the highest ⁴⁴¹ of attaining what I asked of Him and congratulated me, whispered to me what I wished and beyond what I wished in my secret and public, clothed me in the garment of His contentment and adorned me with the lights of His majesty and beauty among the prophets and the chosen ones, honored me with proximity and conversation in the highest station, adorned me with the jewels of the exaltedness of His names and His beautiful attributes, brought me near to Him and showed me His Essence openly in the station of ‘two bow-lengths or nearer’ ⁴⁴², honored me with perfect speciality and the supreme veracity ⁴⁴³, made my name the most beloved of names to Him and the most exalted and highest, singled me out for the great intercession ⁴⁴⁴ on the great standing-place under the banner of the foremost of prophets and messengers in beauty and richness, and surpassed their honor in origin and structure, and the seal of their secrets in the specific station and the highest abode.” The proof of that is what the verse of “By the Star” ⁴⁴⁵ alludes to in His words: “Then He approached and came closer, and was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer” ⁴⁴⁶. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which You honor us with glad tidings of felicity, happiness, and joy, and by which You make us attain from Your contentment and his contentment the utmost goal and desire, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Allah sent him to us as a mercy, so he became to us, from us, more merciful. Allah praised him in His revelation, and swore by his life in His mention. The blessing of a Lord whose grace is upon him, and whose heart He protected from every deviation. He sent the Buraq ⁴⁴⁷ for him in a time of slumber, and by that, Taha ⁴⁴⁸ the Chosen One would not know. Two angels split open his innermost and removed the share of whisperings to be protected and honored. They washed him with the noble water in Mecca, and with the hand of Gabriel the Trustworthy he was sealed. When Gabriel disappeared and Ahmad ⁴⁴⁹ advanced, He strengthened him for the vision of his Lord. How many a darkened place was illuminated by him! He was the full moon of the night journey on his Buraq. The prophets were sent and he rose high. He led the prayer as imam for the angels and those who followed, making certainty a ladder to the All-Protector. When he walked above the air to the heights, and answered Him in what He decreed and ordained, and in the station of specification he saw his Lord, when he attained from the Mother of the Book ⁴⁵⁰ what was hidden. And He granted him knowledge of the unseen in truth, so that the Guide might be singled out with that and honored. And Allah concealed His revelation from others, so bless him as the Friend ⁴⁵¹ blessed and grant him peace, and upon his noble family and companions. A return of novel style and example, exquisite in eloquence and opening, abundant in merits, virtues, and qualities, and a blessed return observed with the eye of veneration and exaltation, whose reports tell of the arrival of the Master of Messengers from the Presence of the Possessor of Might and Majesty, and whose auspicious bird gives glad tidings of attaining the goal and achieving hopes. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with blessings like strings of pearls, and his companions, lions of battle and noble heroes, a blessing by which You grant us success in righteous deeds, and make us among those who guide to You through words and deeds, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of the supreme veil came announcing his arrival and coming, and the most magnificent light fluttered, telling of what he saw of the secrets of his wisdom and the benefits of his knowledge. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of revelation and inspiration came, announcing the loftiness of his rank and the height of his station, and the carpet of might stirred, witnessing to the greatness of his majesty and the sublimity of his glory. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the chamberlain of the secret of Divinity came, extolling his rank and great station, and the envoy of the Unseen unveiled the beauties of his character and the perfection of his piety. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the servant of the most luminous robe came, telling of what he had observed in his comings and goings, and the angel of subjugation carried him on his shoulders and the tips of his wings. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of the golden bed came, walking before him and seeking his blessing and contentment, and the keeper of the pearl veil delivered his messages and knew that he had come from visiting his Lord. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the interpreter of joy came, announcing his return and arrival, and the herald of happiness called out: “Come, that you may win by seeing his crescent and the rising of his felicity.” O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of happiness descended with him to his blessed abode and place of ascent, and the spiritual worlds inhaled the fragrant breezes of mercy from the collar of his shirt and the folds of his garments. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of beneficence praised him for what he witnessed of his generosity and bounty, and the bringer of good tidings congratulated the beloved ones on the attainment of their hope and the achievement of their goals. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that the lover utters in his standing and sitting, and takes as a provision for the day of his arrival before his Lord and his coming, and grant him abundant and exalted peace. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of light and radiance came, walking behind him and before him, and the attendants of the veils and curtains kissed the hem of his carpet and showed their devotion and respect. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, who, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of light and radiance came, walking behind him and before him, and the attendants of the veils and curtains kissed the hem of his carpet and showed their devotion and respect.

The joys, when he returned from his night journey, the king of the highest heaven came carrying his banner and spreading his flags, and the companions of the most elevated carpet greeted him with the best greetings and returned his salutation. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the king who consoles sorrow came mentioning his noble qualities and praising his station, and the bearers of the Throne sought his pleasure and heard his words. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the king of tranquility came observing him in travel and residence, and the angels of preservation sought his compassion and asked for his protection. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the king of the wind came obeying his commands and executing his judgments ¹⁶¹, and the thunder and lightning raised the banners of honor before him and manifested his veneration and magnification. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, Ridwan ⁴⁵², the keeper of Paradise, came welcoming him and mentioning his longing and passion, and Malik ⁴⁵³, the keeper of Hell, laughed in his face and showed his smile. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the king of the night came lighting his lamps before him and removing his darkness, and the king of the day unveiled his radiant face for him and removed his veil. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, Isma'il ⁴⁵⁴, the king of the lowest heaven, came opening its doors for him and showing his devotion and honor, and the nine angels of the lower world ⁴⁵⁵ hastened before him and asked to be his retinue and servants. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the king of rain and clouds came seeking his blessing and asking for his favor, generosity, and beneficence, and the king of grass and vegetation spread carpets for his walk and prepared his food. (162) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of mountains came striving for his pleasure, submitting to his service, and placing his reins in his hand, and the angel of the earth opened its treasures for him and brought forth what was hidden of its stores, revealing its concealment. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of the right hand ⁴⁵⁶ interceded by his rank with Allah and kissed his feet, and the angel of the left hand ⁴⁵⁷ placed his scrolls before him and presented him with his pens. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the bridegroom of joys, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of questioning ⁴⁵⁸ asked that Allah make firm those of his community who have died with the firm word and seal their end with the two testimonies, and the companion of reckoning ⁴⁵⁹ desired that Allah overlook the disobedient of his community and forgive their sins and misdeeds. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing by which You save us from the terror of the standing and we find it a provision for the day of regret and remorse, and by which we become among those whose body and bones You have sanctified in the highest paradises, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. He reached the distance of two bow-lengths ⁴⁶⁰, exalted, the chosen Ahmad, the Imam. His Lord drew him near, and the veil was removed from Ahmad. (163) He truly guarded him with the eyes of a head when peace manifested to him. His qualities made him pure, while he was alone, and his portion was intimacy and speech. He returned to Allah in manifestation, and light was perceived on his face. And for the son of 'Imran ⁴⁶¹ there is in him a great portion, a matter that is the goal. "You will not see Me" ⁴⁶² is a longing for nearness, and it is a gain. The angels of the Owner of the Throne came to him, crowding at his hands. The Throne and the carpet, with gardens, are a servant for the soil of the Chosen One. Through him they acquired all that they hoped for of the security that is offered. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the path of guidance and success, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of guidance and uprightness carried him on the peak of his sincerity and the perfection of his certainty, and his caller called out in the innermost hearts of the knowers: Come to drink from the spring of his Ahmadine ⁴⁶³ support and the overflow of his right hand. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the breeze of the morning rose, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of generosity and kindness carried him on his arm and palm, and his caller called out in the regions of the earths and heavens: Come to seek refuge in his Chosen sanctuary and adorn yourselves in his court. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the musk of fragrant collars, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of the presence of expansion and blessings carried him on the breadth of his chest and the tongue of his eloquence, and his caller called out in the hearts of assemblies and the councils of acting scholars: Come to be adorned with his beautiful character and enter into the circle of his pardon and forgiveness. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the mount of radiant beauty, when he returned from his night journey, the angel of obedience and piety carried him on his eyebrows and eyelids, and his caller called out in the witnessing places of the people of absence and presence: Come to write on the back of his title (166) and be among his retinue, servants, and helpers. So bless him, O Allah, with a blessing by which we become among those who have inhaled the fragrance of his Muhammadan perfume and the scent of his spirit and basil, and are written on the scroll of the publication of his beloved and companions, and the people of his register, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the spirit of spirits, when he advanced from his night journey, the angel of disposition carried him on the variations of his forms and states, and his caller called out in the cities of hearts: Come to borrow from the shining lights and gleaming secrets. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the spirit of spirits, when he advanced from his night journey, the head of guidance carried him on the motives of his ecstasies and longings, and his caller called out

His caller in the treasuries of the unseen: "Come, that you may expose yourselves to the breezes of His gifts and drink from the nectar of His sealed wine and the cups of His tastes." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Spirit of Spirits ⁴⁶⁴, who, when he returned from his Night Journey ⁴⁶⁵, the Holy Spirit ⁴⁶⁶ carried him upon the subtleties of his inspirations and the perceptions of his understandings, and his caller called out in the worlds of spirits: "Come, that you may hear the jewels of his sacred hadiths ⁴⁶⁷ and the subtleties of his sciences." (167) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Spirit of Spirits, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, the Spirit of Command ⁴⁶⁸ carried him upon the ascents of his elevations and the strength of his spirituality, and his caller called out in the worlds of bodies: "Come, that you may take the realities of your receptions from the gifts of his divine descents and the gleams of his luminosity." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Spirit of Spirits, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, the Spirit of the Secret ⁴⁶⁹ carried him upon the shoulder of his love and his piety, and his reverence, and his caller called out in the processions of the near ones ⁴⁷⁰: "Come, that you may benefit from his most exalted discourse and the deliciousness of his speech." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the Spirit of Spirits, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, the Spirit of Truth ⁴⁷¹ carried him upon the wings of his ecstasy and his rapture, and his caller called out in the witnessing-places of the lovers: "Come, that you may kindle the lights of your sciences from the benefits of his wisdoms and the meanings of the verses of his Criterion ⁴⁷²." Section: O Allah, bless him and his family with a blessing that clothes us thereby with the garments of His acceptance and good pleasure, and pours forth upon us thereby the gifts of His generosity, bounty, and beneficence, and makes us thereby in the plains of the Resurrection among the people of his love, his clan, (168) and his neighbors, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. Muhammad attained in the high station glory ❖ The Book spoke of His majestic description He rose high in excellences above any flaw ❖ And transcended any likeness, so no doubt His merits are beyond all enumeration And it is an honor that reckoning encompasses them By love of Muhammad, the best of creation For us on the Day of Gathering, reward is stored Peace, like the fragrance of musk spreading Its perfume distinguishes that presence The Presence of luminous, eternal secrets, and the salutation Of cosmic inventions, the Mount of divine manifestations, the Crown of the sovereign kingdom, The adornment of the human creation, our master Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the fountain of lordly secrets, and the gathering of the realities of faith. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that clothes us with those upon whom the zephyrs of his Mustafawi ⁴⁷³ holy breezes have blown, and the emotions of his Mawlawi ⁴⁷⁴ merciful compassions have encompassed them, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad (169) Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to his homeland and his city, the Greatest Spirit ⁴⁷⁵ greeted him and embraced him with the embrace of a father for his child, and kissed his luminous forehead and placed him in the station of the spirit in relation to his body. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to the places of his pilgrimage and his struggle, Israfil ⁴⁷⁶ greeted him and embraced him to his bosom and heart, and gave him glad tidings and congratulated him on attaining his intention in what he hoped and achieving his desire. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to the places of his worship and remembrance, Mika'il ⁴⁷⁷ greeted him and embraced him to his chest and throat, and gave him glad tidings and congratulated him on the elevation of his station with Allah and the completion of his affair. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to his splendid and wondrous place, Azra'il ⁴⁷⁸ greeted him with cheerfulness and welcome, and gave him glad tidings of mighty victory and support, and imminent conquest. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to his illuminated abode of regions and space, the Angel of the Veil ⁴⁷⁹ greeted him (170) with the greeting of acceptance and satisfaction, and gave him glad tidings that he is the bridegroom of the paradises of gardens and the master of those who come and those who have passed. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to his place observed by the eye of majesty in the prior determination, Jibril ⁴⁸⁰, the truthful and trustworthy, greeted him and embraced him with the embrace of a compassionate and tender father, and informed him that he is the Seal of the Prophets and the Master of the Messengers. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to his blessed and magnificent station, Jibril, the noble master, greeted him and embraced him with the embrace of a beloved for his beloved, and made known to him what he has with his Lord of status and perfect favor and noble honor. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to the place of his origin and his dust, Jibril greeted him and sought refuge in his presence, and went taking hold of the folds of his stirrup, and clinging to his fringes, and gave him glad tidings of attaining his intention and achieving his goals, and asked him to be among his companions and special beloved ones. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to the places of his chambers and his dwellings, Jibril greeted him, and clung to his curtains, and walked beneath his howdah ⁴⁸¹, and his lights fluttered, and asked him to honor him with the subtleties of his divine sciences and the gifts of his secrets. (171) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad Your beloved, who, when he came from his Night Journey to the place of his placement and his birth, Jibril greeted him and entered into the fortress of his safety and protection, and asked him to be the companion of his presence and among the people of his proximity and his friendship. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that illuminates our hearts with the lights of his prophethood and his message, and makes us thereby in his impregnable refuge, his fortified protection, and his guarantee, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds.

