The response to the lie of quoting the story of the Night Journey and Ascension from Zoroastrianism and the response to the orientalist missionary Tsdal

 We read from Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of the Virtues of the Ansar, Chapter of the Ascension.

3887 - Hudbah ibn Khalid narrated to us, Hammam ibn Yahya narrated to us, Qatada narrated to us, on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, on the authority of Malik ibn Sa`sa`ah, may God be pleased with them both, that the Prophet of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, narrated to them about the night of his Isra’: “While I was lying down in al-Hateem - or perhaps he said: in al-Hijr - someone came to me and said: And I heard him say: So he split between this and this - so I said to Al-Jarud while he was beside me: What does he mean by that? He said: From the gap between his throat to his hair, and I heard him say: From his hairline to his hair - and he extracted my heart, then I was brought a golden basin -[53]- filled with faith, so my heart was washed, then stuffed, then returned, then I was brought With an animal smaller than a mule and larger than a donkey, whiter. Al-Jarud said to him: Is it Al-Buraq, O Abu Hamza? Anas said: Yes. He puts his footsteps at the farthest end of his feet, so I was carried on it. Gabriel took me until he reached the lowest heaven and asked for admission. It was said: Who is this? He said: Gabriel. It was said: Who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent to? He said: Yes. It was said: Welcome to him, what a good arrival he has come. He came and opened. When I got out, there was Adam in it. He said: This is your father Adam, so greet him. So I greeted him and he returned the greeting. Then he said: Welcome to the righteous son and righteous prophet. Then he ascended with me until he came to the second heaven, and asked to be admitted. It was said: Who is this? He said: Gabriel. It was said: And who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: And has he been sent to? He said: Yes. It was said: Welcome to him, what a good arrival he has come. He opened the door. When I was finished, there were Yahya and Isa, and they were the sons of the maternal aunt. He said: This is Yahya and Isa, so greet them. So I greeted them and they responded. Then they said: Welcome to the righteous brother and righteous prophet. Then he ascended with me to the third heaven and asked to be admitted. It was said: Who is this? He said: Gabriel. It was said: Who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: And he was sent to him? He said: Yes. It was said: Welcome to him, what a good arrival he has come. So it was opened. When I was finished, there was Joseph. He said: This is Joseph, so greet him. So I greeted him and he responded. Then he said: Welcome to the righteous brother and righteous prophet. Then he ascended with me until he came to the fourth heaven and asked to be admitted. It was said: Who is this? He said: Gabriel. It was said: And who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent to? He said: Yes. It was said: Welcome to him, what a good coming he has come and it was opened. When I reached Idris, he said: This is Idris, so greet him. So I greeted him and he responded and then said: Welcome to the righteous brother and righteous prophet. Then he ascended with me until he came to the fifth heaven and asked for the entrance. It was said: Who is this? He said: Gabriel. It was said: Who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent to him? He said: Yes. It was said:Welcome to him, what a wonderful arrival he has come. When I was finished, behold, it was Aaron. He said: This is Aaron, so greet him. So I greeted him and he responded and then said: Welcome to the righteous brother and righteous prophet. Then he ascended with me until he came to the sixth heaven and asked to be admitted. It was said: Who is this? He said: Gabriel. It was said: Who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: And he has been sent to? He said: Yes. He said: Welcome to him, what a good coming he has come. When I finished, there was Moses. He said: This is Moses, so greet him. So I greeted him, and he returned the greeting. Then he said: Welcome to the righteous brother and righteous prophet. When I passed by, he cried. It was said to him: What makes you cry? He said: I weep because a young man was sent after me and more of his nation will enter Paradise than my nation will enter it. Then he ascended with me to the seventh heaven -[54] - and Gabriel asked for permission. It was said: Who is this? He said: Gabriel. It was said: Who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: And he was sent to him? He said: Yes. He said: Welcome to him, what a good arrival he has come. When I was finished, behold, it was Abraham. He said: This is your father, so greet him. He said: So I greeted him and he returned the greeting. He said: Welcome to the righteous son and the righteous prophet. Then the Lote Tree of the Limit was raised to me, and behold, its fruit was like the jars of Hajar, and behold, its leaves were like the ears of elephants. He said: This is the Lote Tree of the Limit, and behold, there are four rivers: two inner rivers and two outer rivers. I said: What are these, O Gabriel? He said: As for the two inner ones, they are two rivers in Paradise, and as for the two outer ones, they are the Nile and the Euphrates. Then the Frequented House was raised up for me, then I was brought a vessel of wine, a vessel of milk, and a vessel of honey. I took the milk, and he said: This is the natural disposition upon which you and your nation are. Then the prayers were imposed upon me, fifty prayers every day. So I returned and passed by Moses, and he said: With what You are ordered? He said: I was commanded to perform fifty prayers every day. He said: Your nation cannot perform fifty prayers every day. By God, I have tested the people before you and treated the Children of Israel in the most severe way. So go back to your Lord and ask Him to make it easier for your nation. So I went back and He reduced ten from me. So I went back to Moses and he said the same thing. So I went back and He reduced it from me. Ten, so I went back to Moses and he said the same. So I went back and he reduced ten from me. So I went back to Moses and he said the same. So I went back and was commanded with ten prayers every day. So I went back and he said the same. So I went back and was commanded with five prayers every day. So I went back to Moses and he said: What have you been commanded with? I said: I was commanded to perform five prayers every day. He said: Your nation cannot perform five prayers every day, and I have tested the people before you and treated the Children of Israel with the most severe treatment. So return to your Lord and ask Him to make it easier for your nation. He said:I asked my Lord until I felt ashamed, but I am satisfied and submit. He said: When I passed, a caller called out: I have fulfilled my obligation and have lightened the burden on My servants.

