On May 19, 7:35 pm, boson boss gmail.com> wrote:

Teleportation is REAL! I've seen Copperfield teleport things with my
own 2 eyes & have spoken with people in the audience who he teleported
that couldn't explain how it was done either! I'm just going to keep
practicing it until I can take my show on the road!

Read about it on Wikipedia:

Religious traditions

Accounts of miraculous teleportation occur in a number of religious
traditions, such as Tay al-Ard ("folding of the earth") in Islam;
Kefitzat Haderech ("the jumping of the road") in Judaism; and
"miraculous transport" in Christianity. Teleportation is also known in
Tibetan Buddhism.

[edit] Philip the Evangelist

The following is recorded in Acts 8:36-40 in the New Testament, and
apparently describes the teleportation of Philip from Gaza to Azotus.

"As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the
eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And
he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up
out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away,
and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the
gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."

Kefitzat Haderech Hebrew (קְפִיצַת הַדֶּרֶךְ, possibly originally
Tiberian Hebrew Qəp̄îṣáṯ hadDéreḵ, Standard Hebrew Qəfiẓat haDéreḫ,
commonly Kfitzat haDérech) and means, verbatim, "jumping of the path/
road/way", a Hebrew equivalent of the English expression "short cut".

In Torah study and Jewish folklore, kefitzat haderech is the ability
to jump instantaneously from one place to another or travel with
unnatural speed. The term is originally used in Midrashim to explain
anomalies of travel in the Hebrew Bible. In East European Jewish
folktales, especially those associated with the Hasidic movement,
kefitzat haderech was utilized by various revered holy men.

Shmuel Yosef Agnon, an Israeli writer who won the 1966 Nobel Prize for
literature, incorporates the ability in some of his work. In an Agnon
story based on one of the above-mentioned Hasidic folktales, a
righteous rabbi is given the gift of kfitzat haderech and uses it to
"jump" into the treasuries of the Habsburg Empire, take sacks full of
newly-minted gold coins, and jump back to his shtetl, unnoticed by
anybody. He uses the money to help poor or persecuted Jews, and the
story implies that the power would be taken away should he take any of
the gold to himself.

Later, when the Emperor plans to make decrees harmful to the Jews, the
Rabbi uses his power of kfitzat haderech in order to jump into the
audience chamber and beat the Emperor with his stick - being visible
(and tangible) to the Emperor himself but invisible to his councillors
and guards.

Tay al-Ard (طی الارض or طيّ الارض or طیّ الارض - literally "folding up
of the earth") is the name for thaumaturgical teleportation in the
Islamic religious and philosophical tradition. Reynold A. Nicholson
uses the words "Telekinesis" and "flying" when describing such keramat
(miracles).[1] The concept has been expressed as "traversing the earth
without moving"; some have termed it "moving by the earth being
displaced under one's feet". It is a concept widely familiar to the
Sunnis, Shias and Sufis, each group having a different interpretation
on it. This concept has been around for centuries, and was in debate,
long before its modern western contemporary counterparts surfaced in
scientific and science fiction movies and circles.

[edit] Definition

The dictionary of Dehkhoda defines Tay al-Ard as:

"نوعی کرامت که بجای گام برداشتن و رفتن, زمین در زیر پای آدمی بتندی
پیچیده شود و او به مقصد خویش هر چند دور باشد در مدتی بسیار کم
رسد" (Persian)

A type of keramat in which instead of moving toward a destination
by taking a step forward, the earth turns toward the traverser
rapidly, no matter how far the destination be."

Ibn al-Nadim defines it exactly the same way when he says:

"و یذکر ان الارض تطوی له (میمون القداح) فیمضی الی این احب فی اقرب
مده" (Arabic)

The concept of tei al-ardh has its roots in the following verses of
the Chapter al-Naml of the Quran:

27:38: "Solomon said (to his own men): "Ye Chiefs! which of you
can bring me the throne of Queen of Sheba before she and her envoys
come to me in submission?""

27:39: "Said an 'Ifrit, of the Jinns: "I will bring it to thee
before thou rise from thy council: indeed I have full strength for the
purpose, and may be trusted.""

27:40: "Said one who had knowledge of the Book: "I will bring it
to thee within the twinkling of any eye!" Then when (Solomon) saw it
placed firmly before him, he said: "This is by the grace of my
Lord!"..."

In these verses, Quranic interpreters unanimously agree that the "one"
referred to is a human: one of Solomon's trusted aides by the name of
Asif ibn al-Birkhia (آصف ابن برخیا). The point being that he is a
human, not a jinn, that has mastered "the knowledge of the book" by
his effort and free will (al-Iktisab اکتساب). The phrase "twinkling of
an eye" is translated to mean in a very very short time, i.e. almost
instantaneously.

