I believe you did not find anything to refute this view either. Hence, this view represents a reading by a scholar of a particular event in the life of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The fact that this event was of far reaching significance means that Muslim scholars in every generation find themselves speaking about it, explaining its importance, as they see it. There is nothing to prevent a scholar who has achieved such eminence as Maudoodi from reading a particular event in the life of the Prophet in terms which makes its significance more readily appreciated by his contemporary readers. I must admit that I have not seen this book by Maudoodi in which you read his interpretation of the event. Yet, the way he describes it, as you have quoted, seems to be very interesting. I am reproducing here what you have quoted from his book:

"Rulers of the earth are used to calling governors on certain occasions to give them special instructions on various issues. Allah, the ruler of the universe, has done something of this type. The Prophets are the governors deputed to the earth, a small state of His Kingdom. On special occasions, Allah personally gave directives to governors He had appointed. Such audiences were granted to Prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them all). The night journey of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his Ascension to heaven also conforms to this pattern. After the difficult phase it went through in Makkah, Islam was about to establish its own nation state in Madinah. At such an important juncture, Allah invited His Prophet in order to give him the constitution and the manifesto of that nation. Responding to the invitation, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, presented himself before the Lord. That was the essence of his Ascension to heaven."

Most commentators on the Qur'an look at the Prophet's night journey and Ascension to heaven as a mission of comfort to the Prophet. He had been working hard for the message Allah had entrusted to him for ten years, meeting every conceivable sort of opposition from his people in Makkah. At times, their opposition weighed heavily on him. He was distressed by their stubborn refusal to realize that he only wanted their happiness. His two main sources of support, his wife, Lady Khadeejah, and his uncle, Abu Talib, died late in the tenth year or early in the eleventh year of the start of his mission. By losing them, he lost both the public support provided by Abu Talib, the chief of the Hashemite clan of Quraish, and the internal comfort at home provided by a loving, caring and devoted wife. It was natural that the Prophet, a human being, should experience a deep feeling of sorrow for their loss. In his wisdom, Allah had determined that it was time for the new message to stand alone, requiring no outside support, with its primary advocate, Allah's messenger, managing his affairs on his own. He - limitless He is in His Glory - took both Khadeejah and Abu Talib away and the Prophet was alone. Commentators on the Qur'an view the night journey in terms of a new source of comfort, encouragement and reassurance to the Prophet. On this trip, he saw many of the great manifestations of Allah's greatness. His resolve to carry on with his message was sharpened and his determination was never to show any weakening.

This is the traditional way of looking at the Prophet's night journey and it is supported by some Qur'anic verses which refer to it.

As quoted by you, Maudoodi looks at this highly significant event from a futuristic point of view. He looks at what was to come, rather than what had happened in the past. Within three years of that trip, the Islamic state in Madinah was established. Every state needs a constitution, and this applies, in a rather stronger measure, to an ideological state. The Surah 17 is entitled, the "Night Journey," and it opens with a reference to the trip, glorifying Allah for having taken the Prophet on it and pointing out that the Prophet was made to see some of the signs Allah has in the universe. The verses to which Maudoodi refers provide an outline of the moral and social code of the Muslim community. They were the first detailed Qur'anic account of the boundaries within which the Muslim community will have to live. Indeed, they give a sense of the moral fabric of the Muslim society. Maudoodi's vision is, then, a fresh approach to a great event. It is the merit of its futuristic outlook, which fits more perfectly with the nature of the Islamic message. Allah could have comforted His messenger for the losses he had suffered in a variety of ways. Giving him an outline of the moral and social code of his future state gave him much more than comforting condolence. It gave him the sense of the continuity of his message and a feeling of the task ahead. Maudoodi, thus, has offered us something new, something which makes us appreciate in a far better way a momentous event in the life of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. May Allah bless Maudoodi's soul and shower His mercy on him.

There is no doubt that Prophet Muhammad conveyed to us Allah's final message and the code of living He wants us to implement in our lives. Every Muslim, therefore, loves the Prophet more than he loves his parents or himself. Without the Prophet's teachings, humanity would have lived in darkness. Our love of the Prophet and the position of honor given to him must conform to what he has taught. Suppose that you have two children and one of them is obedient and dutiful and the other is not that dutiful. When you are asked who of your children loves you best, you are bound to answer that the one who is dutiful loves you much more than his brother. You consider the dutifulness of the first son the mark of his love to you. This is indeed the truth. If your other son professes everyday that he loves you very much and he kisses your hand when he goes out or when you come home, but nevertheless does not abide by your wishes or do your bidding, you do not take his protestations of love very seriously. Therefore, our love of the Prophet must be measured by the same yardstick. If we follow the Prophet's guidance and abide by his teachings and implement what he wants us to implement, then we love the Prophet. If we are satisfied by professing that we love him and we try to give the proof of that by holding parties to celebrate his birth, then our claims are devoid of any substance.

As for celebrating the Prophet's birthday, whether done every year or every month or every week, that can only be judged according to the Prophet's guidance. We have nothing in what the Prophet has said or done to indicate that he has celebrated his own birthday. None of his companions or the generation which succeeded him held any such celebrations at any time or in any form. Therefore, we can only say that this celebration is an innovation which earns no reward.

The Prophet had six children born to his first wife, Khadeejah. The two boys, Al-Qassim and Abdullah, died in early childhood. After the Arab tradition, the Prophet used to be called Abul-Qassim, meaning "Father of al-Qassim".

Khadeejah also gave the Prophet four daughters: Zainab, the eldest was married to Abu Al-Ass ibn Ar-Rabie and gave birth to one boy, Ali and one girl Ummamah. Zainab died in the eighth year of the Islamic calendar, i.e. two years before the Prophet.

The Prophet's second daughter Ruqayyah was married to Usman ibn Affan, who later became the third caliph. She traveled with him to Abyssinia in the first Muslim emigration. She gave birth to one boy, Abdullah, who died at the age of six. Ruqayyah died at the time when the Muslims fought the battle of Badr.

The Prophet's third daughter was Umm Qulthum, who was married to Usman after her sister's death. She did not have any children and died in the ninth year of the Islamic calendar, about eighteen months before the Prophet.

Fatimah was the Prophet's youngest daughter. She married Ali and gave birth to two sons, Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain, and two daughters Umm Qulthum and Zainab. Fatimah died six months after the Prophet.

As has already been mentioned, all six children were born to Khadeejah, the Prophet's first wife. The only other child born to the Prophet was Ibrahim, whose mother Maria, was the Coptic woman sent as a gift to the Prophet by the ruler of Egypt. The Prophet freed her and married her. She gave him this son who lived only sixteen months.