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{{Short description|Night journey undertaken by Muhammad in Islamic tradition}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}{{for|the 17th chapter of the Quran|al-Isra'}}
[[File:Miraj by Sultan Muhammad.jpg|thumb|1543 illustration of the [[Mi'raj]] from an edition of the ''[[Khamsa of Nizami|Khamsa]]'' of [[Nizami Ganjavi]] created for Shah [[Tahmasp I|Tahmasp I]]<ref>Bowker. ''World Religions''. p. 165.</ref>|360x360px]]
The '''Israʾ''' and '''Miʿraj''' ({{langx|ar|الإسراء والمعراج}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj}}''); In Islamic culture, it is the name given to the narrations that the prophet [[Muhammad]] ascended to the sky during a night journey, saw Allah and the afterlife, and returned. It is believed that expressions without a subject in verses 1-18 of [[surah An-Najm]] and some verses of 17th [[surah]] of the [[Quran]], commonly called ''[[al-Isra']]'',<ref name="alisra">{{qref|17|1|c=y}}</ref> allude to the story. Framework and the details are elaborated and developed<ref name="Britannica-Miʿrāj">{{cite web |last1=Zeidan. |first1=Adam |title=Miʿrāj |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Miraj-Islam |website=Britannica |access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref><ref name=Reiter-2008/> in the [[Miraj Nameh|miraculous accounts]], some of which are based on [[hadith]], the reports, teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad collected later centuries attributed after him. The story of the journey and ascent are marked as one of the most celebrated in the [[Islamic calendar]]—27th of the Islamic month of [[Rajab]].<ref name="times">{{Cite news|title=A night journey through Jerusalem |date=18 August 2007|access-date=27 March 2011|author=Bradlow, Khadija|work=[[The Times|Times Online]] |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a-night-journey-through-jerusalem-zxxb7n0bbpn |url-access=subscription }}</ref>▼
[[File:Mohammed on Heaven.jpg|thumb|right|Ascension of Muhammad, Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul, 18th century (copy of a work probably created in the 8th century)]]
▲The '''Israʾ''' and '''Miʿraj''' ({{langx|ar|الإسراء والمعراج}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj}}'')
[[Ibn Sa'd]] summarizes the earliest version of the written stories<ref name="H. Busse 1991, S. 7" /> under the title "Ascension and the Order of Prayer" and dated the event to a Saturday, the 17th of Ramadan, eighteen months before Muhammad's [[Hijrah]].<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 [[Islamische Festtage|Festtag]] der Muslime zurück</ref> According to him, the angels [[Gabriel]] and [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] accompanied Muhammad to a place in the sacred precinct of the [[Kaaba]], between the well of [[Zamzam Well|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 [[Salah|fifty prayers]], which were reduced to five by the intervention of [[Moses]].
[[Sunni|Sunni culture]] adds to the story that [[Abu Bakr]], who heard about the miracle from the pagans, approved the event without question and was given the title of ''al-Ṣiddīq'', the Veracious.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.islamawareness.net/Isra/miracle.html | title=Miracle of Al-Isra & Al-Miraj }}</ref> In the version accepted in Sunnism, the story tells of Muhammad's negotiations with God, who ordered him and his ummah to pray 50 times a day
{{Islamic Culture}}
==Terminology==
[[File:New York Public Library, Spencer Collection Turk. MS. 3 Siyar-i Nabî fol. 6r Muhammad leads prayer in Celestial Mosque.jpg|thumb|Islamic miniature of Muhammad leading a prayer of all [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophets and messengers]] in a Celestial Mosque during Isra' and Mi'raj]]
There are different accounts of what occurred during the Miʿraj. [[Al-Tabari]]'s description can be summarized as; Muhammad ascends into heaven with [[Gabriel]] and meets a different prophet at each of [[seven heavens|the seven levels of heaven]]; first [[Adam in Islam|Adam]], then [[John the Baptist#Islam|John the Baptist]] and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]], then [[Joseph in Islam|Joseph]], then [[Idris (prophet)|Idris]], then [[Aaron]], then [[
Some narratives also record events that preceded the heavenly ascent. Muhammad's chest was opened up, and
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 [[Anthropomorphism and corporealism in Islam|attributing a physical space to God]], contradicting the understanding of transcendence ([[tanzih]]) that [[Attributes of God in Islam|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, [http://www.bhporter.com/Porter%20PDF%20Files/The%20Miraj%20of%20Muhammad%20in%20an%20Asceneion%20Typology.pdf "The Miraj of Prophet Muhammad in an Ascension Typology"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530231238/http://www.bhporter.com/Porter%20PDF%20Files/The%20Miraj%20of%20Muhammad%20in%20an%20Asceneion%20Typology.pdf |date=30 May 2012 }}, p3</ref><ref>Buhlman, William, "The Secret of the Soul", 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-06-251671-8}}, p111</ref> stating "the apostle's body remained where it was"<ref>{{cite book| last1= Brown| first1= Dennis| last2= Morris| first2= Stephen| series= Rhinegold Eeligious Studies Study Guide| title= A Student's Guide to A2 Religious Studies: for the AQA Specification| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7OkAqYod1CgC| access-date= 10 January 2012| year= 2003| publisher= Rhinegold| ___location= London, UK| oclc= 257342107| isbn= 978-1-904226-09-3| page= 115| chapter= Religion and Human Experience| chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7OkAqYod1CgC&pg=PA115| quote= The revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad [includes] his Night Journey, an out-of-body experience where the prophet was miraculously taken to Jerusalem on the back of a mythical bird (buraq)....| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160210074350/https://books.google.com/books?id=7OkAqYod1CgC| archive-date= 10 February 2016| url-status= live}}</ref> while the majority of Islamic scholars claim that the journey was both a physical and spiritual one.<ref name=enc>{{cite book |editor1-first=Richard C. |editor1-last=Martin |editor2-first=Saïd Amir |editor2-last=Arjomand |editor2-link=Saïd Amir Arjomand|editor3-first=Marcia |editor3-last=Hermansen |editor4-first=Abdulkader |editor4-last=Tayob |editor5-first=Rochelle |editor5-last=Davis |editor6-first=John Obert |editor6-last=Voll |title=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World |year=2003 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers (United States)|Macmillan Reference USA]] |isbn=978-0-02-865603-8 | page = 482}}</ref>
