بثلاث سنين ، فكيف يوافق ذلك ؟ قلت : لم يكن معراجه صلى الله عليه وآله منحصرا في مرة واحدة ، حتى لا يوافق ذلك ، بل روي عن الصادق عليه السلام إنه قال : عرج بالنبي صلى الله عليه وآله مائة وعشرين مرة ، ما من مرة إلا وقد أوصى الله عز وجل فيها النبي صلى الله عليه وآله ، بالولاية لعلي والأئمة عليهم السلام ، أكثر مما أوصاه بالفرائض 4 .

by three years — how then can the two be reconciled? I say: his ascension, may God bless him and his Family, was not confined to a single occasion, such that the two could not be reconciled. Rather it is related from al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, that he said: The Prophet, may God bless him and his Family, was taken up one hundred and twenty times, and on every one of them God, mighty and exalted, enjoined upon the Prophet, may God bless him and his Family, devotion to 'Ali and the Imams, peace be upon them, more than He enjoined upon him the obligatory duties. [4]

قال العلامة المجلسي رحمه الله في البحار 5 : وقيل : بينا النبي صلى الله عليه وآله جالس بالأبطح ومعه عمار بن ياسر ، والمنذر بن الضحضاح ، وأبو بكر ، وعمر ، وعلي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام والعباس بن عبد المطلب ، وحمزة بن عبد المطلب رحمه الله ، إذ هبط عليه صلى الله عليه وآله جبرئيل عليه السلام في صورته العظمى ، وقد نشر أجنحته حتى أخذت من المشرق إلى المغرب ، فناداه : " يا محمد ، العلي الأعلى يقرء عليك السلام ، وهو يأمرك أن تعتزل عن خديجة أربعين صباحا " .

Al-'Allama al-Majlisi, may God have mercy on him, said in the Bihar [5]: It has been said: while the Prophet, may God bless him and his Family, was sitting at al-Abtah, and with him were 'Ammar b. Yasir, al-Mundhir b. al-Dahdah, Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him, al-'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib and Hamza b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, may God have mercy on him, Gabriel, peace be upon him, descended upon him, may God bless him and his Family, in his greatest form, having spread his wings until they reached from the east to the west, and called out to him: O Muhammad, the Most High, the Most Exalted, sends you His greeting, and He commands you to withdraw from Khadija for forty mornings.

فشق ذلك على النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وكان محبا لها وبها وامقا 6 قال : فأقام النبي صلى الله عليه وآله أربعين يوما ، يصوم النهار ، ويقوم الليل ، حتى إذا كان في آخر أيامه تلك ، بعث إلى خديجة بعمار بن ياسر وقال : قل لها : يا خديجة لا تظني أن انقطاعي عنك هجرة ولا قلى 7 ، ولكن ربي عز وجل أمرني بذلك لينفذ أمره ، فلا تظني يا خديجة إلا خيرا فإن الله عز وجل ليباهي بك كرام ملائكته كل يوم مرارا .

That weighed heavily upon the Prophet, may God bless him and his Family, for he loved her and was devoted to her. [6] He said: So the Prophet, may God bless him and his Family, remained forty days, fasting by day and rising by night, until, in the last of those days, he sent 'Ammar b. Yasir to Khadija and said: Say to her, O Khadija, do not suppose that my keeping away from you is estrangement or aversion [7]; rather my Lord, mighty and exalted, commanded me to it, that He might carry out His command. So think nothing but good, O Khadija, for God, mighty and exalted, glories in you before His noble angels many times each day.

فإذا جنك الليل فأجيفي 8 الباب ، وخذي مضجعك من فراشك ، فإني في منزل فاطمة بنت أسد رضي الله عنها . فجعلت خديجة تحزن في

And when night falls upon you, shut the door [8] and take your place upon your bed, for I shall be in the house of Fatima bint Asad, may God be pleased with her. And Khadija began to grieve