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Chapter 17

The Night Journeyal-Isrāʾ ( الإسراء )

111 verses • revealed at Meccan

»The surah that mentions the miracle of The Night Journey, wherein God transported His servant Muḥammad in a single night from the Sacred Mosque of Mecca to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, to show him some of His most wondrous signs. God caused Muhammad, in the space of a single night, to journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there to heaven and back again. It takes its name from this subject, as relating to the celestial journey (miʿrāj) of the Prophet, mentioned in verse 1 and again in verse 60. The surah is framed by references to the Children of Israel at the beginning, and to Pharaoh at the end. The bulk of the surah deals with the Quran as guidance and warning, Muḥammad, and the nature of prophecy, especially the fact that he is a human being and incapable himself of producing miracles. It also warns of Iblis’s promise to tempt mankind and of the fate of the disbelievers, and it gives a series of commandments (verse 22 ff.).«

The surah is also known as Glory, The Children of Israel

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Mir Aneesuddin: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

1
سُبحانَ الَّذي أَسرىٰ بِعَبدِهِ لَيلًا مِنَ المَسجِدِ الحَرامِ إِلَى المَسجِدِ الأَقصَى الَّذي بارَكنا حَولَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِن آياتِنا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّميعُ البَصيرُ

Mir Aneesuddin

Glorified be He Who made His servant travel on a night from the Masjid-il-Haram (Kaaba) to the Masjid-il-Aqsa (in Jerusalam) the neighborhood of which We have blessed, that We might show him (some) of Our signs1. He is certainly the Hearing, the Seeing.
  • Mi'raj: These verses probably refer to the event of Mairaj. The summary of details narrated by Muslim and Bukhari are:
    1) Jibrael opened the chest of prophet Muhammed (PBH), removed and washed his heart to free it from evil and rejoined the chest after replacing the heart. 2) He was then carried on Buraq (Barq means lightning) from Kaaba in Mecca to Masjid-i-Aqsa at Jerusalem where he worshipped (offered salat), 3) He was then taken beyond the regions of the earth. On the 1st level of the sky he met Adam, on the 2nd level Isa and Yahya on the 3rd level Yusuf on the 4th level Idris on the 5th level Harun on the 6th level Musa and on the 7th level Ibrahim (PBT). Finally he got the order making worship (salat) obligatory on every muslim five times a day and returned to the place on earth from where he was taken. All this happened in a very short period of time. Removal and replacement of heart, space travel and high speeds should not surprise us because it is a common feature today. When man who is created by Allah can do this every day then it must be much more easier for Allah.