Isra' and Mi'raj: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:10, 17 March 2025

Revision as of 02:46, 19 March 2025

Line 13:

While ''al-’Isrā’'' lit means "to make someone walk" frequently translated as walking or traveling at night; and ''ʿMiʿrāj'' lit 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", lit means rising, or going up to a high place.<ref name="Khan">{{cite web |last1=Khan |first1=Asad |title=The Miracle of Isra (Night Journey) and Miraj (Ascension |url=https://www.academia.edu/35946712 |website=Academia |access-date=14 October 2023}}</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.

==== Journey ====

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 [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], and lastly [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]]. Then continues to meet God without Gabriel. God tells Muhammad that his people must pray 50 times a day, but on returns to Earth, he meets Moses who tells him persistently "return to God and ask for fewer prayers because fifty is too many". Muhammad goes between Moses and God nine times, until the prayers are reduced to the five daily prayers, which God will reward tenfold.<ref>{{cite book|last1=al-Tabari|title=The History of al-Tabari volume VI: Muhammad at Mecca|date=1989|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=0-88706-706-9}}</ref> Other accounts, such as [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]], [[ibn Ishaq]], [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], vary by details to some extend.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}