isra_miraj

ISRA W'al Mi'raaj (The Night Journey and Ascension)

After the year of sorrow and the trial of Ta'if, Allah blessed the prophet (s) with a great miracle. It is the incident of al-Isra wal-Mi'raj. This particular incident has been referenced by Allah twice in the Qur'an - once the Isra, the other time the Mi'raj.

So what is the Isra? Linguistically it means to travel at night. The al Isra means 'the travel' - and in Islamic seerah, it means the 'night journey' that the prophet (s) undertook. Mi'raj means the item/mechanism of rising up high. Al Mi'raj is the instrument you use to rise up.. We refer to it as the actual ascension - that is, what the prophet (s) did exactly which is to rise up to Jannah. So al Isra was from Mecca to Jerusalem, al Mi'raj was from Jerusalem to the heavens. And this journey is referenced in the Qur'an in two separate surahs.

As for the Isra, Allah revealed an entire surah and the surah is called Surah al Isra. And the surah begins by the famous ayah: Allah is saying He is worthy of being praised, so we say "all glory be to the One" because he blessed his servant with the miraculous journey. He is worthy of being praised because of this journey. . And here the word used 'abd' is the highest praise given to the prophet (s). Because Allah said "I have created men and jinn for no reason but to worship me". So Allah is saying here that the prophet (s) has perfected his worship. Prophet (s) has sometimes been referred by name, but more so by his title which is 'Abdullah'. As for the Mi'raj in the Qur'an, Allah references it in surah Najam. And Allah says "The chest is not lying when he narrates what he saw. Are you going to doubt what he saw? Indeed he saw him for a second time at the sidratil montaha. The eyes did not go beyond their mark. He saw of the miraculous signs of his Lord". In both Isra and Najam, roughly the same phrases are used - that is "so we can show him Our signs". Thus the reason for al Isra wal Mi'raj was for the prophet (s) alone. It was a personal gift for him and him alone. We just hear about it as a blessing to the prophet (s).

When did it happen?

Ayesha RA has said "Khadija RA died before the salah became fard". Salah became Fard (obligatory) at al Isra wal Mi'raj - so the fact that Khadija died before shows al Isra wal Mi'raj happened in the last 1.5 years of Mecca. Indeed after Khadija died Abu Talib's death and Ta'if happened one after the other. So it makes most sense it happened after the year of Sorrow.

Where did it happen from? Ibn Hajar says that Jibraeel AS took him from his house, then took him to the ka'bah to pray two raka'at, and then from there Jibraeel AS took him somewhere else. The prophet (s) said "in the Hateem, Jibraeel AS opened up my chest, then he brought a gold bowl full of imaan/zamzam he took out my heart, washed it and put it back". Note this is the second time this has happened. In the first time there was a detail that there was a black spot on the heart. But now there is no black spot. Here, the purpose is to strengthen the prophet (s) for what he is about to see. And that is, as ibn Hazam says, if another man were to have seen even a fraction of what the prophet (s) saw, he would have gone mad. Indeed the prophet (s) entered a different world, a different dimension. Allah says "the eyes took everything in firmly". So here the washing of the heart is to strengthen him.

Then he says "Jibraeel AS brought to me a dubaa. It is smaller than a mule but larger than a donkey. Pure white and it was called al Biraaq (lightning). A hadith says the Biraaq is a physical creature which can run much faster than a normal horse. According to Tirmidhi, the prophet (s) said "it had a saddle and a harness". So the prophet (s) mounts Biraaq and said that "I rode him and he took me until we came to Baytal Maqdas". Here we note that at this time there is no structure/sanctuary at Baytal Maqdas. . The prophet (s) said "I tied al Biraaq to the animal post that is used by the prophets." This shows that the prophets had a special place to 'park' their animals. This again shows the prophet (s) is seeing a structure not being seen by men by Allah's capability. Allah is showing the prophet (s) the original Baytal Maqdas.

