Among the greatest miracles bestowed upon the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ was the night of Al-Isrāʾ wal-Miʿrāj — the miraculous journey from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to Masjid al-Aqsā in Jerusalem, and then through the seven heavens to the Divine Presence. This event, which took place in the twelfth year of Prophethood on the 27th of Rajab, is one of the most extraordinary moments in all of human history.
The Qurʾānic Account
Allah ﷻ declares in the opening verse of Sūrah al-Isrāʾ:
“Glory be to the One Who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We might show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
Sūrah al-Isrāʾ (17:1)
The word Subhāna — Glory be — at the opening of this verse signals something extraordinary. The scholars of Tafsīr note that this word is used in the Qurʾān when Allah ﷻ wishes to draw attention to a matter of supreme magnificence. Imām al-Rāzī (d. 606 AH) writes in his Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb that the use of bi-abdihi — “with His servant” — is a mark of the highest honour; Allah ﷻ refers to the Prophet ﷺ as His ʿabd (servant) in the moments of his greatest elevation.
The ascension through the heavens is described in Sūrah al-Najm:
“Then he drew near and descended, and was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer. And He revealed to His servant what He revealed.”
Sūrah al-Najm (53:8–10)
The Context: The Year of Sorrow
The Miʿrāj did not occur in a moment of ease. It came after the ʿĀm al-Ḥuzn — the Year of Sorrow — in which the Prophet ﷺ lost his beloved wife Sayyidatunā Khadījah ؓ and his uncle and protector Abū Ṭālib. He had also travelled to Ṭāʾef where the people drove him out and children were sent to pelt him with stones until his blessed feet bled. It was after all this grief that Allah ﷻ gifted His beloved ﷺ with the most intimate of encounters.
This carries a profound lesson: the darkest moments in a believer’s life can precede the greatest elevation. Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) wrote that the Miʿrāj was a consolation from Allah ﷻ to His Prophet ﷺ — a divine embrace after human rejection.
The Journey: Al-Isrāʾ
Jibrīl came to the Prophet ﷺ at night and brought the Burāq — a luminous creature, larger than a donkey and smaller than a mule, whose stride reached the horizon — upon which he travelled to Masjid al-Aqsā in an instant. There he was greeted by all the Prophets and led them in prayer as their Imām. Narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (no. 162) on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik ؓ.
This leadership in prayer at Masjid al-Aqsā was deeply significant. The scholars explain that the Prophet ﷺ praying as Imām of all the Prophets demonstrated his supreme station as the Seal of the Prophets and the Imām of all creation.
The Ascension: Al-Miʿrāj
From Masjid al-Aqsā, the Prophet ﷺ ascended through the seven heavens, meeting a Prophet at each level:
- First heaven: Ādam
- Second heaven: ʿIsā and Yaḥyā
- Third heaven: Yūsuf
- Fourth heaven: Idris
- Fifth heaven: Hārūn
- Sixth heaven: Mūsā
- Seventh heaven: Ibrāhīm
At the Sidrat al-Muntahā — the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, beyond which no creation may pass — the Prophet ﷺ was taken into the Divine Presence. It was here that Allah ﷻ obligated the five daily prayers upon the Ummah — a direct gift from Allah ﷻ to His creation, without the intermediary of an angel. The prayers were initially fifty, and through the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ with guidance from Sayyidunā Mūsā , they were reduced to five while retaining the reward of fifty. (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 3207)
Key Lessons for Muslims Today
- Salāh is the Miʿrāj of the believer. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Salāh is the ascension of the believer.” Every time we stand in prayer, we are invited into the closest proximity to Allah ﷻ that a human being can experience in this world.
- Masjid al-Aqsā is central to our faith. Its blessed status was affirmed by Allah ﷻ in the Qurʾān and confirmed by the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer there. Its importance to every Muslim cannot be overstated.
- Hardship precedes elevation. The Year of Sorrow gave way to the night of Miʿrāj. Allah ﷻ does not abandon those who trust in Him.
- The Prophet ﷺ intercedes for his Ummah. Even at the Lote Tree, he ﷺ turned back to reduce the burden on his people. His love for us is beyond measure.
May Allah ﷻ grant us a share in the love of His Prophet ﷺ, enliven our prayers with the spirit of Miʿrāj, and unite us in the service of His blessed sanctuaries. Āmīn.
