The Israʾ and Miʿraj () or Ascension of Muhammad refer to an evolving body of Islamic narratives concerning the night journey, during which the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascends to the heavens, witnesses the afterlife, and returns. The subject holds a pivotal position in shaping many religious-political stances, even today. However, the basis for the issue in the Quran—an indisputable point of reference in the Islamic world—consists solely of two statements with unspecified subjects and addressees; verses 1-18 of Surāh an-Najm and some verses of the 17th chapter of the Quran, later commonly called Surāh al-’Isrā’. The framework and the details are elaborated and developed in various miraculous accounts, some of which are based on hadith —reports of the teachings, deeds, and sayings of Muhammad— compiled centuries after his lifetime.
Approximately two centuries after Muhammad's time, Ibn Sa'd partly assembled the earliest written stories—which had previously been transmitted independently—into a cohesive narrative. This editing process continued in subsequent centuries, evolving into the comprehensive story whose various versions are embraced by different sects today;H. Busse 1991, p. 7" According to his accounts, the angels Gabriel and Michael accompany Muhammad to a place in the sacred precinct of the Kaaba, between the well of Zamzam and Maqam Ibrahim. There, a ladder (miʿrāj lit means ladder) is set up, with whose help they ascend to heaven. When he reaches the top, Muhammad meets the previous prophets. According to one version of the tradition, Gabriel holds Muhammad's hand tightly and ascends with him to heaven.H.Busse (1991), p. 8 When he reaches the Sidrat al-Muntaha mentioned in Sura 53:14,So in der Übersetzung von „sidrat al-muntahā“ bei Rudi Paret; bei H. Busse (1991), S. 7 steht: Lotusbaum Muhammad sees heaven and hell. There, he is required to perform fifty daily prayers, but negotiates with God to reduce them to five, and is granted the last two verses of Al-Baqarah, known as the treasure from God's throne.
The 27th night of the month of Rajab, is one of the most celebrated holy days and nights in the Islamic calendar. The literature continued to evolve through the incorporation of various narrations that supported the perspectives of different schools of thought. In addition, verses and hadiths concerning the Ascension can also be viewed as a reflection of the Islamic cosmological view in ancient world. While classical commentaries interpret the journey as a miraculous voyage undertaken in the unity of body and soul —a view that also gives rise to theological debates— Sufism generally regards it as a spiritual ascension, remaining apart from such controversies.
Terminology Al-’Isrā’ literally means "to make someone walk," frequently translated as walking or traveling at night. ʿMiʿrāj literally means "ascending device, ladder" or "ascending place" as counted me'raj, derived from uruj, "rising" or "going up to a high place". 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.
The Bait al-Maqdis (the Holy House) in Aelia, described in the hadiths related to the Miraj, marking the place where Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven, is the Arabic pronunciation of the Hebrew name for the Temple of Solomon.Carrol, James. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How The Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World", 2011. Retrieved on 24 May 2014. The name Al-Quds, given to the city by Muslims a few centuries later derives from the same root.El-Awaisi, Khalid. "From Aelia To Al-Quds: The Names Of Islamic Jerusalem In The Early Muslim Period", 2011. Retrieved on 16 June 2019.
The Dome of the Rock, built on the Muallak (lifted) stone and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (sometimes referred to as "masjid Al-Aqsa"), located on the south wall of the compound, was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ()le Strange, Guy. (1890). Palestine under the Moslems, pp. 80–98. or his successor al-Walid I () (or both) possibly by political motivations.Creswell shows a grave misunderstanding in maintaining that the Arabs cherished the ambition to erect buildings only when political reasons existed: building is directly related to politics. This common realization is also of help for the comprehension of objects in Islamic art.https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/server/api/core/bitstreams/ce46c43f-999a-42a9-b038-03778efc19a7/content (See also; Dome of the Ascension)
Another term used today for the Masjid al-Aqsa, which is argued to refer to the whole area of Temple Mount because there were no buildings there during Muhammad's time, is Haram al-Sharif. This terminology, which emphasizes the site's high sanctity, became popular during the Mamluk (1250–1517) and Ottoman periods.
Islamic tradition The Quran
The 17th chapter of the Quran takes its name from a word used in the first verse; The name of the sura, which was probably originally called the Surah Banī Isrāʾīl (),/... at the time of the Sahaabah it was called Soorat Bani Israa’eel... during the time of the Companions, gradually became the Surat Al- Isra, and simultaneously, narrations and explanations for Isra began to enter Islamic literature, which is presented as the first stage of the journey, expressed as Isra meaning to make someone walk. The verse is widely considered to refer to Muhammad's miraculous flight from Mecca's al-Masjid al-Haram to Jerusalem's al-Masjid al-Aqsa at night on the back of a mount called Buraq.
