سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
“Glory be to Him, Who took His servant during the night from the Sacred House to the farthest mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; verily He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” [Al-Isra:17:1]
Reflection on Al-Isra wal Mi’raj
The events of Al-Isra wal Mi’raj are fascinating. Below are some points of reflection of the night’s events and the repercussion it had upon the Ummah.
1. Al-Isra was mentioned in the Qur’an from Makkah to Baitul Maqdis but Al-Mir’aj (the ascension through the heavens) is not directly mentioned in the Qur’an though in Surah An-Najm Allah mentions aspects of Al-Mir’aj. The details about the heavenly journey is found in Ahadith. One Should not deny it simply because the details are not in the Qur’an.
2. Prior to Al-Isra wal Mi’raj, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) showed great patience and restraint when he faced the hardship at the hands of the people of At-Taif. In the collection of Muslim, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) described the rejection at At-Taif as the worst treatment he had received in his life. The angels of the mountains was sent to him seeking permission to crush the people of At-Taif, but he instead made a supplication that their children be raised in the worship of Allah. Allah bestowed His gift of Al-Isra wal Mi’raj soon after. We learn that trial and tribulation is part of life and times of difficulty is accompanied with ease. The Qur’anic paradigm is: “With hardship follows ease” [Al-Inshirah: 94:5]
3. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was prepared for Al-Isra wal Mi’raj. His chest was opened and his blessed heart – the finest and noblest of hearts – was removed and purified once again. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had his chest opened no less than four times. Once as a child in the care of his foster mother, the second time when he was ten, a third time was when he was made a Prophet and a fourth time was the night of Al-Isra wal Mi’raj in preparation for the wondrous journey. His Baseera was further strengthened for he was about to embark upon the journey through the cosmos and ascend up the heavens of which are seven, pass over Jahannam and Jannah, see the Arash of Allah, and pass even beyond the Sidratul Muntaha (lote tree).
4. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) experienced Al-Isra wal Mi’raj with his body and soul, he travelled physically upon Al-Buraq whose appearance is between a horse and a mule. Al-Buraq despite being a mere animal could travel at unimaginable speed, perhaps beyond the speed of light – with each stride, it could reach as far as it could see. He rode Al-Buraq from Makkah to Baitul Maqdis and then to the heavens.
5. Prophet Musa (ﷺ) sought to see Allah, he was told to prepare himself for a period of thirty days and then a further ten. “We appointed for Musa thirty nights and we completed (the period) with ten more” [Al-Araf: 7:142]. Unlike Prophet Musa (ﷺ), Allah sought His beloved (ﷺ), he was not made to wait rather Al-Buraq was sent to him to honour him with Angel Jibril as the guide.
6. Allah has sanctified some places – He selected these places over other places. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) dismounted and prayed in a number of places of significant historic importance where His bounties was bestowed upon His servants. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed in these places to show that the whole earth was made as a place of prayer and prostration for his Ummah. And in the places of prayer, the deeds are multiplied manifold by the virtue of its significance.“The prayer in congregation is twenty seven times superior to the prayer offered by person alone.” [Bukhari] Abu al-Darda narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stated, “A prayer in the Masjid al-Haram is akin to one hundred thousand prayers, a prayer in my mosque is like a thousand prayers, and a prayer in the Baitul Maqdis is like five hundred prayers [in reward].” [Tabarani: Mu`jam al-Kabir]
7. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed as an Imam in Baitul Maqdis, he led ALL the PROPHETS of Allah since the time Prophet Adam (ﷺ) in the worship of Allah. This shows (i) the status of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as the leader of mankind. He (ﷺ) said: “On the Day of Judgement I will be the leader of the Prophets and their spokesman, and the bearer of their intercession, without pretension” [Tirmidhi]. (ii) That all the Prophets and Messengers are part of the same mission – the mission of spreading the knowledge of Tawhid. The significance of all the Prophets praying behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) shows that his Shari’ah henceforth was the only one to be followed. He is the seal of the Prophets. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “My similitude in comparison with the other Prophets before me, is that of a man who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner. The people go about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: ‘Would that this brick be put in its place!’ So I am that brick, and I am the last of the Prophets.” [Bukhari]
8. The reality of life after death. The Prophets and Messengers were given life and they interacted with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) both on the earth in Baitul Maqdis and in the heavens. He met and greeted Adam in the first heaven, Isa and Yayha on the second, Yusuf on the third, Idris on the fourth, Harun on the fifth, Musa on the sixth and Ibrahim on the seventh.
