Just like other world religions, Islam, which was soon frozen in outward rituals and rules, initially had its secret inner practice systems (for soulfully mature initiates).

Spirituality survived  and  developed later parallel to the official  Islam in the Sufism, which was little desired and counteracted. In addition, some gnostic groupings of the Shia, such as the Ismailites, the Alevis, the Nusairiers and the Druze, also emerged.

"The day will surely come when you will see faithful men and women, the true believers who are advancing forward, with a light that comes before them, and the lights in their right hands." A voice will tell them, "Rejoice good news: Today you will enter the gardens of the flowing streams where you will live forever, which will be the highest triumph. " (-Qur'an, Al-Hadid, Surah 57:12-);

This could be a reference to lost spiritual exercises, which include the well - known exercises of the albanian - turkish Sufi - Bektashi dervishes, which were hidden in the Koran (...; alam; ...; na).  However, they are only suitable for advanced students of step 12 of the Universal Path [2]. Freiherr von Sebottendorf, the founder of the inglorious german Thule Order, who was murdered in Istanbul in 1945, brought them  to West-Europe, where he published them in Germany.

Muhammad's Ascension (Mi'rādsch) to heaven has three traditions or lores:

1. Ascension from a place in the Kaaba Shrine in Mecca over a ladder into the heaven.
2. Ascension as described in "The Bokhari" (Vol.15, S. 3615)  where Mohammed was riding with a "White Horse" to the "holy mountain" at Allah(Sura 17: 1), where he met the 10 prophets, and then returned. [4]
3. Combination of the coranic journey to Jerusalem (bait al-maqdis) with subsequent ascension (mi'rādsch) from Jerusalem.  It can be found with content variants in Hadith, in the Koran-exeese, in Islamic historiography and in the Prophet legends(Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ).

This ride would be no more than a description of step 14 of the Universal Path: the sacred mountain is from the esoteric standpoint to be equated with mount Sinai or mount Zion of the Bible, the first ascension into the Divine and the beginning of the Samadhi - stages.  

1. A heavenly ladder was first described  in  of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which was under the care of the sun god Re and belonged to Osiris.
2. Jacob sees in a dream vision according to Genesis 28:11, during his flight from Esau from Be'er Sheva to Harran, a heavenly ladder (Hebr. Sullam), which stands on the earth and whose extends point to heaven. On it he sees the angels ascending and descending (Gen 28:12), and above is the Lord (YHWH).
3. Otherwise a Jacob's ladder of the Evangelist John (John 1.51) is known.

Mohammed's alleged vision in Jerusalem concludes Jewish-Mosaic influences, and the clever mention of Jerusalem led to this being the third Islamic main sanctuary, and the influx of Islam expanded northwards as desired ...

In the jewish Merkaba literature, much earlier than Islam, just as above ladders, similar and much higher heavenly voyages (eg. Enoch a.o.) are described.  Did Mohammed leane at here, or did he have contacts to initiated jews in medina ?

On the other hand, both Islam and the Jews refer to Abraham. Jesus, whose crucifixion in Islam is not universally acknowledged (Sura 4: 157), said to the Pharisees wo fasted, and kept the 10 commandments for show, that their father is not Abraham but the Satan (since the spiritual development was completely lacking, which, of course, can not be attained by observing commandments and fasting alone, but only by the development of the spiritual soul.)   The "holy people" of God are inwardly sanctified, transfigured and spiritually developed, independent of the religion concerned.

Islam had several wars since its  beginnings. It received a bad reputation as violent through the misunderstanding of the  jihad et al. , not only because of Al-Qaeda and ISS, but also because of past warships to India and the former piracy in the Mediterranean sea. 

The sufi Al-Ghazali gave the Jihad a new additional meaning: Not only was the battle on the battlefield jihad, but also the struggle against one's own lower ego (an-nafs al-ammara).  In Sufism the 'great jihad' has the meaning of an extensive purification on the path : Whoever fights (jaahada), he fights only for his own self" (Q 29: 6).  The "Jihad" serves the "defense against the enemies and the devil" (the one on the Tarotcard 15, this also corresponds to the path of the warrior in Hinduism).

The true holy war (jihadun-nafs) with the option of "entering paradise" is in fact the long path of the step 15 of the Universal path (including, for example, the fight for ones own truth and justice).  

In past secularly "holy wars", the leaders of a secular Islam abused the intolerance and the fanaticism of undeveloped and good faith believers (comparable to the Christian crusades but still worse).

The Islamic paradise is divided into up to 8 levels, with the highest levels intended for the most devout. On the other hand, there is talk of virgins in paradise who surround the martyrs of jihad.

Worldly promises such as "with 72 (or 7)  virgins in paradise" ( ka'ib in Quran 78:33 as "with swelling breasts ) speak for themselves" and touch specific desires of spiritually undeveloped contemporaries (for some sincere seekers a reason to reincarnate elsewhere...). They may also be a Sandhabhasa - allegory to the developed Pingala-snake-forces - such woman with rounded breasts are also common in the iconography of Ishtar (Lilitu) and of godesses of the minoic religion and in tantric scriptures.

In Koran 44:52 there is also: 'There are girls with a chaste look which neither men nor jinn touched before them' , and 52:20, respectively : They are leaned on a row of resting cushions. And we will marry her with beautiful, big-eyed girls.   In paradise are virgins and not wenches for  lazy uncivilized 'Muslims' (like the Taliban and others, for which Allah has an alibi function for their status in society) , who in Afghanistan make a 14-head large family without foundation of existence and who live sometimes from the drug market and give nothing  on the later problems of the many children - just as  on the problems of the drug users...

