The ''Sidrat al-Muntaha'' ( ar, سِدْرَة ٱلْمُنْتَهَىٰ, Sidrat al-Muntahā, lit=Lote Tree of the Farthest Boundary) is a large lote tree or Sidr tree that marks the utmost boundary in the seventh heaven, which no one can pass. It is called Sidrat al-Muntaha because the knowledge of the angels stops at that point, and no one has gone beyond it except the Messenger of Allah. During the

Isra and Mi'raj The Israʾ and Miʿraj ( ar, الإسراء والمعراج, ') are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632) took during a single night around the year 621 (1 BH – 0 BH). Wit ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

traveled with the angel

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

to the tree (where the angel stopped) beyond which

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

(

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

) instructed Muhammad about the five daily prayers.

Quran

The tree is also referred to in Sura 53 verse 14-16, Sura 34 verse 16 and Sura 56, verse 28. Sura 53, verses 11-18 reads: Sura 34, verses 15-17 reads: Sura 56, verses 27-34 reads:

Meaning

A Qur'an commentary entitled ''Tafsīr al-karīm al-raḥman fī tafsīr kalām al-manān'' by Abd ar-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa'di, while commenting on , the Sidrat al-Muntahā, (Lote-Tree of the Extremity) explained:Lambden, Stephen. (2009).
The Sidrah (Lote-Tree) and the Sidrat al-Muntaha (Lote-Tree of the Extremity)
'.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, MA, LL.M, FRSA, FRSL (; ur, عبداللہ یوسف علی‎; 14 April 1872 – 10 December 1953) was an Indian-British barrister who wrote a number of books about Islam including an exegesis of the Qur'an. A support ...

, whose '' The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary'' is among the most widely known English versions of the Qur'an, explained that this tree "marked the bounds of heavenly knowledge as revealed to men, beyond which neither Angels nor men could pass." Abdullah, Yusuf Ali (1946) ''The Holy Qur-an: Text, Translation and Commentary'', Qatar National Printing Press. p.1139,n.3814

George Sale George Sale (1697–1736) was a British Orientalist scholar and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Quran into English. In 1748, after having read Sale's translation, Voltaire wrote his own essay "De l'Alcoran ...

, the 18th century English scholar, has "beyond which Angels themselves must not pass; or, as some rather imagine, beyond which no creature's knowledge can extend." Sale also notes that one commentator states that line 16 refers to the "host of angels worshipping" around the tree and another that it is about the birds which sit on its branches. The 19th century English explorer,

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

reported seeing an ancient Sidr tree in the mosque containing

Muhammad's tomb Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qu ...

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

. It was in a garden dedicated to

's daughter

Fatimah Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...

. The fruit from the tree was being sold to pilgrims and its leaves used for washing dead bodies.

Use as a symbol

The lote-tree is used as a symbol, for example, by the

Qatar Foundation Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development ( ar, مؤسسة قطر) is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser. Qatar Founda ...

: "The Sidra tree, growing strong and proud in the harshest of environments, has been a symbol of perseverance and nourishment across the borders of the Arab world. What is the significance of this glorious tree? With its roots bound in the soil of this world and its branches reaching upwards toward perfection, it is a symbol of solidarity and determination; it reminds us that the goals of this world are not incompatible with the goals of the spirit." The evergreen tree ''

Ziziphus spina-christi ''Ziziphus spina-christi'', known as the Christ's thorn jujube, is an evergreen tree or plant native to northern and tropical Africa, Southern and Western Asia. It is native to the Levant, East Africa, Mesopotamia and some tropical countries. Fr ...

'' represents this symbol in natural form.

References

External links

Glossary of Islamic terms

{{Heaven Arabic words and phrases Islamic eschatology Islamic terminology Bahá'í terminology Trees in Islam

Quran

Meaning

Use as a symbol

See also

References

Further reading

External links