Muhammad's Night Journey - Heavens Two through Seven

Continuing with Muhammad's description of his supposed Night Journey from Humphrey Prideaux's Life of Mohamet...

Noah's Ark

"From the first heaven Muhammad said he ascended up into the second heaven which was a distance of five hundred years journey above the first. He determines this to be the distance of each of the seven heavens above the other. As in the first heaven the gates were opened for him, where at the entrance he met Noah who greatly rejoiced at the sight of Muhammad and recommended himself to his prayers. In this heaven, which was made of pure gold, Muhammad tells us he saw twice as many angels as in the former and among them one of such an extraordinary size that while standing in the second heaven, his head reached into the third.

"From the second heaven Muhammad ascended upwards into the third which was made of precious stones. At the entrance he met Abraham who also recommended himself to Muhammad’s prayers. In this third heaven Muhammad said he saw a vast many more angels than in the second heaven and among them another large angel of such phenomenal size that the distance between his two eyes was seventy thousand days’ journey, according to our rate of traveling here on earth.

"Here however Muhammad was off in his mathematics. The distance between a man’s eyes being in proportion to his height is one to seventy-two, therefore according to this rate, the height of this particular angel must have been fourteen thousand years' journey which is four times higher than all Muhammad’s seven heavens together. Therefore it is impossible such an angel could ever have stood within any one of them.

Muslim's believe the Night Journey
actually happened

"Nevertheless here is where Muhammad placed him and in his description tells us that this angel had before him a large table in which he was continually writing and blotting out. Muhammad asked the angel Gabriel what this large angel was doing and was told that this was the angel of death who continually writes into the table before him the names of all that are to be born and there computes the days of their life. When he finds they have completed the number of days assigned them, he blots them out, and that whoever has his name thus blotted out immediately dies.

"From there Muhammad ascended up into the fourth heaven which was made of emerald. At the entrance he met Joseph the son of Jacob who recommended himself to his prayers. In this heaven Muhammad saw a massively larger number of angels than in the former and among them another great angel, as high as from this fourth heaven to the fifth, who was continually weeping and making great lamentation and mourning. This, the angel Gabriel told him, was for the sins of men and the destruction which they brought upon themselves.

"From there Muhammad ascended into the fifth heaven which was made of adamite, where he found Moses who recommended himself to his prayers, and there also he saw a much greater number of angels than in the former heaven.

"From there he ascended up into the sixth heaven which was all of rubies, where he found John the Baptist who recommended himself to his prayers. And here Muhammad also saw the number of angels much increased beyond what he has seen in any of the former heavens.

Islamic Jesus with Quran

"From there he ascended up into the seventh heaven, which was made of all divine light, and here he found Jesus Christ where we see Muhammad now alters his style. For he says not that Jesus Christ recommended himself to his (Muhammad’s) prayers, but that he recommended himself to Jesus Christ, desiring him to pray for him, whereby he (Muhammad) acknowledges him (Jesus) certainly to be the greater. But it was Muhammad’s habit through the whole scene of his life’s imposture to flatter Christians on all occasions.

"In the seventh heaven he says he found a much greater number of angels than in all the other heavens together, and among them one extraordinary angel having seventy thousand heads, and in every head seventy thousand tongues, and every tongue uttering seventy thousand different voices at the same time with which he continued day and night incessantly praising God."

Next time we continue with Muhammad's visit to the Throne of God (Allah) and their conversation there.