A splendid return and a sublime farewell, a transition from state to state, and a brotherhood that existed from pre-eternity between Gabriel ⁴⁸², peace be upon him, and the Seal of the Prophets ⁴⁸³ and Master of the Messengers, my master and lord, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey ⁴⁸⁴ to his abodes that were filled with revelation and divine sending down, Gabriel, the magnificent and majestic, bade him farewell and returned while seeking from him righteous supplication and praising him with beautiful praise. (172) O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his abodes surrounded by blessing and safety, Gabriel bade him farewell with a farewell of obedience and uprightness and returned while asking him to bestow upon him the gifts of openings ⁴⁸⁵ and increased grace and generosity. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his abodes in which he was characterized by the attributes of servitude and performed the due right of Lordship, Gabriel the Trustworthy bade him farewell with a farewell of secret and special intimacy, and returned while informing him that he is the interpreter of the tongue of the unseen sciences and the leader of the prophetic presence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his abodes observed with the eye of veneration and sanctity, Gabriel the Trustworthy bade him farewell with a farewell of compassion and mercy, and returned while telling him that he is protected by infallibility ⁴⁸⁶ and the spring of secrets and wisdom. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad (173) the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his abodes overwhelmed with love and longing for him, Gabriel bade him farewell with the farewell of one who could not bid farewell to his love nor bear his separation, and returned while holding the reins of his Buraq ⁴⁸⁷ and saying: How can one who has parted from the soul of his heart and the light of the black of his eyes be patient? O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his abodes designated for the gifts of good things and the jewels of known revelation, Gabriel bade him farewell and entrusted to him his religion and the trust of his hidden secret, and returned while desiring from him that he mention him in the places of response before his Lord, the One, the Self-Subsisting. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his lands where he had left his family, brothers, and neighbors, Gabriel bade him farewell and entrusted to him his spirit, body, and heart, and returned while asking him to observe him with the eye of care and to manifest upon him His grace and favor. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his pure and clean abodes, Gabriel bade him farewell and entrusted to him his pure traits and virtuous morals, and returned (174) while wiping away his tears for parting from his blessed face and radiant countenance. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his illuminated and lofty tomb ⁴⁸⁸, Gabriel bade him farewell and entrusted to him his luminous and holy sciences and gnoses, and returned while praising his chosen and prophetic qualities, and mentioning his beautiful virtues and his pleasing and approved states. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his blessed and clear landmarks, Gabriel bade him farewell and entrusted to him the precious gems of his bestowed and unseen wisdoms, and returned while mentioning his perfect Muhammadan characteristics and his honored Ahmadan ⁴⁸⁹ virtues. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his Meccan and Medinan dwellings, Gabriel bade him farewell and entrusted to him his sensory and spiritual treasures, and returned while uttering his sweet and delicious remembrances, and spreading the hadiths of his dear and treasured reports. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad (175) the ornament of ornaments, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his fragrant and pure gatherings, Gabriel bade him farewell and entrusted to him the seals of his righteous and lordly deeds, and returned while magnifying the miraculous wonders and clear proofs of his graces. So bless him, O Allah, and his family with a blessing that makes us inhale the fragrant breezes of his moist and ambergris-like secrets, and gives us to drink from the cups of his sweet and Kawthar-like ⁴⁹⁰ effusions, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. * The Messenger of Allah is the greatest who traveled in the darkness of night to the seven firmaments ⁴⁹¹ * His Lord called him: "Draw near, O My Beloved," so he responded, firm of heart, to the Caller * He brought him near as a beloved and chose him, and the Chosen One attained all that was desired * He confided in him with great secrets that were never revealed to any other * O Messenger of Allah, you are the most sublime seer of the beauty of the One, the Unique, the Generous * O Messenger of Allah, O sea of gifts, and O treasure of guidance and rectitude * Upon you be continuous radiant blessings and upon your family and the rightly guided Companions O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, perfumed the cosmos with the fragrant breaths of his Muhammadan essence and the breeze of his robes, and overwhelmed the servants with the gifts of his grace and the grants of his generosity and beneficence. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad (176), Your beloved, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, illuminated the regions of the kingdom and the dominion ⁴⁹² with the lights of his majesty and the beauties of his beauty, and filled the treasuries of the Omnipotent and the All-Merciful ⁴⁹³ with the gifts of his secrets and the flood of his bestowal. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, covered the earth with his praiseworthy virtues and qualities, and dazzled the eyes of intellects with his noble character and attributes of perfection. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, delighted the pages of books with his noble deeds and miracles, and subdued the leaders

The armies and hosts [are conquered] by His conclusive proofs and the brilliant lights of His signs. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he returned from his Night Journey ⁴⁹⁴, perfumed the gatherings of those who remember [Allah] with the fragrance of his pure traditions and his fragrant breaths, and filled the hearts of the lovers with the wafts of his affection and the outpourings of his mercies. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, the eyes were delighted by his gaze and the vision of his essence ⁴⁹⁵, and the breasts were expanded by the blessing of his request and the answering of his supplications. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he arrived from his Night Journey, revived the dead hearts through his visitation and his constant communion, and established the rites of religion through his worship and his striving. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he arrived from his Night Journey, the angels boasted of his company and companionship, and souls were created to obey his commands and comply with him. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, who, when he arrived from his Night Journey, the spiritual souls ⁴⁹⁶ hastened to serve and obey him, and the sins of his community were forgiven through his desire and the acceptance of his intercession. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, a blessing by which we become among those who have made his noble name the opening of their means and supplication, and the prayer upon him their profitable trade and most exalted merchandise, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. The master of the two worlds ⁴⁹⁷, the adornment of the two weighty beings ⁴⁹⁸, the beloved, the chosen, the sea of guidance, He who was taken by night and returned, possessing the precedence, by Him, unique and one. To him belongs the cosmos, its splendors and glories, with a beauty that adorned goodness and blazed. He whose character was praised by generosity, the Lord, the Eternal, singled him out with selection. He saw Him and drew near to Him, and indeed, he directed the speech for his religion and strove. To him belong the houris ⁴⁹⁹ unveiled in a garden, and the Lord tended them from the best prepared. He is the one who surpassed the prophets in eminence, and to him belongs the Kawthar ⁵⁰⁰ that heals whoever comes. From his eminence on the Day of Gathering, if he comes as an intercessor for creation, he fears no error. Praising the Lord beneath the Throne, when he came to Him with humility and prostration. Then the Lord says: "Raise [your head], fear not, today ask and you shall be given support. You are, among creation, My beloved, My chosen one, and My beloved, the best of My creation, is not rejected." O Messenger of Allah, be an intercessor for me, you are the most faithful of those who have promised with generosity. And upon you be Allah's blessings, and upon the family and companions, and upon the one who recites forever. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, the radiant in appearance and face, Your pure one in the angelic realm ⁵⁰¹ in reality and essence, who, when he returned from his Night Journey to his station ⁵⁰² surrounded by the jewels of revealed revelation and divine gifts ⁵⁰³ and the sciences of hadith and jurisprudence, said: "I came upon Abraham on my return, and he said nothing. Then I came upon Moses, who said: 'What have you done, O Muhammad? What has your Lord prescribed for you and your community?' I said: 'He prescribed for me and my community fifty prayers every day and night.' He said: 'Return to your Lord and ask Him for a reduction for yourself and your community, for your community cannot bear that. Indeed, I tested the people before you, and I tried the Children of Israel and treated them with the severest treatment for less than this, yet they weakened and abandoned it. And your community is weaker in bodies, frames, hearts, and eyes.' So I turned to Gabriel to consult him, and he indicated to me: 'Yes, if you wish.' So I returned quickly and said: 'O Lord, lighten [the burden] for my community, for they are the weakest of communities.' He said: 'I have removed five from you.' I returned to Moses and said: 'He has removed five from me.' He said: 'Return to your Lord and ask Him for a reduction, for your community cannot bear that.' I kept going back and forth between my Lord and Moses until He, exalted, said: 'O Muhammad, they are five prayers every day and night, each prayer ten, so that is fifty prayers. The word is not changed with Me, nor is My book abrogated.' So I descended to Moses and informed him. He said: 'Return to your Lord and ask Him for a reduction, for your community cannot bear that.' I said: 'I have returned to my Lord until I am ashamed before Him, but I am content and submit.' Then a caller called out: 'I have confirmed My obligation and lightened [the burden] for My servants.' Moses said to me: 'Descend in the name of Allah.' Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: 'What an excellent companion Moses was for you. Send many blessings upon him, for I have not seen any prophet more protective of his community than him.'" The Messenger of Allah is the most noble of those who ascended to the Lord, and he removed the veil. He drew near to his Lord when he descended ⁵⁰⁴, and was alone with Him, and seclusion was right for him. He stood on a high, lofty footing, and no other has a footing there. Here the Intimate Friend ⁵⁰⁵ and the Speaker ⁵⁰⁶ fell behind, sufficient for them both is the example of Gabriel. And indeed, the Beloved gave shelter to his Beloved when, by that decree, there was a letter Ha and Ba ⁵⁰⁷. And the Speaker sent him back to Him so that for Taha ⁵⁰⁸ there might be a renewed vision. The Speaker cared for the one who cared for the Lord, and from the face of the Messenger he had sufficiency. By the word "You shall not see Me" ⁵⁰⁹, his longing for the Beloved increased, and longing is the cure. He established Muhammad as a pure intermediary to attain what he desires and wills. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, whom You made steadfast in Your commands and constant in Your obedience, and Your pure one through whom You elevated the ranks of Islam, so he became a vanquisher of the armies of Your enemies, and a judge by what You revealed to him in Your Mighty Book, and Your Prophet who, when he returned from his Night Journey, said: "Does my Lord grieve me, [while I am] a beloved and He sent me to all mankind as a bearer of good tidings and a warner? He expanded my breast, removed from me my burden, and raised high my mention, so that I am not mentioned except that I am mentioned with Him. He made my community the best community brought forth for mankind, and made my community a middle community, and made them the first and the last. No sermon is valid for them until they testify that I am His servant and messenger. He made among my community people whose hearts are their Gospels. He made me the first of the prophets in creation and the last in sending, and the first for whom judgment is passed. He gave me the seven oft-repeated [verses] ⁵¹⁰ which no prophet before me was given. He gave me the concluding verses of Surat al-Baqara from a treasure beneath His Throne, which no prophet before me was given. He gave me al-Lawthar ⁵¹¹ and gave me eight shares: Islam, emigration, jihad, prayer, charity, fasting Ramadan, enjoining good and forbidding evil. And He made me an opener and a seal." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the master of every prophet, messenger, and angel, and the most generous of those who forgave after having power and dominion, and the best of those who guided his community on the path of guidance and rectitude and trod it, who, when he returned from his Night Journey, said:

