Reports on the Miraj, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken on the Night Journey

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Al-Buraq was brought to me. It was a white animal, taller than a donkey and smaller than a mule. It would place its hoof where its sight ended. I mounted it, and this animal travelled with me until I reached Bayt al-Maqdis. I tied the animal to the ring to which the prophets used to tie (their mounts). Then I entered Bayt al-Maqdis and prayed two rak'ahs there. Then I came out, and Jibril brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk. Jibril said: 'You have done right, in accordance with the sound natural disposition (fitrah).'" 2. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then we were taken up to the lowest heaven. Jibril asked for the gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who are you?' Jibril said: 'I am Jibril.' It was asked: 'And who is with you?' Jibril said: 'Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!' It was asked: 'Has he been sent for?' Jibril said: 'Indeed, he has been sent for.' Then the gate was opened for us, and suddenly I met Adam. He welcomed me and prayed for good for me. Then we were taken up to the second heaven. Jibril asked for the gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who are you?' Jibril said: 'Jibril.' It was asked: 'Who is with you?' Jibril said: 'Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!' It was asked: 'Has he been sent for?' Jibril said: 'He has been sent for.' Then the gate was opened for us, and suddenly I met my two maternal cousins, Yahya and Isa. They both welcomed me and prayed for good for me. 3. Then we were taken up to the third heaven. Jibril asked for the gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who are you?' He said: 'Jibril!' Then it was asked: 'Who is with you?' Jibril said: 'Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!' The angels asked: 'Has he been sent for?' Jibril said: 'Indeed, he has been sent for.' So the gate was opened for us, and suddenly I met Yusuf, who had been given half of all beauty. He welcomed me and prayed for good for me. Then we were taken up to the fourth heaven, and Jibril asked for the gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who are you?' He said: 'I am Jibril.' It was asked: 'Who is with you?' Jibril said: 'Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!' The angels said: 'Has he been sent for?' Jibril said: 'Indeed, he has been sent for.' Then (the gate) was opened for us, and suddenly I met Idris. He welcomed me and prayed for good for me." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty says: 'And We raised him to a high station.' [Maryam: 57] 4. Then we were lifted up to the fifth heaven. Jibril asked for (the gate) to be opened. It was asked: 'Who are you?' He said: 'I am Jibril.' It was asked: 'And who is with you?' He said: 'It is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!' It was asked: 'Has he been sent for?' Jibril said: 'He has been sent for.' Then (the gate) was opened for us, and suddenly I met Harun. He welcomed me and prayed for good for me. Then we were taken up to the sixth heaven. Jibril asked for (the gate) to be opened, and it was asked: 'Who are you?' He replied: 'I am Jibril.' It was asked: 'And who is with you?' He said: 'It is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).' It was asked: '(Has) he been sent for?' Jibril said: 'Indeed, he has been sent for.' Then (the gate) was opened for us, and suddenly I met Musa. He welcomed me and prayed for good for me. 5. Then we were lifted up to the seventh heaven. Jibril asked for (the gate) to be opened, and it was asked: 'Who are you?' He replied: 'I am Jibril.' Then it was asked: 'And who is with you?' He said: 'It is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).' Then it was asked: '(Has) he been sent for?' Jibril said: 'Indeed, he has been sent for.' Then (the gate) was opened for us, and suddenly I met Ibrahim. He was sitting leaning against al-Bayt al-Ma'mur, and seventy thousand angels enter it every day who will never come back to it again. 6. Then I was taken to Sidrat al-Muntaha. Its leaves were like the ears of elephants, and its fruits were like large clay pots. When that which covered it by the command of Allah covered it, it changed, and no one of Allah's creation is able to describe it because of its beauty. Then Allah revealed to me what He revealed, and He made fifty prayers obligatory upon me in every day and night. I descended until I reached Musa, and he asked: 'What has your Lord made obligatory upon your nation?' I said: 'Fifty prayers in every day and night.' He said: 'Go back to your Lord and ask Him for a reduction, for your nation will not be able to bear that. I have tested the Children of Israel and know them well.' So I went back to my Lord and said to Him: 'My Lord, lighten it for my nation.' He reduced five from me. I returned to Musa, and he said: 'What did you do?' I said: 'He has reduced five from me.' He said: 'Your nation will not be able to bear that, so go back to your Lord and ask Him for a reduction for your nation.' I kept going back and forth between my Lord and Musa, and He kept reducing five at a time from me, until He said: 'O Muhammad, they are five prayers in every day and night, with ten for each prayer, so that makes fifty prayers. Whoever intends a good deed and does not do it, one good deed is written for him, and if he does it, ten are written for him. Whoever intends an evil deed and does not do it, nothing is written against him, and if he does it, one evil deed is written.' I descended until I reached Musa and informed him, and he said: 'Go back to your Lord and ask Him for a reduction for your nation, for your nation will not be able to bear that.' The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'I have gone back to my Lord until I felt shy.'"