A different though not widely accepted, theory and interpretation of the verse, is that the Al-aqsa used in the verse is not associated with Jerusalem, but with Al-Ji'rana, which is located near Mecca based on the hint that Masjid al-Haram is a night walk away from Masjid al-Aqsa in :
An expression that is connected with the ascention part of the storyLange, C. (2015). Paradise and hell in Islamic traditions. Cambridge University Press.p. 112 is the subject-unclear poetic expressions in the .
Apart from the two verses recorded above, there is no verse in the Quran that is associated with the Miraj. In addition, unlike the references to miracles made to other prophets in the Quran, the verses that deny any miracles of Muhammad outside the Quran attract the attention of some researchers.the Quran stresses that Muhammad made no miracle other than the divinely claimed miracle of the Quran itself.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10477845.2025.2452714?src=exp-la#d1e136
Date Hans Wehr says that the 27th night of the month of Rajab chosen for the Miraj is not based on a report and is an arbitrary choice;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 Festtag der Muslime zurück Ibn Sa'd recorded that Muhammad's Mi'raj took place first, from near the Kaaba to the heavens, on the 27th of Ramadan, 18 months before the , while the Isra' from Mecca to took place on the 17th night of the Rabi' al-Awwal before the as two different, unconnected events. In Ibn Hisham's account, the Isra' came first and then the Mi'raj, and he put these stories before the deaths of Khadija and Abu Talib. In contrast, Al-Tabari placed this story at the beginning of Muhammad's public ministry, between his account of Khadija becoming "the first to believe in the Messenger of God" and his account of "the first male to believe in the Messenger of God". The 27th night of the month of Rajab, is one of the most celebrated holy days and nights in the Islamic calendar.
Story
All the details in the story come from the anecdotes of the biography and hadith collections written a few centuries after Muhammad. The story continues to evolve and change across different geographies and belief groups, as can be seen even in the earliest records.
There are different accounts of what occurred before the Miʿraj. While some narratives speak of purification before ascension, others say these are unconnected; Muhammad's chest was opened up, and zamzam water was poured on his heart, giving him wisdom, before going to prepare him for his ascent. This purification theme is also seen in the trial of the drinks. It is debated when it took place—before or after the ascent—but either way, it plays an important role in asserting Muhammad's spiritual righteousness. Two hadiths considered the most reliable rely on Anas ibn Malik and ibn ʿAbbas persons who were recorded as children at the time.
Al-Tabari's summary also reflects his choices and is as follows; Muhammad ascends into heaven with Gabriel and meets a different prophet at each of the seven levels of heaven; first Adam, then John the Baptist and Jesus, then Joseph, then Idris, then Aaron, then Moses, and lastly Abraham. Then continues to meet God without Gabriel. God tells Muhammad that his people must pray 50 times a day, but on return to Earth, he meets Moses, who tells him persistently, "return to God and ask for fewer prayers because fifty is too many". Muhammad goes back and forth between Moses and God nine times until the prayers are reduced to five daily prayers, and God rewards those prayers with the merit of fifty."
Ibn Abbas 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 travelled through heaven. These angels were the Rooster angel (whose call influences all earthly roosters), the Half Fire Half Snow angel (an example of God's power to bring fire and ice together in harmony), the Angel of Death, and the Guardian of Hellfire. These four angels are introduced at the beginning of Ibn Abbas's narrative and focus on the angels rather than the prophets. There are ranks of angels in heaven, and he even meets some deeply connected angels called cherubim.Colby, Frederick S. Narrating Muḥammad's night journey: tracing the development of the Ibn ʿAbbās ascension discourse. State University of New York Press, 2008. p. 36 These angels instill fear in Muhammad, but he sees them later as God's creation and not harmful.
Other important details that Ibn Abbas adds to the narrative are the heavenly host, the final verses of the Cow Chapter, and the blessing of the prophets. In other versions by Ibn Abbas, a transmitter seems to have added to Ibn Abbas' authentic narrative the descent of Muhammad and the meeting with the prophets. These are the stories of the meeting with the prophets and the meeting with Moses, which led to the reduction of the daily prayers, which are not included in Ibn Abbas' primitive version. Whether Ibn Abbas included this in his original narrative or whether it was added by a later transmitter is a matter of debate.
Later versions