I was given the five prayers, the concluding verses of Surah al-Baqarah, and forgiveness for those of my community who do not associate anything with Allah, the Muqḥamāt ⁵¹². And whenever the angels visited me, they would say, 'You must seek the need.' When I visited them, I said to Gabriel, 'I have not seen the inhabitants of the heavens except that they welcomed me and hastened to me, except for one whom I greeted and he returned the greeting, welcomed me, prayed for me, but did not smile at me.' He said, 'That is the Keeper of Hell; he has not smiled since he was created, and if he were to smile at anyone, he would smile at you.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the peak of glory, the far-reaching in understanding, the pole of sovereignty who clarifies the paths and ways for his community. When he returned from his Night Journey, he mounted al-Burāq ⁵¹³ and traveled back to his home in the pitch-black night, with Gabriel (peace be upon him). It was not long before he arrived at Mecca shortly before dawn. The duration of his going and coming was three hours, some say four hours, and some say in the measure of 182 moments, because Allah may lengthen short time and shorten long time for whomever He wills among His servants, and there is nothing strange in that. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the sword of religion that distinguishes, the full moon of the sphere of prophethood that shines, the eye of the notables of the West and the East. When he returned from his Night Journey, he entered the mosque in the morning, knowing that the people would deny him. He did not wish to conceal what is a proof of the power of his Lord, the Sovereign Creator, and what is a proof of the loftiness of his station, which impels following what was decreed for him in pre-eternity. He sat down worried and grieved. Then the enemy of Allah, Abū Jahl ⁵¹⁴, who had left the religion and deviated, passed by him. He sat down with him and said mockingly, 'Has anything happened?' He said, 'Yes.' He said, 'What is it?' He said, 'I was taken on a night journey last night.' He said, 'Where to?' He said, 'To the Holy House ⁵¹⁵, protected from the assault of tyrants and the attack of the enemy and the night visitor.' He said, 'Then you are now among us this morning?' He said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Do you think that if I call your people, you will tell them what you have told me?' He said, 'Yes.' He said, 'O assembly of Banī Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, come here!' So the gatherings dispersed to him, and they came in the blink of an eye or the flash of a lightning bolt. They sat down with them. He said, 'O Muhammad, tell your people what you have told me.' So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'I was taken on a night journey last night.' They said, 'Where to?' He said, 'To the Holy House.' They said, 'Then you are now among us this morning?' He said, 'Yes.' So they remained, some opposing, some agreeing, some clapping, some placing their hands on their foreheads and the crowns of their heads in extreme amazement. They clamored and considered great what they saw of that extraordinary matter. Al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī ⁵¹⁶ said, 'We travel on the backs of camels to the Holy House, ascending for a month and descending for a month, and you claim that you went there in one night? By al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā ⁵¹⁷, I do not believe you.' Abū Bakr said to him, 'O Muṭʿim, how evil is what you said to your brother's son! You have faced him and denied him. I bear witness that he is truthful.' O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved who attained complete honor in all its kinds and types, Your chosen one to whom creatures seek refuge in his lofty station and enter under his protection, Your Prophet who, when he returned from his Night Journey and told his people about it, they met him with what he disliked because they did not agree with what was in reality and acted contrary to it. He told them about it by permission of his Lord, to manifest thereby his truthfulness and the perfection of his prophethood by what he told them, with his affirmation by his tongue and his confession. They said to him, 'O Muhammad, describe to us the Holy House: how is its building? How is its form? How is its proximity to the mountain?' Among the people were those who had traveled to it and passed through its midst and its outskirts. Abū Bakr said to him, 'Describe it to me, O Messenger of Allah, for I have been there.' So the Holy House was unveiled to him, or Gabriel raised it to him himself, and he began to look at it and describe it, saying, 'One of its doors is such and such in such a place, and another door is such and such in such a place,' while Abū Bakr said, 'You have spoken the truth, you have spoken the truth. I bear witness that you are truly the Messenger of Allah,' until he finished the rest of its description. O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the full moon of the sphere of noble prophethood, the branch of the lofty degree of glory and ancient lineage, the pole of the circle of the people of guidance, righteousness, and success. When he described the Holy House to his people, and there appeared to them from the perfection of his truthfulness what indicates the proofs of truth and verification, they said, 'As for the description, by Allah, he has hit the mark.' Then they said to Abū Bakr, 'Do you believe him that he went last night to the Holy House and came back before morning to the Ancient House ⁵¹⁸?' He said, 'Yes, by Allah, I believe him in what is more distant than that: the tidings of the unseen and the news of heaven, in a morning or an evening. For that reason he was called Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq ⁵¹⁹.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him that day, 'O Abū Bakr, Allah has named you al-Ṣiddīq.' Hence, ʿAlī used to swear by Allah Almighty that Allah sent down from heaven the name of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq.

O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, the locus of openings and sublime gifts, the fountain of secrets and divine sciences ⁵²⁰. When Quraysh asked him to describe Jerusalem ⁵²¹ and he described it to them with its beautiful attributes and pleasing qualities, the proof became manifest against them, and they were confounded, and their weak claims and conjectural, speculative judgments were cut off. They said, "Tell us about our caravan." He said, "I came upon the caravan of the sons of so-and-so at Rawha' ⁵²², and they had lost a she-camel of theirs and had gone off in search of her in the desert. I reached their camp and there was none of them there, and there was a water vessel, so I drank from it." They asked them about that, and they said, "This is a clear and evident sign." Then he said, "I came upon the caravan of the sons of so-and-so, and the camels shied away from me, and a red camel knelt down, carrying striped white saddlebags; I do not know whether the camel broke something or not. Ask them about that as well." They said, "This is another sign indicating the truthfulness of the best of creation." Then he said, "I came upon the caravan of the sons of so-and-so at Abwa' ⁵²³, led by a blue-gray camel carrying a black woolen cloth and two saddlebags, one black and the other speckled; and there it is, coming up to you from the mountain pass." O Allah, bless and grant peace to our master and lord Muhammad and to the family of our master Muhammad, Your beloved, truthful in words and deeds, Your chosen one, regarded with the eye of veneration and exaltation, Your noble prophet in qualities and traits. When Quraysh asked him about their caravan coming from Jerusalem, built upon pillars of might, contentment, and acceptance, he informed them about a caravan of theirs carrying food, in which there was a camel carrying two saddlebags. He said, "When I approached that caravan, it shied away from the sound of the mount—which was the Buraq ⁵²⁴ on which he rode to the presence of the Possessor of Might and Majesty—and it turned around, and a camel bolted from it until he guided them to it with the gentlest answer and the best speech. Another camel—they had lost a camel of theirs, which so-and-so had gathered and returned to its company in the station and travel—I greeted them, and some of them said, 'This is the voice of Muhammad, pure in deeds and character.' And he informed them of the arrival of that caravan on Wednesday. When that day came, they did not arrive immediately, and Quraysh were watching, waiting for it, until the sun was about to set, and their states became agitated due to what occurred to them of incoming doubts, illusions, and possibilities. So the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked Allah Almighty, and an hour was added to the day for him, and the sun was held back until the caravan entered. They went out to meet it and found the matter as he had said. Then the cloud of nature was dispelled by his blessing, and contention and argument ceased. So bless him, O Allah, and his family, the springs of generosity, munificence, and excellence, and his Companions, who vanquished with their swords the armies of the people of deviation and misguidance, a blessing by which You repel from us the obstacles of incapacity, laziness, worry, grief, overwhelming debt, and oppression of men, and make it a treasure whose blessing aids us at the time of coming to You, and on the Day of Presentation and Questioning, by Your grace and generosity, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. His mounts traveled from al-Aqsa Mosque ⁵²⁵, Hastened by the field of al-Aqsa and its bridle. Longing cries out, "O Gabriel, urge him on Into the light, and the light is his ascent and ladder." The Throne trembles with joy at his veneration, For his arrival honored the Throne and the Footstool. The Truth, glorified be He, in the might of His majesty, Speaks to him from a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer. How much pride and honor there is there For him who strengthened his faculties and a living one knows him. Until he brought the Revelation as a miracle, Abolishing the laws and rulings, its decisive part. The attributes of the great one of the two towns ⁵²⁶ became insignificant, and what The ignorance of Abu Jahl ⁵²⁷ brought and claimed. The state of the Pleiades is not like the state of the sun, if they knew; Nay, the people of Mecca are in their transgression, blind. So proclaim openly your command, O son of the scarred one of Mudar ⁵²⁸, For you have been sent to abase the matter of polytheism. Yours is the beautiful remembrance, and from Every name of generosity, the greatest in generosity is the most magnificent. O hope of the hopeful, may you rejoice in what You hope for, O Ka'ba of the hopeful and its season. O master of the Arabs, the strangers, excuse For the remorseful heart, whose regret does not avail. O companion of the Revelation and the Scripture, be kind to me; May you never cease to forgive the wrongdoer and honor him. For everyone whom you support in both abodes, The trials of days cannot overcome. Upon you be the most complete blessing of Allah from me, O glorious one whose favors encompass both abodes. And by his lofty rank and great station with You, and by the right of what You specially granted him on the night You made him journey to Your highest carpet and chose him for Yourself, and showed him the wonders of Your higher and lower worlds, from their spheres and ranks, until You gave each of them to drink from the cups of faith and affirmation of what he informed, according to his knowledge and intellect, and addressed each of them in a manner suitable to his state, indicating the honor of his distinction and merit. He addressed the disbelievers—who are the last of the worlds—with what he saw on the way and what occurred in al-Aqsa Mosque visibly, and with what they knew.

