A comparative study of the Prophet's Ascension story in Khamsa Nizami with the Qur'an

Graduate Education Faculty - Department of Persian Literature

Dissertation for receiving the Master's degree (M.A)

Abstract

The ascension of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is one of the miraculous events of his blessed life that happened shortly before the Hijrah. This heavenly journey, which happened on one of the nights of Ramadan, is one of the most amazing events in the life of the Holy Messenger of God and the history of mankind, and it has always been discussed and analyzed since then, and it has been discussed in various interpretations of the Qur'an, including Surahs Isra and Najm. Ascension in Persian literature is one of the favorite topics of poets and has been mentioned in Persian poetry since the beginning of the fifth century. The amount of poets' attention to the Ascension is small until the sixth century, but in the sixth century, it attracted the attention of Sana'i and Khaqani, and after these two poets, attention to the Ascension reached its highest level in Panj Ganj Nizami. In the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), no event can be found that is so imaginative and suitable for the world of poets like Nizami. By choosing Meraj, Nizami remains in his ascetic world and responds to the poetic needs of his nature. This thesis aims to compare the story of the Prophet's ascension in Nizami's Khamsa with the Qur'an and to examine how much Nizami, as a Sunni believer in Ash'ari thought, has the Qur'anic discussion of Meraj in his verses and what differences and distinctions exist in his verses in relation to the story of Meraj.

Keywords: Qur'an ? Ascension, Muhammad (PBUH) ? Military Khamseh ? Ash'arites

First Chapter:

Research generalities

1-1 Introduction

"There is a difference in which year the captivity and ascension of the Messenger of God (PBUH) took place, and in general it happened in Makkah and before the emigration. Due to the fact that the verse mentioned in Surah Isra' and the verses of Surah Najm were all revealed in Makkah, and there is a difference in which year of the years before Hijrah. It is reported from Ibn Abbas that he said that it was in the second year of the Prophet's mission, as some have said: sixteen months after the Prophet's mission" (Majlesi, 1404: 269) Ascension is one of the most amazing events in the life of the Messenger of God (PBUH). It has happened and the proof of this surprise is the comments and words that have been said and written about it since the day of the realization of this event until today. A short look at the history of the life of the Prophet (PBUH) and the books of interpretation of the Holy Qur'an proves the truth of this claim. This incident is so surprising from the point of view of the human intellect that since the years of the Prophet's (PBUH) and Companions era, "some have turned to its interpretation and considered it to be a true dream that Muhammad (PBUH) saw" (Hamdani ? 1361: 396). Baraq, the description of which can also be read and heard from the words of the Messenger of God (pbuh): "I saw Baraq standing between Safa and Marwah, with a face made of the long ears of fog and a little of Esther, his face like a man's face, ears like the ears of an elephant, a mane like a horse's ears, feet like a camel's feet, a tail like a cow's tail, eyes like the stars of Venus, his back made of red rubies and his stomach made of green emeralds, his chest made of white pearls, two feathers with all kinds of jewels Maklal, on his back is a departure from the gold and silk of heaven" (Mibdi ? 1371: 484) and with surprising speed "every step he took was so many that his eyes were working" (Hamdani ? 1361: 392) then he goes to Jerusalem, a distance that the caravan covers for a month, there with a ladder that is lowered from the sky, accompanied by Gabriel to "Then Gabriel took my hand and brought me near the rock and I ascended to the top of the sky. I saw an ascension (ladder) in the sky, the like of which no one has seen anything on which the angels ascended to the sky, its origin is on the rock of Jerusalem and its head is connected to the sky, one side of it is red ruby ??and the other is green azure, the base is made of wire and the other is made of gold and the other is made of emerald.This incident is so surprising from the point of view of the human intellect that since the years of the Prophet's (PBUH) and Companions era, "some have turned to its interpretation and considered it to be a true dream that Muhammad (PBUH) saw" (Hamdani ? 1361: 396). Baraq, the description of which can also be read and heard from the words of the Messenger of God (pbuh): "I saw Baraq standing between Safa and Marwah, with a face made of the long ears of fog and a little of Esther, his face like a man's face, ears like the ears of an elephant, a mane like a horse's ears, feet like a camel's feet, a tail like a cow's tail, eyes like the stars of Venus, his back made of red rubies and his stomach made of green emeralds, his chest made of white pearls, two feathers with all kinds of jewels Maklal, on his back is a departure from the gold and silk of heaven" (Mibdi ? 1371: 484) and with surprising speed "every step he took was so many that his eyes were working" (Hamdani ? 1361: 392) then he goes to Jerusalem, a distance that the caravan covers for a month, there with a ladder that is lowered from the sky, accompanied by Gabriel to "Then Gabriel took my hand and brought me near the rock and I ascended to the top of the sky. I saw an ascension (ladder) in the sky, the like of which no one has seen anything on which the angels ascended to the sky, its origin is on the rock of Jerusalem and its head is connected to the sky, one side of it is red ruby ??and the other is green azure, the base is made of wire and the other is made of gold and the other is made of emerald. Yakut" (Isfra'eni ? 1374: 1236) Muhammad (pbuh) passes through the sky of the world and the angels take him hand in hand to the seventh heaven, he meets the prophets and talks with the angels until he is stopped by him in the Garden of Gabriel, and there he reaches such a position of closeness that is beyond the understanding, perception and description of humans. The greatness and wonder of this event is not surprising for humans in all ages, especially those times when scholars thought it was impossible to get to heaven. From that date until now, all efforts have been for mankind, especially Muslims, to gain a rational and humane understanding of this divine event, and this has opened the way for reflection and caused Meraj to find a mystical and artistic narrative in addition to its religious narrative. First, the verses that are somehow related to the story of the Ascension are classified, then they are explained according to the Quranic sources and sources, and the interpretations and references of the poems, then military poetry evidences and examples are mentioned under each topic. The references of the verses in this thesis are as follows: first the name of the poet's book and on the left side the page number of the book, and Quranic verses are given first, the name of the chapter and on the left side the number of the verse.

