Prophet’s ascension

On February 8th, 2024, Muslims across the globe will commemorate the auspicious event of Al-Israa Wal-Meeraj, famously known as Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) ascension. In its commemoration, February 8th, 2024 will be declared an official holiday in Kuwait and in many Muslim countries. Do you know why this day is so special? Following are the details: Al-Israa refers to travel by night from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to the Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem, and Al-Meeraj refers to Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) ascension from Jerusalem to a place above the seventh heaven. This is a very important occasion for Muslims as it provides a glimpse into the unseen, among other things.

In life, there are physical unseen things such as atoms, radio waves, and electric current – among others - as well as spiritual unseen things such as angels, Satan, heaven, hell, and the soul – among others. We also believe in people we have never seen, such as prophets like Adam, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (PBUH), to mention but a few.

At the age of 52, likely on the 27th of Rajab (the seventh month of the Islamic calendar), the ascension took place. That date was an important milestone for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as well as for Muslims. It was during this meritorious event that the 5 daily obligatory prayers were legislated. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said what can be translated as: “Al-Buraaq was brought to me; it is a white-colored, tall mount larger than a donkey and smaller than a mule. I rode on it until I reached Jerusalem.

Once there, I tied it to the very same ring (of the Jerusalem Mosque door) to which the prophets would tie their riding animals. I then entered the mosque and prayed in it, after which I left. Archangel Gabriel then came to me with a vessel of wine and another of milk. I chose the milk and Gabriel said, what can be translated as: “You have chosen uprightness.”

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) rode on Al-Buraq with arch angel Gabriel, until they reached the first heaven where he met Prophet Adam (PBUH). On the second heaven, he met Jesus (Eisa) and Yahya (John the Baptist). He met on the third heaven Yousef (Joseph), on the fourth Idris (Enoch), and on the fifth Haroun (Aaron). In the six and seventh heavens, he met Mousa (Moses) and Ibrahim (Abraham) respectively.

There were some reasons as to why Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) met specifically with those 8 prophets and messengers during his sojourn in the heaven. The most prominent is that all of them are brothers in the sense that their Creator is one, and they all came with the same message; to worship only God (Allah), far from associating partners with Him, and to spread good morals and manners – among others.

Above the 7th heavens

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) finally reached a place where he heard the creaking of the pens used by the angels who copy from the Preserved Tablet. There, he heard the speech of Almighty Allah which does not resemble our speech in any way. Conversation took place between Almighty Allah (God) and the Prophet (PBUH). It is during this time that the five daily prayers were legislated. At first, they were 50 prayers, but Moses (PBUH) kept advising Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to ask for reduction, reasoning that his own people were given only two prayers a day but failed to perform them.

Makkan reaction

The Prophet’s (PBUH) miraculous night journey ended up being a difficult test for certain people who had believed in his message - the test that some failed to pass. Some polytheists of Makkah approached Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (the Prophet’s bona-fide Companion) and said, translated as: “Will you not go to your Companion and listen for yourself what he is claiming (alluding to Prophet Muhammad)?

He claims that he made a journey during the night to Jerusalem; the journey that takes us a month!” Abu Bakr (ra) replied, translated as: “Did he say so?” “Yes.” Abu Bakr (ra) then said, “If he said so, I believe in him because I do believe more than that when he tells us regarding the revelation he gets from Almighty Allah.” Because of the stance that Abu Bakr took during the trial and test that followed the Prophet’s miraculous night journey to Jerusalem and then the ascension to above the seventh heaven, he was named “As-Siddeeq (the “Truth-Confirming One”).

Some lessons learnt from the night journey and ascension: (1) Every trial or tribulation is followed by some form of relief or reward. The three years that followed the seventh year of the Prophet’s (PBUH) mission were replete with trials and tribulations that he and his nascent followers faced. First, he and his followers were besieged in a mountain pass that belonged to Abu Ta’lib. There, they almost starved, to the extent that they resorted to eating tree leaves.

Secondly, the Prophet (PBUH) lost in the span of few months his uncle Abu Ta’lib who was his protector from the evil of humankind, and his wife Khadijah who was his human source of comfort. That year was characterized as the year of sadness. Third, The Quraysh took advantage of Abu Ta’lib’s death, taking it as a sign that they could persecute and harm the Prophet (PBUH) more severely than ever before. Fourth, the people of At-Taaif, to whom the Prophet (PBUH) had resorted for support and help, rejected his message and rather treated him in a hostile and despicable manner.

(2) The Prophet’s miraculous night journey and ascension was a precursor of a new stage in his mission; it occurred shortly before his emigration to Madinah. That new stage in the Prophet’s mission involved the establishment of a strong Muslim state in Madinah. Out of the billions of galaxies, could there be a planet where all our affairs go to for permanent recording and storage (Data Center)?

Confirmation of the existence of galaxies would shed more light on the elementary nature of matter as well as on the birth process of the universe. Were the cosmic pathways shown to our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during his ascension? Almighty Allah says, translated as: “By the sky with (its) numerous pathways” (Adh-Dha’riyaat – The Scattering Winds 51: 07)

Finally, Almighty Allah says thus regarding Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) night journey and ascension, translated as: “Glory to (Allah) who took 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 hears and sees all things.” (Al-Isra’a (the Night Journey) 17:01) - Courtesy of Kuwaiti Society for Cultural Dialogue