Editing Isra' and Mi'raj (section)

{{Short description|Night journey undertaken by Muhammad in Islamic tradition}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}{{for|the 17th chapter of the Quran|al-Isra'}}
[[File:Miraj by Sultan Muhammad.jpg|thumb|1543 illustration of the [[Mi'raj]] from an edition of the ''[[Khamsa of Nizami|Khamsa]]'' of [[Nizami Ganjavi]] created for Shah [[Tahmasp I|Tahmasp&nbsp;I]]<ref>Bowker. ''World Religions''. p. 165.</ref>|360x360px]]
The '''Israʾ''' and '''Miʿraj''' ({{langx|ar|الإسراء والمعراج}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj}}'') are the names given to the narrations that the prophet [[Muhammad]] ascended to the sky during a night journey, saw [[Allah]] and the [[afterlife]], and returned. It is believed that expressions without a subject in verses 1-18 of [[surah An-Najm]] and some verses of 17th [[surah]] of the [[Quran]], commonly called ''[[al-Isra']]'',<ref name="alisra">{{qref|17|1|c=y}}</ref> allude to the story. Framework and the details are elaborated and developed<ref name="Britannica-Miʿrāj">{{cite web |last1=Zeidan. |first1=Adam |title=Miʿrāj |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Miraj-Islam |website=Britannica |access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref><ref name=Reiter-2008/> in the [[Miraj Nameh|miraculous accounts]], some of which are based on [[hadith]], the reports, teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad collected later centuries attributed after him. The story of the journey and ascent are marked as one of the most celebrated in the [[Islamic calendar]]—27th of the Islamic month of [[Rajab]].<ref name="times">{{Cite news|title=A night journey through Jerusalem |date=18 August 2007|access-date=27 March 2011|author=Bradlow, Khadija|work=[[The Times|Times Online]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/a-night-journey-through-jerusalem-zxxb7n0bbpn |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
[[File:Mohammed on Heaven.jpg|thumb|right|Ascension of Muhammad, Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul, 18th century (copy of a work probably created in the 8th century)]]

[[Ibn Sa'd]] summarizes the earliest version of the written stories<ref name="H. Busse 1991, S. 7" /> under the title "Ascension and the Order of Prayer" and dated the event to a Saturday, the 17th of Ramadan, eighteen months before Muhammad's [[Hijrah]].<ref>Die Angaben in [[Hans Wehr]]: ''Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart'' (ʿ-r-ǧ): ''die Himmelfahrt (die Muḥammad von Jerusalem aus am 27. Raǧab unternommen hat)'' sind entsprechend zu korrigieren. Dies geht nicht auf das Traditionsmaterial, sondern auf den willkürlich festgelegten [[Islamische Festtage|Festtag]] der Muslime zurück</ref> According to him, the angels [[Gabriel]] and [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] accompanied Muhammad to a place in the sacred precinct of the [[Kaaba]], between the well of [[Zamzam Well|Zamzam]] and [[Maqam Ibrahim]]. There, a ladder (miʿrāj) is said to have been set up by Muhammad and Gabriel, with whose help they ascended to heaven. When he reached the top, Muhammad is said to have met the previous prophets. According to one version of the tradition, Gabriel held Muhammad's hand tightly and ascended with him to heaven.<ref>H.Busse (1991), S. 8</ref> When he reached the [[Sidrat al-Muntaha]] mentioned in Sura 53, verse 14,<ref>So in der Übersetzung von „sidrat al-muntahā“ bei [[Rudi Paret]]; bei H. Busse (1991), S. 7 steht: Lotusbaum</ref> Muhammad saw heaven and hell. So, he was required to perform the original [[Salah|fifty prayers]], which were reduced to five by the intervention of [[Moses]].

[[Sunni|Sunni culture]] adds to the story that [[Abu Bakr]], who heard about the miracle from the pagans, approved the event without question and was given the title of ''al-Ṣiddīq'', the Veracious.<ref>https://www.islamawareness.net/Isra/miracle.html</ref> In the version accepted in Sunnism, the story tells of Muhammad's negotiations with God, who ordered him and his ummah to pray 50 times a day under the guidance of the prophet Moses. After repeated back and forth and negotiations, the 50 times a day was reduced to 5.<ref>{{cite book|last1=al-Tabari|title=The History of al-Tabari volume VI: Muhammad at Mecca|date=1989|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=0-88706-706-9}}</ref> In the [[Alawite]]-[[Bektashi]] culture there is no place for the five daily prayers and they add to the story that during his meeting with Allah, Allah spoke to Muhammad by [[Ali]]'s voice and that he joined the [[40's majlis]] on his return journey, a meeting very important for him. In the [[Miraj Nameh|mirajnama]]s, religious/political leaders who lived centuries after Muhammad, such as [[Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan|Satuq Bughra Khan]], [[Ahmad Yasawi]] and [[Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī]], are also included in stories. Thus, the views and practices of these persons are legitimized and included among the fundamental parts of Islamic culture and glorified.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210207124232/http://www.openaccess.hacettepe.edu.tr:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11655/1404/a117bf7a-fac5-4cd7-b6ff-94a54f8d9538.pdf</ref> 
{{Islamic Culture}}