Isra' and Mi'raj
Template:Short descriptionTemplate:Use dmy datesTemplate:For
The Israʾ and Miʿraj (Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration) are the names given to the narrations that the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascended to the sky during a night journey, had a vision of afterlife, and returned. It is believed that expressions without a subject in verses 1-18 of Surāh an-Najm and some verses of the 17th chapter of the Quran, commonly called Surāh al-’Isrā’,<ref name="alisra">Template:Qref</ref> allude to the story.
Ibn Sa'd summarizes the earliest version of the written stories;<ref>H. Busse 1991, S. 7" </ref> According to him, the angels Gabriel and Michael accompanied Muhammad to a place in the sacred precinct of the Kaaba, between the well of Zamzam and Maqam Ibrahim. There, a ladder (miʿrāj) is said to have been set up by Muhammad and Gabriel, with whose help they ascended to heaven. When he reached the top, Muhammad is said to have met the previous prophets. According to one version of the tradition, Gabriel held Muhammad's hand tightly and ascended with him to heaven.<ref>H.Busse (1991), S. 8</ref> When he reached the Sidrat al-Muntaha mentioned in Sura 53, verse 14,<ref>So in der Übersetzung von „sidrat al-muntahā“ bei Rudi Paret; bei H. Busse (1991), S. 7 steht: Lotusbaum</ref> Muhammad saw heaven and hell. So, he was required to perform the original fifty prayers, but negotiated with God to reduce the prayers to 5 and was granted the Last two verses of Al-Baqarah, known as the treasure from God's throne. Template:Islam Template:Islamic Culture The framework and the details are elaborated and developed<ref name="Britannica-Miʿrāj">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Reiter-2008" /> in various miraculous accounts, some of which are based on hadith—alleged reports of the teachings, deeds, and sayings of Muhammad—compiled centuries after his lifetime. In mystical accounts, the Journey is often interpreted as an individual spiritual ascencion.
Hans Wehr says that the 27th night of the month of Rajab chosen for the Miraj is not based on a report and is an arbitrary choice;<ref>Die Angaben in Hans Wehr: Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart (ʿ-r-ǧ): die Himmelfahrt (die Muḥammad von Jerusalem aus am 27. Raǧab unternommen hat) sind entsprechend zu korrigieren. Dies geht nicht auf das Traditionsmaterial, sondern auf den willkürlich festgelegten Festtag der Muslime zurück</ref> Ibn Sa'd recorded that Muhammad's Mi'raj took place first, from near the Kaaba to the heavens, on the 27th of Ramadan, 18 months before the Template:Tlit, while the Isra' from Mecca to Template:Tlit took place on the 17th night of the Rabi' al-Awwal before the Template:Tlit as two different, unconnected events.<ref>https://en.wikishia.net/view/Mi%27raj</ref> In Ibn Hisham's account, the Isra' came first and then the Mi'raj, and he put these stories before the deaths of Khadija and Abu Talib. In contrast, Al-Tabari placed this story at the beginning of Muhammad's public ministry, between his account of Khadija becoming "the first to believe in the Messenger of God" and his account of "the first male to believe in the Messenger of God".Template:Sfn
The 27th night of the month of Rajab, is one of the most celebrated holy days and nights in the Islamic calendar.<ref name="times">Template:Cite news</ref>
Terminology
Al-’Isrā’ literally means "to make someone walk," frequently translated as walking or traveling at night. ʿMiʿrāj literally means "ascending device, ladder"<ref>the Mi’raj, an Arabic word that literally means “ladder” https://www.sufiway.eu/laylatul-miraj-friday-15th-may-2015/</ref> or "ascending place" as counted me'raj, derived from uruj, "rising" or "going up to a high place".<ref name="Khan">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fact that the general name given to the stories is miʿrāj rather than uʿruj may be a reference to the ladder motif in early narratives mentioned above.