[[File:Miraj-BNF-1436.jpg|thumb|The Night Journey showing Muhammad, [[Buraq]], Gabriel, Noah, and Idris in the Second Heaven. One of 60 miniatures in the ''[[Miraj Nameh]]'' of the [[Timurid dynasty]] artists [[illuminated manuscript]] from [[Herat]] in [[Chaghatai language|Chaghatai]] with [[New Persian]] and [[Arabic]] captions. [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]].]]
[[File:The rock of the Dome of the Rock Corrected.jpg|upright=1.3|thumbnail|right|200px|[[Foundation Stone|A stone associated with the Miraj in Islamic tradition and blessed]]; The round hole at upper left penetrates to a small cave, known as the [[Well of Souls]], below.]]
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== Sources ==
Except for a few verses in the Quran that are thought to refer to Isra and Miraj, the other narratives consist of stories added to [[Sīrah|the biography]] and hadith collections.
Two hadiths considered the most reliable rely on [[Anas ibn Malik]] and [[ibn ʿAbbas]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Colby|first1=Frederick S.|title=Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Teaching the Development of the Ibn 'Abbas Ascension Discourse|date=2008|publisher=State University of New York Press|___location=Albany|isbn=978-0-7914-7518-8}}</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.
===The Quran===
[[Al-Isra'|The 17th chapter of the Quran]] takes its name from a word used in the first verse, which is presented as the first stage of the journey, expressed as Isra. However, the Surah was known as the Surah "banu Israel" "Children of Israel" during the time of the companions and the successors,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Soorat al-
{{blockquote|Glory be to the One Who took His servant by night from
An expression that is connected with the ascention part of the story<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Colby |first=Frederick S.|date=2002|title=The Subtleties of the Ascension: al-Sulamī on the Mi'rāj of the Prophet Muhammad|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1596216 |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=94 |pages=167–183 |doi=10.2307/1596216 |jstor=1596216 |issn=0585-5292|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>Lange, C. (2015). Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press.p. 112</ref> is the subject-free poetic expressions in the {{transliteration|ar|surah [[an-Najm]]}}.
{{blockquote|And he certainly saw that ˹angel descend˺ a second time{{pb}}at the [[Sidrat al-Muntaha|"Sidr"]] of the most extreme limit ˹in the seventh heaven˺—{{pb}}near which is the Garden of ˹Eternal˺ Residence—{{pb}}while the "sidr" was overwhelmed with ˹heavenly˺ splendours!{{pb}}The ˹Prophet's˺ sight never wandered, nor did it overreach.{{pb}}He certainly saw some of his Lord's greatest signs.|{{qref|53|13-18|c=y}}}}
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{{Muhammad|miracles}}
====Ibn ʿAbbas 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
Other important details that Ibn Abbas adds to the narrative are the [[Heavenly host]], the final verses of [[Al-Baqara|the Cow Chapter]], and the blessing of the Prophets.<ref name="State University of New York Press">{{cite book|last1=Colby|first1=Frederick S|title=Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the Ibn 'Abbas Ascension Discourse|date=2008|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-7518-8}}</ref>
====Others====
Various hadiths
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 in Islam|Abraham]], [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], [[John the Baptist in Islam|John the Baptist]], and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
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====Of mutating hadith====
Another question is whether the Isra and Mi'raj originally occurred together. According to [[Britannica]], in the "earliest interpretations of the Mi'raj", while Muhammad was in the Kaaba in Mecca, Muhammad's body
==Historical ([[Anachronism|anacronistic]]) issues / Jerusalem connection ==
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{{blockquote|''"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. {{ISBN|983-9154-11-7}}</ref>}}
Although not in all of them, in some hadiths, such as bukhari 3207,<ref>https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3207</ref> the Miraj story is handled and processed independently of Al-Aqsa. Besides that city of Jerusalem is not mentioned by any of [[Names of Jerusalem|its names]] in Surah Al-Isra 17:1, however, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that Quranic reference to ''[[Al-Aqsa|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-Aqsa|Al-masjid al-aqṣā]]'' was in Jerusalem