9. The centrality and significance of Salah – It is the highest form of worship. ALL of the prophets participated in the Salah for the relationship with Allah has always been through Salah. Salah was not yet an obligation for the Muslims even though Angel Jibril taught him and subsequently the companions how to pray since the very beginning of the mission. The actual obligation to pray five times was issued 18-24 months before the migration to This obligation was prescribed without intermediaries to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the heavens on the night of Mir’aj. The Salah has come to raise us, to elevate us, to be our ascent to Allah. By performing the five prayers, it connects the servant with his Lord. Anas bin Malik narrated: “On the Night of Isra, fifty prayers were made obligatory upon the Prophet. Then it was decreased [on the recommendation of Prophet Musa] until it was made to be five. Then it was called out: ‘O Muhammad! Indeed My Word does not change; these five prayers will be recorded for you as fifty.'” [Tirmidhi] So the five daily prayers are equivalent to fifty in reward. Allah made the Salah compulsory. He does not want us to be devoid of its treasures and benefits. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The closest that a person can be to his Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, is when he is prostrating, so increase in supplication then.” [Sunan an-Nasa’i]
10. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ascended from heaven to heaven. The angels in each heavens had been foretold of his arrival. Just as the dwellers of the earth had the honour of meeting him and becoming his companions, Mir’aj was the opportunity for the the heavenly realm to be honoured by meeting him. By following in the footstep of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) our names can be raised high. It is said: “Some people are perhaps unknown to the people of this earth yet they are celebrities in the celestial realm.” May Allah make us people of mention and being mentioned.
12. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw Baitul Ma’mur above the seventh heaven, which is directly aligned with Baitul Haram, where everyday 70,000 angels enter and perform prayers and then they leave without ever returning to it. And this has been happening since the creation of the heavens. This shows the incalculable number of angels of Allah who are worshipping Him continuously without fail. The Merciful Lord is not in need of our broken worship, rather, we are in need of Him and our worship is for our own benefit of gaining His nearness and mercy.
13. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw the river of Al-Kauthar that he has been given in Jannah to which we are all invited to drink from. He also saw Sidratul Muntaha – a lote tree of the utmost boundary, whose size and beauty is unimaginable, which was shrouded in colours indescribable The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went to a place where no other being has ever been before or visited thereafter. He was blessed with the vision of his Lord, a blessing which no-one else will receive until they enter Paradise. Indeed, he (ﷺ) is the most honourable of Allah’s creation. “His vision did not stray, nor did it go wrong, his heart did not lie about what it saw, certainly, he saw the greatest signs of His Lord” [An-Najm: 53:17-18]. He is the complete guide who has both knowledge and experience of the end destination – Allah. So we follow him completely as a guide to take us by hand to Allah. Are we not curious to know what he saw?
14. The Prophet’s (ﷺ) bed where he had been sleeping was still warm when he returned back to Makkah from the events of the night. All of this took place in a few instants. So little time had elapsed which is an example of Allah’s divine power – that He can do all things. We are so accustomed to the pattern of cause and effect and the laws of creation that we tend to forget the presence of divine power in everything.
The sanctity of Baitul Maqdis
Allah has mentioned that Baitul Maqdis and its surrounding area as blessed. The events of Al-Isra wal Mi’raj demonstrated the importance of Baitul Maqdis for Muslims. It is in Baitul Maqdis that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led all the Prophets of Allah in prayer, it is from there he went on Al–Buraq to the seven heavens. It was the first Qibla for the Muslims and the third holiest site. Around 100 of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) are buried in its precincts. There also countless Prophets of Allah buried in unmarked graves in the area of Shaam. We need to learn more about the importance of Baitul Maqdis and teach our children about it.
Today, Baitul Maqdis is the scene of much tension and conflict in the Middle East. We need to raise the awareness of the plight of the oppressed and help them with humanitarian aid and support to ease their difficulties. Most certainly, we should pray for them and everyone who are living under occupation and oppression. Inshallah I pray that Allah enables us all to visit Baitul Maqdis someday.
