Al- Isra and Miraj

                              The Miracle of Al-Isra' and Miraj
By Mr. Maher Assaf
 
Muslims celebrate the twenty-seventh of Rajab every year anniversary of Isra’ and Miraj, one of the miracles of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. This miracle comprises two journeys; the journey from the sacred Mosque in Mecca to Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the journey from the Al-Aqsa mosque to ‘Sidrat al-Muntaha’ the seventh heaven, which ended with a meeting between God and the prophet, peace be upon him. In the first verse, of Surat Al-Isra’ in the holy Quran God says: 
 
“ Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Distant Mosque, the environs of which We have blessed, that We might show him some of our signs. Surely, He alone is the Hearing, the Seeing”.
This verse means that the miracle was created by God and that Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - had received this miracle as the Messenger of Allah, his Prophet and the holder of the message of unification and he and his friends have suffered a lot through this message and the miracle of Israa` constituted a support and made his message stronger.
 
This miracle took place between the Holy Mosque in Mecca (​​Kaaba) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and this is considered a religious bond between the two places. Therefore,  Al-Aqsa Mosque got a special significance for Muslims because of this bond in this verse, when God says “from the Sacred Mosque to the Aqsa Mosque”.

 
The Isra’s miracle happened at night, historians had arguments in determining the date of this miracle. They decided that the twenty seventh of Rajab is the day which all the Muslims celebrate this miracle.
As for the year, it was one year before the prophet Muhammad’s emigration in the eleventh year of being the prophet.

 
Others connected this miracle to the prophet’s trip Al Taef—a city in the Arab peninsula—where people treated him badly. 
The incident of Miraj (ascending to the sky) was confirmed at the beginning of Surat "Al Najm", in verses (1-18), God says: “By the stemless plant when it falls, Your companion has neither erred, nor has he gone astray, Nor does he speak out of his own desire. It is nothing but pure revelation that has been revealed by God. The Lord of mighty powers has taught him, The One Possessor of strength. So He manifested His ascendance over And He revealed His Word when he was on the uppermost horizon, Then he drew nearer to God; then he came down to mankind,  So that he became, as it were, one chord to two bows or closer still. Then He revealed to His servant that which He revealed. The heart of the Prophet was not untrue to that which he saw. Will you then dispute with him about what he saw? And certainly, he saw Him a second time also,  Near the farthest Lote-tree, Near which is the Garden of Eternal Abode. This was when that which covers covered the Lote-tree. The eye deviated not, nor did it wander. Surely, he saw the greatest of the Signs of his Lord.”

 
The journey of Isra’ and Miraj is considered  to be as one of the greatest miracles  in the history of all mankind.  Never before has any of the Prophets and the Messengers of the Apostles, as it happened with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and no one of the Prophets had the opportunity to get to ‘Sidret el-Muntaha’ the seven heavens and be honored to appear between the hands of the divine presence and receive the honor of what he received.
 
This journey shows that there is only one God, the importance of the unity of the message and brotherhood for all his prophets, and the bond between the Kaaba and Al Aqsa Mosque and all the prophets (the prayers of God and peace be upon them all).

 
References:
 * Holy Quran
 * Hadith
 * Bin Hisham Biography - Biography of the Prophet by Ibn Hisham Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham ibn      Ayyub Humairi Almaafra Abu Muhammad - House Generation Publisher – Beirut
 * The great miracle - Shaykh Muhammad Metwally Shaarawi, M 4, Dar Akhbar today.
* The life of Muhammad - Muhammad Hassanein Heikal i 2.1998
 * Secrets of the Koran, Night Flowers - by Zaghloul El-Naggar Internet.