The story of Isra’ & Mi^raj

From al-Masjid al-Aqsa the Mi^raj (Ascension) started; the Prophet ascended to heaven on stairs, called al-mirqat. Those stairs are veiled from us. He then saw, in the first heaven, Prophet Adam who welcomed him and made supplication for him for good things. Then the Prophet ascended to the second heaven in which he saw Prophets

^Isa and Yahya. The Prophet ascended to the third heaven where he found Prophet Yusuf. Then the Prophet ascended to the fourth heaven where he found Prophet Idris. In the fifth heaven, the Prophet encountered Harun, the brother of Prophet Musa. In the sixth heaven, he encountered Prophet Musa. Each of these Prophets received Prophet

Muhammad with a warm welcome and made supplication (du^a’) for him for good things.

Then the Prophet ascended to the seventh heaven, and that is where our Messenger saw Prophet Ibrahim. Prophet Ibrahim is the best of the prophets after our Prophet, Muhammad. Prophet Ibrahim had his back against al-Bayt al-Ma^mur when the Prophet saw him. To the inhabitants of the skies, al-Bayt al-Ma^mur is like the Ka^bah is to us, the inhabitants of the earth. Every day 70,000 angels go there, exit from it and never return. On the next day, another 70,000 angels would go, come out, and never return and so on.

In the seventh heaven, Prophet Muhammad saw Sidrat al-Muntaha, an extremely beautiful tree.

In Paradise, the Prophet saw some of the bounties Allah prepared for the inhabitants of Paradise. He saw the Hur ul-^In: non-human nor jinn females whom Allah created. They are in Paradise and will be married to whom Allah willed.

The Prophet saw the wildan ul-mukhalladun: these are non-human, jinn, nor angels creations of Allah. They are a very beautiful creation of Allah whose appearance is like sprinkled pearls. They are servants of the inhabitants of Paradise.

The Prophet saw the Throne (^Arsh) which is the ceiling of Paradise. The Throne is the largest creation in size. Allah did not create anything bigger in size than it.

Allah ta^ala the Creator of everything does not need it, nor does He need to sit on it. Allah exists without a place because He created the places so He does not need them. The seven heavens and the earth in comparison to the Kursiyy are like a ring thrown in a desert, and the Kursiyy in comparison to the Throne is like a ring thrown in a desert. The seven heavens and the earth in comparison to the Throne are like a seed of mustard compared to the ocean. Allah created the Throne as a sign of His Power and He did not create the Throne to sit on it. Imam ^Aliyy may Allah raise his rank said: “Allah created the ^Arsh as an indication for His Power, and He did not take it as a place for Himself.”