Isra and Mi'raj

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A 16th century Persian miniature painting celebrating Muhammad's ascent into the Heavens, a journey known as the Miraj. Muhammad's face is veiled, a common practice in Islamic art.

In Islamic tradition, the Night Journey, Isra and Mi'raj (Arabic: الإسراء والمعراج‎, al-’Isrā’ wal-Mi‘rāğ), are the two parts of a journey that the Islamic prophet Muhammad took in one night, around the year 621. Many Muslims consider it a physical journey but some scholars consider it a dream or vision.^[1][2] A brief sketch of the story is in verses 1 and 60 of one of the Qur'an chapters (#17: sura Al-Isra), and other details were filled in from the supplemental writings, the hadith.

The event is celebrated each year via a festival for families, the Lailat al Miraj, one of the most important events in the Islamic calendar.^[3] Muslims bring their children to the mosques, where the children are told the story, pray with the adults, and then afterwards food and treats are served.

The story

The Isra begins with Muhammad resting in the Kaaba in Mecca, when the archangel Gabriel comes to him, and brings him the winged steed Buraq, the traditional lightning steed of the prophets. The Buraq then carries Muhammad to the "Masjid Al Aqsa", the "Farthest Mosque", which many Muslims believe is "the Noble Sanctuary" (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. Muhammad alights, tethers Buraq, and leads the other prophets of Abrahamic descent in prayer. He then re-mounts Buraq, and in the second part of the journey, the Mi'raj, is taken to the heavens, where he tours the circles of heaven, and speaks with the earlier prophets such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and then is taken by Gabriel to Allah. Allah instructs Muhammad that Muslims must pray fifty times a day; however, Moses tells Muhammad that it is very difficult for them and they could never do it, and urges Muhammad to go back several times and ask for a reduction, until finally it is reduced to five times a day.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

After Muhammad returned to Earth and tells his story in Mecca, the unbelieving townspeople regard it as absurd. Some go to Muhammad's companion Abu Bakr and tell him, "Look at what your companion is saying. He says he went to Jerusalem and came back in one night." Abu Bakr in replies, "If he said that, then he is truthful. I believe him concerning the news of the heavens — that an angel descends to him from the heavens. How could I not believe he went to Jerusalem and came back in a short period of time — when these are on earth?" It was for this that Abu Bakr is said to have received his famous title "Us-Siddiq", The Truthful.

Type of journey

Many Muslims believe that the Isra and Mi'raj describe a physical journey of Muhammad, but some Islamic scholars consider it as a dream. Ibn Ishaq, author of the first biography of Muhammad, says it was the latter. Ibn Isḥaq has been accused of being a Qadari, as some have questioned his dependability. Because of this, highly notable scholars including Imam Bukhari hardly ever used his narratives. He has a tradition from Aisha, one of Muhammad's wives, that only Muhammad's spirit had journeyed to "the distant place of prayer", although later material written by Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir differ in this opinion.^[1] Some argue that the journey was a type of metaphor – a mode of revelation for Muhammad in symbolic form, for the guidance of the Muslim nation. The event could be interpreted as foretelling Muslims that God would now raise Muslims up as a superpower, and Jerusalem would soon fall into their hands. This did happen within less than three decades of this event.^[8] Other hadith material suggests that it was a physical journey and it is argued that this event wouldn't be a "trial" for believers if it were a dream.^[3][9]

The Masjid al-Aqsa, the farthest mosque

Though at the time of the Isra and Mi'raj, there was no mosque in that location, the term "the farthest Mosque" (Arabic: المسجد الأقصى‎, al-Masğidu 'l-’Aqṣà) in verse (17:1) of the Qur'an is traditionally interpreted by Muslims as referring to the site at the Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. This interpretation is agreed with by even the earliest biographer of Muhammad — Ibn Ishaq — and is supported by numerous hadith. The term used for mosque,"masjid", literally means "place of prostration", and includes monotheistic places of worship such as Solomon's Temple, which in verse 17:7 (in the same sura) is described as a masjid. Some Muslim scholars argue that "the farthest mosque" referred to in the Qur'an actually points to the Temple.^[10]

Many Western historians, such as Heribert Busse^[11] and Neal Robinson,^[12] agree that Jerusalem is the originally intended interpretation. However, many disagree, arguing that at the time this verse of the Qur'an was recited (around the year 621, unless one follows Wansbrough) most Muslims understood the phrase "farthest mosque" as a poetic phrase for a mosque already known to them, the mosque in Heaven, or as a metaphor. For the following reasons, they find it unlikely that this verse referred to a location in Palestine: But it is also true that initially Muslims used to pray while facing towards "bait-ul-muqadas" or the Temple Mount or the Holy Land. Later on this direction, the Qibla, was changed to Mecca.

The modern Al Aqsa mosque, built after Muhammad's lifetime

Critics also point out that at the time of Muhammad's vision,. Abdul Latif Tibawi, a Palestinian historian, argues that this action "gave reality to the figurative name used in the Koran."^[13]

Critics also state that there were already two places that Muslim tradition of that time period called "the farthest mosque"; one was the mosque in Medina,^[14] and the other was the mosque in the town of Jirana, which Muhammed is said to have visited in 630.^[15]

Another point against the claim that the 'Farthest mosque' was in Jerusalem is the fact that the passage in the Qur'an states that the journey had but one leg, not two.

"Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless..."

