eye or not. Some interpreters say that seeing Allâh with his naked eyes was not confirmed. Ibn
‘Abbas,  on the other hand, says that the word Ru’ya as used in the Noble Qur’ân signifies the observation with  the help of the eye.
In Sûrah An–Najm (Chapter —The Star) we read:
“Then he approached and came closer.” 53:8
Here (he) refers to archangel Gabriel, and this context is completely different from that in the
Prophetic  tradition of Isra’ and Mi‘raj, where ‘the approach’ relates to that of the Lord, Glory is to Him.
Some significant suggestive incidents featured the ‘Night Journey’ of the Prophet, of which we could  mention:
1. The Prophet’s breast was cleft by Gabriel, his heart extracted and washed with the water of
Zamzam —a sacred spring in Makkah.
2. In the same context, there were brought to him two gold vessels. There was milk in one, while  the other was full of wine. He was asked to choose either of them, so he selected the vessel  containing milk and drank it. He (the angel) said: “You have been guided on Al-Fitrah or you  have attained Al-Fitrah. Had you selected wine, your nation would have been misled.” It is a  symbolic way of saying that good and evil in the form of milk and wine were brought before the
Prophet and he instinctively made a choice for the good. It is very difficult to render the Arabic  term ‘Fitrah’ into English. It denotes the original constitution or disposition, with which a child  comes into this world, as contrasted with qualities or inclinations acquired during life; besides it  refers to the spiritual inclination inherent in man in his unspoilt state.
3. The Prophet     ﻠﻋ ﷲ ﻰﻠﺻtold that he saw two manifest rivers, — the Nile and the Euphrates —  and two hidden ones. It appears that the two manifest rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates,  symbolically describe the area in whose fertile valleys, Muhammad’s Message will settle, and the  people whereof will always remain the adherent bearers of Islam that will be passed on from  generation to another. They can by no means suggest that they well up from the Garden.
4. He had the opportunity to see Malik, the guardian of Hell, with a cheerless frowning face.
Therein, he saw the Hell dwellers, of whom were those who unjustly eat up the property of the  orphans. They have flews similar to those of camels, swallowing red-hot stones and then issuing  out of their backs. There were also the people who take usury with bellies too big to be able to  move around; they are trodden by the people of Pharaoh when these are admitted into Hell. In  the same abode, he saw the adulterers offered tasty fatty meat and rotten smelly one but they  make option for the latter. The licentious women were also there hanging from their breasts.
5. The ‘Night Journey’ raised a good deal of stir among the people and the sceptical audience plied
Muhammad with all sorts of questions. He told them that he saw the camels of Makkan  merchants to and fro. He also guided them to some of their animals that went astray. He  informed them that he had drunk some of their water while they were fast asleep and left the  container covered.
The disbelievers, however, found it a suitable opportunity to jeer at the Muslims and their creed. They  pestered the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with questions as to the description of the Mosque at
Jerusalem, where he had never gone before and, to the astonishment of many, the Prophet’s replies  furnished the most accurate information about that city. He supplied them with all the news about  their  caravans and the routes of their camels. However, all this increased in them nothing but flight from  the
Truth, and they accepted nothing but disbelief.
For the true Muslims, however there was nothing unusual about the Night Journey. The All-Mighty
Allâh, Who is Powerful enough to have created the heavens and the earth by an act of His Will, is  surely
Powerful enough to take His Messenger beyond the heavens and show him those signs of His at  firsthand which are inaccessible to man otherwise. The disbelievers on their part went to see Abu Bakr  on account of this event, and he readily said: “Yes, I do verify it.” It was on this occasion that he  earned the title of As-Siddiq (the verifier of the truth).
The most eloquent and most concise justification of this ‘Journey’ is expressed in Allâh’s Words:
“... in order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, signs,  etc.)” 17:1.
The Divine rules as regards the Prophets goes as follows:
“Thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he be one of those