The Bait al-Maqdis (the Holy House), in Aelia, described in the hadiths related to the Miraj,<ref>"When the Quraish disbelieved me (concerning my night journey), I stood up in Al- Hijr (the unroofed portion of the Ka`ba) and Allah displayed Bait-ul-Maqdis before me, and I started to inform them (Quraish) about its signs while looking at it." .https://sunnah.com/search?q=4710</ref> marking the place where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is the Arabic pronunciation of the Hebrew name for the Temple of Solomon.<ref name=":0">Carrol, James. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How The Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World", 2011. Retrieved on 24 May 2014.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The name Al-Quds, given to the city by Muslims a few centuries later derives from the same root.<ref name="El-Awaisi 2011">El-Awaisi, Khalid. "From Aelia To Al-Quds: The Names Of Islamic Jerusalem In The Early Muslim Period", 2011. Retrieved on 16 June 2019.</ref>
The Dome of the Rock, built on the Muallak (lifted) stone and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (sometimes referred to as "masjid Al-Aqsa"), located on the south wall of the compound, was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (Template:Reign)<ref name="le Strange">le Strange, Guy. (1890). Palestine under the Moslems, pp. 80–98.</ref> or his successor al-Walid I (Template:Reign) (or both) possibly by political motivations.<ref>Creswell shows a grave misunderstanding in maintaining that the Arabs cherished the ambition to erect buildings only when political reasons existed: building is directly related to politics. This common realization is also of help for the comprehension of objects in Islamic art.https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/server/api/core/bitstreams/ce46c43f-999a-42a9-b038-03778efc19a7/content</ref> (See also; Dome of the Ascension)
Another term used today for the Masjid al-Aqsa, which is argued to refer to the whole area of Temple Mount because there were no buildings there during Muhammad's time, is Haram al-Sharif. This terminology, which emphasizes the site's high sanctity, became popular during the Mamluk<ref>St Laurent, B., & Awwad, I. (2013). The Marwani Musalla in Jerusalem: New Findings. Jerusalem Quarterly.</ref> (1250–1517) and Ottoman periods.<ref>Template:Cite book </ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Islamic tradition
The Quran
Template:See The 17th chapter of the Quran takes its name from a word used in the first verse; The name of the sura, which was probably originally called the Surat Banī Isrāʾīl (Template:Langx),<ref>/... at the time of the Sahaabah it was called Soorat Bani Israa’eel...{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> during the time of the Companions, gradually became the Surat Al- Isra, and simultaneously, narrations and explanations for Isra began to enter Islamic literature, which is presented as the first stage of the journey, expressed as Isra meaning to make someone walk. The verse is widely considered to refer to Muhammad's miraculous flight from Mecca to Jerusalem at night on the back of a mount called Buraq. A different interpretation of the verse, the Al-aqsa used in the verse is not associated with Jerusalem, but with Al-Ji'rana, which is located near Mecca<ref>https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/378422</ref> based on the hint that Masjid al-Haram is a night walk away from Masjid al-Aqsa in Template:Qref:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Glory be to the One Who took His servant by night from Masjid al-Haram to the Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
An expression that is connected with the ascention part of the story<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Lange, C. (2015). Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press.p. 112</ref> is the subject-unclear poetic expressions in the Template:Qref.
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
And he certainly saw that a second timeTemplate:Pb at the near of ultimate Sidr, Template:Pbnear which is the Garden of ResidenceTemplate:PbWhile the Sidr covered by covers!Template:Pb The sight never wandered, nor did it overreach.Template:PbHe certainly saw some of his Lord's greatest signs.{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
Apart from the two verses recorded above, there is no verse in the Quran that is associated with the Miraj. In addition, unlike the references to miracles made to other prophets in the Quran, the verses that deny any miracles of Muhammad outside the Quran attract the attention of some researchers.<ref>the Quran stresses that Muhammad made no miracle other than the divinely claimed miracle of the Quran itself.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10477845.2025.2452714?src=exp-la#d1e136</ref>
Story
Template:See All the details in the story come from the anecdotes of the the biography and hadith collections written a few centuries after Muhammad. The story continues to evolve and change across different geographies and belief groups, as can be seen even in the earliest records.
There are different accounts of what occurred before the Miʿraj. While some narratives speak of purification before ascension, others say these are unconnected; Muhammad's chest was opened up, and zamzam water was poured on his heart, giving him wisdom, before going to prepare him for his ascent.<ref name="Britannica-Miʿrāj" /> This purification theme is also seen in the trial of the drinks. It is debated when it took place—before or after the ascent—but either way, it plays an important role in asserting Muhammad's spiritual righteousness.<ref name="Routledge">Template:Cite book</ref> Two hadiths considered the most reliable rely on Anas ibn Malik and ibn ʿAbbas<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>https://brill.com/previewpdf/book/edcoll/9789004194274/Bej.9789004183803.i-504_023.xml</ref> persons who were recorded as children at the time.