From that, when they knew of his truthfulness, trustworthiness, and justice—because they were in the sphere of bodies ⁵²⁹ until they believed in his Night Journey ⁵³⁰ through what they heard of his true report in word and deed—he addressed the elite of his believing companions with what he saw in the spheres of heaven when he ascended, and spoke of the news of the highest realms, informing them of what he witnessed and saw in each sphere according to what befits each station and its people, according to their ranks without constraint or crowding, up to the seventh heaven, until he reached the station of Gabriel ⁵³¹, and spoke of the clear horizon ⁵³² and what is above, to the drawing near and descending ⁵³³ to the place of revelation at the presence of the casting of forms and creation ⁵³⁴, and what the cosmos contains of its heights and depths. And each one ⁵³⁵ spoke to him with what befits his station and awakened him from the sleep of his heedlessness and ignorance, in which you ascended him to the carpet of your presences, and granted him therein the vision of Gabriel at the clear horizon, and the vision of your Essence and the attributes of your perfections. He spoke of this to his companions until some of them said: 'He saw Gabriel at the clear horizon and at the highest horizon ⁵³⁶'—and they spoke truth; and some said: 'He saw his Lord with the vision of the heart and insight'—and they spoke truth; and some said: 'With the eyes of his head'—and they spoke truth—among those whose spirits you caused to ascend to the presence of your holiness, and honored them with your vision and intimacy, and singled them out for your friendship and chose them for yourself, and intoxicated them with the nectar of your love and veiled them from others in the curtains of your might, so that none of your jinn or humans could perceive them. You quenched their hearts with the pure flowing water of your knowledge, and directed them to yourself, and turned their aspirations toward you, and caused springs of your wisdom to flow upon their tongues, and made their hearts the abodes of your forbearance and compassion, and nourished them with the milk of your gentleness, and looked upon them with the eye of your tenderness and affection, and met them with your bounty, generosity, pardon, and forgiveness, and strengthened them to obey your command, and inspired them to thank your blessing, and loosened their tongues with your remembrance, and made them witness your favor and grace, and honored them with your pleasure, and saved them from your punishment and vengeance, and guided them to obedience, and closed for them the doors of opposition and disobedience to you, and inspired them to good, and facilitated for them the paths of your guidance and right direction, and created their hearts upon love of you, and inscribed them in the register of your beloved and the people of your felicity. So they roamed in your highest dominion ⁵³⁷ with their spirits, and danced on the carpet of your most exalted remembrance with their bodies. Their spirits flew in longing for your meeting, and their bodies moved in joy toward the stations of your sublimity and ascension. So they ascended to your presence by the ladders of nearness and proximity, and flew to the carpet of your vision with the wings of longing and love. So cause me to ascend, O Allah, with my spirit as you caused their spirits to ascend to you, and raise my station in the station of election as you raised their station before you, and honor me with your vigilance and vision, and seat me in the seat of the elite before you, and open for me in myself a special secret and guidance, and grant me a supported resolve and sufficiency, and single me out with the characteristics of the people of fear and repentance, and make me among those for whom you opened the door of permission in supplication and honored them with acceptance of requests, so that no prayer of theirs falls short of response. And do not take me to task, O Allah, for a sin great or small, and do not expose my secret and public deeds for an offense little or much, and cover me with your beautiful veil wherever you move me in your kingdom, and help me to fulfill what you have imposed upon me of keeping your covenants and preserving your trust. And protect me in my journey to you from all obstacles and hindrances, and guard my heart with the might of your care from the onslaughts of passions and desires, and provide me in all that with support and steadfastness, and rectify my states and intentions, and adorn me with the ornament of perfection and beautiful attributes, and preserve my limbs from trials, afflictions, and the deviation of changes, and cause me to die a death of sincerity and deliverance, and convey me, from your pleasure and the pleasure of your beloved, our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), to the utmost degree of the elite. And grant me intercession for myself, my family, my children, my brothers, and my loved ones. O He who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons evil deeds, O Most Merciful of the merciful, O Lord of the worlds. ❖ My spirit beholds you, so I live truly through you ❖ And I remain happy, neither straying nor wretched ❖ When you are in my place, my life becomes pure through you ❖ From all the troubles I encounter ❖ You have dyed all my affairs in your beauty ❖ So it necessitates for me in every state a love through you ❖ Take charge of my affairs as you wish, for all ❖ That my heart receives is the most enduring goal ❖ I have realized from you encompassingness, so my station ❖ With you is equal, whether called union or separation ❖ Before you, wherever I am, I never cease ❖ My spirit beholds you, so I live truly through you This part of the Ascension ⁵³⁸ has ended and is completed by the praise of Allah and His good assistance. May Allah bless our master Muhammad and his family. The other part follows, if Allah wills.

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1. al-muḥammadiyya : Relating to the Prophet Muhammad, often denoting a spiritual quality or love associated with him.
2. awliyā' : Friends of God; saints or those close to God in Islamic mysticism.
3. al-fātiḥa : The Opening Chapter of the Quran, considered the essence of the Quran.
4. al-duhūr : Ages or long periods of time; often used to denote eternity or endless time.
5. mu'azzaman : Magnified or glorified; a term of honor.
6. Riḍwān : The keeper of Paradise in Islamic tradition.
7. al-bayt al-ma'mūr : The Much-Frequented House; a celestial counterpart of the Kaaba, visited by angels.
8. Qur'an 37:164 : Reference to the Quranic verse indicating that each angel has a known station.
9. anshudū : Recite or chant; often used for poetic or devotional recitation.
10. al-waḥdāniyya : The Oneness of God, tawḥīd.
11. al-ʿubūdiyya : Servitude or worshipful submission to God.
12. mushnifan : Delighting or elevating; from the root sh-n-f meaning to raise or exalt.
13. al-ʿaqīq : A valley near Medina, often mentioned in Arabic poetry as a beloved place.
14. jarʿāʾ al-ḥimā : A place name; jarʿāʾ refers to a sandy tract, and al-ḥimā is a protected area.
15. al-kawnayn : The two worlds: this world and the Hereafter.
16. sharīʿatunā : Our divine law, i.e., the Islamic Sharīʿa.
17. al-miʿrāj : The Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven.
18. al-burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet during the Night Journey.
19. taʾassufan : In sorrow or regret; from ʾasifa meaning to grieve.
20. qumrī al-arāk : The turtledove of the arāk tree (a type of tree); a poetic image.
21. al-malakūt : The celestial or angelic realm; the dominion of God.
22. al-durra al-bayḍāʾ : The White Pearl; a term in Sufism for a primordial spiritual reality.
23. zamzam : The well of Zamzam in Mecca.
24. al-maqām : The Station of Abraham (Maqām Ibrāhīm) near the Kaaba.
25. bayt al-maqdis : Jerusalem; the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
26. zamzam al-shalī : Flowing Zamzam water; shalī means flowing or gushing.
27. al-isrāʾ : The Night Journey of the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem.
28. al-malakūt al-aʿlā : The highest celestial realm.
29. al-masjid al-aqṣā : The Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem.
30. Jibrīl : The angel Gabriel, responsible for delivering divine revelation to prophets.
31. Mīkā'īl : The angel Michael, responsible for providing sustenance and mercy.
32. al-ghāshiya : The covering or saddlecloth; here symbolizing a protective or honorific covering.
33. Isrāfīl : The angel Israfil, who will blow the trumpet on the Day of Resurrection.
34. qāba qawsayn aw adnā : A Qur'anic phrase (53:9) describing the Prophet's proximity to God during the Mi'raj, meaning 'two bow-lengths or nearer'.
35. Qur'an 93:5 : A verse promising the Prophet satisfaction and reward.
36. laylat al-waṣl : The night of union, referring to the Night of Ascension (Mi'raj) when the Prophet was brought close to God.
37. karāma : A divine honor or miracle granted to a saint or prophet.
38. Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet during the Night Journey (Isra').
39. rutba : Rank or station, especially spiritual rank.
40. ʿAzrā'īl : The angel of death, responsible for taking souls.
41. Umm Hāni' : A female companion of the Prophet, in whose house the Prophet was sleeping before the Night Journey.
42. al-Masjid al-Aqṣā : The Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem, the destination of the Prophet's Night Journey.
43. naṣaba : To become weary or exhausted; here indicating the futility of seeking other than God.
44. taḥqīq : Realization or verification of spiritual truth.
45. Qur'an 53:17 : A verse describing the Prophet's unwavering vision during the Ascension.
46. Qur'an 53:18 : A verse stating that the Prophet saw the greatest signs of his Lord.
47. Qur'an 53:11 : A verse affirming the truthfulness of the Prophet's vision.
48. bisaṭ al-qurb : The 'carpet of proximity' is a Sufi term for the spiritual station of nearness to God.
49. mā kadhaba al-fu’ādu mā ra’ā : Quranic verse (53:11) referring to the Prophet's heart not lying about what he saw during the Ascension.
50. ta’wā ilā ‘abdihi mā awḥā : Quranic verse (53:10) meaning 'He revealed to His servant what He revealed.'
51. mashāhid al-ḥaḍra al-azaliyya : The 'witnessing-places of the Eternal Presence' refers to the spiritual stations where the divine presence is directly witnessed.
52. al-kāsāt al-ṣamadiyya : The 'cups of Self-Sufficiency' symbolize the divine effusions of the attribute of al-Ṣamad (the Eternal, Self-Sufficient).
53. thumma danā fatadallā : Quranic phrase (53:8) describing the Prophet's drawing near and descending/receiving revelation.
54. al-ayn : A term meaning 'distance' or 'separation'; here it indicates the removal of all distance between the Prophet and God.
55. qāba qawsayn aw adnā : Quranic phrase (53:9) meaning 'two bow-lengths or nearer,' describing the Prophet's proximity to God during the Ascension.
56. isrā’ : The Night Journey of the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem.
57. ṣāḥib al-ṭūr : Moses is called 'master of the Mount' because he received revelation on Mount Sinai.
58. dār al-salām : The 'Abode of Peace' is a name for Paradise.
59. khamsa ṣalawāt ‘alā al-dawām : Refers to the reduction of the prescribed daily prayers from fifty to five, as narrated in the Hadith of the Ascension.
60. Laylā : A poetic symbol for the divine Beloved, often used in Sufi poetry.
61. al-ḥawḍ wa al-kawthar : The Basin (al-Ḥawḍ) and the River of Abundance (al-Kawthar) are gifts promised to the Prophet in Paradise.
62. ibn 'Imrān : Son of Imran, referring to Moses (Musa), as Imran is traditionally considered his father.
63. Ṭūr al-Khiṭāb : The Mount of Discourse, referring to Mount Sinai where Moses spoke with God.
64. al-Muhaymin : The All-Dominating, one of the names of God, indicating His watchful care and control.
65. lā takhla'anna na'layk : Reference to the command to Moses at the burning bush (Quran 20:12), but here applied to the Prophet Muhammad during the Mi'raj, symbolizing honor.
66. fī al-ghār : In the cave, referring to the Cave of Thawr where the Prophet and Abu Bakr hid during the Hijra.
