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Isra and
Miraj
A Story by Jamil Momand
One night Prophet Muhammad was sleeping near the Ka'ba in Mecca when the Angel
Jibreel came to him and nudged him with his foot.
The Prophet sat up but did not see him, so he laid his head back down to
sleep again thinking that perhaps it was only a dream.
The Archangel again tried to wake the Prophet from his deep sleep and
after a third try the Prophet actually stood up.
The Angel Jibreel took his arm and led him to the Great Mosque.
Waiting for him at the gate was a white beast that bore some resemblance
to a gigantic horse. From its back
sprang out two huge wings and each step the animal took was farther than the
distant horizon.
The Prophet climbed onto the beast, which was
called the Buraq, and the Angel Jibreel stood beside them pointing the way
northward toward the city of Jerusalem. Within
a twinkling of an eye they were at the old city and were met there by a group of
prophets: Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, and
many others. Muhammad dismounted
the Buraq and led all the prophets in prayer at the site of the Dome of the
Rock. After the prayer, two vessels
were brought before Muhammad--one was filled with wine and the other with milk.
Muhammad only drank from the vessel containing milk.
Jibreel then said, "Oh Muhammad, you enjoy what is pure and keep
away from what is impure. Surely
you will guide your people to the path of Allah."
Led by the Angel Jibreel, Prophet Muhammad began
his accent through the seven heavens where he saw many other prophets.
There was Musa, Ibrahim, Nuh and many others.
Muhammad also saw Yusef and was awed by how handsome he was.
When he ascended to the top of the Universe he saw a mighty Throne.
The Buraq stopped and Muhammad dismounted and found himself before a
solitary Lote Tree. The Lote Tree
marks the end of all earthly knowledge and beyond it no one knows what exists
except Allah. Then Allah showered a
Divine Light upon the Lote Tree that was extremely bright, yet the Prophet held
his gaze on the tree and said, "I take refuge in the Light of your
Grace--Oh Allah Almighty." At
the Lote Tree Muhammad received for Muslims the instructions for salat, the last
section of Surat al-Baqara and the command from Allah that each Muslim should
pray fifty times a day.
Prophet Muhammad was also shown the depths of Hell
and saw many horrible things. He
saw people that had their stomaches enlarged so big that they could not stand.
As they lay on the ground suffering the Prophet was told that these were
the people who kept orphans away from the property that was rightfully theirs
and used it for themselves instead. The
Prophet also saw people that had two plates of meat before them.
One had freshly cooked meat that was good to eat while the other had meat
that was spoiled and stinking. These
people were eating only the rotten meat. The
Prophet was told that they were the ones who used to commit adultery and
fornication. There was another set
of people who tried to speak but every time they opened their mouths to do so a
sharp knife was there to cut their tongues out.
The Prophet was told that these were people that always spoke evil behind
the backs of their fellow Muslims.
The Prophet then began his descent back to Earth.
As he passed downward Musa stopped him and asked, "How many prayers
have been laid upon you?" "Fifty," Muhammad replied.
Musa then said, "The congregational prayer is a heavy weight and
your people are weak. Return to your Lord and ask Him to lighten the load for you
and your people." Muhammad
took the advice from his friend and went back to Allah to ask for a reduction in
the number of daily prayers. Allah
took away ten prayers and Muhammad again began his descent to Earth.
Musa stopped the Prophet again and told him that the number of prayers
was still too much. Muhammad
returned to Allah several times to get the number of prayers reduced until it
was down to only five daily prayers. Musa again said this was too much but Muhammad said, "I
have returned to my Lord so many times and asked Him so much that I am ashamed.
I will not go again, but I have His assurance that whoever performs the
five daily prayers will be given credit for fifty."
The Prophet continued his descent from Heaven to
Jerusalem. From there the Prophet returned to Mecca.
It was still night when he reached the place where he had been sleeping
only a few hours before. The night journey to Jerusalem came to be called Al-Isra'a
and Muhammad's ascent into Heaven is known as Al-Mi'raj.
The next day Muhammad went to the Mosque and began
telling the people of his miraculous journey.
The Muslims that were weak in faith doubted the Prophet's word.
They thought it was impossible for anyone to do all those things in one
night. But sincere Muslims
supported and defended him. One of
the Prophet's best friends was Abu Bakr. After
hearing about the Prophet's famous journey Abu Bakr said, "If Muhammad says
it then it must be true. Why should
we doubt him? He tells me that the
Quran comes from Heaven all the time and I know him to be speaking the truth. That is more than what you are questioning him about
today." After the night
journey the Prophet had new strength and confidence.
He was sure he could carry out his mission and guide people to the path
of Islam. This was also the time
that people in Medina heard about the new religion called Islam.
They invited the Prophet to their city and a few years later he made the
Hijra to that city. The wonderful night of Isra'a and Mi'raj helped the Prophet
and the Muslims to become stronger in their faith which enabled them to overcome
the idol-worshipping Meccans. |