Then the prophet (s) said "I went inside and prayed two raka'at". He saw all the prophets. And then it came the time for salah and he was put the imam of them." The main point is he is leading the prophets. And what's interesting is that all the prophets he saw are already standing and praying. This shows us the importance of salah - even after death the prophets are praying. Then he got to Baytal Maqdas and he was standing and praying again. Since every prophet is the leader of his ummah. And the prophets is leading the prophets AS. This shows he is the leader of all the ummahs as the prophet (s) said "I am the leader of all of the ummahs from Adam AS".

Then the prophet (s) said after he finished Jibraeel AS presents two utensils. One of them is milk, another is wine. Remember up until this time wine is halal. So Jibraeel AS hands him these two and Jibraeel AS says "choose and choose for your ummah". So the prophet (s) chose the milk and Jibraeel AS said "you have chosen the fitrah". And this is a hugely profound and symbolic incident.Pure, wholesome milk for those who drink it and the hadith says "nothing substitutes for both food and drink except for milk". So milk is a huge blessing from Allah that the prophet (s) used to love. And the prophet (s) said "every child is born on the fitrah" - just like Jibraeel (as) said "you have chosen the fitrah (for your ummah)". So the prophet (s) chose the milk and after this the prophet (s) says "the doors of the samaa (heaven) opened up for me". So now this journey thus far, from masjid al haram to masjid al aksa in al Isra. The next journey to the heavens in the wal Mi'raj. Note the Biraaq is still tied to the post, after the heavens journey the prophet (s) will use Biraaq to go back to Mecca.

After this the prophet (s) narrates Jibraeel AS asked permission for the doors of the heavens to open. And the gatekeeper asked "who is it?" And Jibraeel AS said "It is Jibraeel". He said "Do you have anyone with you?" He said "yes, Muhammad". The keeper said "has he been sent for?" Jibraeel said "Yes he has permission to pass". And then the doors opened up. And for every single one of the seven heavens this exact same conversation happened.

What is samaa and what is jannah?

Many people confuse jannah with samaa and these are two separate words and two separate concepts. Allah says "Allah has created seven samaa-waat tibaaka" Tibaaka means layers - so layers upon layers. Now, samaa-waat are physical heavens above us. Some scholars think the very first layer and lowest heaven is the 'samaa ad-dunya' which is everything we see around us i.e. the billions of stars and galaxies. Beyond this is the 6th level, beyond that is 5th, and so on until we get to the highest level. Allah says "we have beautified the samaa ad-dunya with its lamps and its lights". .

What is now the jannah?

The jannah is the place Allah created as reward for the believers. Where are they? One interpretation is that the jannah are hundreds of thousands of layers, and the place they occupy is the 7th samaa i.e. the 7th heaven. Another interpretation is that the jannah begins in the 6th, and works its way up to the 7th and beyond. The bottom line is the jannath is at the top of the as samaawat.

So, the prophet (s) goes to the first door and there is a man standing. And the prophet (s) described him as being tall, huge. And Jibraeel AS said "this is your father Adam AS so say salaam to him". So the prophet (s) did so and Adam AS responded saying "welcome oh noble son and noble heaven". Then the prophet (s) went to the second heaven, and its reported there was Isa AS and Yahya AS. And he was told "this is Yahya and Isa, say salaam to them". And they said "welcome oh noble brother and oh noble prophet". Third heaven was Yusuf AS and it was the same dialogue". Then the 4th heaven, and it was Idris AS who also said "welcome oh noble brother and oh noble prophet". And then the 5th heaven, and there is Haroon. And the same things are said. And then the 6th heaven and there was Musa. And the prophet (s) described Musa as being stout, tall, muscular and brownish. And here Musa began to cry. And the prophet (s) asked him "why are you crying?" And Musa said "I am crying because this young man 'ghulaam' (note the prophet (s) is 52 here; Musa died when he was 130 so the prophet (s) is a young boy in his eyes) will have a bigger gathering entering Jannah". Note its an islamic jealousy here - you should and can be positively jealous against your fellow brothers in terms of Qur'an, salah etc. The prophet (s) said "after the 7th heaven I saw Ibrahim AS and he was sitting with his back leaning on al baytul ma'moor". And Jibraeel AS said to me "this is your father Ibrahim say salaam to him". And Ibrahim responded the same way: "welcome oh noble son and oh noble prophet". Note only Ibrahim and Adam responded in this way; the rest said 'brother'.

