your Lord, for your Ummah will not be able to do that.' So I went back, and He said: 'They are five but equal in reward to fifty / far My word does not change.' I came back to Musa and he said, 'Go back to your Lord.' I said, 'I feel too shy before my Lord.' Then I was taken up until I reached Sidrat Al-Muntaha, which was veiled in indescribable colors. Then I entered Paradise, in which I saw nets of pearls and its soil of musk.

This version was recorded by Al-Bukhari in the Book of Prayer. He also reported in the Book of Tafsir, under the discussion of Bani Isra'il (i.e., Surat Al-Isra), the Book of Hajj and the Stories of the Prophets, via different chains of narration from Yunus. Muslim recorded similar Hadiths in his Sahih in the Book of Faith.

Imam Ahmad recorded that 'Abdullah bin Shaqiq said: I said to Abu Dharr, "If I had seen the Messenger of Allah, I would have asked him." He said, "What would you have asked him?" He said, "I would have asked him, if he saw his Lord?" He said, "I did ask him that, and he said, 'I saw it as light, how could I see Him?'"

This is how it was narrated in the report of Imam Ahmad. Muslim recorded that 'Abdullah bin Shaqiq said that Abu Dharr said: "I asked the Messenger of Allah, 'Did you see your Lord?' He said, '(I saw) a light, how could I see Him?'"

'Abdullah bin Shaqiq said: I said to Abu Dharr, "If I had seen the Messenger of Allah, I would have asked him." He said, "What would you have asked him?" He said, "I would have asked him, 'Did you see your Lord?'" Abu Dharr said, "I asked him that, and he said, 'I saw light.'"

The Report of Jabir bin 'Abdullah

Imam Ahmad recorded that Jabir bin 'Abdullah said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'When Quraysh did not believe that I had been taken on the Night Journey to Bayt Al-Maqdis, I stood up in Al-Hijr and Allah displayed Bayt Al-Maqdis before me, so I told them about its features while I was looking at it.'

This was also reported in the Two Sahihs with different chains of narration. According to Al-Bayhaqi, Ibn Shihab said: Abu Salamah bin 'Abdur-Rahman said: Some people from Quraish went to Abu Bakr and said, "Have you heard what your companion is saying? He is claiming that he went to Bayt Al-Maqdis and came back to Makkah in one night!" Abu Bakr said, "Did he say that?" They said, "Yes." Abu Bakr said, "Then I bear witness that if he said that, he is speaking the truth." They said, "You believe that he went to Ash-Sham [Greater Syria] in one night and came back to Makkah before morning?" He said, "Yes, I believe him with regard to something even more than that. I believe him with regard to the revelation that comes to him from heaven." Abu Salamah said, from then on Abu Bakr was known as As-Siddiq (the true believer).

The Report of 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn 'Abbas said: "On the night when the Messenger of Allah was taken on his Night Journey, he entered Paradise, in some part of which he heard a sound. He said, 'O Jibril, what is this?' He said, 'This is Bilal, the Mu'adhdhin.' When the Prophet came back to the people, he said, 'Bilal has succeeded, I saw that he will have such and such.'

He [the Prophet] was met by Musa, who welcomed him and said, 'Welcome to the Unlettered Prophet.' He was a tall, dark man with lank hair coming down to his ears or above his ears. He said, 'Who is this, O Jibril?' He said, 'This is Musa.' Then he went on and met a venerable, distinguished old man, who welcomed him and greeted him with Salam, and all of them were greeting him. He said, 'Who is this, O Jibril?' He said, 'This is your father Ibrahim.' Then he looked into Hell and saw some people eating rotten meat. He said, 'Who are these people, O Jibril?' He said. 'They are those who used to eat the flesh of the people [i.e., backbiting].' He saw a man who was very red and dark blue, and said, 'Who is this, O Jibril?' He said, 'This is the one who slaughtered the she-camel (of Salih).' When the Messenger of Allah came to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, he stood up to pray, and all the Prophets gathered and prayed with him. When he finished, he was brought two cups, one on his right and one on his left, one containing milk and one containing honey. He took the milk and drank it, and the one who was carrying the cup said, 'You have chosen the Fitrah (natural instinct).'"

