Enlightened Perception

Week 4: Prophet Muhammad as Paradigm, the Mi‘rāj, and Poetry in Praise of the Prophet

Of all the folklore surround the Prophet Muhammad, the Mi’raj is surely among the most spectacular. Yet, before the Prophet ascended to the heavens to speak with the previous prophets and God, he undertook the Isra’ in travelling from the sacred mosque in Mecca to the furthest sanctuary, which was interpreted to be the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (Lecture 8). In his journey, Muhammad was said to be led by the angel Gabriel and rode on a winged half-horse, half-woman figure name Buraq. While Gabriel’s importance in the tradition is relatively clear as an archangel, Buraq’s inclusion into Muhammad’s journey is rather curious. Why include a name and such detail for Buraq when she seemingly could have been excluded from the story as a whole?

I attempt to justify Buraq’s necessity by making her the main focus of The Transporter and by excluding any explicit references to Muhammad or the angel Gabriel. My piece shows Buraq as a  beautiful beast that is described as “a trusty chestnut steed of noble breeding” that “smelled like the perfumes of Paradise” with a saddle made of jewels and gold when she is presented to the Prophet (Chelebi 30, Knappert 75). These physical attributes qualify Buraq’s importance; she holds much more power than a simple horse that would never have the same adornments or scents. After she’s introduced to Muhammad, Buraq is then said to be granted access to Paradise by the Prophet and carries him to Jerusalem (Knappert 75). Buraq’s role as Muhammad’s transportation is symbolic for the prerequisites for entry to heaven; just as she carries Muhammad to Jerusalem, love for God will carry Muslims to heaven. This sense of love is what I aimed to capture in The Transporter through both the focus on Buraq, symbolizing the focus on love in the religion, and the literal heart on Buraq’s chest. The heart on Buraq’s chest and the jeweled carpet along her back and sides reiterate her importance; every time that someone looks at Buraq, they are reminded of her significance and, by extension, the significance of love in a relationship with God.

Furthermore, Buraq’s role as the symbol of love plays largely into Sufi traditions in Islam. Sufism tends to focus on living a “God-centric” life in which the lover (Muslim) is completely annihilated in love for the beloved (God). However, this love must be of a special kind; it can’t be earthly love, but must instead be ishq-i haqiqi, or “real love” for God (Lecture 14-16). This is the love that Buraq represents in The Transporter. Thus, by representing Buraq as ishq-i haqiqi, the piece holds a two-fold function that applies to all Muslims; not only does she represent the greater love that is present in Islam, but also more centrally represents the classical Sufi idea of “real love” for God that is associated with being truly “God-centric” in an ascent along the path (tariqah) to the “real” (haqiqah).

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