Table of Contents

Illustrations Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1. Muhammad's Night Journey in the Quran The Night Journey Verse Verses from the Chapter of the Overturning The Opening Verses of the Chapter of the Star The Appropriation of Terms and Phrases from the Quran The Heavenly Host Debate The Final Verses (Seals) of the Chapter of the Cow Passing References to the Ascension in the Quran 2. Orality and the Primitive Version of the Ibn 'Abbas Ascension Narrative Approaching Ibn 'Abbas and the Primitive Version Comparatively Analyzing the Primitive Version Authenticating and Dating the Circulation of the Primitive Version Echoes of Muqatil b. Sulayman's Commentary in the Primitive Version Tracing the Beginnings of the Primitive Version 3. Early Historical Descriptions of Muhammad's Journey From Quran and Oral Reports to Early Narrative History: Ibn Ishaq Ibn Ishaq's Account of the Prophet's Night Journey as Narrated by Ibn Hisham Ibn Ishaq's Account of the Heavenly Journey as Narrated by Ibn Hisham The Early Ascension Narrative as Presented in Ibn Sa'd's History The Night Journey as Narrated by Ibn Sa'd 4. Proto-Sh' Narratives of Heavenly Ascent The Ascension Experiences of Proto-Sh' "Extremists" Ascension-related Sayings in Saffar Qumm's Collection The Quran Commentary of Furat Kuf 5. Canonical Sunn adth Reports on Muhammad's Journey Night Journey and Ascension adth Reports in Bukhar and Muslim adth Reports from the Collection of Nasa adth Reports from the Collection of Tirmidh 6. The Use and Appropriation of the Ibn 'Abbas Discourse in Commentaries Night Journey and Ascension Accounts in abar's Tafsr The Abu Hurayra Ascension Narrative from abar's Tafsr The Abu Sa'd Khudr Ascension Narrative from abar's Tafsr The Appropriation of the Primitive Version in Other Early Commentaries The Use of the Primitive Version in 'Al Qumm's Tafsr The Use of the Primitive Version in Tha'lab's Tafsr 7. Contesting the Primitive Version in Nishapur Ibn ibban's Rejection of the Primitive Version Sulam and His Compilation of Sufi Sayings on Muhammad's Ascension Qushayr and His Kitab al-mi'raj The Extended Cosmological Ascension adth Bayhaq's Rejection of the Extended Ascension Narratives 8. Bakr's Complete and Perfect Ibn 'Abbas Discourse The Events Prior to the Night Journey in Texts That Invoke Bakr Muhammad's Night Journey to Jerusalem in Texts That Invoke Bakr Bakr Versions of Muhammad's Journey through the Heavens Muhammad's Journey beyond the Seven Heavens in Bakr Texts Dating the Ascension Narratives Ascribed to Abu al-asan Bakr 9. The Circulation and Diffusion of Bakr's Versions The Base Narrative behind Ibn Sna's Allegorical Treatise Evidence from Sixth/Twelfth-Century North Africa Liber Scale and the Diffusion of the Bakr Versions in the Seventh/Thirteenth Century An Anonymous Eastern Persian Mi'rajnama Conclusion Appendix A: Translation of the Primitive Version Appendix B: Bakr's "Complete and Perfect" Ascension Glossary: Key Themes and Tropes in the Ibn 'Abbas Ascension Narratives Notes Works Cited Index

About the Author

Frederick S. Colby is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion at Miami University in Ohio. He edited and translated The Subtleties of the Ascension: Early Mystical Sayings on Muhammad's Heavenly Journey, by the famous mystic Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami.

Reviews

"...this is a valuable book ... It is also a mine of data culled from an impressive range of well-documented sources." - American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences "The author's tracing and analysis of the historical permutations and reinvestments of this version of the narrative are based on an impressive array of sources, and demonstrate his mastery of the Islamic textual tradition in a happy marriage with theoretical considerations in religious studies, especially those concerning orality, orthodoxy, and textual permutation ... The excellent translations of an early version of the Ibn 'Abbas narrative and a later influential version attributed to Abu-l Hassan Bakri are real gems." - CHOICE "Muhammad's heavenly ascension is without doubt one of the most central topoi in Islamic thought, practice, and piety, and as a superb historical analysis of its development through the prism of Ibn 'Abbas's recension, this book fills a major void in scholarship. Equally significant is the work's methodological sophistication, which makes it a clear model in the study of major themes in Islamic religious history." - Ahmet T. Karamustafa, author of Sufism: The Formative Period "This is a very important subject that will be of interest to all serious students of premodern Islam." - Marion Holmes Katz, author of Body of Text: The Emergence of the Sunni Law of Ritual Purity