SHAYKH AL ISLAM

Al-Israa' and Al-Mi'raj : A Reward for Patience

The Beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) suffered very much in his efforts to guide his people to their happiness in this world and in the hereafter. He met their opposition and resistance when he was calling to Islam in secrecy and later on when he proclaimed it in public. He still could not perform a proper prayer around the Sacred House while there were 360 idols around it and while any polytheist could come and circumambulate the Sacred House, bow and prostrate himself to his idol without having any trouble or interference.

At the time when men and women used to circumambulate the Sacred House naked, Abu Bakr was beaten when he recited verses from the Qur'an around it. 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah even slapped his face with his shoes. At that time, Sumayah bint Khiyat and her husband Yasir were beaten to death, while Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Dhar, Khubab, Fatimah bint Al-Khattab, and Zunayrah were beaten unconscious. An economic and social boycott was imposed on the Muslims, prohibiting anyone to sell them food or drink, to marry from them, or to visit them, to the point that they had to eat tree leaves. At the same time, the Quraysh presented to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offers such as these:

1.    A very generous bribe that would make him the richest man in the whole peninsula

2.    Authority and kingdom so that he would be the first to be obeyed by his people

3.    Medical treatment of his disease if he was ill or psychologically disturbed

4.    An agreement that he would pray to their gods one day and in return they would pray to his God the other day, which would be against his faith

5.  A request that he set places for meeting with the slaves away from the meeting places of the rich, in a compromise based on racial discrimination, which would be against his moral values.

All this would be offered him if he left altogether what he was calling for, or if he left out whatever did not please his people, especially those who had authority and wealth.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) refused but to hold onto the truth and to continue his path. He was exposed to their mockery, insults, and beating despite his esteem and honor among his people. Consequently, he left to another place where he might find refuge and where his call to Islam might be accepted. He went to At-Ta'if, whose people were even more harmful to him than his own people. They neither treated him with the hospitality so famous of the Arabs, nor did they treat him properly as a messenger who had the right to inform them of the word of Allah while they had the right to accept or reject it. They refused to listen and they refused him the right to present his idea in a peaceful way. They set the children and the wicked adults to throw him out like a fugitive who owns nothing but his faith in his God and his determination to continue his call to Islam without giving up any part of it.

Going back to Makkah, his original town, the homeland of his family and his kin and the residence of his wife and children, he was not allowed to enter. He had to take refuge with Al-Mut'am ibn 'Adi. Muhammad turned his face to the sky. He humbly, piously supplicated to God with the best supplication:

O Allah! to You I complain of my weakness, little resource, and lowliness before man. O Most Merciful! You are the Lord of the weak, and You are my Lord. To whom would You confide me? To one afar who will misuse me or to an enemy to whom You have given dominance over me? If You are not angry with me I do not care. Your favor of well-being on me is sufficient for me. I take refuge in the light of Your countenance by which the darkness is illuminated, and the things of this world and the next are rightly ordered, lest Your anger descend upon me or Your wrath not light upon me but come down on me. It is for You to be satisfied until You are well pleased. There is no power and no might except in You.

So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala rewarded him as follows:

1.  A slave called 'Addas responded to his call to Islam. It is known that to lead one person to the way of Allah is better than having all the treasures of this world.

2.  Allah sent to him a number of jinn who listened to his preaching and returned to their people to warn them.

3.  Six people from Yathrib responded to him and formed a group of pioneers for the call to Islam in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, thereby establishing the foundation for Islam in this land. These six were As'ad ibn Zurarah, 'Awf ibn Al-Harith, Rafi' ibn Malik, Qutbah ibn 'Aamir, 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir, and Jabir ibn 'Abdullah. This happened at a time when all the tribes refused him, including Banu Kalb, Banu Hanifah, Banu 'Amir ibn Sa'sa'ah, Fizarah,

4.  A number of the highly esteemed members of their tribes accepted his call. Among them were the poet Suwaid ibn As-Samit, Iyas ibn Mu'adh, Abu Dhar Al-Ghifari, At-Tufayl ibn 'Amr Ad-Dawsy, the head of the tribe of Daws. 

5.  The Night Journey (Israa') to Jerusalem and the Ascension (Mi'raj) to the Exalted Assembly.

Hadith of the Night Journey and Ascension
Al-Isra' wa Mi'raj

It is narrated on the authority of Anas ibn Malik Radi Allahu anhu that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

I was brought al-burraq who is an animal white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place its hoof at a distance equal to the range of vision. I mounted it and came to Bait-al Maqdis (Jerusalem). I then tethered it to the ring used by the Prophets. I entered the area of the Mosque and prayed two rak'at in it. I then came out and Gabriel alayhis salaam brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk, and Gabriel said, 'You have chosen al-fitra, the natural way'.