The chain of narrators is Sahih, although they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Imam Ahmad reported that Ibn 'Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah was taken on the Night Journey to Bayt Al-Maqdis, then he came back and told them about his journey and the features of Bayt Al-Maqdis and the caravan (of Quraysh). Some people said, 'We do not believe what Muhammad is saying,' and they left Islam and became disbelievers. Allah destroyed them when He destroyed Abu Jahl. Abu Jahl said: 'Muhammad is trying to scare us with the tree of Zaqqum; bring some dates and butter and let us have some Zaqqum!' The Prophet also saw the Dajjal in his true form, in real life, not in a dream, and he saw 'Isa, Musa and Ibrahim. The Prophet was asked about the Dajjal, and he said: 'I saw him as a tall and huge man, with a whitish complexion. One of his eyes stood out like a shining star. The hair on his head looked like the branches of a tree. And I saw 'Isa, white with curly hair and an intense gaze, of average build. I saw Musa, dark-skinned, with a lot of hair and a strong build. I looked at Ibrahim and did not see anything in him that I do not see in myself; it is as if he were your companion [meaning himself]. Jibril said: 'Greet your father with Salam,' so I greeted him with Salam.'"

This was also recorded by An-Nasa'i from the Hadith of Abu Zayd Thabit bin Yazid from Hilal, who is Ibn Khabbab, and it is a Sahih chain of narrators.

Al-Bayhaqi recorded that Abu Al-'Aliyah said: "The cousin of your Prophet, Ibn 'Abbas narrated to us from the Messenger of Allah, he said: Allah's Messenger said, 'On the night when I was taken on the Night Journey, I saw Musa bin 'Imran, a tall, curly-haired man, as if he was from the tribe of Shanu'ah. And I saw 'Isa bin Maryam, of medium stature, white with a reddish complexion, with straight hair.' And he was shown Malik, the keeper of Hell, and the Dajjal, with the signs that Allah revealed to him." He said, So be not you in doubt of meeting him. [32:33]

Qatadah used to interpret this to mean that the Prophet of Allah met Musa.

And We made it [or him] a guide to the Children of Israel [32:33]

Qatadah said: "(This means) Allah made Musa a guide for the Children of Israel." Muslim reported this in his Sahih, and Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded a shorter version from Qatadah.

Imam Ahmad also recorded that Ibn 'Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'On the night when I was taken on the Night Journey, I woke up in Makkah the next morning having anxiety that, I knew that the people would not believe me.' He kept away from people, feeling anxious and sad, then the enemy of Allah Abu Jahl passed by him and came to sit with him, saying mockingly, 'Is there anything new?' The Messenger of Allah said, 'Yes'. He said, 'What is it?' He said, 'I was taken on a Journey last night.' He said, 'Where to?' He said, 'To Bayt Al-Maqdis.' He said, 'Then this morning you were among us?' He said, 'Yes'. Abu Jahl did not want to say to his face that he was lying, lest he deny saying it when he called other people to hear him, so he said: 'Do you think that if I call your people, you will tell them about what happened?' The Messenger of Allah said, 'Yes.' Abu Jahl said, 'O people of Bani Ka'b bin Lu'ay!' People got up from where they were sitting and came to join them. Abu Jahl said, 'Tell your people what you told me.' The Messenger of Allah said: 'I was taken on a Journey last night.' They said, 'Where to?' He said, 'To Bayt Al-Maqdis.' They said, 'Then this morning you were among us?' He said, 'Yes'. They began to clap their hands together and put their hands on their heads in astonishment at this "lie" - as they claimed it to be. They said, 'Can you describe the sanctuary to us?' Among them were some who had travelled to that land and seen the sanctuary, so the Messenger of Allah said, 'I started to describe it, until I reached a point where I was not sure about some of the details, but then the sanctuary was brought close and placed near the house of 'Uqayl - or 'Iqal - so I could look at it and describe the details.' I could not remember those description. The people said, 'As for the description, by Allah he has got it right.'" This was recorded by An-Nasa'i and Al-Bayhaqi.

The Report of 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud

Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi reported that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said: "When the Messenger of Allah was taken on the Night Journey, he went as far as Sidrat Al-Muntaha, which is in the sixth heaven. Everything that ascends stops there, until it is taken from that point, and everything that comes down stops there, until it is taken from there.

When that covered As-Sidrat Al-Muntaha which did cover it! [53:16]

Ibn Mas'ud said: "It is covered with gold butterflies. The Messenger of Allah was given the five prayers and the final Ayat of Surat Al-Baqarah, and forgiveness was granted for major sins to those who do not associate anything in worship with Allah." This was recorded by Muslim in his Sahih.

