The night journey of Muhammad presented by Ibn Ishaq is the strongest support of the Muslim belief that Muhammad was a prophet of God. Affirming this belief by way of stories and friends of Muhammad, whom Ishaq identifies as transmitters in hadif, is the detailed descriptions of Jerusalem, the empty jar of water in the caravan, and the figures of Jesus, Moses, and other prophets.
According to Ibn Ishaq’s sources, Muhammad described numerous prophets, such as Moses, being “a ruddy faced man, tall thinly fleshed, curly haired with a hooked nose as though he was of the shanu’a” (183). This relayed description of Moses helps affirm Muslims of Muhammad’s prophet hood because this meant Muhammad actually saw Moses and had been acknowledged by him. Seeing Moses is effective because Moses had been known as a real person, and not made up in Muhammad’s head. Another description Ibn Ishaq receives from …show more content…
This being said, the night journey of Muhammad is a perfect example of this use of transmitters when Ishaq inputs, “In his story Al-Hassan said:” (183). As a result of incorporating these transmitters, Muslims can see that Ishaq received these stories and accounts of Muhammad from someone other than himself, and that he does not take responsibility for them. Providing the readers with the person whom actually gave Ishaq these stories makes him appear much more reliable and trustworthy. Another example of Ibn Ishaq’s not taking responsibility of the stories and events is when he starts the story of The Coming Down of the Sura Al-Kauthar with, “I have been told” (183). When Ishaq does not specifically give credit to the person who told him the story, he still does not take credit and acknowledges that he was told by someone else. This acknowledgment again proves to Muslims and readers that he is not making stories
According to Ibn Ishaq’s sources, Muhammad described numerous prophets, such as Moses, being “a ruddy faced man, tall thinly fleshed, curly haired with a hooked nose as though he was of the shanu’a” (183). This relayed description of Moses helps affirm Muslims of Muhammad’s prophet hood because this meant Muhammad actually saw Moses and had been acknowledged by him. Seeing Moses is effective because Moses had been known as a real person, and not made up in Muhammad’s head. Another description Ibn Ishaq receives from …show more content…
This being said, the night journey of Muhammad is a perfect example of this use of transmitters when Ishaq inputs, “In his story Al-Hassan said:” (183). As a result of incorporating these transmitters, Muslims can see that Ishaq received these stories and accounts of Muhammad from someone other than himself, and that he does not take responsibility for them. Providing the readers with the person whom actually gave Ishaq these stories makes him appear much more reliable and trustworthy. Another example of Ibn Ishaq’s not taking responsibility of the stories and events is when he starts the story of The Coming Down of the Sura Al-Kauthar with, “I have been told” (183). When Ishaq does not specifically give credit to the person who told him the story, he still does not take credit and acknowledges that he was told by someone else. This acknowledgment again proves to Muslims and readers that he is not making stories