67. nādāk : He called you, alluding to God's call to Muhammad as His beloved.
68. fidāk : Your ransom, indicating that the Prophet's ransom (his intercession) is greater than Ishmael's.
69. Laylat al-Mi'rāj : The Night of Ascension, when the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
70. al-Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey (Isra) and Ascension (Mi'raj).
71. sirrihi wa jahrihi : In his secret and public, meaning both inwardly and outwardly.
72. Āl Sayyidinā Muḥammad : The family of our master Muhammad, including his descendants and companions.
73. hawl al-mawqif : The terror of the standing, referring to the Day of Judgment when all stand before God.
74. khidmatihi : His service, meaning devotion and obedience to the Prophet.
75. Āl Sayyidinā Muḥammad : The family of our master Muhammad, including his descendants and companions.
76. Ka'batihi : His Kaaba, referring to the Kaaba in Mecca, symbolizing the Prophet's spiritual sanctuary.
77. Isra : The night journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem.
78. Mi'raj : The ascension of the Prophet Muhammad through the heavens to the presence of Allah.
79. tawhid : The oneness of Allah; Islamic monotheism.
80. Furqan : A name for the Quran, meaning 'the Criterion' between truth and falsehood.
81. al-Dayyān : The Judge, one of the names of God, referring to the Reckoner on the Day of Judgment.
82. Nuqṭat al-Sirr : The Point of the Secret, a Sufi term for the primordial point of divine manifestation, often associated with the Muhammadan Reality.
83. Quṭb al-Nubuwwa : The Pole of Prophethood, a Sufi concept referring to the highest spiritual axis, here identified with the Prophet Muhammad.
84. al-Shahādatayn : The two testimonies: 'There is no god but Allah' and 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah'.
85. al-Iqāma : The second call to prayer, recited just before the prayer begins.
86. Banū 'Abd Manāf, Quṣayy, 'Adnān : Tribal ancestors of the Prophet Muhammad, tracing his lineage.
87. al-Ḥaḍarāt : The divine presences, a Sufi term for the levels of divine manifestation.
88. Riḍwān : The angel keeper of Paradise.
89. Lawḥ al-Ḥifẓ : The Preserved Tablet, the heavenly tablet on which all destinies are inscribed.
90. Lawḥ al-Bayān : The Tablet of Manifestation, a term for the Qur'an or the divine decree made manifest.
91. Laysa fī al-imkān abda'u mimmā kān : A famous saying attributed to the Sufi Ibn 'Arabi, meaning 'There is nothing in possibility more wondrous than what was,' referring to the perfection of the Prophet Muhammad.
92. Qāba qawsayn aw adnā : Qur'anic phrase (53:9) describing the Prophet's proximity to God during the Ascension, meaning 'two bow-lengths or nearer'.
93. Fa-awḥā ilā 'abdihi mā awḥā : Qur'an 53:10: 'Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed.'
94. Mā kadhaba al-fu'ādu mā ra'ā : Qur'an 53:11: 'The heart did not lie about what it saw.'
95. Afatumārūnahu 'alā mā yarā : Qur'an 53:12: 'Do you then dispute with him about what he saw?'
96. Wa laqad ra'āhu nazlatan ukhrā 'inda sidrat al-muntahā : Qur'an 53:13-14: 'And he certainly saw him in another descent at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary.'
97. Mā zāgha al-baṣaru wa mā ṭaghā : Qur'an 53:17: 'The sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress.'
98. Laqad ra'ā min āyāti rabbihi al-kubrā : Qur'an 53:18: 'He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.'
99. al-Farqadayn : The two bears, referring to the stars Alpha and Beta Ursae Minoris, used as a metaphor for high station.
100. al-Dawā'ir : Circles, possibly referring to the spheres of existence or the cycles of time.
101. Aḥmadī : Referring to the Prophet Muḥammad by his name Aḥmad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
102. Night Journey (Isrā') : The miraculous night journey of the Prophet Muḥammad from Mecca to Jerusalem.
103. Muḥammadan law : The Sharī'a or Islamic law revealed to Prophet Muḥammad.
104. chiefs of the dominions : Refers to the angels or spiritual beings governing the celestial realms.
105. stars of the heavens : May refer to celestial bodies or angelic beings.
106. his bird : A metaphor for his soul or his fortune, often used in Sufi poetry.
107. opening (fatḥ) : Spiritual opening or illumination granted by God.
108. highest firmament : The highest heaven or the Throne of God.
109. kingdom (mulk) : The physical or material world.
110. dominion (malakūt) : The spiritual or angelic realm.
111. guarded secret (sirr maṣūn) : The hidden divine knowledge preserved by God.
112. sunna : The practices and teachings of the Prophet Muḥammad.
113. nearness (dunūw) : Spiritual proximity to God.
114. ascents (taraqqiyāt) : Spiritual elevations or ascents.
115. descents (tadalliyāt) : Divine descents or manifestations.
116. gnoses (maʿārif) : Spiritual knowledge or mystical insights.
117. gifts (ʿawārif) : Divine gifts or bestowals.
118. Ṭāba : An epithet of Medina, meaning 'good' or 'pleasant'.
119. boldness (idlāl) : A Sufi term for the intimate familiarity of the lover with the Beloved.
120. openings (futūḥāt) : Divine revelations or spiritual illuminations.
121. qāba qawsayn : A Qur'anic phrase (53:9) referring to the Prophet's proximity to Allah during the Mi'raj, meaning 'two bow-lengths' or a very short distance.
122. al-Wasīla : A special rank in Paradise granted to the Prophet Muhammad, mentioned in the hadith, serving as a means of nearness to Allah.
123. al-Faḍīla : An additional virtue or excellence specific to the Prophet Muhammad, often associated with his intercession.
124. al-Kawthar : A river in Paradise granted to the Prophet Muhammad, also the name of Surah 108 in the Qur'an.
125. Sala' : A mountain near Medina, mentioned in the context of the Prophet's biography.
126. Baqī' al-Gharqad : The main cemetery of Medina, where many companions and family members of the Prophet are buried.
127. Aḥmad : Another name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
128. Ṭayyiba : A name for Medina, meaning 'good' or 'pure'.
129. al-thaqalayn : Refers to humans and jinn, the two weighty creations, as mentioned in a hadith.
130. al-Isrā' : The Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem, and then his ascension to heaven (Mi'raj).
131. aw adnā : Qur'anic phrase (53:9) meaning 'or even closer', referring to the Prophet's proximity to Allah during the Mi'raj.
132. thumma danā fatanazzala : Qur'anic phrase (53:8) meaning 'Then he drew near and descended', describing the Prophet's approach to Allah.
133. al-Buraq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey (Isra') from Mecca to Jerusalem.
134. Night Journey : The Isra' and Mi'raj, the Prophet Muhammad's night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascension to heaven.
135. Ahmad : Another name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
136. Taha : A name of the Prophet Muhammad, derived from the Arabic letters Ta and Ha, which appear at the beginning of Surah Taha in the Quran.
137. two bow-lengths : Reference to Quran 53:9, describing the Prophet's proximity to Allah during the Mi'raj as 'two bow-lengths or nearer'.
138. Imam : Leader; here meaning the foremost and leader of all messengers.
139. Night Journey : Al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj, the Prophet's miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and ascension to heaven.
140. Chosen Book : Al-Kitab al-Mustafawi, referring to the Qur'an as the chosen book.
141. Tawhid : The oneness of Allah; Islamic monotheism.
142. Praiseworthy Essence : Al-Dhat al-Hamadiyya, referring to the Prophet's essence characterized by praise (hamd).
143. Ahmadine : Relating to Ahmad, one of the Prophet's names meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
144. Sharia : Islamic law derived from the Qur'an and Sunnah.
145. Ihsan : Spiritual excellence; worshiping Allah as if seeing Him.
146. Sunnah : The Prophet's traditions, practices, and way of life.
147. Yaqin : Certainty; firm faith in Allah.
148. Ikhlas : Sincerity; purity of intention in worship.
149. Sidq : Truthfulness; sincerity.
150. Wilaya : Sainthood; spiritual authority and closeness to Allah.
151. Zuhd : Asceticism; detachment from worldly pleasures.
152. witnessing : Mushahada; spiritual vision or contemplation of the divine.
153. Pole : Qutb; the spiritual axis or highest saint in the Sufi hierarchy.
154. Ahmad : One of the Prophet's names, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
155. al-Isrā' : The Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem.
156. al-ḥadīth al-qudsī : A sacred saying attributed to God but not part of the Quran.
157. rūḥ al-sirr : The spirit of the secret; a Sufi term for the innermost spiritual essence.
158. al-Sharīʿa : Islamic law derived from the Quran and Sunnah.
159. Sidrat al-Muntahā : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, a celestial tree marking the end of the seventh heaven.
160. al-ṣafīḥ al-aʿlā : The highest heaven or the supreme celestial realm.
161. mulūk al-arwāḥ al-rūḥiyya : Kings of spiritual souls; a reference to high-ranking angelic or spiritual beings.
162. al-Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet during the Night Journey.
163. Rāma : A place near Mecca, possibly a variant of 'Rām' or 'Rāmi'.
164. Ṭība : A name for Medina, meaning 'good' or 'pleasant'.
165. Barāma : A place name, possibly a variant of 'Barām' or 'Barāmi'.
166. al-Naqā : A sandy hill or dune; a place name near Medina.
167. Tihāma : The coastal region of western Arabia including Mecca.
168. al-Isrā' : The Night Journey; see note 1.
169. al-Ghawr : The lowland region of Arabia, often referring to the area around Mecca.
170. al-maʿālī : Lofty stations or high spiritual ranks.
171. laṭāʾif al-maʿānī : Subtle meanings; a Sufi term for esoteric spiritual insights.
172. asrār al-muṣāfāt : Secrets of purification; a Sufi term for the mysteries of spiritual refinement.
173. shawārid al-nufūs al-abiyya : Refractory or rebellious souls; those resistant to spiritual submission.
174. raqāʾiq al-ʿulūm : Subtle sciences; esoteric or spiritual knowledge.
175. samadani : Relating to al-Samad (the Eternal, the Self-Sufficient), a divine attribute; here it denotes a spiritual opening that reflects the quality of divine self-sufficiency.
176. Kawthar : A river in Paradise granted to the Prophet Muhammad; also the name of Sura 108 in the Quran.
177. rahmani : Relating to al-Rahman (the Most Merciful), a divine attribute; here it signifies a secret or flow of mercy.
178. the Dominant : Translation of al-Muhaymin, one of the names of Allah, meaning the Watcher, the Guardian, the Dominant.
179. abundant pool : Al-Hawd al-Mawrud, the celestial pool of the Prophet Muhammad from which his followers will drink on the Day of Resurrection.
180. Buraq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey (Isra') from Mecca to Jerusalem.
181. barzakh : An intermediate state or barrier between this world and the next; here it refers to the highest realm of the barzakh.
182. Mi'raj : The Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad through the heavens to the presence of Allah.
183. Rafraf : A celestial couch or vehicle that carried the Prophet during the final stage of the Ascension.
184. qibla : The direction of prayer for Muslims, towards the Kaaba in Mecca; here used metaphorically as the focal point of faith.