Al-Tabari's summary also reflects his choices and is as follows; Muhammad ascends into heaven with Gabriel and meets a different prophet at each of the seven levels of heaven; first Adam, then John the Baptist and Jesus, then Joseph, then Idris, then Aaron, then Abraham, and lastly Moses. Then continues to meet God without Gabriel. God tells Muhammad that his people must pray 50 times a day, but on return to Earth, he meets Moses, who tells him persistently, "return to God and ask for fewer prayers because fifty is too many". Muhammad goes back and forth between Moses and God nine times until the prayers are reduced to five daily prayers, and God rewards those prayers with the merit of fifty."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Ibn Abbas Primitive Version
Ibn Abbas's Primitive Versions describe everything Muhammad encountered during his journey through heaven. This includes seeing other angels and the seas of light, darkness, and fire. Muhammad, as companion of Gabriel, met four important angels as he travelled through heaven. These angels were the Rooster angel (whose call influences all earthly roosters), the Half Fire Half Snow angel (an example of God's power to bring fire and ice together in harmony), the Angel of Death, and the Guardian of Hellfire. These four angels are introduced at the beginning of Ibn Abbas's narrative and focus on the angels rather than the prophets. There are ranks of angels in heaven, and he even meets some deeply connected angels called cherubim.<ref>Colby, Frederick S. Narrating Muḥammad's night journey: tracing the development of the Ibn ʿAbbās ascension discourse. State University of New York Press, 2008. p. 36</ref> These angels instill fear in Muhammad, but he sees them later as God's creation and not harmful.
Other important details that Ibn Abbas adds to the narrative are the Heavenly host, the final verses of the Cow Chapter, and the blessing of the Prophets.<ref name="State University of New York Press">Template:Cite book</ref> In other versions by Ibn Abbas, a transmitter seems to have added to Ibn Abbas' authentic narrative the descent of Muhammad and the meeting with the prophets. These are the stories of the meeting with the prophets and the meeting with Moses, which led to the reduction of the daily prayers, which are not included in Ibn Abbas' primitive version. Whether Ibn Abbas included this in his original narrative or whether it was added by a later transmitter is a matter of debate.<ref name="State University of New York Press" />
Later versions
Other reports add more details; the Template:Transliteration, which was not present in the previous reports of the miraj, is now part of Muhammad's journey from Mecca to "the farthest place of worship", although the city is not explicitly stated. The journey begins while Muhammad is in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, when the Archangel Gabriel arrives and brings the prophets' heavenly mount, Buraq. Buraq carried Muhammad to the "farthest place of worship." Muhammad dismounted, tied Buraq up, and prayed, where he was tested by Gabriel at God's command. Anas ibn Malik narrated that Muhammad said: "Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine, a vessel of water, and a vessel of milk, and I chose the milk. Gabriel said: 'You have chosen the fitra (natural instinct).'" During the second part of the journey, on the "ladder" of Miraj, Gabriel took him to the heavens, where he circled the seven heavens and spoke with the previous prophets: Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus.Template:Citation needed
The most commonly accepted narration includes both the purificacion of Muhammad's heart and going to the Al-Aqsa (i.e. the Farthest or Noble Sanctuary) on Buraq (a winged horse-like creature) accompanied by Gabriel (named "Isra meaning night journey"), tying Buraq and leading the prophets such as Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa in prayer,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> ascending to the sky (Miʿrāj) from the muallak (suspended) stone, conversations with Allah, dialogues with other prophets in the different heavenly layers, seeing paradise and hell, and returning sections.