The [[Solomon's Temple|first]] and [[second temple]]s were destroyed by the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BCE)|Babylonians]] and the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|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>{{Cite book |last=Ghada |first=Karmi |title=Jerusalem Today: What Future for the Peace Process? |year=1997 |pages=115–116}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kohen |first=Elli |title=History of the Byzantine Jews: A Microcosmos in the Thousand Year Empire |pages=36 |chapter=5}}</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>{{Cite book |author=R. W. Thomson |url=https://archive.org/details/armenianhistorya00thom |title=The Armenian History Attributed to Sebeos |publisher=Liverpool University Press |year=1999 |isbn=9780853235644 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/armenianhistorya00thom/page/n288 208]–212 |url-access=limited}}</ref>
[[French Americans|French American]] Academic [[Oleg Grabar]] believed that the Quranic ''[[Al-Aqsa|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|Al Waqidi]] and [[Al-Azraqi]] who used the term "''Al-masjid al-aqṣā" ,'' and "''Al-masjid al-Adna"'':{{blockquote|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>{{Cite journal |last=Grabar |first=Oleg |date=1959 |title=The Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4629098 |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=3 |pages=33–62 |jstor=4629098 |issn=0571-1371 }}</ref>}}
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 [[Seven heavens|Heavens]], or in [[Medina]] and its vicinity by [[Ja'fari school|Jaf'ari Shi'tes]].<ref name="Reiter-2008">Yitzhak Reiter (2008), [https://books.google.com/books?id=bZbFAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 ''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
== 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 Judaism|Second Temple]] Jewish [[Jewish apocrypha|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 [[Book of Arda Viraf|Zoroastrian literature]], another claim argues that the relevant literature was written after Islam.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/sources/zrisra | title=Arda Wiraz Namag (Iranian "Divina Commedia") and the Prophet's Night Journey }}</ref>
==Celebrations and reception==
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">{{cite book|author1=Jonathan M. Bloom|author2=Sheila Blair|title=The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA76|access-date=26 December 2011|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-530991-1|page=76|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615020218/http://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA76|archive-date=15 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Grabar2006">{{cite book|author=Oleg Grabar|title=The Dome of the Rock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeIOowshe6EC&pg=PA14|access-date=26 December 2011|date=1 October 2006|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02313-0|page=14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615020045/http://books.google.com/books?id=OeIOowshe6EC&pg=PA14|archive-date=15 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>▼
▲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 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">{{cite book|author1=Jonathan M. Bloom|author2=Sheila Blair|title=The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA76|access-date=26 December 2011|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-530991-1|page=76|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615020218/http://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA76|archive-date=15 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Grabar2006">{{cite book|author=Oleg Grabar|title=The Dome of the Rock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeIOowshe6EC&pg=PA14|access-date=26 December 2011|date=1 October 2006|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02313-0|page=14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615020045/http://books.google.com/books?id=OeIOowshe6EC&pg=PA14|archive-date=15 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
The ''Lailat al-Miʿraj'' ({{langx|ar|لیلة المعراج}}, {{transliteration|ar|Lailatu 'l-Miʿrāj}}), also known as ''Shab-e-Mi'raj'' ({{langx|bn|শবে মেরাজ|Šobe Meraj}}, {{langx|fa|شب معراج}}, {{transliteration|fa|Šab-e Mi'râj}}) in Iran, [[Pakistan]], [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]], and ''Miraç Kandili'' in [[Turkish language|Turkish]], is the [[Muslim holidays|Muslim holiday]] on the 27th of Rajab (the date varying
===Sufism===
The belief that Muhammad made the heavenly journey bodily was used to prove the unique status of Muhammad.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|title=And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-8078-1639-4}}</ref> One theory among [[Sufism|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 really seen the Lord 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>{{Cite journal|last=Colby|first=Frederick|date=2002|title=The Subtleties of the Ascension: al-Sulami on the Miraj of the Prophet Muhammad|journal=Studia Islamica|issue=94|pages=167–183|doi=10.2307/1596216|jstor=1596216}}</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" />
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=== European reception ===
In the 13th century AD, an account of the Isra' and Mi'raj was translated into several European languages—[[Latin]], [[Old Spanish|Spanish]] and [[Old French|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 [[Bonaventura da Siena|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>
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* [[Transfiguration of Jesus]]
* [[Miraj Nameh]]
==References==
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[[Category:Sunni Islam]]
[[Category:Katabasis]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Algeria]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Malaysia]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Public holidays in India]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Morocco]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Egypt]]
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