Abstract
This study conducts a literary analysis of the traditions and comments of al-Tabari with regards to Muhammad’s Night Journey and Ascension is undertaken within the context of al-Tabari’s exegesis of Qur’ān, 17:1. The linguistic particularities of the verse reveal notions of divine agency in the Qur’ān of which the Night Journey is one instance; manifesting the hand of God in the life of Muhammad. The hadith traditions therein as presented by al-Tabari are examined both linguistically and thematically. It becomes apparent, in the case of al-Tabari the Night Journey and Ascension of Muhammad marked a key turning point in his status as a Prophet; requiring a fantastical opening of Muhammad’s chest. Motifs of angelic surgery and the removal of “black spots” from the heart of Muhammad shed further light upon the dogmatic debates surrounding the question of infallibility (al-‘ismah) or immunity from sin as an indicator of Muhammad’s Prophethood. Al-Tabari also, presents traditions rich with imaginative apocalyptic and eschatological motifs which infuse the story of Muhammad’s heavenly journey with extra-historical implications. Al-Tabari concludes his exposition with an insistence on the physicality of Muhammad’s ascension, demonstrating the tension between literalism and symbolism in Qur’ānic exegesis and the hadith tradition.
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