Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question: Assalamu alaykum
Are people’s claim to see heaven true? Even if when the form of transport to heaven for the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) was on a winged horse?
Answer: Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
I pray you are well.
Yes, it is possible for someone on earth to be shown Paradise whilst still on earth. This is something rationally possible, and we have precedent for similar events from the lives of the prophets, Allah bless them and grant them peace, and the companions, may Allah be well pleased with them all.
The Visions of Ibrahim and ʿUmar
Allah Almighty said, ‘And no less than that, did We show Ibrahim the perfect, immense dominion of the heavens and earth, and our sovereignty over them; and [We did this] so that he may be of those of absolute certainty.’ (6:75). For Ibrahim to have been shown the whole universe, and beyond, as a child – as the Qurʾan indicates – is something in the realm of possibility.
If someone can be shown the furthest reaches of creation, then being shown Paradise is also a possibility.
Imam Ibn Kathir also narrated a rigorously authenticated narration regarding sayyiduna ʿUmar – whilst delivering a sermon in Medina – seeing a group of Muslims who were about to ambushed hundreds of miles away. He called out to warn them, and they heard his voice and reacted appropriately.
Miracles Granted to the Righteous
A vision is not the same as travelling a distance. Yet, it is also possible for a person to be transported from one place to another. Physicists affirm the possibility of the occurrent of a ‘wormhole’, which is the nexus of two distant points in the universe through the folding of space.
The occurrence of such events has been reported as having to many individuals, such as the grandfather of the great Moroccan saint and scholar, Ahmad b. ʿAjiba. He mentioned it himself in his autobiography, which is an excellent work.
Imam Ibrahim al Laqqani, in his great didactic poem, Jawhara al Tawhid (The Gem of Divine Oneness), said,
“You must affirm for the saintly miracles,
Those who deny them cast aside their rambles.”
Dr Mostafa al Badawi, a distinguished contemporary scholar, discussed these metaphysical matters in his work ‘A Higher Reality‘ which is highly recommended.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat