Isra’ and M‘iraj
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Isra’ and M‘iraj is one of the most remarkable miracles of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Actually, Isra’ and M‘iraj are the two events of a Night Journey that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) took during a part of the night. It signifies Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) extraordinary journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and/or from the earth to the heavens, both of body and soul together. In the Israʾ part of the journey, Muhammad (SAW) traveled from the Sacred Mosque (Mecca) to the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Jerusalem) where he leads other Prophets in prayer. In the M‘iraj part of the journey, he ascends to heaven where he individually greets the Prophets.[1] And later, Allah speaks to him, and He gives instructions to take back to the Muslims regarding the details of prayer.[2]
The Isra’ and M‘iraj was the Physical and Spiritual Journey of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
Isra’ and M‘iraj in the Holy Quran
The holy Quran describes the Night Journey in such a way,
“Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things)” [3]
In another place, it is mentioned in Surah Al- Najm that,
“Then he approached and came closer. And was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or [even] nearer. So did [Allah] convey the inspiration to His Servant- [conveyed] what He [meant] to convey. The [Prophet’s] [mind and] heart in no way falsified that which he saw. Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw? For indeed he saw Him at a second descent, Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass: Near it is the Garden of Abode. Behold, the Lote tree was shrouded [in mystery unspeakable!] [His] sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong! For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest!”.[4]
These verses (آيات) of the holy Quran describe that the Night Journey occurred physically as well as spiritually.
Hadith related to Isra’ and M‘iraj
The narrative of the Night journey (Isra’) and ascension (M‘iraj) developed its own unique form in the Hadith reports of the eighth and ninth centuries. There are various narrations related to this journey that it occurred with his (SAW) body in sleeplessness. Such as, there is a narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in relation to the Āyah: “وما جَعَلْنا الرُّؤْيا التي أَرَيْنكَ إلا فتنة للنّاسِ” “And We made not the vision which We showed you, but a trial for mankind…” Imām Bukhārī explained this narration with reference to Ibn ‘Abbās (R.A) that “It was an actual eyewitness, and not as a dream at the Night of Al-Isrā, which was shown to Allah’s Messenger during the night he was taken on a journey. And the cursed tree is the tree of Al-Zaqqūm (a bitter pungent tree which grows at the bottom of Hell).[5]
Views of some Prominent Islamic Scholars regarding Isra’ and M‘iraj
Qādī ‘Iyāḍ
Qādī ‘Iyāḍ states in his distinguished work “Al-Shifā’” that, the majority of predecessors and Muslim scholars recognized that the Night Journey of Prophet Muḥammad (SAW) occurred with body and in the state of wakefulness, and this is the truth. This statement is mentioned by Ibn ‘Abbās, Jābir, Anas, Ḥudhaifah, ‘Umar, Abū Hurairah, Mālik bin Ṣ‘aṣ‘aah, Abū Ḥaiyah al-Badrī, Ibn Mas‘ūd, Al-Ḍaḥḥāk, Sa‘īd bin Jubair, Qatādah, Ibn al-Musayyib, Ibn Shihāb, Ibn Zaid, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Ibrāhīm bin Yazīd, Masrūq bin Ajd‘a, Mujāhid bin Jubair, ‘Ikramah bin ‘Abdullah, Ibn Juraij, and it was the proof evidenced by ‘Āi’shah and the statement of Al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Ḥanbal and a large group of the Muslims. It is also the statement given by the majority of the later jurists, narrators, relators, commentators, and interpreters.[6]
Ibn Kathīr
Ibn Kathīr also preferred that the Night Journey of Prophet Muḥammad (SAW) occurred in reality with his body and soul and not in a dream. He made a detailed explanation of this subject and also included the opinions of several prominent Islamic Scholars. Thereafter, he says, a majority of early and later scholars believe that Prophet Muḥammad (SAW) experienced the night journey both physically as well as spiritually. As Allah clearly says, “Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things) (Sūrah al-Isrā’, 17:1). Here, the word “Servant” (عبد) proves that it was occurred by both body and spirit.[7]
Then, he states, if the Night Journey of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) took place in his dream, then, the Quraish would not immediately show their disbelief and fury; because it would not have been so important a matter and a great issue to see something in a dream. It indicates that he informed them that he had been taken on his Night Journey while awake, not asleep.[8]
Moreover, Ibn Hishām, Ṣafīur Raḥmān Mubārakpurī, and many other scholars also explained this event in their works and acknowledged that this incident occurred while the Messenger of Allah was awake.
Conclusion
It concluded that the Night Journey of Prophet Muḥammad (SAW) occurred with body and soul. The psychology of religion teaches us that his experience during the incident of the Night Journey is not untrustworthy. In religious experience, it is a universal phenomenon.
REFERENCES
[1] Ed. Martin, Richard C. Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Volume 2 (M-Z, Index), Macmillan Reference USA, 2004.
[2] Al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad bin Ismā‘īl, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Hadith No. 349.
[3] Al-Quran, 17:1.
[4] Al-Quran, 53:8-18.
[5] Al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad bin Ismā‘īl, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Translated by Muhammad Mohsin Khan, Darussalam, 1997, vol. 6, Hadith No. 4716, p. 192.
[6] Al-Shifā’ bi T‘rīf Ḥuqūq al-Muṣṭafā. p. 121.
[7] Ibn Kathīr, ‘Imād uddīn Abul Fidāa’. Al-Bidāyah wal Nihāyah. Dār Iḥyāa’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī, 1997, vol. 3- 4, p. 92.
[8] Ibn Kathīr, ‘Imād uddīn Abul Fidāa’. Al-Bidāyah wal Nihāyah. Dār Iḥyāa’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī, 1997, vol. 3- 4, p. 92.