Sufism
The belief that Muhammad made the heavenly journey bodily was used to prove the unique status of Muhammad.<ref name=":0" /> One theory among Sufis was that Muhammad's body could reach God to a proximity that even the greatest saints could only reach in spirit.<ref name=":0" /> They debated whether Muhammad had envisioned God and if he did, whether he did so with his eyes or with his heart.<ref name=":0" /> Nevertheless, Muhammad's superiority is again demonstrated in that even in the extreme proximity of the Lord, "his eye neither swerved nor was turned away," whereas Moses had fainted when the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush.<ref name=":0" /> Various thinkers used this point to prove the superiority of Muhammad.<ref name=":0" />
The Subtleties of the Ascension by Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Sulami includes repeated quotations from other mystics that also affirm the superiority of Muhammad.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Many Sufis interpreted the Miʿraj to ask questions about the meaning of certain events within the Miʿraj, and drew conclusions based on their interpretations, especially to substantiate ideas of the superiority of Muhammad over other prophets.<ref name=":0" />
Muhammad Iqbal, a self-proclaimed intellectual descendant of Rumi and the poet-scholar who personified poetic Sufism in South Asia, used the event of the Miʿraj to conceptualize an essential difference between a prophet and a Sufi.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> He recounts that Muhammad, during his Miʿraj journey, visited the heavens and then eventually returned to the temporal world.<ref name=":1" /> Iqbal then quotes another South Asian Muslim saint by the name of 'Abdul Quddus Gangohi who asserted that if he (Gangohi) had had that experience, he would never have returned to this world.<ref name=":1" /> Iqbal uses Gangohi's spiritual aspiration to argue that while a saint or a Sufi would not wish to renounce the spiritual experience for something this-worldly, a prophet is a prophet precisely because he returns with a force so powerful that he changes world history by imbuing it with a creative and fresh thrust.<ref name=":1" />
In Islam, whether the Miraj is a physical or spiritual experience is also a matter of debate based on different arguments and evidence. The physical perception of the Miraj may imply attributing a physical space to God, contradicting the understanding of transcendence (tanzih) that attributed to God in Islam. Many sects and offshoots belonging to Islamic mysticism interpret Muhammad's night ascent to be an out-of-body experience through nonphysical environments,<ref>Brent E. McNeely, "The Miraj of Prophet Muhammad in an Ascension Typology" Template:Webarchive, p3</ref><ref>Buhlman, William, "The Secret of the Soul", 2001, Template:ISBN, p111</ref> stating "the apostle's body remained where it was"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while the majority of Islamic scholars claim that the journey was both a physical and spiritual one.<ref name="enc">Template:Cite book</ref>
Celebrations
In Jerusalem on the Temple Mount, the structure of the Dome of the Rock, built several decades after Muhammad's death, marks the place from which Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven. The exact date of the Journey is not clear, but it is celebrated as though it took place before the Hijrah and after Muhammad's visit to the people of Ta'if. The normative view amongst Sunni Muslims who ascribe a specific date to the event is that it took place on the 27th of Rajab, slightly over a year before Hijrah.<ref>Reiter, Yitzhak. "The Elevation in Sanctity of al-Aqsa and al-Quds." Jerusalem and Its Role in Islamic Solidarity. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2008. 11-35.</ref> This would correspond to the 26th of February 621 in the Western calendar. In Twelver Iran, Rajab 27 is the day of Muhammad's first calling or Mab'as. The al-Aqsa Mosque and surrounding area is now the third-holiest place on earth for Muslims.<ref name="BloomBlair2009">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Grabar2006">Template:Cite book</ref>
The Lailat al-Miʿraj (Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration), also known as Shab-e-Mi'raj (Template:Langx, Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration) in Iran, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and Miraç Kandili in Turkish, is the Muslim holiday on the 27th of Rajab (the date varying in the Western calendar) celebrating the Isra and Miʿraj. Another name for the holiday is Mehraj-ul-Alam (also spelled Meraj-ul-Alam). Some Muslims celebrate this event by offering optional prayers during this night, and in some Muslim countries, by illuminating cities with electric lights and candles. The celebrations around this day tend to focus on every Muslim who wants to celebrate it. Worshippers gather in mosques and perform prayer and supplication. Some people may pass their knowledge on to others by telling them the story of how Muhammad's heart was purified by the archangel Gabriel, who filled him with knowledge and faith in preparation to enter the seven levels of heaven. After salah, food and treats are served.<ref name="times" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Discussions on history and geography