185. Ahmad : Another name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
186. hadith : A report of the sayings, actions, or approvals of the Prophet Muhammad.
187. walī : A saint or friend of God, often referring to a high-ranking spiritual figure.
188. Qāb Qawsayn : Literally 'the distance of two bows' or closer, a Quranic reference (53:9) to the Prophet Muhammad's proximity to God during the Mi'raj (Ascension).
189. nabī : Prophet, here referring to Muhammad.
190. Jibrīl : The archangel Gabriel, who conveyed revelation to the prophets.
191. Malakūt : The angelic realm or dominion, a spiritual world in Islamic cosmology.
192. Jabarūt : The realm of divine power and might, a higher spiritual plane.
193. al-Ṣādiq al-Maṣdūq : The Truthful and Verified, a title for the Prophet Muhammad.
194. Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey (Isra') and Ascension (Mi'raj).
195. مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ : Master of the Day of Judgment, a phrase from Surah al-Fatiha (1:4).
196. وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ : Nor of those who go astray, the final phrase of Surah al-Fatiha (1:7).
197. عَالَمُ الْمُلْكِ وَالْمَلَكُوتِ : The realms of dominion and sovereignty; in Islamic cosmology, 'mulk' refers to the physical world and 'malakut' to the spiritual or angelic realm.
198. وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ : Quran 21:107: 'And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.'
199. إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ : Quran 48:1-2: 'Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory, that God may forgive you...'
200. نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ : Quran 15:49: 'Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful.'
201. سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا : Quran 17:1: 'Exalted is He who took His servant by night,' referring to the Night Journey (Isra').
202. تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ : Quran 23:14: 'Blessed is God, the best of creators.'
203. طه مَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى : Quran 20:1-2: 'Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Quran to you to cause you distress.'
204. وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى : Quran 93:5: 'And your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied.'
205. مَاءِ السَّلْسَبِيلِ : Water of Salsabil, a spring in Paradise mentioned in Quran 76:18.
206. رِضْوَانُ : Ridwan, the angel keeper of Paradise.
207. الْحُورَ الْعِينَ : Houris, the beautiful companions of Paradise described in the Quran.
208. ḥūr : Houris: beautiful, pure companions in Paradise, often described as wide-eyed maidens.
209. Aḥmad : Ahmad: one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
210. Hāshim : Hashim: the clan of the Prophet Muhammad, from the tribe of Quraysh.
211. āyāt : Signs: miracles or indications of prophethood, such as the splitting of the moon or the light seen before his birth.
212. asrā : Made him journey by night: refers to the Isra', the night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem.
213. al-ḥaḍrat al-ʿulyā : The highest presence: the divine presence or the highest heaven.
214. al-ṭibāq al-sabʿ : The seven heavens: the seven celestial spheres or layers of heaven.
215. awliyā' : Intimate friends: saints or friends of God, those close to Him.
216. al-Burāq : Buraq: a mythical steed, often depicted as a white animal smaller than a mule but larger than a donkey, with wings, that carried the Prophet during the Isra' and Mi'raj.
217. ʿIlliyyīn : 'Illiyin: the highest place in Paradise, the abode of the righteous.
218. qāba qawsayn : Two bow-lengths: a Qur'anic phrase (53:9) indicating the closeness of the Prophet to God during the Mi'raj.
219. al-ʿArsh : The Throne: the throne of God, the greatest of His creations.
220. al-Kursī : The Footstool: the footstool of God, often interpreted as the seat of His dominion.
221. al-Lawḥ : The Tablet: the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ) on which all destinies are written.
222. al-Qalam : The Pen: the Pen with which God writes on the Preserved Tablet.
223. Khātam al-Nabiyyīn : Seal of the Prophets: a title of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning the last and final prophet.
224. al-Amīn : The trustworthy one: a title of the angel Gabriel, meaning the faithful spirit.
225. al-fiṭra : Natural disposition: the innate, primordial nature of humans created by God, often associated with Islam.
226. al-Aqṣā : The Aqsa: the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.
227. rakʿa : Rak'a: a unit of Islamic prayer, consisting of standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting.
228. ḥaqq al-yaqīn : Truth of certainty: the highest level of certainty, direct experiential knowledge.
229. al-Ḥijr : Hijr: a semicircular area adjacent to the Kaaba in Mecca, also known as the Hijr Ismail.
230. Miʿrāj : Mi'raj: the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven, often combined with the Isra' (night journey).
231. mihrab : A niche in a mosque indicating the direction of prayer (qibla).
232. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab : The second Caliph of Islam (r. 634–644 CE), known for his justice and expansion of the Islamic state.
233. Zakariyya : Zechariah, a prophet in Islam, father of John the Baptist (Yahya).
234. Yahya : John the Baptist, a prophet in Islam.
235. 'Isa : Jesus, a prophet in Islam.
236. Malikis : Followers of the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence, one of the four Sunni schools.
237. Maghribis : People from the Maghreb (Northwest Africa), often referring to Muslims from that region.
238. al-Fakhriyya : A madrasa (Islamic school) named after its founder or patron.
239. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Habib : A 9th-century Andalusian scholar and historian (d. 853 CE).
240. Cistern of Sulayman : A well or cistern attributed to the prophet Solomon (Sulayman).
241. Ka'b al-Ahbar : A Jewish convert to Islam and a prominent transmitter of Isra'iliyyat (traditions from Jewish sources) in early Islam (d. 652 CE).
242. Sharik ibn Khamasha al-Numayri : A companion of the Prophet Muhammad, known for this miraculous story.
243. peach leaf : The Arabic word 'durraqayn' refers to peaches.
244. Aqsa Mosque : The third holiest site in Islam, located in Jerusalem.
245. noble Rock : The Foundation Stone (Sakhrah) inside the Dome of the Rock, believed to be the site of the Prophet's ascension to heaven.
246. Pleiades : A star cluster (Thurayya in Arabic), used metaphorically for height.
247. Gemini : A constellation (Jawza' in Arabic), used metaphorically for celestial height.
248. Spica : A bright star (Simak in Arabic), used metaphorically for height.
249. core of the heart : A metaphorical expression meaning the essence or innermost part.
250. Tustar : A city in Iran (modern Shushtar) known for its brocade textiles.
251. Shams al-Din al-Kurki : A scholar, possibly from the Kurk region or a family name.
252. qintar : A unit of weight, varying by region; here Damascene qintar is about 180 kg.
253. Mu'mini : A standard of weight, possibly referring to a specific measure used in the Mamluk period.
254. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan : The fifth Umayyad Caliph (r. 685–705 CE), who built the Dome of the Rock.
255. mithqal : A unit of weight for gold, approximately 4.25 grams.
256. qibla : The direction of prayer towards Mecca.
257. Sidrat al-Muntaha : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, a celestial tree marking the end of the seventh heaven, beyond which no creation can pass; the site of the Prophet's ascension.
258. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq : The first Caliph of Islam, known for his unwavering faith and confirmation of the Prophet's Night Journey.
259. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab : The second Caliph, under whose rule Jerusalem was conquered in 637 CE; known for his justice and strength.
260. 'Uthman ibn 'Affan : The third Caliph, known as 'Dhul-Nurayn' (Possessor of Two Lights) for marrying two daughters of the Prophet; compiled the Qur'an.
261. 'Ali ibn Abi Talib : The fourth Caliph and cousin of the Prophet; known for his bravery and knowledge.
262. qibla : The direction of prayer; initially toward Jerusalem, later changed to Mecca.
263. first of the two qiblas : Jerusalem was the first direction of prayer in Islam before the Kaaba.
264. second of the two mosques : The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second holiest mosque after the Kaaba in Mecca.
265. third of the two sanctuaries : Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina.
266. Badr-like events : Referring to the Battle of Badr, the first major battle in Islam, symbolizing divine victory.
267. Siddiq-like determinations : Determinations like those of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, known for his decisive actions.
268. 'Umar-like conquests : Conquests like those of Caliph 'Umar, who expanded the Islamic empire.
269. 'Uthman-like armies : Armies like those of Caliph 'Uthman, who continued military campaigns.
270. al-Qadisiyya : The Battle of al-Qadisiyya (636 CE) where Muslims defeated the Sassanid Empire.
271. Yarmouk : The Battle of Yarmouk (636 CE) where Muslims defeated the Byzantine Empire.
272. Khalid-like attacks : Attacks like those of Khalid ibn al-Walid, a renowned Muslim general.
273. Joshua : Joshua (Yusha' ibn Nun), a prophet who conquered Jerusalem; tradition holds that Allah stopped the sun for him to complete the conquest.
274. al-bayt : The House; here referring to the Holy Land or the sacred territory that the Israelites were commanded to enter.
275. al-tīh : The wandering; the desert in which the Israelites wandered for forty years as punishment.
276. al-malā'ika al-muqarrabūn : The near-stationed angels; the highest-ranking angels who are closest to Allah.
277. al-tathlīth : Trinitarianism; the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
278. al-hawā : Passion; caprice; base desires.
279. Qur'an 8:10 : Reference to the Quranic verse: 'And victory is only from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise.'
280. Qur'an 16:92 : Reference to the Quranic verse: 'And do not be like she who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong...'
281. Qur'an 7:175 : Reference to the Quranic verse about the one who was given signs but stripped himself of them.
282. al-mufassirūn : The commentators; scholars who interpret the Quran.
283. Qur'an 17:1 : The verse about the Night Journey (Isra').
284. subḥāna : An exclamation meaning 'Glory be to' or 'Exalted is'; used to declare Allah's transcendence.
285. Bayt al-Maqdis : Jerusalem; literally 'the Holy House'.
286. al-Shām : Greater Syria; the Levant region including modern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine.
287. qibla : The direction of prayer; for Muslims, towards the Kaaba in Mecca.
288. al-Aqṣā : The Farthest; referring to al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.
289. Īliyā' : A name for Jerusalem, derived from the Roman name Aelia Capitolina.
290. al-quds : Holiness; purity.
291. Yūshalam : Jerusalem; from Hebrew Yerushalayim.
292. Ṣihyūn : Zion; a hill in Jerusalem.
293. al-Zaytūn : The Olive; a name for the mosque of Jerusalem.
294. Qur'an 5:21 : The verse: 'O my people, enter the holy land which Allah has written for you.'
295. Qur'an 21:71 : The verse: 'And We saved him and Lot to the land which We have blessed for the worlds.'
296. al-ṣakhra : The Rock; the Foundation Stone in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
297. Qur'an 21:105 : The verse: 'Indeed, the earth will be inherited by My righteous servants.'
298. Qur'an 23:50 : The verse: 'And We sheltered them to a hill of settled ground and flowing water.'
299. Qur'an 50:41 : The verse: 'And listen on the Day when the caller will call from a near place.'
300. Qur'an 57:13 : The verse about the wall between the believers and hypocrites.
301. ʿālam al-ghayb : The unseen world; the realm of spiritual realities beyond sensory perception.
302. al-sirr : The secret; a Sufi term for the innermost spiritual mystery or divine secret.
303. Aḥmad : One of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
304. Bayt al-Maqdis : Jerusalem; literally 'the Holy House', referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
305. tarāʾib : Breasts or chests; here metaphorically meaning 'parts' or 'portions'.