1-2 statement of the problem

A group of 6th century poets born in the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan, called him "the god of Persian poetry" "The military age is the age of blind hearts, narrow-mindedness, religious prejudices and strictures, the fall of human-moral values ??and anti-rationalism." In order to get peace, poets give in to any praise and praise. As a pious and religious poet, he chooses seclusion and seclusion. He is not separated from people's pain. "His poems are far from flattery and flattery. Like the majority of poets, he did not spend his life searching for praise and going from one court to another." (Zarin Koob, 1380: 22) He is one of the poets with style who had many followers. Among his famous works are Makhzan al-Asrar, Khosrow and Shirin, Laili and Majnoon, Seven Figures and Iskandarnameh. His deep familiarity with Islamic culture, which was influenced by the religious society of that time, has enriched his works with allusions to the life events of the prophets and religious issues. Nizami's devotion to the Prophet is such that at the beginning of all his works, the name of Muhammad (PBUH) is decorated with his works. Nizami adhered to the principles of Islamic Sharia and his deep familiarity with Islamic culture makes him consider the Prophet as a symbol of a perfect human being and an ideal guide and mentor. Ascension is one of the miracles of the great Prophet, which according to the Holy Quran took place under the shadow of his servitude. And Nizami also mentions this issue at the beginning of his verses, since this ascension is associated with the physical dimension of the Prophet, and adds to its value. As a Sunni, he has expressed his views in his verses by observing all moral principles.

1-3 research questions:

1- Considering that one of the most important theological topics is the discussion of the ascension of the Prophet, we want to know what image Nizami has of the story of the ascension as a Sunni?

2- Nizami in the ascension letters. What image and belief does Khamsa have about the discussion of the ascension of the Prophet in the Qur'an? 1-4 Importance and necessity of the research: The purpose of this research is to study and compare the story of the ascension of the Prophet in Nizami with the Qur'an and to what extent Nizami, the great sage of the 6th century, was familiar with religious teachings and Islamic mysticism as a Sunni and having Ash'ari thoughts, and what is his view on the story The ascension of the Prophet, which has a Quranic aspect, has been encountered. We want to know since this great poet, at the beginning of all his works, after the monotheism of the Exalted, deals with the Naat of the Prophet and his ascension, to what extent these thoughts and views are close to the Quran and Islamic culture. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the information of students and even intellectuals of the society, which unfortunately is very little in this field, by looking deeply in this study.