The Report of Abu Hurayrah

Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported in their Sahihs that Abu Hurayrah said: the Messenger of Allah said: "When I was taken on the Night Journey, I met Musa." He described him as a man - I think he said - a curly-haired man, as if he were from the tribe of Shanu'ah. "And I met 'Isa." And the Prophet described him as being of average height, with a reddish complexion, as if he had just come out of the bath. "And I met Ibrahim, and I am the one who resembles him most among his children. I was brought two vessels, one containing milk and the other containing wine. It was said to me, 'Take whichever one you want.' So I took the milk and drank it, and it was said to me, 'You have been guided to the Fitrah - or - You have chosen the Fitrah. If you had chosen the wine, your Ummah would have gone astray.'"

They also recorded it with another chain of narrators. Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'I remember being in Al-Hijr, and the Quraysh were asking me about my Night Journey. They asked me things about Bayt Al-Maqdis that I was not sure of, and I felt more anxious and stressed then than I have ever felt. Then Allah raised up Bayt Al-Maqdis for me to see, and there was nothing they asked me about but I told them about it. And I remember being in a gathering of the Prophets. Musa was standing there praying, and he was a man with curly hair, as if he were one of the men of Shanu'ah. I saw 'Isa bin Maryam standing there praying, and the one who most resembles him is 'Urwah bin Mas'ud Ath-Thaqafi. And I saw Ibrahim standing there praying, and the one who most resembles him is your companion (meaning himself). Then the time for prayer came, and I led them in prayer. When I finished, a voice said, 'O Muhammad, this is Malik, the keeper of Hell,' so I turned to him, and he greeted me first.'"

The Time that Isra' took place, and the Fact that it included both Body and Soul, when the Prophet was awake, not in a Dream

Musa bin 'Uqbah said, narrating from Az-Zuhri: "The Isra' happened one year before the Hijrah." This was also the opinion of 'Urwah. As-Suddi said: "It happened sixteen months before the Hijrah."

The truth is that the Prophet was taken on the Night Journey when he was awake, not in a dream, and he went from Makkah to Bayt Al-Maqdis riding on Al-Buraq. When he reached the door of the sanctuary, he tied up his animal by the door and entered, where he prayed two Rak'ahs to 'greet the Masjid'. Then the Mi'raj was brought to him, which is a ladder with steps which one climbs up. So he went up on it to the first heaven, then he went up to the rest of the seven heavens. In each heaven he was welcomed by the most pious of its inhabitants, and he greeted the Prophets who were in the various heavens according to their positions and status. He passed by Musa, the one who spoke with Allah, in the sixth heaven, and Ibrahim, the close friend (Khalil) of Allah in the seventh heaven. Then he surpassed them and all the Prophets in status and reached a level where he could hear the creaking of the pens, i.e., the pens of destiny which write down what is decreed to happen. He saw Sidrat Al-Muntaha, covered by the command of Allah, and its greatness, its butterflies of gold and various colours, surrounded by the angels. There he saw Jibril in his real form, with six hundred wings. He saw green cushions blocking the horizon. He saw Al-Bayt Al-Ma'mur, and Ibrahim Al-Khalil, the builder of the earthly Ka'bah, leaning back against it, the heavenly Ka'bah, every day, seventy thousand angels enter and worship therein, then they do not return to it until the Day of Resurrection. He saw Paradise and Hell, and Allah enjoined upon him fifty prayers, then reduced it to five, as an act of mercy and kindness towards His servants. In this is a strong indication of the greatness and virtue of the prayers.

Then he came back down to Bayt Al-Maqdis, and the Prophets came down with him and he led them in prayer there when the time for prayer came. It may have been the dawn prayer of that day. Some people claim that he led them in prayer in heaven, but the reports seem to say that it was in Bayt Al-Maqdis. In some reports it says that it happened when he first entered (i.e., before ascending into the heavens), but it is more likely that it was after he came back, because when he passed by them in the places in the heavens, he asked Jibril about them, one by one, and Jibril told him about them. This is more appropriate, because he was first required to come before the Divine Presence, so that what Allah willed could be enjoined upon him and his Ummah. When the matter for which he was required had been dealt with, he and his brother-Prophets gathered, and his virtue and high position in relation to them became apparent when he was asked to come forward to lead them, which was when Jibril indicated to him that he should do so.