306. al-Shām : Greater Syria; a historical region including modern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine.
307. ṣāḥib al-shāma : Companion of the mole; referring to a physical mark on the Prophet Muhammad.
308. ṣāḥib al-ʿallāma : Companion of the mark; another reference to a distinctive sign.
309. Muʿādh ibn Jabal : A prominent companion of the Prophet Muhammad, known for his knowledge of Islamic law.
310. murābiṭūn : Those stationed at frontiers; warriors guarding the borders of Islam.
311. al-qiblatayn : The two directions of prayer; originally Jerusalem and later Mecca.
312. al-Ṣakhra : The Rock; the Foundation Stone in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
313. al-Silsila : The Chain; a place near the Rock where a chain is said to have hung for judgment.
314. al-awwāh : The oft-returning; one who frequently turns to God in repentance and supplication.
315. Umm Salama : One of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad, known for narrating many hadiths.
316. talbiya : The proclamation made by pilgrims during Hajj or 'Umra, saying 'Labbayk'.
317. al-Masjid al-Aqṣā : The Farthest Mosque; the entire sanctuary in Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock.
318. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb : The second Caliph of Islam, known for his justice and conquest of Jerusalem.
319. ʿAbd Allāh : Ibn 'Umar; a companion and son of 'Umar, known for his piety and knowledge.
320. Sayḥān : The Syr Darya river; traditionally identified as one of the four rivers of Paradise.
321. Jayḥān : The Amu Darya river; another of the four rivers of Paradise.
322. al-Kaʿba : The sacred cube-shaped building in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam.
323. al-Masjid : The Mosque; likely referring to the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
324. yatanāwā : A verb meaning 'seizes' or 'takes hold of', possibly referring to a spiritual or punitive action.
325. Sunnah : The practices and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, considered exemplary for Muslims.
326. Ḥawḍ : The Basin (or Pond) of the Prophet Muhammad in Paradise, from which the faithful will drink on the Day of Resurrection.
327. al-Masjid al-Aqṣā : The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.
328. Bayt al-Maqdis : Jerusalem, often referred to as the Holy House or the Sacred House.
329. ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar : A companion of the Prophet Muhammad and a prominent narrator of hadith.
330. al-Ḥaram al-Muḥarram : The Sacred Sanctuary, referring to the area around the Kaaba in Mecca.
331. al-Ḍaḥḥāk : A narrator or authority mentioned in the text, possibly al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim.
332. Mu'adhdhinūn : Muezzins, those who call the faithful to prayer (adhan).
333. al-Masjid al-Ḥarām : The Sacred Mosque in Mecca, surrounding the Kaaba.
334. Dirham : A silver coin, a unit of currency in early Islamic times.
335. Āsiya : Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh who believed in Moses and is revered as a righteous woman in Islam.
336. Maryam bint ʿImrān : Mary, the mother of Jesus, daughter of Imran, highly honored in Islam.
337. al-Kaʿba : The Kaaba, the cube-shaped building in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam.
338. Ḥajj : The annual pilgrimage to Mecca, a mandatory religious duty for Muslims.
339. ʿUmra : The lesser pilgrimage to Mecca, performed at any time of the year.
340. Abū Hurayra : A companion of the Prophet Muhammad and the most prolific narrator of hadith.
341. bāb : Door; a spiritual portal of mercy and blessings.
342. Bayt al-Maqdis : The Holy House; Jerusalem, specifically the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
343. Ṣirāṭ : The bridge over Hell that all must cross on Judgment Day.
344. awliyā' : Friends of Allah; saints.
345. Masjid al-Ḥarām : The Sacred Mosque in Mecca, containing the Kaaba.
346. masjidī : My mosque; the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
347. Iliyā' : Aelia Capitolina; the Roman name for Jerusalem.
348. al-Muqaddis : The Holy; one of Allah's names.
349. al-Muqaddasa : The Holy; feminine form referring to Jerusalem.
350. Sulaymān : Solomon, son of David, a prophet and king.
351. Dāwūd : David, a prophet and king.
352. Ḥannān : The Compassionate; one of Allah's names.
353. Mannān : The Benefactor; one of Allah's names.
354. Bayt al-Quds : Another name for Jerusalem, meaning 'House of Holiness'.
355. Jibrīl : Gabriel, the archangel who delivered revelation.
356. Ismā'īl : Ishmael, son of Abraham; here possibly a reference to the angel or a command.
357. al-Firdaws : The highest level of Paradise.
358. Mi'rāj : The heavenly ladder or ascension of the Prophet Muhammad.
359. al-Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet during the Night Journey.
360. khalīlī : My intimate friend; a term of endearment, also a reference to the Prophet Abraham (Khalīl Allāh).
361. al-khalīl : The Intimate Friend; a title of the Prophet Abraham (Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl).
362. ḥaram al-quds : The Sanctuary of Jerusalem; refers to the holy precinct of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
363. khalīl allāh : Friend of God; title of the Prophet Abraham.
364. miʿrāj : The Ascension; the Prophet Muhammad's night journey to heaven from the Rock in Jerusalem.
365. al-ṣakhra : The Rock; the Foundation Stone in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, from which the Prophet ascended.
366. quṭb : Pole; a spiritual axis or highest saint in Sufi hierarchy.
367. ʿayn al-aʿyān : Eye of the Eyes; a superlative expression referring to the Prophet Muhammad as the essence of all beings.
368. jibrīl : Gabriel; the archangel who accompanied the Prophet during the Ascension.
369. al-Ṣakhrah : The Rock in Jerusalem, believed to be the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven during the Night Journey (Isra' and Mi'raj).
370. al-Furqān : The Criterion, a name for the Qur'an, distinguishing truth from falsehood.
371. al-Rūḥ wa al-Rayḥān : Spirit and basil; a phrase denoting divine mercy and fragrance, often used in Islamic eschatology.
372. Ṭaybah : A name for Medina, meaning 'good' or 'pleasant'; also a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
373. Aḥmad : A name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
374. al-Miʿrāj : The Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven, following the Night Journey from Mecca to Jerusalem.
375. Mi'raj : The ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven.
376. wilaya rabbaniyya : Divine sainthood or closeness to God.
377. Furqan : The Criterion, a name for the Quran.
378. sirr al-lahutiyya : The secret of divinity; a Sufi term for the divine essence.
379. wasila : The means of nearness to God; a high station in Paradise.
380. al-hadratayn : The two presences: the divine presence and the prophetic presence.
381. al-qiblatayn : The two qiblas: Jerusalem and Mecca.
382. Quran 53:9 : Reference to the Prophet's proximity to God during the Mi'raj.
383. siddiqiyya 'uzma : The supreme veracity; a high spiritual rank.
384. al-imamayn : The two imams: Abu Bakr and 'Umar, or the two guides.
385. al-futuhat al-makkiyya al-marniyya : Meccan and Marinian openings; possibly referring to spiritual revelations.
386. al-tajalliyat al-masfuqiyya : Manifestations of the Masfuqiyya; possibly a Sufi term.
387. al-basha'ir al-sa'riyya : Glad tidings of the Sa'riyya; possibly a reference to a spiritual station.
388. Mi'raj : The celestial ladder or ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven, often referring to the Night Journey (Isra' and Mi'raj).
389. Ahmadi : Derived from Ahmad, one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, indicating his praiseworthy qualities.
390. Aqsa Mosque : The farthest mosque, located in Jerusalem, where the Prophet Muhammad led the prophets in prayer during the Night Journey.
391. al-khitām : The seal; a term for the Prophet Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets.
392. yāqūtat al-niẓām : The ruby of the order; a metaphorical title for the Prophet Muhammad as the central jewel of the prophetic chain.
393. sayyid al-anām : Master of Mankind; a title for the Prophet Muhammad.
394. Ṭayyibah wa al-Ḥaram : Medina (the pure) and the Sacred Sanctuary (Mecca).
395. jannat al-maʿārif wa al-ʿawārif : Garden of gnosis and spiritual gifts; a Sufi concept of divine knowledge and mystical graces.
396. nāmūs al-sirr al-lāhūtī : The angel of the divine secret; likely referring to the Angel Gabriel as the bearer of divine revelation.
397. al-fatūḥāt al-ghizār : Abundant openings; Sufi term for divine illuminations and spiritual conquests.
398. al-durrah al-bayḍāʾ : The White Pearl; a symbol of the primordial light of Muhammad or the station of the Prophet in the divine presence.
399. al-ḥaḍrah al-saniyyah al-mubārakah al-mashhad wa al-mazār : The sublime, blessed presence of the witnessed and the visited; refers to the Prophet's station in the divine presence.
400. sayyid al-abrār : Master of the Pious; a title for the Prophet Muhammad.
401. al-jahābidhah al-akhbār : The discerning transmitters; refers to the Companions who were expert narrators of hadith.
402. al-muhājirīn wa al-anṣār : The Emigrants and Helpers; the early Muslims who migrated from Mecca and those who aided them in Medina.
403. al-miʿrāj : The Ascension; the Prophet Muhammad's night journey to heaven.
404. al-burāq : The steed that carried the Prophet during the Night Journey (Isra').
405. mi'raj : The Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad through the heavens to the Divine Presence.
406. qutb : Spiritual axis or pole; a high-ranking saint in Sufism.
407. Kaaba : The sacred cube-shaped building in Mecca, direction of prayer; here used metaphorically as a focal point.
408. dhat : The Divine Essence; the ultimate reality of God.
409. ahwal wa maqamat : Spiritual states and stations on the Sufi path.
410. lawh al-mahw wa al-thabat : The Tablet of Effacement and Establishment; a concept in Islamic theology referring to the divine decree.
411. Mi'raj : The Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad through the heavens to the presence of Allah.
412. Ahmadine : Relating to Ahmad, another name of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
413. overflowing pool : Al-Kawthar, a river or pool in Paradise granted to the Prophet Muhammad.
414. Farthest Mosque : Al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, the destination of the Night Journey (Isra').
415. malakutic : Relating to Malakut, the angelic or spiritual realm of dominion.
416. Jibril : The archangel Gabriel, who accompanied the Prophet during the Ascension.
417. cherubim : A class of high-ranking angels, often associated with nearness to Allah.
418. houris : Pure, beautiful companions in Paradise, promised to the righteous.
419. mā zāgha al-baṣaru wa-mā ṭaghā : Quranic verse (53:17) referring to the Prophet Muhammad's vision during the Mi'raj (Ascension), indicating his sight did not deviate or transgress.
420. Sidrat al-Muntahā : The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, a celestial tree marking the end of what angels and creatures can know, beyond which lies the Divine Presence.
421. Kawthar : A river in Paradise, meaning 'abundance,' granted to the Prophet Muhammad.
422. maḥārīb : Prayer niches (plural of miḥrāb), indicating places of worship or spiritual stations.
423. Jabarūt : The realm of Divine Power and Majesty, one of the spiritual worlds in Sufi cosmology.
424. Raḥmūt : The realm of Divine Mercy, often associated with the attribute of compassion.
425. ḥunafā : Plural of ḥanīf, meaning those who are upright and devoted to monotheism, following the primordial religion of Abraham.
426. qahwa : Wine, used metaphorically in Sufi poetry for divine love or spiritual intoxication.
