Isra' and Mi'raj

The Israʾ and Miʿraj (Arabic: الإسراء والمعراج, romanized: al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj, lit. 'The Night Travel and Ascension') 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; 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. When he reaches the Sidrat al-Muntaha mentioned in Sura 53:14, 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. The name Al-Quds, given to the city by Muslims a few centuries later derives from the same root.

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 (r. 685–705) or his successor al-Walid I (r. 705–715) (or both) possibly by political motivations. (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 (Arabic: بني إسرائيل, lit. 'The Children of Israel'), 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 Surah Al-Isra 17:1:

Glory be to the One Who took His servant by night from Masjid al-Haram to the Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing An expression that is connected with the ascention part of the story is the subject-unclear poetic expressions in the Surah An-Najm 53:13-18.

And he certainly saw that a second time at the near of ultimate Sidr, near which is the Garden of ResidenceWhile the Sidr covered by covers! The sight never wandered, nor did it overreach.He certainly saw some of his Lord's greatest signs. 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.

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