Then he came out of Bayt Al-Maqdis and rode on Al-Buraq back to Makkah in the darkness of the night. And Allah knows best. As for his being presented with the vessels containing milk and honey, or milk and wine, or milk and water, or all of these, some reports say that this happened in Bayt Al-Maqdis, and others say that it happened in the heavens. It is possible that it happened in both places, because it is like offering food or drink to a guest when he arrives, and Allah knows best.

The Prophet was taken on the Night Journey with body and soul, he was awake, not asleep. The evidence for this is the Ayah:

Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) Who took His servant for a Journey by Night from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, the neighborhood whereof We have blessed,

The words "Subhan Allah" (Glorified and exalted be Allah) are spoken in the case of serious matters. If it had been a dream, it would have been a significant matter and would not have been so astounding; the disbelievers of the Quraysh would not have hastened to label him a liar and the group of people who had become Muslims would not have deserted the faith. The word 'Abd (servant) refers to both soul and body. Allah says:

took His servant for a Journey by Night and:

And We made not the vision which we showed you but a trial for mankind [17:60]

Ibn 'Abbas said: "This is the vision that the Messenger of Allah saw with his own eyes during the Journey by Night, and the cursed tree is the tree of Zaqqum." This was recorded by Al-Bukhari. Allah said:

The sight (of Prophet Muhammad) turned not aside (right or left), nor it transgressed beyond the limit (ordained for it) (53:17)

Sight (Al-Basr) is a physical faculty, not a spiritual one, and he was carried on Al-Buraq, a shining white animal. This too indicates a physical journey, because the soul does not need a means of transportation of this nature. And Allah knows best.

An Interesting Story

In his book Dala'il An-Nubuwwah, Al-Hafiz Abu Nu'aym Al-Isbahani recorded via Muhammad bin 'Umar Al-Waqidi who said: Malik bin Abi Ar-Rijjal told me from 'Amr bin 'Abdullah that Muhammad bin Ka'b Al-Qurazi said: "The Messenger of Allah sent Dihyah bin Khalifah to Caesar." He mentioned how he came to him, and described an incident that showed how wise Caesar was. He sent for the Arab merchants who were in Syria and Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb and his companions were brought to him. He asked them the well-known questions that were recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, as we shall discuss below, and Abu Sufyan tried hard to give the impression that this was an insignificant issue. [The narrator] said that Abu Sufyan (later) said: "By Allah, nothing stopped me from saying something to Heraclius to make him despise (Muhammad) but the fact that I did not want to tell a lie that would later be found out, and he would never believe me again after that. Then I told him about the night on which he was taken on the Night Journey. I said: 'O King, shall I not tell you of something from which you will know that he is lying?' He said, 'What is it?' I said: 'He claims that he went out of our land, the land of Al-Haram, in one night, and came to your sanctuary in Jerusalem, then came back to us the same night, before morning came.' The Patriarch of Jerusalem was there, standing next to Caesar. The Patriarch of Jerusalem said: 'I know that night.' Caesar looked at him and said, 'How do you know about this?' He said, 'I never used to sleep at night until I closed the doors of the sanctuary. On that night I closed all the doors except for one, which I could not manage to close. I asked my workers and others who were with me to help me deal with it, but we could not move it. It was like trying to move a mountain. So I called the carpenters, and they looked at it and said: The lintel and some part of the structure has fallen onto it. We cannot move it until morning, when we will be able to see what the problem is. So I went back and left those two doors open. The next morning I went back, and saw that the stone at the corner of the sanctuary had a hole in it, and there were traces of an animal having been tethered there. I said to my companions: This door has not been closed last night except for a Prophet, who prayed last night in our sanctuary.'" And he mentioned the rest of the Hadith.

In his book At-Tanwir fi Mawlid As-Siraj Al-Munir, Al-Hafiz Abu Al-Khattab 'Umar bin Dihyah mentioned the Hadith of the Isra' narrated from Anas, and spoke well about it, then he said: "The reports of the Hadith of the Isra' reach the level of Mutawatir. They were narrated from 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, 'Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Dharr, Malik bin Sa'sa'ah, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Sa'id, Ibn 'Abbas, Shaddad bin Aws, Ubayy bin Ka'b, 'Abdur-Rahman bin Qarat, Abu Habbah Al-Ansari, Abu Layla Al-Ansari, 'Abdullah bin 'Amr, Jabir, Hudhayfah, Buraydah, Abu Ayyub, Abu Umamah, Samurah bin Jundub, Abu Al-Hamra', Suhayb Ar-Rumi, Umm Hani', and 'A'ishah and 'Asma', the daughters of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with them."