Muhammad went from point A to point B and stopped at point B. He did not go from Point A to point B and then from point B to C. According to the passage in the Qur'an, he went from (A) the Sacred mosque (in Mecca where he lived) to (B) the 'farthest' mosque - and stopped there. It does not state that he went from (B) the 'farthest' mosque to (C) Heaven. Ergo, the 'farthest' mosque must be situated in Heaven as Muhammad didn't go any further than the 'farthest' mosque. An argument would be that the Quranic chapter is named "Al Isra´" And not "Al Isra' Wal Mi'raj", thus referring only to the Earthly Night Journey to Jerusalem.

Modern observance

This celebrated event in Islam is considered to have taken place before the Hijra and after Muhammad's visit to the people of Ta’if. It is considered by some to have happened just over a year before the Hijra, on the 27th of Rajab; but this date is not always recognized. In Shi'a Iran for example, Rajab 27 is the day of Muhammad's first calling or Mab'as.

The Lailat al Miraj (Arabic: لیلة المعراج‎, Lailätu 'l-Mi‘rāğ), also known as Shab-e-Miraj (Persian: شب معراج, Šab-e Mi'râj) in Iran, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and Miraç Kandili in Turkish, is the Muslim festival celebrating the Isra and Mi'raj. Muslims celebrate this event by offering optional prayers during this night, and in many Muslim countries, by illuminating cities with electric lights and candles. The celebrations around this day tend to focus on children and the young. Children are gathered into a mosque and are told the story of the Isra and Mi'raj. The story usually focuses on how Muhammad's heart was purified by an archangel (Gabriel) and filled him with knowledge and faith in preparation to enter the seven levels of heaven. After prayer (Salat, where the children can pray with the adults if they wish) food and treats are served.^[3][16][17]

Qur'an and hadith

There is very little in the Qur'an about the event, though the Isra and Mi'raj have been discussed in detail in supplemental traditions to the Qur'an, known as hadith literature. Within the Qur'an itself, there are two verses in chapter 17, which has been named after the Isra, and is called "Chapter Isra" or "Sura Al-Isra". There is also some information in Sura An-Najm, which some say is related to the Isra and Mi'raj.^[18]

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The Qur'an

The Qur'an, chapter 17 (Al-Isra), verse 1:

“

Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).— translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali

”

The Qur'an, chapter 17 (Al-Isra), verse 60:

“

Behold! We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about: We granted the vision which We showed thee, but as a trial for men,- as also the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur'an: We put terror (and warning) into them, but it only increases their inordinate transgression!— translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali

”

The Qur'an, chapter 53 (An-Najm), verse 13 to 18:

“

For indeed he saw him at a second descent, Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass: Near it is the Garden of Abode. Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded (in mystery unspeakable!) (His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong! For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest!— translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali

”

Hadith

Of the supplemental writings, hadith, two of the best known are by Anas ibn Malik, who had been a young boy during the time of Muhammad's journey.

See also

• Dome of the Rock
• Foundation Stone
• Mut‘im ibn ‘Adi
• Muhammad in Mecca
• Islamic view of miracles

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim world, Macmillan reference, USA, 2004. p.482
2. ^ Scharfstein, Sol (1994). Understanding Israel. KTAV Publishing House, Inc.. pp. 134. ISBN 9780881254280.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Bradlow, Khadija (August 18, 2007). "A Night Journey through Jerusalem". Times Online.
4. ^ IslamAwareness.net - Isra and Mi'raj, The Details
5. ^ About.com - The Meaning of Isra' and Mi'raj in Islam
6. ^ Google books - Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns By Brooke Olson Vuckovic
7. ^ Google books - Muhammad By Omar Mahmoud
8. ^ Shehzad Saleem. Renaissance - Monthly Islamic Journal, 8(7-8). July & August 1998
9. ^ Abul Ala Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an, 17:60
10. ^ Moiz Amjad, The Position of Jerusalem and the Bayet al-Maqdas in Islam, understanding-islam.com, Al-Mawrid
11. ^ Heribert Busse, "Jerusalem in the Story of Muhammad's Night Journey and Ascension," Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 14 (1991): 1–40.
12. ^ N. Robinson, Discovering The Qur'ân: A Contemporary Approach To A Veiled Text, 1996, SCM Press Ltd.: London, p. 192.
13. ^ Abdul Latif Tibawi, Jerusalem: Its Place in Islam and Arab History, Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1969, p. 9
14. ^ Arthur Jeffrey, The Suppressed Quran Commentary of Muhammad Abu Zaid, Der Islam, 20 (1932): 306
15. ^ Alfred Guillaume, Where Was Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa? Al-Andalus, (18) 1953: 323–36
16. ^ BBC Religion and Ethics - Lailat al Miraj
17. ^ WRMEA article on Muslim holidays
18. ^ "Sura Al-Najm" 53:13

• A. Bevan, Mohammed's Ascension to Heaven, in "Studien zu Semitischen Philologie und Religionsgeschichte Julius Wellhausen," (Topelman, 1914,pp. 53-54.)
• B. Schreike, "Die Himmelreise Muhammeds," Der Islam 6 (1915–16): 1-30
• Colby, Frederick. The Subtleties of the Ascension: Lata'if Al-Miraj: Early Mystical Sayings on Muhammad's Heavenly Journey. City: Fons Vitae, 2006.[
• J. Horovitz, "Muhammeds Himmelfahrt," Der Islam 9 (1919): 159-83
• Heribert Busse and Georg Kretschmar, Jerusalemer Heiligstumstraditionen (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1987)
• Heribert Busse, "The Destruction Of The Temple And Its Reconstruction In The Light Of Muslim Exegesis Of Sûra 17:2–8", Jerusalem Studies In Arabic And Islam, 1996, Vol. 20, p. 1.