How Did the Prophet's (PBUH) Night Journey and Ascension Happen in One Night?
كيف أسري وعرج بالرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى السماء في ليلة واحدة؟
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was carried by Al-Buraq to Jerusalem, and then he ascended to heaven in the company of angel Gabriel, peace be upon him, and Allah Almighty is capable of everything. As we see today how man, who is relatively weak, by using the power of his brain, was able to manufacture an aircraft that flies faster than the speed of sound and invented the machine of transmitting the image in three dimensions, Allah is greater, more exalted and mightier in power than His creation.
قد أسري بالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم على البراق حتى بيت المقدس، ثم عرج به إلى السماء بصحبة جبريل عليه السلام، والله تعالى على كل شيء قدير، ولا يعجزه شيء في الأرض ولا في السماء، وكما نشاهد اليوم: كيف أن الإنسان الضعيف استطاع بعقله صناعة طائرة تتجاوز سرعة الصوت، واخترع خاصية نقل الصورة بشكل ثلاثي الأبعاد، فالله أكبر وأجل وأعظم قدرة من خلقه
1. The Earthly Night Journey (Al-Isra) to Al-Aqsa | الإسراء الأرضي المبارك من المسجد الحرام إلى المسجد الأقصى
"Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muhammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs" (17:1). The Prophet described al-Buraq as a white animal, taller than a donkey and smaller than a mule, placing its hoof at the farthest reach of its sight; he rode it to Jerusalem and tied it to the ring the prophets used (Sahih Muslim 162), and there he led the prophets in prayer (Sahih Muslim 172).
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا (سورة الإسراء: 1)
(سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ)، ووصف النبي ﷺ البراق بأنه دابة أبيض طويل فوق الحمار ودون البغل يضع حافره عند منتهى طرفه، فركبه حتى أتى بيت المقدس فربطه بالحلقة التي يربط بها الأنبياء (صحيح مسلم 162)، ثم حانت الصلاة فأم الأنبياء (صحيح مسلم 172).
2. Celestial Ascension (Al-Mi'raj) Through the Seven Heavens | المعراج السماوي واستقبال الأنبياء في طبقات السموات
Jibril then took him up through the heavens. At each gate Jibril was asked who was with him, and the Prophet ﷺ met Adam in the first heaven, Isa and Yahya in the second, Yusuf in the third, Idris in the fourth, Harun in the fifth, Musa in the sixth, and in the seventh Ibrahim (peace be upon them all), leaning his back against al-Bayt al-Ma'mur, which seventy thousand angels enter every day (Sahih Muslim 162). The heavens are described in how many heavens there are in the Quran.
ثم عرج به جبريل إلى السماء، فكان جبريل يستفتح عند كل سماء فيسأل عمن معه فيخبر أنه محمد ﷺ، فلقي آدم في السماء الدنيا، وعيسى ويحيى في الثانية، ويوسف في الثالثة، وإدريس في الرابعة، وهارون في الخامسة، وموسى في السادسة، وإبراهيم في السابعة مسندا ظهره إلى البيت المعمور الذي يدخله كل يوم سبعون ألف ملك لا يعودون إليه (صحيح مسلم 162).
3. Sidrat al-Muntaha and Divine Audience | بلوغ سدرة المنتهى وفرض الصلوات الخمس بلا واسطة
Then he was taken to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, where, the Quran says, he saw the angel a second time: "And he certainly saw that ˹angel descend˺ a second time at the Lote Tree of the most extreme limit" (53:13-14). He said he was raised to a level where he heard the scratching of the pens (Sahih al-Bukhari 349), and Allah prescribed fifty prayers each day and night; on Musa's advice he kept going back to ask for a reduction until they were five (Sahih Muslim 162).
وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنتَهَىٰ (سورة النجم: 13-14)
ثم ذهب به إلى سدرة المنتهى، وفيها يقول تعالى: (وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنتَهَىٰ)، وقال ﷺ: «ثم عرج بي حتى ظهرت لمستوى أسمع فيه صريف الأقلام» (صحيح البخاري 349)، ففرض الله عليه خمسين صلاة في كل يوم وليلة، فما زال يرجع بمشورة موسى يسأل التخفيف حتى صارت خمسا (صحيح مسلم 162).
4. In One Night, by the Power of Allah | في ليلة واحدة بقدرة الله
The scholar answers how it could happen in one night: Allah is capable of everything. If weak man, by his mind, can build an aircraft faster than sound, Allah is greater and mightier than His creation. In his answer on the Prophet's miracles and those of earlier prophets he counts the Isra and Mi'raj among the miracles given at a particular time and place. "All it takes, when He wills something ˹to be˺, is simply to say to it: ‘Be!’ And it is!" (36:82).
إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ (سورة يس: 82)
يجيب الشيخ عن السؤال بأن الله تعالى على كل شيء قدير لا يعجزه شيء في الأرض ولا في السماء؛ فإذا كان الإنسان الضعيف قد استطاع بعقله صناعة طائرة تتجاوز سرعة الصوت، فالله أكبر وأجل وأعظم قدرة من خلقه. وفي جواب آخر يعد الشيخ الإسراء والمعراج من المعجزات التي وقعت في زمان معين ومكان معين. (إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ).
Scholarly Insight: The Prophet ﷺ said about answering Quraysh's denial of the Night Journey (Sahih al-Bukhari 3886): “When Quraysh accused me of lying, I stood in the enclosure of the Ka'aba. Allah made Jerusalem visible to me, and I began telling them about its features while looking at it.” See the signs confirming the Prophet's mission. Read more in the tafsir of Surah Al-Isra.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Did the Isra and Mi'raj happen in spirit only or in body and spirit?
Ibn Kathir says the view of the majority of earlier and later scholars is that it was with his body and soul, awake; had it been a dream, Quraysh would not have rushed to deny it.
What creature transported the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem?
Al-Buraq, a white animal taller than a donkey and smaller than a mule that placed its hoof at the farthest reach of its sight (Sahih Muslim 162).
What central act of worship was ordained during the Mi'raj?
The prayers: fifty were prescribed, then reduced to five (Sahih Muslim 162).
Who did the Prophet meet at the Seventh Heaven?
Ibrahim, leaning his back against al-Bayt al-Ma'mur (Sahih Muslim 162).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →