There and Back Again
WITHIN Islamic tradition, many of those who become familiar with the miracles that took place during the life of the Prophet have themselves sought to emulate such phenomena. The two most popular miracles among those who seek union with the Divine are Muhammad’s miraculous night journey (Isra) and his ascension to heaven (Mi’raj). The Mi’raj texts are found in both the Qur’an and a wide range of hadiths, often involving both speculative mysticism and the high philosophical sciences.
What I find interesting about this tradition, is that prophetic religion first leads to mysticism and then opens up a portal that returns the seeker to the domain of prophetic religion itself. In other words, the deeds of the Prophet serve as an impetus for those who wish to become mystics and yet this very process is self-reinforcing - rather like a loop - in that everything leads back to the religious foundations.
Furthermore, it is the philosopher who finds himself inspired by Mi’raj literature to the extent that he decides to undertake a remarkable voyage that leads him down the path of mystical adventure. As Henry Corbin remarks:
“To the extent that this holds true, there is something in common between the vocation of the philosopher and that of the Prophet.”
If one examines the thought of the Persian thinker, Shihāb al-Dīn Abū al-Futūḥ Yaḥyā ibn Ḥabash ibn Amīrak al-Suhrawardī (1154–1191), the founder of the Illuminationist school, one finds that without a deep commitment to philosophy the religious wayfarer cannot even begin to experience mysticism and therefore spiritual realisation becomes an impossibility.
Clearly, Suhrawardī’s understanding of philosophy is not confined to the level of pure theory and only by opening himself to the possibility of gnosis (irfan) can the prospective adventurer acquire the divine wisdom of theosophia. Prophetic religion inspires the philosopher, results in mystical experience and then returns him to the religious core in a regenerated and invigorated fashion. Mysticism by way of philosophy is thus the ultimate fulfilment of prophetic religion.