Template:See Template:See According to Islamic tradition, a small prayer hall (musalla), what would later become the Al-Aqsa Mosque, was built by Umar, the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. A hadith reports Muhammad's account of the experience:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
"Then Gabriel brought a horse (Burraq) to me, which resembled lightning in swiftness and lustre, was of clear white colour, medium in size, smaller than a mule and taller than a (donkey), quick in movement that it put its feet on the farthest limit of the sight. He made me ride it and carried me to Jerusalem. He tethered the Burraq to the ring of that Temple to which all the Prophets in Jerusalem used to tether their beasts..." <ref>Siddiqui, Abdul Hameed. The Life of Muhammad. Islamic Book Trust: Kuala Lumpur. 1999. p. 113. Template:ISBN</ref>{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
Although not in all of them, in some hadiths, the Miraj story is handled and processed independently of Al-Aqsa. Besides that city of Jerusalem is not mentioned by any of its names in Surah Al-Isra 17:1, however, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that Quranic reference to masjid al-aqṣā in the verse refers to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is mentioned in later Islamic literature and in the hadith as the place of Isra and Miʽraj.<ref>Historic Cities of the Islamic World edited by Clifford Edmund Bosworth P: 226</ref>
Some figures contest the consensus that Al-masjid al-aqṣā was in Jerusalem and believe it was somewhere other than Jerusalem. This arises from the belief that there's no evidence of a Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem before the Islamic conquest of the Levant, and Umar's arrival; The first and second temples were destroyed by the Babylonians and the Romans, respectively, the latter more than five centuries before Muhammad's life. After the initially successful Jewish revolt against Heraclius, the Jewish population resettled in Jerusalem for a short period of time from AD 614 to 630 and immediately started to restore the temple on the Temple Mount and build synagogues in Jerusalem.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After the Jewish population was expelled a second time from Jerusalem and shortly before Heraclius retook the city (AD 630), a small synagogue was already in place on the Temple Mount. This synagogue was reportedly demolished after Heraclius retook Jerusalem.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the reign of the caliph Mu'awiyah I of the Umayyad Caliphate (founded in AD 661), a quadrangular mosque for a capacity of 3,000 worshipers is recorded somewhere on the Haram ash-Sharif.<ref name="Elad">Elad, Amikam. (1995). Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic Worship. Holy Places, Ceremonies, Pilgrimage BRILL, pp. 29–43. Template:ISBN.</ref> This was rebuilt and expanded by the caliph Abd al-Malik in AD 690 along with the Dome of the Rock.<ref name="Elad" /><ref name="le Strange">le Strange, Guy. (1890). Palestine under the Moslems, pp. 80–98.</ref>
French American Academic Oleg Grabar believed that the Quranic Al-masjid al-aqṣā referred to one of two sanctuaries in a Hijazi village known as al-Juʽranah near Mecca, basing this on the statement of two near-contemporary medieval Muslim travelers Al Waqidi and Al-Azraqi who used the term "Al-masjid al-aqṣā" , and "Al-masjid al-Adna":<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Bevan has shown that among early traditionists there are many who do not accept the identification of the masjid al-aqsa, and among them are to be found such great names as al-Bukhari and Tabari. Both Ibn Ishaq an al-Ya'qubi precede their accounts with expressions which indicate that these are stories which are not necessarily accepted as dogma. It was suggested by J. Horovitz that in the early period of Islam, there is little justification for assuming that the Koranic expression in any way referred to Jerusalem. But while Horovitz thought that it referred to a place in heaven, A. Guillaume's careful analysis of the earliest texts (al-Waqidi and al-Azraqi, both in the later second century A.H.) has convincingly shown that the Koranic reference to the masjid al-aqsa applies specifically to Al-Ji'rana, near Mekkah, where there were two sanctuaries (masjid al-adnai and masjid al-aqsa), and where Muhammad so-journed in dha al-qa'dah of the eighth year after the Hijrah.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}
