Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): إِذْ یَغْشَی السِّدْرَةَ مَا یَغْشَی [When that which covers covered the lote-tree] — when the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was taken by night to his Lord, he said: "Jibra'il halted me by a great tree, the like of which I had never seen. On every branch of it was an angel, and on every leaf of it was an angel, and on every fruit of it was an angel. A light from the lights of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, had illumined it. Then Jibra'il said: 'This is Sidrat al-Muntaha. The prophets before you did not come beyond this point. But if Allah wills, you may pass beyond it, so that He may show you some of His greatest signs and tokens. Be assured that Allah the Exalted supports you with steadfastness and firmness, that you may fully receive His acts of honour and take your place beside Him.' Then Jibra'il took me beneath the Throne, and a green rafraf (carpet) came to me which I cannot properly describe, and by the permission of my Lord it raised me up and I drew near to Allah. The voices of the angels and their humming were cut off from me. Fears and tremors departed from me, my soul was calmed, I rejoiced, and I began to expand and contract; I was filled entirely with joy and gladness, to the point that I imagined all creatures had died, and I saw none of the beings of the universe apart from myself. So Allah left me in that state for as long as He willed; then He restored the spirit to me and I awoke. It was a grace from my Lord that my eyes were closed and my sight was dulled and hindered from seeing, and I began to see with my heart what I had before seen with my eye — indeed, I saw farther, more, and better." And this is what Allah the Exalted says: مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَ مَا طَغَی، لَقَدْ رَأَی مِنْ آیَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْکُبْرَی [His eye never swerved nor went astray — what it saw was reality! He indeed saw some of the great signs of his Lord] (an-Najm 17–18). "And through a very tiny opening, like the eye of a needle, I could see a light between me and my Allah which eyes could not bear to look upon. Then my Lord called me and said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)!' I said: 'At your service, my Lord and my Master and my Allah!' He said: 'Have you understood your worth in My sight and where your rank and station lie?' I said: 'Yes, O my Master.' He said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you know your standing before Me and the standing of your household?' I said: 'Yes, O my Master.' He said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you know about what the exalted assembly (mala' al-a'la) that sit on high dispute among themselves?' I said: 'My Lord! You know better and judge better, and You know well the hidden things.' He said: 'They dispute about the ranks (darajat) and the good deeds (hasanat). Do you know what the ranks and good deeds are?' I said: 'You know better, O my Master, and judge better.' He said: 'They are: performing wudu completely at times when it is disliked, walking on foot to the Friday prayers with you and with the Imams from among your children, awaiting one prayer after another, being the first to offer greetings of peace, feeding food, and standing in worship by night when people are asleep.' He said: آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَیْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ [The Messenger has believed in what was sent down to him from his Lord] (al-Baqarah 285). I said: 'And all the believers as well have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers; [they say:] "We make no distinction between any of His messengers [and we believe in them all]." And [the believers] said: "We hear and obey. Our Lord! [We await] Your forgiveness and to You is the return."' (al-Baqarah 285). He said: 'You have spoken truly, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. [Man] earns for himself whatever [good] he does and against himself whatever [evil] he does' (al-Baqarah 286). And I said: 'Our Lord! Do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake! Our Lord! Do not place upon us a heavy burden as You placed upon those before us [because of their sin and rebellion]! Our Lord! Do not lay upon us that which we have no strength to bear! And wash away from us the traces of sin! Forgive us and encompass us in Your mercy! You are our Master and Protector, so grant us victory over the disbelieving people!' (al-Baqarah 286). He said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! This rank and degree belongs to you and to your progeny.' I said: 'At your service, O my Lord, and I am greatly delighted, O my Master and my Allah!' He said: 'I ask you about a matter of which I know better than you: whom have you appointed as your successor on earth after you?' I said: 'The best person of the people of the earth: my brother and my cousin, and the helper of Your religion — the one who, when the sanctities of Your religion are violated, becomes wrathful and enraged on behalf of Your Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) like the wrath and rage of an angry leopard. I mean Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).' He said: 'You have spoken truly, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! I chose you for prophethood and I sent you with the message, and I tested Ali (peace be upon him) with conveying your religion and bearing witness over your community, and I made him the proof upon the earth with you and after you. He is the light of My friends. He is the guardian of whoever obeys Me. He is the word which I have made binding upon the Allah-fearing. O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Give Fatimah (peace be upon her) to him in marriage, for he is your successor, your heir, and your vizier. He is the one who will wash your body and support your religion, and who will be killed on account of My sunnah and your sunnah — the most wretched of this community will kill him.'" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Then my Lord commanded me with matters and things and ordered me to do them, and ordered me to keep them hidden, and did not permit me to tell them to my companions." Then that rafraf brought me down. Suddenly Jibra'il took hold of me, and I came to Sidrat al-Muntaha. Then he halted me beneath it, and then he brought me into Jannat al-Ma'wa, and there — O Ali (peace be upon him)! — I saw my dwelling place and yours. While Jibra'il was speaking with me, suddenly a light from the light of Allah lifted me up, and I looked through a tiny opening like the eye of a needle, just as I had done the first time. The Lord of Majesty called me and said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)!' I said: 'At your service, O my Lord and my Allah and my Master!' He said: 'My mercy concerning you and your progeny has outstripped My wrath. You are the chosen one of My creation. You are My trusted one and My beloved and My messenger. By My might and My majesty, if all My creatures were to come before Me and for a single moment complain of you, or find fault with you or with those whom I have chosen from among your progeny, I would send them all into the fire of Hell and not care. O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Ali (peace be upon him) is the Commander of the Faithful and the master of the messengers. He is at the head of the noble and honourable ones, leading them to the garden of Allah's bounty. He is the father of your two grandsons — the two who are the masters of the youth of My paradise, who will be killed unjustly in My path.'" Then He made prayer obligatory upon me, and what Allah the Blessed and Exalted willed, and once again he saw Him وَ لَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَی، عِنْدَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَی، عِنْدَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَی، إِذْ یَغْشَی السِّدْرَةَ مَا یَغْشَی، مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَ مَا طَغَی [And he indeed saw him at another descent, by Sidrat al-Muntaha, near which is Jannat al-Ma'wa, when that which covered the lote-tree covered it, his eye never swerved nor went astray — what it saw was reality!] (an-Najm 13–17). This is what Allah means when He says: "At the distance of two bow-lengths, or nearer than that."