The Night Journey
al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj
Glory be to He
Who carried His servant by night,
from the Holy Mosque
to the Furthest Mosque,
the precincts of which
We have blessed.
so that We might show him
some of Our signs.
Surely He is the All-Hearing,
the All-Seeing.
Qur’an 17:1
Glory be to He Who carried His servant by night,
from the Holy Mosque to the Furthest Mosque,
the precincts of which We have blessed.
so that We might show him some of Our signs.
Surely He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.
Qur’an 17:1
IN THE NINTH YEAR of the Prophet’s mission, about 620 CE, Muhammad rose in the middle of the night to visit the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. After a time of worship he fell asleep near the Ka’aba. The angel Gabriel came to him and woke him from his slumber. He led the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to the edge of the sacred Makkan mosque. Awaiting them was al-Buraq, a white winged beast “whose each stride stretched as far as the eye could see”. Muhammad mounted al-Buraq and sped northwards with Gabriel to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the Furthest Mosque.
When they reached Jerusalem the Prophet dismounted and prayed near the Rock. Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets, peace be upon them all, gathered together to pray behind him. Muhammad was presented a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. The Prophet chose the milk and Gabriel said, ‘You have chosen al-fitra, the natural way’.1
The Prophet then embarked on the Ascension (Miraj) in which he, peace and blessings be upon him, received the command to pray five times a day and the revelation encapsulating the beliefs of Islam:
“The Messenger believes in what was sent down to him from his Lord.
And the believers; each one believes in Allah and His angels
and in His books and His messengers.
We make no division between any one of His messengers.
And they say: We hear and we obey. Oh Lord, grant us Thy forgiveness;
unto Thee we return.”
Qur’an 2:285
“The Messenger believes in what was sent down to him from his Lord.
And the believers; each one believes in Allah and His angels and in His books and His messengers.
We make no division between any one of His messengers.
And they say: We hear and we obey.
Oh Lord, grant us Thy forgiveness;
unto Thee we return.”
Qur’an 2:285