Isra' and Mi'raj: Difference between revisions

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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'}}

The '''Israʾ''' and '''Miʿraj''' ({{langx|ar|الإسراء والمعراج}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj}}'') are the names 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.com/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)]]

[[File:Dome of the Rock, from Governor's House, Francis Bedford 1862.jpg|thumb|Dome of the Rock, 1862]]

[[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]].