He then ascended with me into the lower heavens and requested that they be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Adam. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Then we ascended to the second heaven and Gabriel alayhis salaam requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and when I entered Jesus and John welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel alayhis salaamthen ascended with me to the third heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Joseph, who was given a great portion of beauty. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel then ascended with me to the fourth heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Enoch. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel alayhis salaamthen ascended with me to the fifth heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Aaron. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel alayhis salaam then ascended with me to the sixth heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Moses. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel alayhis salaam then ascended with me to the seventh heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Abraham who was leaning against the bayt al-ma'mur into which enter seventy thousand angels each day never to return.

Then I was brought to the sidrat al-muntaha, the Lote Tree of the Furthest Limit, whose leaves were like the ears of an elephant and whose fruits at first appeared insignificant. But when Allah spread His command over them they transformed to the point where no one in creation could describe their beauty. Then Allah revealed what He revealed to me. He then made obligatory for me fifty prayers every night and day.

I began my descent until I reached Moses who asked me: 'What has your Lord made obligatory for your community?' I said to him, 'Fifty prayers.' He then said, 'Return to your Lord and ask Him to reduce them, your community will not be able to bear that. I know the people of Israel from long experience and I have tested them.' I then returned to my Lord and said, 'O Lord, make things lighter for my people'. He then reduced it by five prayers for me. I then returned to Moses and he said to me, 'Your community will not be able to stand that. So return and ask Him to make things lighter.' I kept going between my Lord and Moses until Allah said, 'O Muhammad, there are five prayers every night and day. Each prayer is equal to ten prayers making them equal to fifty prayers. Whoever intends a good deed and does not do it, there will be written for him a single good deed. If he does it then there will be written for him ten good deeds. Whoever intends an evil deed and does not do it then there is nothing written against him. If he does it then there is written for him one evil deed.'

I then descended until I reached Moses and informed him of what had occurred. He then said to me, 'Return to your Lord and ask Him to make things lighter.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace then said, 'I have returned to my Lord until I felt ashamed before Him."

Before the Prophet took this night journey, the ceiling of the house in which he was staying was opened, and Jibrail alayhis-salaam descended. He cut open the chest (from the throat to the lower part of his abdomen) of the Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam and washed that open area with Zam-zam water. Then he emptied something from a container into the chest of the Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam to increase his wisdom as well as the strength of his belief. This was done to prepare the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam for that which he had yet to see in the upper world from among the wonders of the creation of Allah.

The Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam then noticed a fragrant wind and said: "O Jibrail, what is this sweet scent?" He replied: "This is the scent of the lady who combed the hair of Fir'awn's (Pharoah) daughter and that of her children. As she combed the hair of Fir'awn's daughter the comb fell and she said:

bismillah ta'isa fir'awn -- (In the name of Allah, may Fir'awn perish!)

Whereupon Fir'awn's daughter said: Do you have a Lord other than my father?
She said yes.
Fir'awn's daughter said: Shall I tell my father?
She said yes.
She told him and he summoned her and said: Do you have a Lord other than me?
She replied: Yes, my Lord and your Lord is Allah.


This woman had two sons and a husband. Fir'awn summoned them and he began to entice the woman and her husband to renege on their religion, but they refused. He said: Then I shall kill you. She said: Be so good as to bury us all together in a single grave if you kill us. He replied: Granted, and it is your right to ask us. He then ordered that a huge cow made of copper be filled with boiling liquid (oil and water) and that the hairdresser and her children be thrown into it. The children were taken and thrown in one after the other. The second and youngest was still an infant at the breast. When they took him he said: Mother! fall and do not delay for verily you are on the truth. Then she was thrown in with her children."

He (Ibn Abbas) said: "Four spoke from the cradle as they were still infants: this child, Yusuf's alayhis-salaam witness (cf. 12:26), Jurayj's companion, and 'Isa ibn Maryam."

Then they came to a plank in the middle of the road which not even a piece of cloth nor less than that could cross except it would be pierced. The beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam said: "What is this, O Jibrail?"

Jibrail alayhis salam replied: "This is what happens to those of your Community who sit in the middle of the road and cut it" and he recited:

wa la taq'adu bi kulli siratin tu'iduna wa tasudduna 'an sabilillah man amana bihi wa tabtaghunaha 'iwajan

Lurk not on every road to threaten wayfarers and to turn away from Allah's path him who believes in Him, and to seek to make it crooked (7:86).

''Who are these people?''

Jibra'il 'alayhis-salaam replied;

Afterward they passed by people with nails of brass, who were scratching their faces and chests. The Beloved Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam asked;

'' These are those people who used to backbite and insult others, they ate the flesh of people and tarnished their reputations."

''O Jibra'il! What is this?''

Jibra'il 'alayhis-salaam replied,

Then the Beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam came across a valley. Here he heard an awful sound and smelled a stench-carrying wind.The Beloved of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam asked;


''O Jibra'il! What is this?''


Jibra'il