Period 8 of 18
The Night Journey and the Ascension
In one night the Prophet ﷺ was taken from Makkah to Jerusalem and then up through the heavens, where the five daily prayers were prescribed.
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The Night Journey to Jerusalem
Allah says: “Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa” (17:1). Anas رضي الله عنه reported that the Prophet ﷺ was brought the Buraq, a white animal, smaller than a mule and larger than a donkey, which placed its hoof at the farthest reach of its sight. He rode to Bayt al-Maqdis, tied the animal where the prophets tied theirs, entered the mosque and prayed two rak'ahs. Jibril offered him a vessel of wine and one of milk, and he chose the milk; Jibril said: “You have chosen the fitrah.” Scholars differ on the date of the Isra, but most place it a year or more before the Hijrah.
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The Ascension through the heavens
Then Jibril took him up through the heavens, where each gatekeeper asked who was there and whether he had been sent for. In the heavens he met earlier prophets, Adam, Isa and Yahya, Yusuf, Idris, Harun, Musa and Ibrahim, who welcomed him and prayed for him. He was taken to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, whose leaves were like the ears of elephants. The Quran refers to this: “He saw him in another descent, at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary” (53:13-14). The Prophet ﷺ also said that Allah opened his chest and filled it with wisdom and faith before the ascent.
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Five prayers and the reaction of Quraysh
In the report of Anas رضي الله عنه from Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه, Allah prescribed fifty prayers on his community. On the way back Musa advised him to ask for a reduction, because his people would not be able to bear it, and he returned several times until the number was five; then Allah said: “They are five and they are fifty. My word is not changed.” When Quraysh denied his account, the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah showed him Bayt al-Maqdis while he stood in the Hijr, and he described its features to them as he looked at it. Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما said that the vision shown on that night was a vision of the eye.
How the sources are used
Sources are chosen in this order: the Quran first, then the hadith collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, and then other collections such as al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Malik. The sirah books, mainly Ibn Ishaq as transmitted by Ibn Hisham, are used only for details not found in the hadith, and these are marked as “recorded in the sirah books.” Dates in the Christian era are approximate, and hadith numbers follow the hadith library of this website.
Hadith numbers follow the hadith library on this site, and each source opens its hadith there. Details that are not in the hadith collections are marked as coming from the sirah books.
General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.