So why these prophets and this order?

1. Adam AS is the father of all of mankind, so its befitting for him to greet first. And by seeing Adam he is a man who Allah created; and gave him Jannah, but then had to leave Jannah for a while but eventually return. And there's a symbolism of leaving your comfort and security. Indeed if Adam left the holiest place, the prophet (s) also must do the same i.e. Mecca. Adam left the holiest of the next world, so to does the prophet (s) have to leave the holiest of this world; he will have to be expelled from Mecca like his father Adam was expelled from Jannah. And the people who did it: shaytaan did it there, and Abu Jahal and co are doing here.

2. Isa and Yahya are chronologically the closest to the prophet (s) . So they are the peers and there's a symbolism that their own people tried to kill them and actually they killed Yahya 'John the Baptist'. They even tried to kill Isa AS - and here Allah is saying to the prophet (s) that he isn't the only one whose people tried to harm him.

3. His own blood brothers tried to harm Yusuf. But eventually they repent and accept him back. Therefore there is a symbolism that the blood brothers that repelled him will come back. SubhanAllah who did the prophet (s) quote when he conquered Mecca and the Quraysh said "what will you do with us? The prophet (s) quoted Yusuf AS "there is no sin on you today, Allah will forgive you".

4. Idris AS - Allah says about Idris AS "we have raised him to a high place". And so our prophet (s) is being told "we have raised your own rank as well".

5. Haroon AS was despised by his own people, and then eventually accepted.

6. Musa AS has the second largest ummah, and also is very similar in experience to the prophet (s) . But has even more experience. And in many hadith the prophet (s) said "Indeed Musa was hurt more than I was, but was still patient" to continue remind himself.

The prophets are in the samaa waath i.e. the heavens. Jannah is not occupied until after the day of Judgement.

7. By showing Ibrahim AS, the prophet (s) is being shown the highest of all the prophets. He was 'khaleel-Allah'. This means a 'close friend' and the prophet (s) said "Allah has only taken me and Ibrahim as a khaleel". So only two people reached this status. The prophet (s) saw Ibrahim AS sitting leaning on the Kaaba and said "its above the kab'ah on Earth such that if it were to fall it would fall on the kab'ah on the Earth. Ibrahim AS built the kab'ah on Earth, its fitting he is with the kab'ah of the heavens.

Another conversation recorded is when the prophet (s) said he met Ibrahim AS on the night he went to Isra. And he told him "Ya Muhammad, give my salaam to your ummah". So Ibrahim AS is telling his own son, the prophet (s) , his salaam. "And inform them that Jannah, its soil is beautiful but it is barren (flat land). And the seedlings we put into the soil will come from subhanAllah, alhamdhulillah, lailahailallah, allah u akbar". Therefore Ibrahim AS is saying every tasbih will become a tree because of the amazing fertile soil.

It's also narrated he met Malik, the doorkeeper of Jahanam. So Jibraeel AS told the prophet (s) "Oh Muhammad, this is gatekeeper of Hell, Malik - give him salaam". So the prophet (s) said he turned around to greet him, but before he could say anything Malik said salaam first. Malik was brought up to say salaam to the prophet (s). This is to emphasize that the prophet (s) is as far away from the hellfire, as the seventh heaven is from the bottom of the creation.

The prophet (s) then proceeded onwards above the seventh heaven after seeing the prophets. He said "And then I saw in front of me the sidratul muntaha". The sidra is a type of tree that is known for its large branches. That it covers a very wide and vast area. And its known for its delicious fruit and sweet sense. And he said "when the tree was covered up, there were colors going up and down it and I don't know how to explain these colors to you". Here the prophet (s) is thus saying he is seeing something completely different and a different dimension. A color/light that doesn't exist on the Earth. So what is the sidratul muntaha? The prophet (s) narrated that "everything that is raised up from the Earth stops there and gets absorbed. From it descends down everything that is coming from this Earth, and it originates from the sidratul muntaha. So by viewing the sitradul muntaha, Allah is saying the prophet (s) is seeing of His most beautiful creations.