The enemies of Islam, the atheists and Christians, claim that the story of the Prophet’s Night Journey (peace be upon him) in the authentic Sunnah was taken from Zoroastrianism. This quotation, in their opinion, discredits the Isra and Mi’raj incident. One of the first to make this false accusation was the orientalist missionary Tsedal.

The response:

The truth is that this quotation is not based on anything. Rather, if there was a quotation, it was Zoroastrianism that took it from Islam. This is because the source they claim to have taken it from - the book Arda Varaz, which talks about the ascension of a Zoroastrian priest to heaven - was completed in the ninth and tenth centuries, i.e. two to three hundred years after the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) .

We read from the Iranian Encyclopedia:
(( ARDĀ WĪRĀZ, “Wīrāz the just” (ie, “the justified, the blessed”), principal character of the Zoroastrian Middle Persian text Ardā Wīrāz-nāmag (The Book of Ardā Wīrāz). His name has sometimes been cited by scholars as “Wirāf;” cf., however, the Avestan form of this proper name: Virāza (Yašt 13.101). Ardā Wīrāz figures is a report of his extra-terrestrial soul journey, including a description of heaven and hell. The context of this journey holds particular interest. Wīrāz was sent in order to verify (1) Zoroastrian belief about the invisible world, and (2) the efficacy of the rituals of the Zoroastrian community. This scene of piety troubled by religious uncertainty seems to be set some time after the fall of the Achaemenid empire; but the final redaction of the text probably refers to the early Islamic period (see especially Ardā Wīrāz 1.23-27 for an explanation of the journey's purposes.) Wīrāz was chosen, because of his virtue, out of the entire community assembled at the fire temple of Ādur Farnbag and was required to drink the narcotic mang. His seven sisters, who were his wives (according to the pious practice of consanguineous marriage, xwēdōdah [qv]) strongly objected to his being subjected to this ordeal; but eventually they assisted. Wīrāz was unconscious for seven days and nights; And during this time his sisters and others watched over him, praying and reciting the Avesta and Zand texts. When Wīrāz's soul returns to his body, he narrates his experiences. This account is chiefly taken up with a catalog of the punishments of the damned in hell and of the rewards of the just in heaven. The list of offenses and punishments occurs some sixty percent of the entire work. It is much more developed and explicit than the enumeration of rewards, in particular in the area of ​​sexual sins.....

The Ardā Wīrāz-nāmag, like many of the Zoroastrian works, underwent successful redactions. It assumed its definitive form in the 9th-10th centuries AD, as may be seen in the text's frequent Persianisms, usages known to be characteristic of early Persian literature (eg, generalized use of the durative particle hamē). This book has become comparatively well known to the Iranian public, thanks to its numerous versions in modern Persian (often versified and with illustrations). It was early made available in Western languages ​​by M. Haug and E. W. West (The Book of Arda Viraf, Bombay and London, 1872 [repr. Amsterdam, 1971]; Glossary and Index of the Pahlavi Text of the Book of Arda Viraf; Bombay and London, 1874) and by M. A. Barthélemy (Artâ Vîrâf Nâmak ou Livre d'Ardâ). View; Paris, 1887). A recent edition and translation is by Ph. Gignoux (Le livre d'Ardā Virāz, Paris, 1984). Inevitably this work has been compared with Dante's Divine Comedy (see the bibliography). Some influences, transmitted through Islam, may have been exerted on the latter, but these remain to be fully demonstrated . ))

https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arda-wiraz-wiraz

Conclusion:

1. The book that Tesdel and those who came after him claimed to quote from (Arda Wiraz) in fact dates back to the ninth and tenth centuries AD, i.e. two or three centuries after the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.

2. The Iranian Encyclopedia stated that the book Arda Wiraz was influenced by Islam and not the other way around, which means that if there was a quote, then the author or authors of Arda Wiraz are the ones who quoted from Islam.