427. iṭlāq : Absoluteness or unconditioned state, referring to the unqualified nature of divine reality.
428. Aḥadiyya : Oneness, the level of Divine Unity that transcends all multiplicity.
429. jamʿ al-jamʿ : The gathering of gathering, a Sufi term for the highest state of spiritual union where distinctions vanish.
430. ghayb al-ghuyūb : The Unseen of the Unseen, the most hidden aspect of the Divine Essence.
431. al-Ṣamad : The Eternal, a Divine Name meaning the Self-Sufficient, upon whom all depend.
432. al-Ḥijāb al-Aʿẓam : The Greatest Veil, a barrier between the Divine Presence and creation, often associated with the station of Gabriel.
433. Wa mā minnā illā lahu maqāmun maʿlūm : Quranic verse (37:164) spoken by angels, indicating each has a known station.
434. barzakh : Isthmus or intermediary realm, in Sufism the perfect human as the locus of divine manifestation.
435. Hādhā ʿaṭāʾunā fa-mnun aw amsik bi-ghayri ḥisāb : Quranic verse (38:39) addressed to Prophet Solomon, indicating absolute authority over divine gifts.
436. Fa-awḥā ilā ʿabdihi mā awḥā : Quranic verse (53:10) referring to the revelation given to the Prophet Muhammad during the Mi'raj.
437. awḥā : Revealed; refers to divine revelation, often through angel Gabriel.
438. Ḥabīb : Beloved; a title of Prophet Muhammad, indicating his special status with Allah.
439. Qur'an 93:5 : Verse promising the Prophet satisfaction and reward in the afterlife.
440. ḥaḍrat al-mawlawiyya : Lordly Presence; refers to the divine presence of Allah.
441. al-asnā : The highest; refers to the highest station or heaven.
442. qāba qawsayn aw adnā : Two bow-lengths or nearer; Qur'anic phrase (53:9) describing the Prophet's proximity to Allah during the Mi'raj.
443. al-ṣiddīqiyya al-ʿuẓmā : The supreme veracity; a high spiritual rank of truthfulness and closeness to Allah.
444. al-shafāʿa al-kubrā : The great intercession; the Prophet's intercession for believers on Judgment Day.
445. Sūrat al-Najm : Chapter 53 of the Qur'an, 'The Star', which describes the Prophet's ascension.
446. Qur'an 53:8-9 : Verses describing the Prophet's closeness to Allah during the Mi'raj.
447. al-Burāq : A mythical steed that carried the Prophet during the Night Journey (Isra').
448. Ṭāhā : One of the Prophet Muhammad's names, from Qur'an 20:1.
449. Aḥmad : Another name of Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
450. Umm al-Kitāb : Mother of the Book; the heavenly archetype of all scriptures, often identified with the Preserved Tablet.
451. al-Khalīl : The Friend; title of Prophet Abraham, who is called Khalil Allah (Friend of Allah).
452. Ridwan : The angel appointed as the keeper of Paradise.
453. Malik : The angel appointed as the keeper of Hell.
454. Isma'il : The angel in charge of the lowest heaven.
455. nine angels of the lower world : Refers to the nine angels who guard the gates of the seven heavens and the two earths, or the nine spheres.
456. angel of the right hand : The angel who records good deeds.
457. angel of the left hand : The angel who records evil deeds.
458. angel of questioning : The angel Munkar who questions the dead in the grave.
459. companion of reckoning : The angel responsible for the reckoning on the Day of Judgment.
460. two bow-lengths : Reference to Quran 53:9, describing the Prophet's proximity to Allah during the Mi'raj.
461. son of 'Imran : Refers to Moses (Musa), son of 'Imran.
462. You will not see Me : Reference to Quran 7:143, where Moses is told he cannot see Allah.
463. Ahmadine : Pertaining to Ahmad, another name of Prophet Muhammad.
464. Rūḥ al-Arwāḥ : Spirit of Spirits: a Sufi term referring to the Prophet Muhammad as the highest spiritual reality from which all other spirits emanate.
465. Miʿrāj : Night Journey: the Prophet Muhammad's ascension to heaven.
466. Rūḥ al-Qudus : Holy Spirit: often identified with the Angel Gabriel in Islamic tradition.
467. Ḥadīth Qudsī : Sacred hadith: a saying of the Prophet where the meaning is from God but the wording is from the Prophet.
468. Rūḥ al-Amr : Spirit of Command: a spiritual reality associated with the divine command (amr).
469. Rūḥ al-Sirr : Spirit of the Secret: a subtle spiritual faculty in Sufism.
470. Muqarrabūn : Near ones: angels or saints who are brought near to God.
471. Rūḥ al-Ḥaqq : Spirit of Truth: a name for the Angel Gabriel or a spiritual reality.
472. Furqān : Criterion: a name for the Quran, meaning that which distinguishes truth from falsehood.
473. Muṣṭafawī : Mustafawi: pertaining to al-Mustafa, 'the Chosen One,' a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
474. Mawlawī : Mawlawi: pertaining to the master (mawlā), here referring to the Prophet.
475. al-Rūḥ al-Aʿẓam : The Greatest Spirit: a high angelic being, sometimes identified with the Angel Gabriel or the Holy Spirit.
476. Isrāfīl : Israfil: the angel who blows the trumpet on the Day of Resurrection.
477. Mīkāʾīl : Mika'il: the angel responsible for providing sustenance.
478. ʿAzrāʾīl : Azra'il: the angel of death.
479. Malak al-Ḥijāb : Angel of the Veil: an angel associated with the divine veil.
480. Jibrīl : Jibril: the Angel Gabriel, the messenger angel.
481. Hawdaj : Howdah: a litter carried by a camel or elephant, used for travel.
482. Jibrīl : The archangel Gabriel, the angel of revelation in Islam.
483. Khātam al-Anbiyā' : The Seal of the Prophets, a title for Prophet Muhammad, indicating he is the last prophet.
484. Isrā' : The Night Journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and then to the heavens.
485. Futūḥāt : Spiritual openings or illuminations granted by God to the saints.
486. ‘Iṣma : Infallibility or divine protection from sin, attributed to prophets.
487. Burāq : The mythical steed that carried Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey.
488. Turba : The tomb of Prophet Muhammad in Medina.
489. Aḥmadī : Pertaining to Ahmad, another name of Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
490. Kawthar : A river in Paradise, also a name of a chapter in the Quran.
491. Sab‘ shidād : The seven heavens, often described as strong or firm.
492. Mulk wa Malakūt : The physical and spiritual realms; the kingdom and the dominion.
493. Jabarūt wa Rahamūt : The realms of divine omnipotence and mercy.
494. al-Isrā' : The Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem, and then his ascension to the heavens.
495. dhāt : Essence or self; here referring to the Prophet's noble person.
496. al-arwāḥ al-rūḥāniyya : Spiritual souls or angelic beings; may refer to angels or pure spirits.
497. al-kawnayn : The two worlds: this world and the Hereafter, or the physical and spiritual realms.
498. al-thaqalayn : The two weighty beings: humans and jinn.
499. al-ḥūr : Houris; beautiful, pure beings in Paradise.
500. al-Kawthar : A river in Paradise, also the name of a chapter in the Quran.
501. al-malakūtī : Pertaining to the angelic realm or the dominion of the unseen.
502. maqām : Station or spiritual rank; here referring to the Prophet's exalted station.
503. al-mawāhib al-ladunniyya : Divine gifts or graces bestowed directly from God, without intermediary.
504. tadallā : He descended or drew near; a reference to Quran 53:8 describing the Prophet's proximity to God.
505. al-Khalīl : The Intimate Friend; a title of Prophet Abraham.
506. al-Kalīm : The Speaker; a title of Prophet Moses, who spoke directly to God.
507. ḥā' wa bā' : The Arabic letters Ha and Ba; possibly a reference to the word 'ḥabīb' (beloved) or a mystical symbol.
508. Ṭāhā : One of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, also the title of a Quranic chapter.
509. lan tarānī : "You shall not see Me" (Quran 7:143), said by God to Moses when he asked to see Him.
510. al-sab' al-mathānī : The seven oft-repeated verses; usually refers to Surat al-Fatiha.
511. al-Lawthar : A term of uncertain meaning; possibly a variant of 'al-Kawthar' or a special gift.
512. al-Muqḥamāt : A term referring to certain verses or prayers that are 'forced' or 'compelled' in meaning; here it likely refers to specific supplications or verses that are granted to the Prophet's community.
513. al-Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey (Isrā') from Mecca to Jerusalem.
514. Abū Jahl : A prominent opponent of the Prophet Muhammad in Mecca, known for his hostility and mockery of Islam.
515. Bayt al-Maqdis : The Holy House, referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
516. Al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī : A Meccan leader who initially opposed the Prophet but later provided protection; here he is depicted as a skeptic.
517. al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā : Two pre-Islamic Arabian goddesses worshipped by the Quraysh.
518. al-Bayt al-ʿAtīq : The Ancient House, referring to the Kaaba in Mecca.
519. al-Ṣiddīq : A title meaning 'the Truthful' or 'the Verifier,' given to Abū Bakr for his unwavering belief in the Prophet's Night Journey.
520. al-ʿulūm al-ladunniyya : Divine or esoteric knowledge granted directly by God to His saints, often associated with Sufi gnosis.
521. Bayt al-Maqdis : Jerusalem, specifically the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, considered the first qibla and the third holiest site in Islam.
522. al-Rawḥāʾ : A place between Mecca and Medina, about 80 km from Mecca.
523. al-Abwāʾ : A place between Mecca and Medina, near the coast, about 190 km from Mecca.
524. al-Burāq : The mythical steed that carried the Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey (Isra') from Mecca to Jerusalem.
525. al-Masjid al-Aqṣā : The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the destination of the Prophet's Night Journey.
526. ʿaẓīm al-qaryatayn : Literally 'the great one of the two towns,' likely referring to the leader of Mecca and Ta'if, or possibly the Quraysh leaders.
527. Abū Jahl : A prominent opponent of the Prophet Muhammad from the Quraysh tribe, known for his hostility.
528. ibn al-shammin min Muḍar : Literally 'son of the scarred one of Mudar,' a reference to the Prophet's lineage; 'al-shammin' may refer to a notable ancestor with a scar.
529. falak al-ajsām : The sphere of bodies; refers to the physical realm or the celestial spheres in Islamic cosmology.
530. Isrā' : The Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem.
531. Jibrīl : The archangel Gabriel, who conveyed revelation to the prophets.
532. al-ufuq al-mubīn : The clear horizon; a Qur'anic term (81:23) referring to the place where Gabriel was seen.
533. al-dunūw wa al-tadallī : Drawing near and descending; refers to the Prophet's proximity to God during the Ascension (Qur'an 53:8-9).
534. isqāṭ al-ṣuwar wa al-khalq : The casting of forms and creation; a Sufi concept referring to the primordial state before individual forms.
535. kull wāḥid : Each one; likely refers to each heaven or sphere that the Prophet encountered.
536. al-ufuq al-a'lā : The highest horizon; another reference to the place of Gabriel's appearance (Qur'an 53:7).
537. malakūt : The dominion or spiritual realm; in Sufism, the intermediate world between the physical and the divine.
538. al-Mi'rāj : The Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad through the heavens.