Nothing is beyond it except the throne and the one that is above the throne. One of the tabis also says this: that the sidra finishes in the seventh heaven. Thus from this we derive the sidra is a huge tree. The tree is peace, life etc. The motif of the tree is throughout the Quran and sunnah. Then the prophet (s) said "at the base of the sidratul are four rivers. Two of these are hidden; two are open. So I said to Jibraeel what are these?" Jibraeel AS "as for the hidden ones, you cannot see them in this world. As for the other two rives, there are the river Nile and the Euphrates river". And subhanAllah now we know that the cradle of civilization has always been associated with these two rivers. The earliest civilization was the Euphrates - the second was the Nile. These two rivers from the beginning of time have always been rivers of life. They are the origins of life. And the prophet (s) is saying the Jibraeel AS said both rivers are from the blessings of Allah. As for the two rivers of Jannah, they are al Kauther and sal-Sabeel.

After this the prophet (s) said he saw Jibraeel AS in his original form. And he described in many hadith: "Jibraeel AS had 600 wings. He blocked the entire horizon". In another hadith "from the feathers of Jibraeel's wings, pearls were dripping". Note 600 is the maximum number as Allah says in the Qur'an, most of the angels have 2, 3 or 4 wings. But Jibraeel AS has 600 wings because he is the best of angels. Ibn Masud said when the prophet (s) saw Jibraeel this is the reference in the Qur'an that the prophet (s) "saw Allah's major signs". Indeed the prophet (s) saw three things in succession:

1. Sidtraul Muntaha

2. Baytal ma'moor

3. Jibraeel's original form

Every one of them is Allah's major signs. The sidratul muntaha represents the highest of creation. The Baytal ma'moor represents the highest of worship i.e. the angels do tawaf around the bayt.(70,000 angels perform tawaf around Baytal mamoor) And Jibraeel represents the best of angels in his original form - so the best of creation is seeing the best of angels. And its said the prophet (s) only saw Jibraeel AS twice in this form - this is one of those two occasions. Somewhere in this period, narrated in Muslim, Ibn Masud said the prophet (s) stopped at the sidratul muntaha in the sixth heaven, and then the prophet (s) was given three things:

1. The five salah

2. The ending of Surah Baqarah

3. Whoever worshipped him from his ummah without doing shirk, he will be forgiven and will enter jannah

In regards to Baqarah, scholars say the last two verses of Surah Baqarah occupy a special status in the Quran. This is the only one passage in which Allah directly recited. And so the messenger was brought up to receive this revelation, and not the revelation being sent down. We know the virtues of these verses: the prophet (s) said whoever recites these two verses Allah will protect him. One scholar says it will protect you from shaitan; others say you will get the reward for praying tahajjud etc. So we should now make it a habit to memorize it and recite it every night.

It was then that the prophet (s) went to the jist of al Isra wal Mi'raj. And that is the divine appointment with Allah Himself. There is an indirect reference in Bhukari: the prophet (s) said "then I was caused to ascend forth". So 'I' is used in the singular. Once the prophet (s) gets to sitratul muntaha, the prophet (s) said that something caused him to rise, and he said "I rose to a level where I could hear the pen writing". Now what is the pen? And who is writing? Well, we know that Allah as the prophet (s) said, the first thing Allah created was the pen. And then Allah told the pen "Write". The pen asked "what shall I write?" Allah said "Write everything that will happen until the day of Judgement". The prophet (s) rose to this level alone.There is no angel or living creature above the sidratul muntaha. Thus it is legitimate to say the prophet (s) went to a level that no living creature, no angel, nothing in creation has gone. This was an elite audience the likes of which never occurred. But we don't have any details about what was said except for the 50 salah

The only thing we know is that Allah told him to pray 50 salah every day. And the prophet (s) goes back down through the heavens and meets Musa AS who tells him to go back. So just as Musa was given the 10 commandments, he knew the prophet (s) would be given something. So Musa asks him "what did your Lord tell you for your ummah?" The prophet (s) said "My Lord told me my ummah must pray 50 times a day". Here Musa says "go back to your Lord, and tell him to lower this because I have more experience with you and your ummah will not be able to do this". And so the prophet (s) looked at Jibraeel AS wanting to get his opinion. And Jibraeel nodded to him - So backed with the opinion of the best angel and a mighty prophet, the prophet (s) goes back up. Here is where the narrations differ. Some say it went down by 5, or by 10. And the prophet (s) went back and forth, up and down - at least five times he did this. And every time Musa AS is telling the prophet (s) the same thing "Go back as I have tested the Bani Israel and your ummah won't be able to do this". Until finally when the prophet (s) came down with only 5 salah, and Musa AS told him to go back one more time, the prophet (s) said "I have gone back and forth until I am embarrassed - but I am content and happy". When he said this, a voice called out of Allah - "my fareedha (compulsory prayer) has been established. It is five, but it shall be rewarded with fifty".

From this incident so much can be derived:

1. First and foremost, the status of the salah. Indeed, the purpose of the divine audience was to establish the salah. Every other commandment, Allah sent down through Jibraeel AS. But this one commandment was so important the messenger was called up to Allah. To receive the message directly from the divine. Salah is standard among every single prophet. Isa AS as a baby in the cradle says "my Lord has commanded me to pray salah". Thus salah is so important.

2. Another benefit is that, when the prophet (s) was told he needed to pray 50 times a day, even though it was lowered to 5, he himself it was his regular habit to pray 50 raka'at a day. When Allah said 50, the prophet (s) made it compulsory for himself to pray 50 raka'at. We see how:

17 fardh raka'at

12 sunnah ar-ratibah raka'at

2 before tahajjud raka'at

8 tahajjud

3 witr

8 raka'at for salaat duha

50 in total

3. What is the wisdom of bringing down a number when Allah knows it will be brought down? Many reasons. To show the mercy of Allah. First that He wants to make deen easy for us. There is a wisdom to show that when the prophet (s) asks Allah to reduce it, He listens. Another wisdom is that there is a clear indication given that "Oh son of Adam you are only created for the worship of Allah". The general rule is we should pray like the angels. That's what the creation is supposed to do. So Allah is saying "I know you can't do it, so do as you please but just pray 5x a day".

All of these are the main incidents. Of course the grand incident was the meeting with Allah. After this, the prophet (s) described many other things he saw on the way down. So he goes straight up - and once he meets and speaks with Allah, then he may go and do other things. The majority and correct view is that he didn't see Allah - he only saw Allah's veil. To conclude, Surah Najam describes these incidents and the miraculous encounter between Jibraeel and the prophet (s) .

It's almost impossible to piece together the events in order. We simply have a collection of hadith;

Of the first is that there is a very long hadith the prophet (s) narrates in Musnan Ahmed, "on the night I went on Isra wal Mi'raj, I smelt a fragrance that was very sweet and so I asked Jibraeel what is this beautiful fragrance? And Jibraeel said its the fragrance of the one who used to comb the hair of the daughter of Pharaoh, and her children. I asked Jibraeel what is their story? And he said once she was combing and the comb fell from her hand and she said 'Bismillah'. The daughter said 'surely you mean in the name of my father?' And she said 'no, my Lord and your Lord is Allah, and the Lord of your father is Allah'. And the girl said 'do you want me to tell my father?' and she said 'yes go ahead'. And then Pharoah called her and said 'are you saying you have a God besides me?'". And so the woman said with same bravery "yes, my lord and your lord is Allah". And so Pharoah ordered that a boiling fire be brought before her. And that she has to throw her own children into the fire or else acknowledge Pharoah as her Lord. And one by one her children were thrown in. But the last child was her baby who was still suckling and she was hesitant at this. But the baby spoke and said "Oh my mother throw yourself in as the punishment of this world is nothing compared to the next (or in another narration, do not waver for you are on the truth)".. It's amazing this story, even though it happened in Musa's ummah, its mentioned in our ummah. Indeed this story isn't found in any of the old books i.e. Old Testament or Jewish scripture.

The prophet (s) narrates that after he received the command for salah he entered into Jannah. And he saw tents made out of pearls and the soil was made out of musk (perfume). As mentioned, the priority was the meeting with Allah - when that was over, then he could meet and see everything else. Here we have a theological question and that is nobody has entered Jannah since Adam AS. And this is something in hadith references as well, that the first person to enter Jannah after the day of Judgement will be the prophet (s) .