Israeli political scientist Yitzhak Reiter mentions some alternative interpretations among some Muslim sects in the 21st century which dispute that the night journey took place in Jerusalem, believing instead it was either in the Heavens, or in Medina and its vicinity by Jaf'ari Shi'tes.<ref name="Reiter-2008">Yitzhak Reiter (2008), Jerusalem and Its Role in Islamic Solidarity, Springer, p. 21.: "The issue of al-Aqsa Mosque's location has been subject to much debate within Islam, and even today there are those who believe it is not in Jerusalem at all, according to one claim, the text was meant to refer to the Mosque of the Prophet in al-Madina or in a place close to al-Madina. Another perception is that of the Ja’fari Shiites, who interpret that al-Aqsa as a mosque in heaven. This interpretation reflects the Shiite anti-Umayyad emotions in an attempt to play down the sacredness of Umayyad Jerusalem and to minimize the sanctity of Jerusalem by detaching the qur'anic al-Masjid al-aqsa from the Temple Mount, thus asserting that the Prophet never came to that city, but rather ascended to the heavenly al-Aqsa mosque without ever stopping in bayt al-Maqdis [Jerusalem]. Apart from depriving Jerusalem of its major attraction for pilgrims, the Shiite traditions offer alternative pilgrimage attractions such as the Shiite holy city of Kufa, as well as Mecca. However, the tradition about Muhammad’s Night Journey to Jerusalem were never suppressed. They were exploited by the Umayyads and continued to be quoted in the tafsir (Qur’an interpretation) collections. The interpretation dating from the Umayyad and Crusader eras, according to which al-Aqsa is in Jerusalem, is the one that prevailed."</ref> Reiter also claimed that the location being in Jerusalem was a tradition invented after Muhmmad's life by the Umayyad Caliphate to divert pilgrimage to either Shi'ite sites such as Al-Kufa, or Mecca when it was held by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr during the Second Muslim Civil war<ref name="Reiter-2008" />
European reception
In the 13th century AD, an account of the Isra' and Mi'raj was translated into several European languages—Latin, Spanish and French. Known as the Book of Muhammad's Ladder, this account purports to be the words of Muhammad himself as recorded by Ibn Abbas. It was translated by Abraham of Toledo and Bonaventure of Siena. It may have influenced Dante Alighieri's account of an ascent to heaven and descent to hell in the Divine Comedy.<ref>Ana Echevarría, "Liber scalae Machometi", in David Thomas; Alex Mallett (eds.), Christian–Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Vol. 4 (Brill, 2012), pp. 425–428.</ref>
Criticism
Similarities to other traditions;Traditions of living persons ascending to heaven are also found in early Jewish and Christian literature.<ref>Bremmer, Jan N. "Descents to hell and ascents to heaven in apocalyptic literature." JJ Collins (Hg.), The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic Literature, Oxford (2014): 340-357.</ref> The Book of Enoch, a late Second Temple Jewish apocryphal work, describes a tour of heaven given by an angel to the patriarch Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. According to Brooke Vuckovic, early Muslims may have had precisely this ascent in mind when interpreting Muhammad's night journey.<ref>Vuckovic, Brooke Olson. Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns: the legacy of the mi'raj in the formation of Islam. Routledge, 2004, 46.</ref>
The similarity of many details in the Miraj narratives to Zoroastrian literature is striking. While critics argue that these narratives are a transfer from Zoroastrian literature, another claim argues that the relevant literature was written after Islam.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See also
- Entering heaven alive - view of the belief in various religions
- Transfiguration of Jesus
- Miraj Nameh
References
Further reading
- Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2010). Me'rāj. Encyclopædia Iranica.
- Template:Cite book
- Colby, Frederick, "Night Journey (Isra & Mi'raj), in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol II, pp. 420–425.Template:ISBN?
- Schimmel, Annemarie (1985). "The Prophet's Night Journey and Ascension", in And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.Template:ISBN?
External links
Template:Muslimholidays Template:Public holidays in Indonesia Template:Public holidays in Malaysia Template:Public holidays in Pakistan Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- Angelic apparitions
- Entering heaven alive
- Gabriel
- Islamic mythology
- Islamic terminology
- Kandil
- Life of Muhammad
- Miracles attributed to Muhammad
- Quran
- Quranic verses
- Shia days of remembrance
- Sunni Islam
- Katabasis
- Public holidays in Algeria
- Public holidays in Indonesia
- Public holidays in Malaysia
- Public holidays in Bangladesh
- Public holidays in India
- Public holidays in Pakistan
- Public holidays in Saudi Arabia
- Public holidays in Morocco
- Public holidays in Lebanon
- Public holidays in Egypt