The Prophet’s Ascension

Prominent among the popular narratives among Muslims of past centuries are accounts of the journey of the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and salutations) to the celestial and infernal realms and into the Divine Presence. A variety of such accounts were composed in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and other languages. They have been used to assert the superiority and finality of the Muhammadan Prophethood and the din of Islam; as a vehicle for doctrinal and ethical teachings; and also, in some cases at least, to promote the views of individual Muslim groups.

This collection of essays is divided into three parts: ‘The formation of Mi[raj narratives as missionary texts’; ‘The adaptation of Mi[raj narratives in esoteric and literary contexts’; and ‘The Mi[raj as performance and ritual’. As the editors point out in their introduction, in the subjects chosen and their treatment there has been a deliberate purpose of going beyond the geographical and linguistic boundaries that tend to delimit studies of this kind.