Al-Isra wal Mi'raj — The Night Journey & Ascension
الإسراء والمعراج
Shortly after the Year of Sorrow, Allah honoured His Prophet ﷺ with the Night Journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and the Ascension through the heavens — where the five daily prayers were prescribed.
The Account
Al-Isra: From Mecca to Jerusalem
While the Prophet ﷺ was in Mecca — in the period of greatest hardship after the death of Khadijah and Abu Talib — Allah honoured him with the miraculous Night Journey.
The angel Jibril came to the Prophet ﷺ at night. He was taken by the Buraq (a heavenly mount) from the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca to the Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.
There, the Prophet ﷺ led all the previous prophets in prayer — a powerful declaration that Islam is the completion and fulfilment of all previous divine messages.
Allah says:
*"Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs."* (Al-Isra: 1)
Al-Mi'raj: The Ascension Through the Heavens
From Jerusalem, Jibril took the Prophet ﷺ on an ascension (mi'raj) through the seven heavens. At each level he met a prophet:
- First Heaven: Adam ﷺ - Second Heaven: Yahya and Isa ﷺ - Third Heaven: Yusuf ﷺ - Fourth Heaven: Idris ﷺ - Fifth Heaven: Harun ﷺ - Sixth Heaven: Musa ﷺ - Seventh Heaven: Ibrahim ﷺ
He was taken to Sidrat al-Muntaha (the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary), beyond which no creature can pass, and saw Al-Bayt al-Ma'mur (the Frequented House) — the heavenly counterpart of the Ka'bah.
The Prescription of the Five Prayers
At the pinnacle of the ascension, the five daily prayers were prescribed — originally fifty prayers. On the descent, Musa ﷺ advised the Prophet ﷺ to return and ask for a reduction, as he knew from experience with Banu Isra'il that people could not manage fifty. The Prophet ﷺ returned repeatedly until it was reduced to five prayers, with the reward of fifty.
Allah said: "The word is not changed with Me, and I am not unjust to [My] servants." (Qaf: 29)
The Reaction of Quraysh
When the Prophet ﷺ reported the Night Journey the next morning, Quraysh mocked and ridiculed him, calling it impossible. Some Muslims who were weak in faith wavered. Abu Bakr RA, when told, said: "If he said it, then it is true — and I believe him regarding things even greater than this." This earned him the title Al-Siddiq (The Great Truthful One).
The Prophet ﷺ described the physical features of Masjid al-Aqsa to the Quraysh, and they verified his description with those who had been to Jerusalem — confirming what he said.
Hadith References
فُرِضَتْ عَلَيَّ الصَّلَاةُ خَمْسِينَ، ثُمَّ نُقِصَتْ حَتَّى جُعِلَتْ خَمْسًا
"The Prophet ﷺ said: "The prayer was prescribed upon me as fifty, then it was reduced until it was made five, and it was said: 'O Muhammad, the word is not changed with Me, and you will have with these five [the reward of] fifty.'"
Relevance: The prescription of the five prayers at the pinnacle of the Mi'raj
"Malik ibn Sa'sa'ah narrated the account of the Night Journey, describing the Prophet's ﷺ ascent through the heavens and meeting each prophet."
Relevance: The most comprehensive authentic narration of the Mi'raj
Weak & Fabricated Narration Notes
The following claims are commonly circulated but have been assessed as weak or fabricated by Ahlul Hadith scholars.
Claim: The Prophet ﷺ saw Allah directly with his eyes on the night of Mi'raj
Verdict: Disputed among scholars. Aisha RA and Ibn Masud RA denied this, and their interpretation of the relevant Quranic verses (An-Najm: 13-14) as referring to seeing Jibril is the stronger position according to many scholars.
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari, 4855; Sahih Muslim, 177 — Aisha's explicit denial
Scholar Views
"The Isra was physical — with body and soul — while awake. This is the position of the majority of scholars and is supported by the text of Al-Isra: 1 which says "His Servant," referring to body and soul together. Had it been only a dream, Quraysh would not have been astonished and would not have called it a lie."
Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya, Vol. 3; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Al-Isra: 1
"The five prayers are the connection between the servant and his Lord — the Mi'raj of the believer. Just as the Prophet ﷺ ascended to meet Allah, the believer ascends through prayer. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said: "The prayer is the mi'raj of the believer.""
Zad al-Ma'ad, Vol. 1
Key Lessons
- ◆The Night Journey was a divine gift of honour and consolation after the hardest year of his life
- ◆Leading all prophets in prayer in Jerusalem shows Islam's position as the completion of all divine messages
- ◆The five daily prayers are a direct gift from Allah — prescribed at the highest point of nearness, not via an angel
- ◆Abu Bakr RA's reaction is the model of how a believer responds to matters of the unseen: belief based on trust in the Prophet ﷺ
Sources
- •Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum — Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri
- •Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya — Ibn Kathir
- •Zad al-Ma'ad — Ibn al-Qayyim
- •Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Bad' al-Khalq
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