Isra' and Mi'raj

Uncommon card · No. 83956

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...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Possibly Sultan Muhammad, Public domain