What the prophet further said: “When I proceeded on the way,[132] and had left the mountains of Mecca, I saw a wanderer following my steps, who called out: ‘Stop!’ But Jabrííl said: ‘Hold no conversation; go on.’ I went on.” By this the power of the imgination is indicated; that is: when I became free of the sight of my limbs and every thing belonging to me, and yielding no more to sensuality, and thus proceeded, the power of imagination, upon my steps, called out to me to stop; for the power of imagination is dextrous, and certainly is great, exerting itself in all affairs, and serves in lieu of intellect to all animals; but it is not right to allow imagination too much liberty, because it then descends to an equality with animals, and disorders its noble nature; further, whoever is assisted by the grace of God, follows not, on all occasions, the imagination. As to what the prophet said: “Behind me called out a woman, deceitful and beauteous: ‘Stop until I join thee!’ Jabrííl also said: ‘Go on, and beware of stopping:’” this means the power of imagination, which is deceitful and bedecked, resembling a woman, to whom most natures are inclined, and who keeps men in her bondage; besides, whatever she does, is all art, without foundation, and contaminated by fraud and deception; nay, the very business of women is artifice and fiction: the power of imagination is not otherwise seductive. To continue: the lies and false promises of women being so many lures, they render mankind their slaves with their show, and never keep their faith; so that all they affect turns out to be futile. Thus, when a man follows the steps of imagination, he never attains true intelligence, as he always remains upon the track of outward ornament and in the bondage of corporeal appearance, without reality.
“And as to what the prophet stated: When I went on, Jabrííl said: ‘If thou hadst waited until she had joined thee, thou wouldst have become a friend of the world,’” this means: that worldly affairs are without reality, brittle and soon decaying, and that worldly occupations have a value but in conjunction with the views of a future state; inasmuch as occurrences and appearances are a deception, and are esteemed as adjuncts to the secrets of a high intelligence; and whoever devotes himself to the former rests behind the higher intelligences, and, in the illusion of vanity, rests imprisoned in the pitfall of ignorance.
And what Muhammed said: “When I left the mountains and these two persons behind me, I went on until I reached the house of sanctity (Jerusalem); and as I entered it, a person came to me, and gave me three cups—the one of wine, the second of water, and the other of milk. I wished to take that of wine, but Jabrííl forbade it, and pointed to that of milk, which I took and drank:” the meaning of this is: When I freed myself from sensuality, and knew the state of imagination and deception, and resolved in myself to enter the world of spirits, then I saw three spirits in the house of sanctity—the one was that of animal life, the second that of nature, and the other that of rationality. I wished to proceed on the footsteps of brutishness, and compared it to wine, the power of which is seducing, clouding, and ignorance-increasing, like passion and lust, and wine is the darkener of the two other powers. And he compared nature to water, because from it is derived the support and stability of a person, and man depends upon the temperament of the agents which act in the body;[133] water is also the vital strength of animals, and the promoter of growth and increase. And the rational spirit he compared to milk, as being a salutary and agreeable nourishment, and promoting welfare. And as to what he said: “I wished to take the wine; but he forbade it, that I might take the milk:” is in allusion to most men, who, being badly disposed, do not desist from obsequiousness to two spirits, those of nature and brutishness; and whoever is badly disposed demands what is material, and the pleasure and enjoyment of these two spirits are of this kind.
“The Prophet said farther: When I arrived there I entered the mosque, and the crier called to prayer; and I stepped forward, I saw an assembly of prophets and angels standing to the right and the left; every one saluted me, and made a new covenant with me.”[134] This means: When I became freed from all converse and concern with brutishness and nature, I entered the mosque, that is, I retired into the inmost of the soul; by “crier of the mosque” is understood the power of remembering and praising God; by “one’s Imám,” meditation; and “the angels” mean the powers of the inmost soul, such as abstraction, memory, praise of God, and the like. Further, “saluting them” refers to the comprehending of all the mental powers. Thus, when one wishes to mount up to the terrace of a house, he must first have a staircase by which he may, step after step, ascend, until he attains the summit of the terrace; in like manner also are these refined powers to be considered as ladder-steps, upon which, the one after the other, a man ascends until he arrives at his aim.
“And what the prophet said: When I became free, I raised my face upwards, and I found a ladder, one step of which was of silver and the other of gold:”[135] this means, from the external to the internal sense; “gold” and “silver” denote the superior value of the one over the other.[136]
“And what he said: I arrived at the heaven of the universe; the gates yielded and I entered. There I saw Ismâíl seated upon a throne, and a crowd before him, with their eyes fixed upon his face. I made my salute, looked at him, and went on.” By “heaven,” is understood the moon; by “Ismâíl,” the body of the moon; and by “the crowd,” those whose conditions are under the influence of the moon.
“What Muhammed said: I entered the second heaven;[137] there I saw an Angel excelling all others; by his perfect beauty, he captivated the admiration of the whole creation; one half of his body was of ice and the other half of fire; and yet there was no counteraction nor enmity between them. He saluted me, and said: ‘Be welcome! All things and riches are thine.’” This means: it was the heaven of Mercury; and the import of this is, that every star has a determined influence, either auspicious or inauspicious; but Mercury acts in both ways; with an inauspicious connection inauspiciously, with an auspicious one auspiciously; so that one half is good and the other half bad.” The “welcome,” and the gift of “prosperity and riches,” mean: the power of the mind, and the multiplicity of sciences which the star bestows.
What the prophet said: “When I arrived into the third heaven,[138] I there saw an Angel, equal to whom in excellence and beauty I had seen none; placid and joyful, he was seated upon a throne; and a circle of angelic effulgency was diffused about him.” This was the heaven of Venus, and it is not necessary to comment its beauty: it denotes gladness and festivity.
Further: “When I entered the fourth heaven,[139] I there saw an Angel, surrounded with royal pomp, seated upon a throne of light; I made my obeisance, to which he replied with entire haughtiness, and, from pride and majesty, he bestowed neither word nor smile upon any body about him. When he answered my salute, he said: ‘O Muhammed, I see all things and riches in thee: glory and happiness to thee.’” That is, “the fourth heaven,” the residence of “this angel,” means the sun; he represents the conditions of kings and great personages; his “smile” is his influence upon good fortune; and his “congratulation” signifies his bounty for any body’s prosperity.
“In continuation: When I arrived at, and entered, the fifth heaven,[140] I happened to have a view of hell; and I saw a black region, and, on its borders was seated a terrific and dark Angel, who was engaged in the business of punishing bad men.” That is “the fifth heaven, with its angel,” signifies “Mars;” this planet denotes the state of criminals and of blood-shedding men; and by “hell” is understood any account and description of the conditions which are appropriated to them.