muntaha

Muntaha is a Muslim name for girls meaning the utmost, highest degree. Concerning the 'Sidratul Muntaha', the learned 'Ulama have proffered various differing opinions, particularly with regard to the statement: "It is called 'Sidratul Muntaha' (the lotus tree of the extreme limit) because it is the end of all that is knowable, and nobody can know what is beyond it." Some others have explained: "Whoever comes from above, arrives here and cannot pass on further down. Whoever comes from below, reaches this point and cannot ascend further. Therefore it is called by this name." Yet others try to explain it in this way: "The world of spirits ends at this point, therefore it is called the Lote tree of the extreme limit." Ibn 'Abbas (Radi Allah Anhu) tells us: "It is a tree which is made all of gold. Some of its boughs are made of emerald, some are of ruby. The tree measures a distance of one hundred and fifty years journey from its foot to its top. Its leaves resemble the ears of the elephant, and they are very great: a single one of them would cover the entire world. Its fruits are shaped like water jugs. The whole tree is engulfed by light."