According to these verses, the non-prophet Asif ibn al-Birkhia
transports the throne of Queen Sheba almost instantaneously. A hadith
by Ja'far al-Sadiq also confirms that Solomon transports the throne by
Tay al-Ard in specific. [2]

[edit] History

Famous Sheikhs, Imams, and prominent figures in Islam such as Abusaeid
Abolkheir [3] or Rumi [4] or Al-Khidr [5] for example, were believed
to possess keramat, and writings from medieval Islam are full of
stories and reports of certain individuals possessing such a trait.
For example, Idries Shah and Robert Graves mention the case where
senior members of the Azimia order were "reputed to appear, like many
of the ancient Sheikhs at different places at one and the same time".
[6] Many other examples can be found in Attar's Tadhkirat al-Awliya
(Biographies of the Saints), or the works of Ibn Arabi, as well as
other similar chronicles. However, no one for sure has known the
number and identity of all those who possess such knowledge, since
according to Hujviri, those who hold such knowledge "do not know one
another, and are not aware of the other's state of excellence, and are
hidden from themselves and from mankind."[7]

One of the most discussed phenomena of this esoteric knowledge is the
event of traveling without actually moving (طی الارض). Islamic texts
and records are full of such accounts from various era. For example,
Bayazid Bastami has many such accounts, colored with mystical flavors,
surrounding his life. In one account, he was asked, "They say you walk
on water?" "A piece of wood can do that too" he replied. "They say you
travel to Mecca at night and return by dawn?" he was asked. "But a
bird at flight can do that too" was his answer. "So what is the
meaning of being human?" he was asked. "A human is he who does not
fasten his heart to anything but God" came his reply. [8] In all such
and similar accounts, a certain individual of unusually high rank (a
Sheikh, Pir, or Imam) is seen to have the ability to travel long
distances in almost instantaneous amounts of time.

[edit] Views

[edit] Muslim view

Muslims argue that the fact that Asif ibn al-Birkhia is not a prophet
(which are equipped with God given miracles), but rather is a man that
has learned a certain knowledge, has led to what is referred to as
keramat (کرامت or کرامات). Muslims view Keramāt (pl.) as special
esoteric powers ordained to a few certain number of individuals, by
the will of God, which are on the same level of miracles in terms of
type of phenomena, but existing for a different purpose.

Being an esoteric knowledge by nature, it is not known how exactly it
takes place, but theories and explanations have been abound. The most
prevalent theory has to do with the concept of consciousness and will
(اراده). The person wills to be some place, and he is then simply
there an instant later. This view can perhaps be understood from the
perspective of western philosophical idealism, where esse est percipi:
if space does not have an objective reality, and reality itself is
thought of as observer based and a subjective entity [9], then ideas
such as moving in space without actually physically moving are no
longer unchartered possibilities.

Similarities and parallels between the modern notion of teleportation
and Tai ul-ardh are not difficult to come across. In a report to the
United States Air Force (dubbed: AFRL-PR-ED-TR-2003-0034) in 2004,
Eric W. Davis, Ph.D., recommended the study of p-Teleportation, Which
he defined as:

"the conveyance of persons or inanimate objects by psychic means."

A precise definition of Tai al-Ardh has been offered by Allama Qadhi,
one of the masters of Allameh Tabatabaei:

اعدام جسم و بدن در مكان اوّل، و احضار و ايجادش در مكان مقصود
(Persian)

"the ceasing and termination of matter in the initial location,
and its appearance and re-creation in its final location
(destination)"[10]

Other explanations offered are mystical in nature. A hadith by
Muhammad al-Baqir e.g. is narrated in which he attributes the
aforementioned esoteric knowledge of Asif ibn Birkhia to the Asma
'ullah or the "names of God", another widely discussed topic in
Islamic philosophy and mysticism and even kabbalah:

"اسم اعظم خداوند، هفتاد و سه حرف است. آصف بن برخیا فقط یکی از آن
حروف را میدانست که توانست زمین را درهم نوردد و قبل از یک چشم بر هم
زدن، تخت بلیقس را از سرزمین سبا نزد سلیمان حاضر سازد؛ و ما ائمّه
معصومین هفتاد و دو حرف از آن را میدانیم. یک حرف را هم خداوند به خودش
اختصاص داده و تنها نزد اوست" (Persian)

"The Almighty's greatest name has 73 letters (or parts). Asif ibn
Birkhia knew only one letter of it, which enabled him to traverse the
earth in the blink of an eye. We Shia Imams however possess 72 of
them. And the last letter is concealed from all creation and remains a
secret to only the Almighty Himself."[11]

In addition, the jinn are believed to possess this knowledge of
transportation, however in a limited amount, as is evident again from
the aforementioned Quranic verses.

[edit] Shi'a view

Shi'a use the concept in the above Qur'anic verse in Shi'a-Sunni
argumentations when accusations of over-meriting the Shi'a Imams are
made. It is argued that if a non-prophet could teleport the throne,
then it should present no theological objections against the belief
that a Shi'a Imams, such as Ali, might be able to do the same [12]. Or
Imam Mahdi, is widely believed to have a wide arsenal of keramat
including this concept , at his disposal. [13] 301 of Mahdi's believed
313 companions also are believed to have the knowledge of this
concept.

In the Shia academia, this concept is a topic that can be seen widely
studied by the likes of Ayatollah Marashi Najafi, Allameh Tabatabaei,
Mulla Sadra, and the likes.

[edit] Sufi view

Some Sufis call the concept tay al-makan ("folding of space"), the
word "makan" (location) being used as a synonym for the word
"ardh" (earth). Both words are Arabic in origin, and both words are
part of the Persian lexicon as well.