Al-Isra wal-Mi'raj (The Night Journey and Ascension)
Suggest editOverview
Al-Isra wal-Mi'raj (الإسراء والمعراج) is one of the most significant events in the life of Prophet Muhammad. It refers to the miraculous night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem (al-Isra) and the subsequent ascension through the heavens (al-Mi'raj). It occurred approximately one year before the Hijrah, during a period of great personal loss for the Prophet.
Al-Isra
The Prophet was taken by night from al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah to al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem on a heavenly mount called al-Buraq (Quran 17:1). At al-Aqsa, he led all the prophets in prayer, a demonstration of his status as the seal of the prophets and the imam of the messengers.
Al-Mi'raj
From Jerusalem, the Prophet ascended through the seven heavens, meeting prophets at each level: Adam in the first, Isa and Yahya in the second, Yusuf in the third, Idris in the fourth, Harun in the fifth, Musa in the sixth, and Ibrahim in the seventh. He then proceeded to Sidrat al-Muntaha (the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary) and was brought near to Allah, closer than any creation. There, the five daily prayers were prescribed, originally fifty but reduced to five through the intercession of Musa (Sahih al-Bukhari 349).
Lessons
The Isra and Mi'raj affirm the centrality of salah in Islam, the connection between the three holy mosques, the status of the Prophet among all messengers, and the reality of the unseen worlds. Abu Bakr earned the title al-Siddiq for his immediate belief in this event when others doubted.