01.26.25

Isra’ and Mi’raj 2025: The Night Journey (27th Rajab)   

  Publications     Ramadan

Isra’ and Mi’raj is an important night occurring on the 27th of Rajab. One that we should not slip by without reflecting on its lessons and its significance. 

This year, Al Isra’ wal-Mi’raj 2025 is predicted to take place on the evening of January 26th 2025, depending on the sighting of the moon. 

What is Isra’ and Mi’raj (Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj)? 

Isra’ and Mi’raj, known as Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj in Arabic, is a miracle second only to the revelation of the Qur’an.  

Translated, it means the Night Journey and Ascension. It refers to the event when that transported Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, from where he (ﷺ) ascended to heaven. It was an incredible journey, filled with many wonders and miracles.  

Night, when the Prophet (ﷺ) embarked on the incredible night journey and ascension (Isra’ and Mi’raj)
Photo: Night, when the Prophet (ﷺ) embarked on the incredible night journey and ascension.

When did the Night Journey and Ascension (Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj) Happen?  

Isra’ and Mi’raj took place during a time when Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was facing intense hardship and pain.  

The Quraysh constantly ridiculed, humiliated and oppressed the Prophet (ﷺ) and his followers. Moreover, he (ﷺ) had just faced the Year of Sorrow (’Aam al-Huzn), during which he (ﷺ) lost his beloved wife Khadijah (RA) and his uncle Abu Talib, his protector and ally. 

In addition to all these struggles, when the Prophet (ﷺ) travelled to Ta’if to spread the message of Islam, the people of Ta’if rejected him, sending their children after him to stone him until he left the city. 

Having gone through so much grief and suffering, Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj came to the Prophet (ﷺ) as a beautiful and comforting gift.  

He was transported not only through the skies but ultimately into the presence of Allah (SWT), the source of all comfort and hope.

Al-Isra’: From the Ka’bah to Al-Aqsa 

When the Prophet (ﷺ) was sleeping in the house of Umm Hani (ra) in Makkah when the roof of his house opened and the Angel Jibril (AS) descended (Bukhari).  

He (ﷺ) was then taken to the Hijr, the semi-circular wall of the Ka‘bah. It was there that Jibril (AS) opened the Prophet (ﷺ)’s chest and washed it with Zamzam water. Jibril then brought a golden tray full of wisdom and faith, and having poured its contents into the Prophet (ﷺ)’s chest, he closed it. (Bukhari) 

Jibril then brought to the Prophet (ﷺ) a white beast called al-Buraq (from the Arabic word barq, meaning lightning). It was bigger than a donkey and smaller than a mule. Its stride was as long as the eye could reach. (Muslim)

Buraq first shied from the Prophet (ﷺ) before they set off. So Jibril (AS) said to a saddled and reined Buraq, “Is it from Muhammad (ﷺ) that you do this? For nobody has ridden you who is more honourable to Allah than him! Then Buraq started sweating profusely. (Tirmidhi) 

At several points along the journey, Jibril (AS) stopped Buraq and told the Prophet (ﷺ), “Dismount and pray”. The first stop was at “the place of emigration”, Madinah. Soon, after this night, the Prophet (ﷺ) would meet the Ansar and migrate to Madinah.  

The second stop was on Mount Sinai, where Allah (SWT) revealed the Torah to Musa (AS). The third stop was at Bethlehem, where ’Isa (AS) was born. 

The fourth stop was the grave of Musa (AS), located “a stone’s throw” away from the holy land of the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa (Bukhari).  

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “On the night on which I was taken on the Night Journey, I passed by Musa and he was praying in his grave.”

Sunan an-Nasai

Arriving at Al-Aqsa 

When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) arrived in the holy city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), they approached Masjid Al-Aqsa. There, Jibril (AS) pointed to the Masjid with his finger, causing a crack in the rock, and tied Buraq to the western wall of the noble sanctuary. (Tirmidhi).  

Waiting inside were all 124,000 Prophets (AS), and among them included Musa (AS), Isa (AS) and Ibrahim. Jibril (AS) led the Prophet (ﷺ) to the front, and he (ﷺ) led them all in prayer in this blessed space.  

When the Prophet (ﷺ) completed the prayer, someone said, “Here is Malik (AS), the keeper of Hellfire, so convey Salams to him”. So, he (ﷺ) turned to him, but the angel Malik preceded him in Salams’ (Muslim).  

The Prophets (AS) also discussed, after praising Allah (SWT), about “the Hour”. Both Ibrahim (AS) and Musa (AS) stated that they “did not have any knowledge of it”. Whilst ’Isa (AS) ’mentioned the Dajjal (anti-Christ). (Ibn Majah) 

Following the discussion, the Prophet (ﷺ) came out and Jibril (AS) brought him (ﷺ) a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. When the Prophet (ﷺ) chose the milk Jibril (AS) said, “You have chosen the natural state (Fitrah)” (Muslim). 

The Prophet (ﷺ), with Jibril (AS), then proceeded to the Noble Rock (as-Sakhrah al-Musharrafah), currently housed by the holy Dome of the Rock Masjid, at the centre of the noble sanctuary (al-Haram ash-Sharif) of the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa.  

He (ﷺ) then ascended into the heavens for the next part of this incredible journey – the Mi‘raj, the Ascension! 

What is the Mi’raj? 

He (ﷺ) certainly saw some of his Lord’s greatest signs.  

Qur’an 53:18

The word Al-Mi’raj is a noun of instrument in Arabic morphology, which literally means ‘an instrument you use to ascend’. But how does this relate to the Prophet (ﷺ)’s night journey? 

