Abstract
The present article discusses the theory at one time advanced by Ayatollah Hadi al-Mudarrisi (1945-) regarding the Prophet's night journey (isra') and ascension through the heavens (mi'raj) and outlined in his book al-Mi'raj: Rihlah fi 'Umq al-Fada' wa al-Zaman (The Mi'raj: A Journey into the Depths of Space and Time). In particular it focuses on al-Mudarrisi's novel understanding of the buraq, the riding animal on which Muhammad is said to have undertaken his miraculous journey and which al-Mudarrisi uses to solve many of the problems which arise when maintaining that the isra'/mi'raj was a transport of the body rather than being some kind of vision or dream. This is placed within the context of arguments, originally advanced over one thousand years ago, for and against corporeal journey and which draw from science and technology.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 373-396 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2011 |
Keywords
- Al-Mudarrisi
- Buraq
- Hadi
- Isra'
- Mi'raj