The Prophet's ascension to heavens (Me'raj) occurred on 17th of the blessed month of Ramazan. God calls his Prophet in Surah Isra' as "'Abd" meaning servant. In other words, the trait whereby the Prophet attained the closest status with God and deserved to ascend to the heavens and see the realities of creation was his being an obedient servant of God.

In the two surahs of the noble Qur'an the account of this sacred journey have been mentioned, namely, surah Isra' and surah Najm.

In the first ayah of surah Isra', God says, "Immaculate is He who carried His servant on a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose environs We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing."

God carried Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to the farthest Mosque in Bayt ul-Moqaddas at the night of the 17^th of Ramazan.

According to the narrations, the angel of revelation, Gabriel, came to the Prophet with a mount called "Boraaq". Then the Prophet ascended the mount and moved toward Bayt ul-Moqaddas. On the way to Bayt ul-Moqaddas, he stopped at some places like Medina, Kufa and a few other places to pray. Then, the Prophet entered Masjid ul-Aqsa (Farthest Mosque) in Bayt ul-Mqaddas and led the congregational prayer with great prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus standing behind him. The Seal of Messengers covered the seven heavens one after the other and saw the wonders of creation in each of the heavens. The Prophet saw paradise and hell and the people of paradise and hell. Gabriel accompanied the Prophet in this journey up to the 6^th heaven. But as soon as they reached the 7^th heaven, the angel of revelation told the Prophet, "I am not allowed to enter this place and if I approach it an inch my wings will burn."

In the 7^th heaven, Prophet Mohammad saw the Sidraṫ al-Munṫahā where the Eden is located. The Messenger of Mercy attained the ultimate degree of internal intuition, illumination and proximity to God. Then, God gave the Prophet very important instructions and decrees. After that, the Prophet returned Mecca and before the morning prayer he was at home. This magnanimous event took place in the night of 17^th of Ramazan in the year 10 AH. The Prophet's ascension to heavens was a physical journey and very unique. According to the ayahs of the Qur'an and the hadith, the Me'raj of the Prophet was a certain event and acceptance of this event is a necessity among all Islamic denominations. After this heavenly journey the Prophet explained his observations to the people to change their perception to a higher degree than the material world. In one juncture of this unique journey, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) asked God to show him the way to get His proximity. God answered, "Make your day night and your night day." The Prophet asked, "How can I do this?" God said, "Turn your sleep into prayer and your food into hunger. O Ahmad! By My Dignity and Grandeur, any servant who guarantees four traits for Me, I will cause him enter paradise: holds his tongue and does not speak except a word that is useful for him; preserves his heart from devilish temptations; always thinks that I am aware of him and see his deeds; likes hunger."

Then God continued, "O Ahmad! Had you known what pleasure and effects are there in hunger, reticence and solitude."

The Prophet asked, "My Lord! What are the effects of hunger?" God said, "Wisdom, preservation of heart, My proximity, permanent grief, thriftiness among people, speaking truth and insouciance toward hardships and ease of life. O Ahmad! Do you know when the servant will be close to Me?"

The Prophet said, "No, my Lord."

God said, "When he is hungry or in the state of prostration."

According to the account of Me'raj, the first step for gaining proximity of God is reticence and fasting. Imam Reza (AS) said, "Reticence is one of the gates of wisdom. Reticence brings love and it is the guide of man toward every goodness."

Thus, as long as man speaks whatever he wants, he will not get anyway in the path of God. Holding one's tongue saves man from many sins such as telling lying, slandering, backbiting, and so on. Of course, reticence should be accompanied with reflection. There are many hadith on the virtues of reticence. Imam Sadeq (AS) said that Loqman the Wise advised his son, "My son! If you think that speech is silver, for sure reticence is gold."

According to the account of Me'raj, hunger and fasting is another prelude to servitude and proximity of God. The great figures have stated that fasting and moderate hunger provides the ways of expurgation of spirit and opens the gates of perception and reasoning for man. Gluttony closes the way of comprehension. It breeds lack of willpower and lethargy. Excessive eating engages the body in digestion and finishes off man sooner. It is said in Islamic moral remarks that, "Man has not filled any container worse than his stomach."

Fasting is the best exercise for hunger. For 30 days the stomach is resting and human being is detached from the habit of eating and greed for variegated foods. 

RM/ME