In the Prophet’s Night Journey and Heavenly Ascent by Sayyid Muhammad ibn Alawi al-Maliki, it states that:  

View Preview

The Prophet (ﷺ), “saw the wide-eyed maidens of Paradise at the left of the Rock (at the Dome of the Rock Masjid). He greeted them and they returned his greeting.

“Then he asked them something and they replied with an answer that cools the eyes. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) was brought the ladder by which the spirits of the children of Adam (AS) ascend.  

“It had alternate stairs of silver and gold and came down from the Highest Garden of Paradise, Jannat al-Firdaus. It was encrusted with pearls and surrounded (by) angels on its right and left”

As recorded in The Life of Muhammad (ﷺ) Ibn Ishaq, the Prophet (ﷺ) also said the ladder was finer than any he had ever seen, and that this was the ladder which “the dying man looks when death approaches”.

Then the Prophet (ﷺ), accompanied by Jibril (AS), ascended into the layers of sky. 

The First Sky 

Allah ascended the Prophet (ﷺ) from the Dome of the Rock through the skies, where he saw many miraculous sights reaching heaven, the first layer of the sky and the end of the known universe. 

Jibril (AS) then asked the (gate of heaven) to be opened (by knocking on one of its doors). (Bukhari)

The dwellers of Paradise asked, ‘Who is it?’ He said, ” Jibril.” They said, “Who is accompanying you?” He said, “Muhammad (ﷺ).” They said, “Has he (ﷺ ) been called?” He said, “Yes,” They said, “He (ﷺ) is welcomed.” (Bukhari)

The Prophet (ﷺ) also reported that when (the door of heaven) was opened for them “…suddenly I was with (the Prophet) Adam (AS). Then he welcomed me and supplicated for good for me”. (Muslim)

The Second to Seventh Sky 

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued to ascend the layers of the skies with Jibril (AS). Each time, they again sought permission to enter, and the angelic guards were delighted and welcomed the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).  

It was also through passing these skies that the Prophet (ﷺ) met many of the prophets (AS) who came before him. At the second sky, he met prophets Isa (AS) and Yahya (AS). In the third sky, the Prophet (ﷺ) met the Prophet Yusuf (AS). 

At the fourth sky, the Prophet (ﷺ) met the Prophet Idris (AS). In the fifth sky, he met the Prophet Harun (AS), before meeting Prophet Musa (AS) in the next sky – the sixth.  

At each one of these levels, these Prophets (AS) welcomed the Prophet (ﷺ) and supplicated good for him saying, “Welcome O pious Prophet and pious brother!” (Bukhari) 

 At the seventh sky, the Prophet (ﷺ) met his greatest ancestor, the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) who was “reclining his back against al-Bayt al-Ma‘mur. And there enter into it seventy thousand angels every day ever to return to it (again)”. [Muslim] 

(Bayt al-Ma’mur, in Arabic, means “the much-visited House”. It is the heavenly Ka‘bah directly above the one on earth). Like Adam (AS), Ibrahim (AS) also greeted the Prophet (ﷺ). 

The Lote Tree 

As the Prophet (ﷺ) carried on his journey, he reached the Furthest Lote Tree, known, in Arabic, as “Sidrah al-Muntaha” (Qur’an 53:14). 

In several ahadith, the Prophet (ﷺ) described the tree in great detail. 

“(Its) leaves were like elephant ears and its fruit like big earthenware vessels”. (Muslim)

“Then 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” (Muslim)

“A rider will travel in the shade of one of its branches for a hundred years,” or “a hundred riders will seek to shade themselves with its shade”. (Tirmidhi)

The tree is surrounded (by) “golden butterflies”. (Tirmidhi)

He (ﷺ) further said: “many a colour had covered it which I do not know (i.e. the colours of this tree were indescribable)”. (Muslim)

He also stated that, “There terminates everything that ascends from the earth, and everything that descends from above”. (Tirmidhi) 

The Divine Meeting 

Then Allah revealed to His servant (ﷺ) what He revealed 

Qur’an 53:10

At the end of this journey, the Prophet (ﷺ) was brought to Allah (SWT), the ultimate source of strength and relief.  

Regarding this important meeting, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘Then Allah revealed to me what he revealed to me and then He made obligatory for me fifty prayers every day and night’. [Muslim] 

It was here that Allah gave this Ummah the gift of compulsory Salah. A daily source of strength to Muslims, giving them the opportunity to communicate with Allah (SWT) directly and draw closer to Him.  

We also know, that through the Prophet Musa (AS)’s intervention and advice that fifty prayers were eventually reduced to five, but still rewarded as fifty, subhanAllah! 

Returning Home 

Finally, the Prophet (ﷺ) was taken back down to the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa and returned to Makkah on the Buraq. 

As he was transported home, he saw various caravans heading towards Makkah, which he would later describe to the Quraysh as proof that he really had made this miraculous journey.  

Allah (SWT) even displayed Bayt al-Maqdis to the Prophet (ﷺ), while the Quraish were cross-examining him in the Hijr of the Ka‘bah [Bukhari].  

The entire journey had taken place in a small portion of a night, and there were many who would mock the Prophet (ﷺ) for making such a claim. 

For the Muslims, however, the story was a source of wonder and hope, as it continues to be for us today.  

On this night, the Prophet (ﷺ) was given the honour of travelling to various blessed places on earth, then ascending the levels of sky and being finally welcomed by Allah (SWT)! All this to honour the beloved Prophet (saw) and “to show him some of Our signs!” (Qur’an 17:1)

Your Zakat Heals Our Ummah

Make the most of Rajab by preparing for Ramadan. Give the gift of happiness and hope to our brothers and sisters in need with Islamic Relief.


STAY INFORMED

Quick Donate