Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj
Ascension to the Heaven
What after seventh heaven?
The Prophet Muhammed continued his narration on Al-Israa Wal-Miraj and said ”I was taken to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha whose leaves were like elephant ears and its fruit like big earthenware vessels. And when it was covered by the Command of Allah, it underwent such a change that none amongst the creation has the power to praise its beauty. Then Allah revealed to me a revelation and He made obligatory for me fifty prayers every day and night.”
Then I went down to Moses (peace be upon him) and he said: What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah? I said: Fifty prayers. He said: Return to thy Lord and beg for reduction (in the number of prayers), for your community shall not be able to bear this burden, as I have put to test the children of Isra’il and tried them (and found them too weak to bear such a heavy burden). He (the Holy Prophet) said: I went back to my Lord and said: My Lord, make things lighter for my Ummah. (The Lord) reduced five prayers for me. I went down to Moses and said. (The Lord) reduced five (prayers) for me, He said: Verily thy Ummah shall not be able to bear this burden; return to thy Lord and ask Him to make things lighter. I then kept going back and forth between my Lord Blessed and Exalted and Moses, till He said: There are five prayers every day and night. O Muhammad, each being credited as ten, so that makes fifty prayers. He who intends to do a good deed and does not do it will have a good deed recorded for him; and if he does it, it will be recorded for him as ten; whereas he who intends to do an evil deed and does not do, it will not be recorded for him; and if he does it, only one evil deed will be recorded. I then came down and when I came to Moses and informed him, he said: Go back to thy Lord and ask Him to make things lighter. Upon this, the Messenger of Allah remarked: I returned to my Lord until I felt ashamed before Him.
what did the people of makkah say about this journey?
Finally, the Prophet (saw) was taken back down to the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa and returned to Makkah on the Buraq. On his return journey, he saw various caravans heading towards Makkah, which he would later describe to the Quraish as proof that he really had made this miraculous journey. Allah even displayed Bait al-Maqdis to the Prophet (saw), while the Quraish were cross-examining him in the Hijr of the Ka‘bah [Bukhari]. This entire journey was made in a very small portion of the time so Allah supported the Prophet Muhammed with actual pieces of evidence to challenge anyone who may argue against the Prophet on the credibility of the journey. The next day the Prophet told the people what happened to him the previous night. They mocked him and refused to accept the fact that this journey was made on one night, while it takes more than one month.
They said to Sayyidan Abu Bakr, “Look at what your companion is saying. He says he went to Jerusalem and came back in one night.” Abu Bakr told them, “If he said that, then he is truthful. I believe him concerning the news of the heavens–that an angel descends to him from the heavens. How could I not believe he went to Jerusalem and came back in a short period –when these are on earth?” At that, the Companion, Abu Bakr, was called “as–Siddiq“–because of how strongly he believed all that the Prophet said. We, the Muslims, believe that this journey is truly true. We ask Allah to protect our Iman and hearts. We ask Allah to accept us as true believers.
To read part 1 of Al-Isra wal Miraj, please click here
To read part 2 of Al-Isra wal Miraj, please click here
