How can a story familiar to hundreds of millions of people all over the world have never been heard by me?  That is the question I ask myself after finally hearing it told two Sundays ago.

Not only is this narrative known far and wide but the event it describes is celebrated each year by communities of believers in dozens of nations, including the United States.

The story bears the title “The Ascension of the Prophet” in English. In the Arabic language it is referred to as “Al-Miraj,” a name that can also refer to the holy day that is observed on the 27th day of the seventh month of the Islamic year.

I heard the story told by Ali Asani, a scholar of Islam who teaches at Harvard University. Professor Asani, speaking to a group of Christians seeking deeper understanding of Islam, shared with us an ancient narrative that centers on the Prophet Mohammed and his face-to-face encounter with God.

In beginning his talk, Professor Asani stressed the core belief of Islam, namely that God is one. Each believer bears witness to that basic fact about God.

“There is no god but God” expresses the faith of every Muslim.These words contain both a negation and an affirmation, the denial of existence to false gods, and the full acknowledgement of the one true God.

What all Muslims must do is submit to Allah. This submission involves turning away from being centered on oneself and instead becoming centered on God.

The holy book of Islam, the Qur’an, frequently mentions seeing God, though it also teaches that human beings cannot physically do so. The Prophet Mohammed, however, receives the privilege of a personal meeting with God.

When Mohammed ascends toward God, he leaves from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem under the guidance of the angel Gabriel. This guide will not be allowed to go all the way up, however. Only the Prophet himself does so.

Muslim tradition has sweetly interpreted God’s motive for having Mohammed make the ascent. The reason is: God could not bear being separated from his beloved so he had Gabriel call him forth.

Returning to an earlier theme, the storyteller emphasized that submitting one’s ego is a prerequisite for seeing God. You must “die before you die” said Professor Asani as he explained the self-transformation that Muslims understand to be the goal of life.

Another part of the story has the Prophet meeting Moses when he returns to earth. “How was it?” Moses asks. Mohammed answers: “He told me my community should pray 50 times a day.”

Moses told him that 50 was too much, unrealistic, and suggested that the prophet return and ask God for less. The next time he bargains God down to 25 but Moses judges that still too much. Finally, the Prophet comes back with an agreement for five, and that is why Muslims pray that number of times each day.

How does the Muslim community interpret the Prophet’s encounter with God? Some take it literally but others understand it as an allegory. They call it the Prophet’s mystical vision of God.

They buttress the mystical interpretation by telling that, when the Prophet came back, his bed was still warm. In this view, every believer can have a mystical experience similar to what the Prophet had.

Ultimately, Professor Asani points out, this adventure is a story of love. It is an object lesson not only about human beings yearning to see God, but about God yearning to see human beings.

Though not as learned in the Muslim tradition as I would like to be, I find it easy to relate to this charming narrative. It smacks of authentic religious feeling and speaks beautifully of love both divine and human.

The story also validates the mystical tradition as it has unfolded over the centuries. It dramatizes an intimacy between God and God’s creatures featuring an interplay back and forth. Though God remains above human grasp, human beings can enter into a love relationship with God.

James Herrick, author of a recent book on spirituality, asserts that “mystical experience is the common core of all religious traditions.” If so, this story can feed the soul of people who are not themselves Muslim but who relate to some of the spiritual wisdom in the Muslim tradition.

Richard Griffin