Isra Miraj - Inspiration Drawn from the Glorious Celestial Night Journey

There are two nights that we commemorate in the life of the Prophet; two nights of such significance that they are distinctly mentioned by name in the holy Qur’an... which commemorates an event that occurred when he was forty years of age; the Night of Power and Empowerment. It marked the commencement of the final Divine Revelation (the Qur’an) and made public the prophetic mission of the final emissary of Allah (Prophet Muhammad)….

the Night Journey and Ascension which commemorates and event that occurred when the Prophet was 52 years of age.

The Isra’ wal Mi’raj occurred at a most trying time of Prophet’s challenging life. The people of Makkah; who had called him as-Sadiq/truthful and al-Amin/trustworthy, had rejected his message; ostracized his followers and victimized his family. He and a handful of followers endured three years of relentless persecution and boycott from the Makkans and he eventually went to Taif to preach his message. There they mocked him and stoned him till bled profusely. He turned to Allah with the words; “

Then at this most difficult and trying time of the holy Prophet’s illustrious life, he experiences the ‘am al-huzn (year of sorrow) in which he witnessed the passing of two significant people in his life. One was his protective uncle Abu Talib, who was his guardian and political protector and the other was Khadijah, his most beloved wife, his confidante, mother of all his children (except Ibrahim). She was the first to embrace his faith, the financier of the nascent Islamic movement and Mother of the Faithful. It was at this time that the Isra’ wal Mi’raj (Night Journey and Ascension) took place; from Masjid al-Haram in Makkah to Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem

Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem The significance of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa is evidenced through reference to Masjid-ul-Aqsa and its precincts in the holy Qur’an [Q 21:71; Q 17:1] and numerous sayings of the Prophet (pbuh). This is the area of the world where Prophet Dawud (David), Sulayman (Solomon) and ‘Isa (Jesus) were born, grew up and carried out their missions; the place to which Prophets Ibrahim (Abraham) and Lut (Lot) migrated; where Yahya (John) preached and where Ibrahim (Abraham), Ishaq (Isaac), Ya’qub (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph) and Musa (Moses) are buried. May Allah be pleased with all of them.

Al-Aqsa preceded Makkah as the first direction of prayer for the early Muslims and Jerusalem is spiritually linked with Makkah when Masjid-ul-Aqsa became the destination of the Isra’ in the Night Journey [Q 17:1] of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have exhorted Believers ...

After al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, the journey went far beyond the parameters of human travel. The Prophet was accepted to the celestial regions where he witnessed remarkable signs of divine majesty about which the Qur’an says;

[Q: 53:17-18] was a total all-comprehensive voyage; from horizontal journey across a visible phenomenal world to

vertical cosmic pathways (tariqah) traversing all spiritual realms to haqiqah/Divine Reality. A journey that was terrestrial and celestial, earthly and heavenly, physical and metaphysical, corporeal and spiritual, esoteric and exoteric, microcosmic and macrocosmic, within a night yet beyond normal time and space. It was a journey from creation to Creator, from orientation to the Divine House (Ka’bah) to an audience with the Divine (ie. from Ka’bah to the Lord of the Ka’bah), from the limitedness of being to the limitlessness of the Absolute; witnessing the ayat/divine signs and symbols to (ayatin-al kubra) ultimately witnessing the One who is symbolized. It was indeed a journey that reached far beyond the parameters of human travel, beyond the Gabriel who accompanied the Prophet on the journey, reached a point beyond which he could not traverse. Prophet Muhammad ascended unto the highest manifestation of the Divine Presence till the summation at (the lote-tree symbolizing the uttermost extremity of human proximity to the Divine).

Only Prophet Muhammad, the most beloved of Allah, the greatest of His creation, the finest specimen of the artwork of the Ultimate Artist; only he could go to this uppermost limit, the limit of being before the Absolute.

In a report, documented in the Sahih of Imam Muslim, the companion Abdullah ibn Masoud states that on the Night Journey three things were granted to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh); the five daily obligatory prayers, the last two verses of surah al-Baqarah (Q 2:285-286) and divine forgiveness for all those not associating partners with God.

1. Among the gifts that the holy Prophet descended with from that highest sphere is salah, the gift of Prayer (anywhere in the world), which is a means of expiation for the self and purification for the soul and a mode for moral rejuvenation and spiritual elevation.: Salah is a pillar of Islam and its performance at prescribed times is an obligatory duty upon every mature, mentally sound Believer. It is a manifestation of obedience in practice and an expression and symbol of one’s faith. The holy Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said that “the best (worship) is

[Mustadrak al- Hakim].