At a glance
Stage 4In a single night the Prophet ﷺ was carried from Makkah to al-Masjid al-Aqsa and then raised through the heavens, and he returned before dawn with the gift of the five daily prayers.
- When
- c. 620-621 CE (accounts differ on the exact year)
- Where
- Makkah, al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, and the heavens
- Known as
- The Night Journey and the Ascension (al-Isra wal-Mi'raj)
- Key people
- Prophet Muhammad ﷺ; Jibril; the earlier prophets; Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
- Key places
- Makkah; Jerusalem; the heavens; Sidrat al-Muntaha
- Read time
- 6 minutes
Part oneThe Isra, from Makkah to Jerusalem
Think of where the Prophet ﷺ stood in those years. He had lost his uncle and his wife, been stoned at Ta'if, and been turned away by the leaders of his own tribe. Muslims have long understood the night that followed as a gift of honour and comfort from Allah after that hard season. Accounts differ on the exact year, but it came while he was still living in Makkah, before the Hijrah.
The Quran opens a whole surah with this event. It says that Allah took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, the masjid whose surroundings Allah had blessed, to show him some of His signs. This was the Isra, the night travel. The great majority of scholars have understood it as a real event, of body and soul together. For a caravan, the road between the two places meant weeks of travel.
From the Quran
سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ ١
Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing.
He was resting near the Kaaba when Jibril (peace be upon him) came to him. His chest was opened, washed with Zamzam water and filled with faith and wisdom from a golden tray. Then he was carried on the Buraq, a white riding animal said to be larger than a donkey and smaller than a mule, whose stride reached as far as its eye could see. In Jerusalem, a city that many earlier prophets had known, he came to al-Masjid al-Aqsa. There he met those prophets, led them in prayer, and prayed two rak'ahs.
He was then offered two cups, one of milk and one of wine. This was before wine was forbidden. He chose the milk, and Jibril told him that he had chosen the natural way, and that his community would be guided with him.
Part twoThe Mi'raj, the ascent
From Jerusalem he was raised through the heavens. At each gate Jibril asked for it to be opened, and the keeper asked who was there and whether the one with him had been sent for. In each heaven a prophet greeted him. Adam and Ibrahim welcomed him as a righteous son, and the others as a righteous brother. As he passed Musa, Musa wept. When asked why, he said it was because a young man sent after him would have more of his followers enter Paradise than his own.
The narration names the prophets in order. In the first heaven was Adam, then Yahya and Isa in the second, Yusuf in the third, Idris in the fourth, Harun in the fifth, Musa in the sixth, and Ibrahim in the seventh (peace be upon them all). Ibrahim sat leaning against the Bayt al-Ma'mur, the house in the heavens that seventy thousand angels enter each day, never to return to it again.
Beyond that he came to Sidrat al-Muntaha, the lote tree at the farthest boundary. He described its fruits as large as the clay jars of Hajar and its leaves as large as the ears of elephants. Surah an-Najm speaks of what he saw there, and says that his sight did not waver or go astray. Four rivers flowed from its base, two hidden and two plain to see, and Jibril told him that the two in view were the Nile and the Euphrates. Jibril could go no further. What happened beyond is known only in the briefest terms. The Prophet ﷺ was given the closing verses of Surah al-Baqarah, and he told his followers that Allah prescribed fifty prayers each day for him and his community.
On his way down, he met Musa. Musa asked what had been set for his community, and when he heard it, he said it was far too heavy for them, and urged him to go back and ask for less. The Prophet ﷺ returned to ask again and again, and each time the number was lowered, until five remained. Musa told him to ask once more. The Prophet ﷺ replied that he was too shy to ask again, and he accepted it. Allah declared that the five carry the reward of fifty.
From the hadith
Narrated `Abbas bin Malik:
[…] Then Al-Bait-ul-Ma'mur (i.e. the Sacred House) was shown to me and a container full of wine and another full of milk and a third full of honey were brought to me. I took the milk. Gabriel remarked, 'This is the Islamic religion which you and your followers are following.' Then the prayers were enjoined on me: They were fifty prayers a day. When I returned, I passed by Moses who asked (me), 'What have you been ordered to do?' I replied, 'I have been ordered to offer fifty prayers a day.' Moses said, 'Your followers cannot bear fifty prayers a day, and by Allah, I have tested people before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel (in vain). Go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your followers' burden.' So I went back, and Allah reduced ten prayers for me. Then again I came to Moses, but he repeated the same as he had said before. Then again I went back to Allah and He reduced ten more prayers. When I came back to Moses he said the same, I went back to Allah and He ordered me to observe ten prayers a day. When I came back to Moses, he repeated the same advice, so I went back to Allah and was ordered to observe five prayers a day. When I came back to Moses, he said, 'What have you been ordered?' I replied, 'I have been ordered to observe five prayers a day.' He said, 'Your followers cannot bear five prayers a day, and no doubt, I have got an experience of the people before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel, so go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your follower's burden.' I said, 'I have requested so much of my Lord that I feel ashamed, but I am satisfied now and surrender to Allah's Order.' When I left, I heard a voice saying, 'I have passed My Order and have lessened the burden of My Worshipers." […]
Part threeThe morning after
Before dawn, he was back in Makkah. In the morning he told people what had happened, and the response was what he had expected. Abu Jahl heard it first and asked him whether he would repeat it if the people were gathered. He said he would, and Abu Jahl called the clans together to hear it. Many of the Quraysh laughed. Some of them had been to Jerusalem and challenged him to describe al-Masjid al-Aqsa. He did, including details he had not thought to note on his visit, because Allah showed the masjid to him as he answered. Even so, the sneering did not stop.
Some people hurried to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him what his friend was claiming, expecting him to be shaken. He said that if the Prophet ﷺ had said it, then it was true. When he met the Prophet ﷺ, he affirmed it again, detail by detail. It is from this firm belief that he came to be called as-Siddiq, the one who confirms the truth.
Many Muslims remember the night on the 27th of Rajab, though scholars differ about the date. The Prophet ﷺ taught that a special trip for devotion may be made to only three masjids: al-Masjid al-Haram, his own masjid in Madinah and al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
The night left Muslims with a gift they use every day. Five times each day they stand in prayer because of it. Al-Masjid al-Aqsa also became the first direction the Muslims faced in prayer, for some months after the Hijrah, before the Kaaba became the direction they face today.
The night left Muslims with a gift they use every day.
More on How to Muslim
WatchLectures for this chapter
The mapWhere it happened
- Makkah (al-Masjid al-Haram)
- Jerusalem (al-Masjid al-Aqsa)
- Sidrat al-Muntaha
This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.
SourcesSources for this chapter
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