Twelve Imams are, according to the Athnā'ashariyyah branch of Shia-Islam and Alevi-Islam, the only legitimate successors of the Prophet Mohammed, and thus pure guardians of his message - ignoring the changes of the Quran made by 3 caliphs.

The 12th was Imam Madhi al-Muntathar (born in 869 AD), who did nothing, and is still to live in secrecy and will (allegedly) appear before the end of the world, because otherwise the elitist belief system would wobble....

A true IMAM (priest) has gone the long path and accomplished step 16 of the universal path. He is not only a skillful emotional preacher with human feelings and intellectual logic and human interests. But how could such a person arise from the rigid Islam?

In a similar way, Hinduism also distinguishes between a Brahmin, who teaches only, and a Brahmin who is rooted in Brahman.  This beleife comes probably from Avesta (Yast 19:89) where Soshyos will come on a white horse in a whirl of fire.

An essential  Quran - doctrine is "There is only one God, and that is ALLAH".

A common Kalma is "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger," which is separately in the Qur'an in 3: 2 "There is no God but Allah" and elsewhere in 48:29 with "Muhammad is Ambassador of Allah" is occupied.

But since the size of the universe of over 25 billion lightyears is known, this beleife must be relativized. 

Allah would have much to do, if He would be a teacher of very progressed holy men in the huge universe.  This 'only One Allah' - was was a planetary belief, which was adapted to  people's receptive capacity. To these 'god' revealed himself (not only - if at all) to Mohammed through his angels, though there must be a suspicion that his quotations and dictations contain also religious knowledge of the past, which was transferred in some groups of initiates.

Muhammad's consciousness was much too planetary to judge or understand this. He had certainly never heard of the cosmos and other higher divine hierarchies, like in the heavens of the sun and in the galaxies.

A more universal monistic view would be: On our planet there is only one planetary LOGOS, because in the highest divine everything is in unity: Allah is with his revelation angels is the Creator God (residing here as Jah Jahwe Zebaoth or as the Indian Ishvara). The nature of his revelations, however, speaks against Mohammed.

The official Islam sees itself as a revelation religion, and the mediated knowledge about Allah, his four angels, about the 10 prophets and the names of Allah  fit seamlessly in the spiritual tradition.
In the Book of Job and in the opening of the Bible, similar things are conveyed.  The love of God, which was later equated with Jesus 'altuism' and charity, is found at first in the Old Testament.

A part of Islam expects unofficially (Hadiths) the last IMAM, the Madhi, the guide of the path, who is also depicted as a rider on a horse with long spear, but is not directly mentioned in the Koran.

The belief in the Madhi as the sole second prophet of Islam is a presumption, which is to expose the superiority of Islam again. This teaching with the representation of the Madhi as a rider on a horse probably descended from the iranic Zend Avesta and was simply collected and redesigned for Islam.
Here the expectations go wild, because the self-realization and the clairvoyance are missing and group interests are predominant.

The appearance of the Madhi has two phases:

1. Appearance at a time with material and spiritual problems

2. Reappearance at the beginning of the Golden Age - after a time of devastation and confusion, then a world judgment and a paradisiacal age of peace.

Naturally has Islam  the one-sided expectation that this limited religion will then be the world religion. However, the planetary religion of a spiritual age must be much more enlightened, comprehensive and internalized with exercises better than in Sufism and the like. 

A look at the fragmented divisive groups, which are related to Muhammad's relatives (just as formerly in Ireland between the Catholics and Protestants), which of course did not understand the inner religion and mostly  reject exercises, can only confirm this view.

In the much older Zoroastrian religion, the world-solver Sosiosh (Zend) or Soshyos (Persian) comes similarly on a white horse, wrapped in a whirl of fire [Avesta (Yast 19:89)]. The indian Kalki rides similarly on a horse.

Sufism is unofficially often counted among Islam, whose masters became popular in the West. Many Sufiorders, however, dissociate themselves from official Islam, where Sufism is little regarded and also fiercely combated.

A Sufi is also often described as someone who has turned away from the world and takes the path to Allah. Therefore every Arab country has its own Sufimaster.

The visions of God, about which Sufis report, are classified as secondary by official Islam, and only the vision of Mohammed is accepted as "the Vision", but actually the critics cannot judge this lacking own visions(Surah 70, 1-4) and have probably never heard about jewish merkaba.

In spiritual yoga, most visions are viewed as unimportant.
The illuminating phase begins here first after the visions are extinguished.

This also enlightens  the spiritual height of Mohammeds sadhana.

Compared  with Sufi - masters  like Rumi and Kabir, with their realization of God, Mohammed was merely a small light.

• Letters from a Sufi Teacher - Shaikh Sharfuddin Maneri
• Die geheimen Übungen der türkischen Freimaurer, Rudolf von Sebottendorf, Waltharius | ISBN: 9783932928123 (evtl. also in the web as free PDF - Mr. Sebottendorf died 1945)
• Secret Practices of the Sufi Freemasons: The Islamic Teachings at the Heart of Alchemy,  Rudolf von Sebottendorf, Stephen E. Flowers, Runa-Raven Press 2011,  ISBN-10: 1885972148, ISBN-13: 978-1885972149
• Wiki about the names of Allah
• 99 names of Allah
• Muhammed - his life - based on the earliest sources , M. Ling
• [4] Wiki about Mohammeds ascend to heaven
• Wiki about the Alevism
• The buraq worshipped by 'two princes'
• Islamic Sadhana !
• Religion and generalised trust , Handi Hadiwitanto, S.58-59
• The stories of the prophets - by Ibn Kathir
• Guillaume, Alfred: The Life of Muhammad, Oxford: Oxford Universitiy Press, 1998