Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj: The Story of the Miraculous Night Journey

Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj (the Night Journey & Ascension) is a miracle second only
to the revelation of the Qur’an, and it is therefore important that we don’t let
this night slip by without reflecting on its lessons and its significance. Many
of us only know the basic story of Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj - that the Prophet (saw)
was transported from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, from where
he (saw) ascended to heaven. In fact, there were many stops along this
incredible journey, and the story is packed with wonders and miracles.

Al-Isra’: From the Ka’bah to Al-Aqsa

When the Prophet (saw) was sleeping in the house of Umm Hani (ra) in
Makkah he said, ‘the roof of my house was opened and the Angel Jibril [as]
descended’ (Bukhari). Scholars reconciling between various narrations, say
the Prophet (saw) was then taken to the Hijr, the semi-circular wall of the
Ka‘bah, where the Prophet (saw) said that Jibril (as), ‘opened my chest, and
washed it with Zamzam water. Then he brought a golden tray full of wisdom
and faith, and having poured its contents into my chest, he closed it’.
[Bukhari]

The Prophet (saw) continued, ‘I was then brought a white beast which is
called al-Buraq [from the Arabic word barq, meaning lightning], bigger than a
donkey and smaller than a mule. Its stride was as long as the eye could
reach’. [Muslim]

It is narrated by Anas (ra) that Buraq was, ‘saddled and reined, but he shied
from him (saw). So Jibril [as] said to him, “Is it from Muhammad [saw] that
you do this? For nobody has ridden you who is more honourable to Allah than
him!” He said, “Then he started sweating profusely”’. [Tirmidhi]
At several points along the journey, Jibra’eel (as) stopped Buraq and told the
Prophet (saw), ‘Dismount and pray’. The first stop was at ‘the place of
emigration’ i.e. Madinah - and soon after this night the Prophet (saw) would
meet the Ansar and migrate to Madinah. The second stop was at Mount
Sinai, where Allah (swt) revealed the Torah to Musa (as). The third stop was
at Bethlehem, where ’Isa (as) was born.

The fourth stop was the grave of Musa (as), ‘I happened to pass by Musa
[as] on the night of my Night journey by the red sandhill whilst he was
standing praying in his grave’ (Muslim). We know that his grave is located, ‘a
stone’s throw’ away from the holy land of the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa
(Bukhari). This incident clearly shows us an example of what the Messenger
of Allah (saw) said about Prophets (as) after they pass away that, ‘The
Prophets are alive in their graves praying’ (Abu Ya‘la).

Arriving at Al-Aqsa

Finally, the Messenger of Allah (saw) arrived in the holy city of Al-Quds
(Jerusalem) and he said, ’When we reached Bait al-Maqdis [literally ‘the holy
house’ another name for the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa] Jibril (as) pointed with
his finger causing a crack in the rock, and he tied the Buraq to it [at the
western wall of the noble sanctuary]’ (Tirmidhi). Waiting inside were all
124,000 Prophets (as). Jibra’eel (as) led the Prophet (saw) to the front,
and he (saw) led them all in prayer in this blessed space.
Some narrations indicate that the Prophet (saw) prayed ‘two units of prayer’
(Muslim) to greet the Masjid (known as Tahiyyat al-Masjid). This is one of the
first examples of this established Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). It is also
mentioned that Jibril (as) called the Adhan (call to prayer) before this
practice was even established later in Madinah and that the angels from the
heavens descended to pray behind all the Prophets in this sacred place –
Subhan-Allah!

When the Prophet (saw) completed the prayer, he said, ‘someone said, “Here
is Malik (as), the keeper of the Hell, so convey Salams to him”. So, I turned to
him, but he preceded me in Salams’ (Muslim).

The Messenger of Allah (saw) also said, ’The Prophets were presented to
me, and Musa (as) was a thin man, it was as if he was from the men of
Shanu’ah [a Yemeni tribe]. And I saw ’Isa ibn Maryam (as), and the closest of
the people in resemblance to him from those I have seen, is ‘Urwah ibn
MasԠd (ra). And I saw Ibrahim (as), and the closest of the people in
resemblance to him, from those I have seen, is your companion [meaning
himself]. And I saw Jibril [as], and the closest of the people in resemblance
to him, from those I have seen, is Dihyah (ra)’ (Tirmidhi).

Part of what the Prophets (as) discussed after praising Allah was about ‘the
Hour’. Both Ibrahim (as) and Musa (as) stated that they ‘did not have any
knowledge of it’. Whilst ’Isa (as) ’mentioned the Dajjal (anti-Christ) and said,

“I will descend and kill him, then the people will return to their own lands
and will be confronted with Gog and Magog, who will, “swoop down from
every mound” [Qur’an, 21:96]”’. [Ibn Majah]

Following this, the Prophet (saw) said, ‘Then I came out and Jibril (as)
brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. Then I chose the milk, and
Jibril (as) said, “You have chosen the natural state (Fitrah)”’ (Muslim).

The dominant opinion is that the Prophet (saw) alongside Jibril (as) then
proceeded to the Noble Rock (as-Sakhrah al-Musharrafah) that is currently
housed by the holy Dome of the Rock Masjid at the centre of the noble
sanctuary (al-Haram ash-Sharif) of the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa. He (saw)
ascended into the heavens for the next part of this incredible journey, the
Mi‘raj, the Ascension!

Source : https://muslimhands.org.uk/latest/2019/04/al-isra-wal-mi-raj-the-
story-of-the-miraculous-night-journey
Write some difficult vocabularies from the above text and find their meaning.

Descended = turun
Reconciling = berdamai
Mule = anakan keledai
Profusely = sebanyak-banyaknya
Dismount = turun dari kendaraan
Established = didirikan
Resemblance = kemiripan
Vessel = kapal
Ascended = naik
Ascension = kenaikan

Write a conclusion using your own words about the above text below.
Al-Isra’ wal mi’raj is a miracle second only to the revelation of the Qur’an. This is the night
journey and a story with full miracles and wonders. Prophet Muhammad and Jibraeel have
a long night that start from hijr, to Madinah, mount sinai, Bethlehem, grave of Musa, and
al-aqsa. In every places they are going to, there was a story of each place that mentioned in
the text.

Watch the provided video and identify the part of speech in the above text by completing
the table below.

Noun Pronoun Verb Adjective

Story It Reflecting miracles
Heaven This Transported Wonders
House he Ascended Incredible
Hijr you Packed Wisdom
Chest as Sleeping Faith
Beast his Opened Bigger
Grave him Taken Smaller
Hell Poured Blessed
Land Sweating Sacred
Wine Stopped Dominant
 Milk Told
Pray
Reached
Led
Discussed
Praising
Saw
Proceeded

Adverb Preposition Conjunction Interjection

In fact And
Is called Then
To him So
Because

Identify some tenses you find in the above text by highlighting them into different colour,
as follow:

- Simple present tense : red

- Past tense : yellow
- Present continuous tense : green
- Future tense : blue

What tense is the most used in the text? Why the author used that tense.

The most used tense in the text is ‘past tense’, because the author told us about something
that happened before in past time. So it’s a general term to wrote a past story using past
tense.