The Night of Isra’ and Mi’raj Friday, 09 July 2010 06:57

By Adil Salahi

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was fully aware that he could no longer rely on his own clan, the Hashimites, for any measure of firm support. He felt himself alone in the whole world. His few followers were no match for the forces opposing him. Yet he firmly believed in the truth of the message he was preaching. His faith in God did not waver.

At this point something unusual happened to him.

One night, as the Prophet was asleep in the home of his cousin Umm Hani in Makkah, the Angel Gabriel came and woke him up and took him by hand to the mosque, where he found an animal smaller than a mule but slightly bigger than a donkey. The animal, which was a quadruped, also had two wings and floated easily as he moved with unimaginable speed.

The Prophet’s own description of his movement was that “he put his foot at the furthest point to his side”. Together, the Prophet and Gabriel rode the animal, which was called AI Buraq, a name derived from ‘Barq’, meaning lightning. In no time at all they reached Jerusalem in Palestine.

There the Prophet met Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other noble prophets. He led them all in prayer. He was then brought three cups: one contained milk, another contained wine, and the third contained water. He drank the milk. When he had finished, Gabriel said, “You and your nation are rightly guided.”

When they had finished their business in Jerusalem , they flew up to heaven. The Prophet tells us that as they entered each of the seven heavens Gabriel would confirm to its guardian angel that Muhammad had already received his mission. In each heaven, he met one or other of the prophets who preached the message of God’s oneness to mankind. Among those mentioned in the authentic accounts of this very special journey were Adam, Jesus, John, Joseph, Moses and Abraham (May Allah’s Mercy upon them).

He also saw examples of the suffering which would be endured by certain groups of people, as they would be condemned to hell in the hereafter. The description of these groups and their suffering is so vivid that one can almost see them in their plight, yet the suffering was so horrible that one would do anything to escape it.

The Prophet was then admitted into Paradise and saw examples of the happiness to be enjoyed by those who would seek God’s pleasure and do His bidding. Here the Prophet was delighted with what he saw and expressed his wish that all his followers would be able to partake of such enjoyments. While he was in Paradise he was informed of the obligatory prayers he and his followers were expected to offer. As he passed Moses on his way back, Moses asked him about this particular point of prayer. When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) informed him that Muslims would be required to pray 50 times each day, Moses counselled him to go back and pray God to reduce this requirement.

Moses explained by saying: “Prayers constitute a heavy burden and your nation is weak.” The Prophet acted on this advice, and God reduced this obligation to 40 prayers each day. When he stopped by Moses again, Moses repeated the same advice. Again the Prophet acted on it. The whole procedure was repeated several times until the obligatory prayers for Muslims were reduced to five daily. Moses still thought they were hard to observe and counselled the Prophet to request a further reduction. The Prophet, however, felt too shy to do that.

The Prophet then returned to Makkah, having been absent only for part of the night; he returned just before dawn. On this unique trip, he witnessed the expanse of the universe as well as the link between our life in this world and the greater and larger life of the other world. God also wanted him to see other signs and symbols which filled his blessed heart with unshakeable faith.

Since he was taken on that unique journey from the house of his cousin Umm Hani’, where he was staying that night, it was to her house that he returned. Everyone in the house soon woke up. When they had finished their dawn prayers, the Prophet told Umm Hani’ about his journey.

A firm believer, she accepted what the Prophet related as true. When he was about to leave, intending to go to the mosque, she stopped him, saying: “I fear that people would not believe you if you tell them what you have just told me.” The Prophet made clear his intention to tell them “even though they would not believe me”.

Narrating the Unthinkable

When he was sitting in the mosque, he was totally absorbed in his thoughts. Abu Jahl, the arch-enemy of Islam, noticed that and came up to him to ask: “Any news?” The Prophet replied: “Yes. I was taken last night to Jerusalem.” Making sure that he had heard him correctly, Abu Jahl asked: “To Jerusalem?” The Prophet’s clear answer came in the affirmative.

Realising that there was a chance to consolidate the opposition to the Prophet  and his message, Abu Jahl asked him: “If I call the others to come over, would you repeat to them what you have just told me?” Unhesitatingly, the Prophet said: “Yes.” Thus Abu Jahl did what the Prophet intended to do, that is, to gather the people so that he would tell them about his journey.

When the Prophet had finished his story, everybody was expressing disbelief in one way or another. Some people clapped, some put their hands over their heads and others jeered. One of them asked about the caravan the Quraysh had sent to Syria. The Prophet gave a detailed answer on its conditions and specified its arrival time.

They went out at the appointed time and, to their surprise, there was the caravan in exactly the same condition the Prophet had described. Yet that did not influence or weaken their opposition to the Prophet.

As the Prophet’s account of his journey was completed, there were many unbelievers going around into every quarter in Makkah to relate what sounded to them the most incredible story ever told. Some of them went straight to Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s closest friend, to tell him and to find out what his reaction would be.

Abu Bakr first accused them of bringing him false stories. When they assured him that Muhammad actually claimed to have made the return journey to Jerusalem overnight, Abu Bakr’s answer was: “If he has actually said this, he is telling the truth.” When they expressed their amazement that he would believe such a singular story, Abu Bakr said: “What is so surprising? I believe him when he says something even more incomprehensible. He says he receives revelations from God and I believe him.”

Abu Bakr then went to the mosque where people were still gathered around the Prophet expressing their disbelief. He asked the Prophet whether he made the statement that he went to Jerusalem and came back on the same night. When he heard the Prophet’s affirmative reply, Abu Bakr said: “I believe you; you always tell the truth.” Then he asked the Prophet to describe Jerusalem.

As the Prophet went on with his description, Abu Bakr kept repeating his words: “I believe you; you always tell the truth.” The Prophet was so pleased with Abu Bakr that he gave him the title Assidiq, which denotes ‘a true and firm believer’. This was Abu Bakr’s most cherished title which he kept for the rest of his life. A small number of people rejoined the unbelievers after accepting Islam. The Prophet, however, was not influenced by their apostasy. He continued to preach his message with unshaken determination.

To be continued

Adil Salahi teaches Islamic Studies at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Leicester, England. After working for the BBC Arabic Service for several years, he worked for the Arabic daily, Al Sharq al-Awsat. He continues to publish a column, “Islam in Perspective”, in its sister publication, Arab News, an English daily published in Saudi Arabia.