651 - AN NAJAM (Ayat# 11-18)
Sidrat al-Muntaha represents the ultimate boundary in creation, a point beyond which no created being can pass. This concept, rooted in Islamic tradition, describes a location visited by the Prophet Muhammad during his Night Journey (Isra and Mi'raj). Accounts detail the Prophet's witnessing of divine signs and the radiant beauty of paradise at this celestial limit. The experience involved a unique interaction with divine light, where his vision remained unwavering despite the intensity. This contrasts with the natural human response to overwhelming brightness, which is to avert the gaze or blink. Iqbal’s poetry, particularly ‘Bal-e-Jibril,’ explores the theme of witnessing divine realities, acknowledging both the desire to transcend limitations and the inherent human capacity to fully comprehend such experiences. The encounter at Sidrat al-Muntaha signifies a direct witnessing of Allah’s greatest signs, a profound event affirmed by the accounts of Hazrat Aisha and Hazrat Umar, who emphasize the impossibility of directly perceiving Allah, but the witnessing of His signs.
