Editing Isra' and Mi'raj (section)

==Terminology==
While ''al-’Isrā’'' lit means "to make someone walk" frequently translated as walking or traveling at night; and ''ʿMiʿrāj'' lit means "ascending device" / ladder"<ref>the Mi’raj, an Arabic word that literally means “ladder” https://www.sufiway.eu/laylatul-miraj-friday-15th-may-2015/</ref> or "ascending place" as counted me'raj, derived from "uruj", lit means rising, or going up to a high place.<ref name="Khan">{{cite web |last1=Khan |first1=Asad |title=The Miracle of Isra (Night Journey) and Miraj (Ascension |url=https://www.academia.edu/35946712 |website=Academia |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref> The fact that the general name given to the stories is Miʿrāj rather than uʿruj may be a reference to the ladder motif in early narratives mentioned above.

=== Journey ===
There are different accounts of what occurred during the Miʿraj. [[Al-Tabari]]'s description can be summarized as; Muhammad ascends into heaven with [[Gabriel]] and meets a different prophet at each of [[seven heavens|the seven levels of heaven]]; first [[Adam in Islam|Adam]], then [[John the Baptist#Islam|John the Baptist]] and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]], then [[Joseph in Islam|Joseph]], then [[Idris (prophet)|Idris]], then [[Aaron]], then [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], and lastly [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]]. Then continues to meet God without Gabriel. God tells Muhammad that his people must pray 50 times a day, but on return to Earth, he meets Moses, who tells him persistently, "return to God and ask for fewer prayers because fifty is too many". Muhammad goes between Moses and God nine times, until the prayers are reduced to the five daily prayers, which God will reward tenfold.<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>

Some narratives also record events that preceded the heavenly ascent. Muhammad's chest was opened up, and  Zamzam water was poured on his heart, giving him wisdom, belief, and other necessary characteristics to help him in his ascent. This purification thema is also seen in the trial of the drinks. It is debated when it took place—before or after the ascent—but either way, it plays an important role in asserting Muhammad's spiritual righteousness.<ref name="Routledge">{{cite book|last1=Vuckovic|first1=Brooke Olsen|title=Heavenly Journeys, Earthly Concerns: The Legacy of the Miʿraj in the Formation of Islam|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-96785-6}}</ref>

Todays narrations consist of purifying Muhammad's heart, going to the [[Al-Aqsa]] (i.e. the Farthest or Noble Sanctuary) on [[Buraq]] (a winged horse-like creature) accompanied by [[Gabriel]] (named "Isra meaning night journey"), tying Buraq and leading the prophets such as [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrahim]], [[Moses in Islam|Musa]], and [[Jesus in Islam|Isa]] in prayer,<ref>{{cite book |title=Jerusalem and Its Role in Islamic Solidarity |first=Y. |last=Reiter |publisher=Springer |year=2008 |page=30 |isbn=978-1-349-37460-1 }}</ref> ascending to the sky (Miʿrāj) from the [[Foundation Stone| muallak (suspended) stone]],<ref>{{hadith-usc|usc=yes|bukhari|1|4|5|8|9|56|93|345|609|770}}</ref> conversations with Allah, dialogues with other prophets [[Seven heavens|in the different sky layers]], seeing [[Jannah|heaven]] and [[Jahannam|hell]], and returning sections.

In Islam, whether the Miraj is a physical or spiritual experience is also a matter of debate based on different arguments and evidence. The physical perception of the Miraj may imply [[Anthropomorphism and corporealism in Islam|attributing a physical space to God]], contradicting the understanding of transcendence ([[tanzih]]) that [[Attributes of God in Islam|attributed to God in Islam]]. Many sects and offshoots belonging to [[Islamic mysticism]] interpret Muhammad's night ascent to be an out-of-body experience through nonphysical environments,<ref>Brent E. McNeely, [http://www.bhporter.com/Porter%20PDF%20Files/The%20Miraj%20of%20Muhammad%20in%20an%20Asceneion%20Typology.pdf "The Miraj of Prophet Muhammad in an Ascension Typology"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530231238/http://www.bhporter.com/Porter%20PDF%20Files/The%20Miraj%20of%20Muhammad%20in%20an%20Asceneion%20Typology.pdf |date=30 May 2012 }}, p3</ref><ref>Buhlman, William, "The Secret of the Soul", 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-06-251671-8}}, p111</ref> stating "the apostle's body remained where it was"<ref>{{cite book| last1= Brown| first1= Dennis| last2= Morris| first2= Stephen| series= Rhinegold Eeligious Studies Study Guide| title= A Student's Guide to A2 Religious Studies: for the AQA Specification| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7OkAqYod1CgC| access-date= 10 January 2012| year= 2003| publisher= Rhinegold| location= London, UK| oclc= 257342107| isbn= 978-1-904226-09-3| page= 115| chapter= Religion and Human Experience| chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7OkAqYod1CgC&pg=PA115| quote= The revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad [includes] his Night Journey, an out-of-body experience where the prophet was miraculously taken to Jerusalem on the back of a mythical bird (buraq)....| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160210074350/https://books.google.com/books?id=7OkAqYod1CgC| archive-date= 10 February 2016| url-status= live}}</ref> while the majority of Islamic scholars claim that the journey was both a physical and spiritual one.<ref name=enc>{{cite book |editor1-first=Richard C. |editor1-last=Martin |editor2-first=Saïd Amir |editor2-last=Arjomand |editor2-link=Saïd Amir Arjomand|editor3-first=Marcia |editor3-last=Hermansen |editor4-first=Abdulkader |editor4-last=Tayob |editor5-first=Rochelle |editor5-last=Davis |editor6-first=John Obert |editor6-last=Voll |title=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World |year=2003 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers (United States)|Macmillan Reference USA]] |isbn=978-0-02-865603-8 | page = 482}}</ref>
[[File:Miraj-BNF-1436.jpg|thumb|The Night Journey showing Muhammad, [[Buraq]], Gabriel, Noah, and Idris in the Second Heaven. One of 60 miniatures in the ''[[Miraj Nameh]]'' of the [[Timurid dynasty]] artists [[illuminated manuscript]] from [[Herat]] in [[Chaghatai language|Chaghatai]] with [[New Persian]] and [[Arabic]] captions. [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]].]]
[[File:The rock of the Dome of the Rock Corrected.jpg|upright=1.3|thumbnail|right|200px|[[Foundation Stone|A stone associated with the Miraj in Islamic tradition and blessed]]; The round hole at upper left penetrates to a small cave, known as the [[Well of Souls]], below.]]
[[File:Temple Mount (Aerial view, 2007) 05.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Dome of the Rock]], at the [[Temple Mount]]. Build by the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]] during the [[Second Fitna]] in 691–692 CE, on [[Foundation Stone|blessed rock]] mentioned above.]]