Sayyiduna Malik bin Sa'sa'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the like of this, or something similar to it.

Zurarah bin Awfa reports that Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the night on which I was taken on the Night Journey, I was in Makkah (by) the morning." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was distressed about my affair (the Ascension), and I knew that the people would call me a liar." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) sat apart and sorrowful, and Abu Jahl passed by him (peace and blessings be upon him), came over to him (peace and blessings be upon him) until he sat beside him (peace and blessings be upon him), and asked as one mocking: "Is there anything (new)?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes." Abu Jahl asked: "What is it?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was taken on a journey last night." Abu Jahl asked: "To where?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "To Bayt al-Maqdis." Abu Jahl said: "And then (after the journey) you were among us by morning?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes!" Abu Jahl chose not to call him (peace and blessings be upon him) a liar, fearing that if he called his (peace and blessings be upon him) people, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would deny this statement. Abu Jahl said: "If I call your people to you, will you also tell them what you have told me?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes!" Abu Jahl said: "O assemblies of Banu Ka'b bin Lu'ayy, come here!" The narrator said: So all the people came, until they sat down with the two of them. Abu Jahl said: "Tell your people what you told me." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was taken on a journey last night." The people asked: "To where?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "To Bayt al-Maqdis." The people said: "And then you were among us by morning?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes!" The narrator said: Some of the people began to clap, and others, thinking this a lie, put their hands on their heads in amazement. They said: "Can you describe the mosque (al-Aqsa) for us?" The narrator said: Among the people there were some who had travelled to that city and had seen al-Aqsa Mosque. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So I began to describe (the mosque) for them, and I kept on describing until some features of the mosque became unclear to me. Then the mosque was brought (before me), and I began to look at it, until the mosque was placed short of the house of Aqil or the house of Iqal. So I described the mosque while I was looking at it." The people said: "As for the description (of the mosque), by Allah, it is entirely correct."

Zirr reports from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) that al-Buraq was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It was a tall white animal that would place its hoof where its sight ended. The narrator said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) and Jibril stayed mounted on its back until they both reached Bayt al-Maqdis, and the gates of the heavens were opened for them, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Paradise and Hell.

The narrator said: Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) did not pray in Bayt al-Maqdis. Zirr said: I said: "Rather, he (peace and blessings be upon him) did pray." Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What is your name, O bald one? For I know your face, but I do not know your name." Zirr said: I replied: "Zirr bin Hubaysh." He said: "How do you know? Do you find that he prayed?" Zirr said: I said: Allah says: "Glory be to the One who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed, in order to show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." He said: "And do you find that he prayed? Had he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed in it, we would pray in it just as we pray in the Sacred Mosque." It was said to Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him): "And he (peace and blessings be upon him) tied the animal to the ring to which the prophets tie (their mounts)?" Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Was he (peace and blessings be upon him) afraid that it would go away, when Allah had brought it to him?"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the night on which I was taken on the Night Journey, I saw that when we reached the seventh heaven, I raised my gaze above me, and I saw thunder, lightning and thunderbolts." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I came to a people whose bellies were like houses, and in them were snakes that could be seen from the outside. I asked: 'O Jibril! Who are these people?' Jibril said: 'These are the consumers of usury (riba).' Then when I descended to the lowest heaven, I looked below, and I perceived dust, smoke and voices. I asked: 'O Jibril! What is this?' Jibril said: 'These are the devils, who deceive the eyes of the children of Adam. They do not reflect upon the signs of the heavens and the earth. Were it not for these things, the children of Adam would see wonders.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the night on which I was taken on the Night Journey, I passed by Musa near the red sand dune, and he was standing in prayer in his blessed grave."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the night on which I was taken on the Night Journey, I passed by a people whose lips were being cut with scissors of Hell. I asked: 'Who are these people?' I was told: 'These are the preachers from the people of this world who used to command people to do good and forget themselves, and they recited the Book. Do these people have no sense?'"

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Shaddad that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken on the journey by night, an animal larger than a donkey and smaller than a mule was brought. It would place its hoof at the limit of its sight. It was called al-Buraq. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a camel caravan of the polytheists, and the camels bolted. The polytheists said: "Friends! What is this?" They answered: "We see nothing. This is only the wind." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached Bayt al-Maqdis. Two vessels were brought to him (peace and blessings be upon him), one containing wine and the other containing milk. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took the (vessel of) milk, and Jibril said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): "You have been guided to the right path, and your nation has been rightly guided." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) went on toward the city.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When I reached the Sidrah, (I saw that) its leaves were like the ears of elephants and its lote fruits were like large clay pots. Then when Allah Almighty covered it in the way He did, it changed." And the narrator mentioned rubies.

It is narrated from Ghazwan that Sidrat al-Muntaha is the middle of Paradise.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding the words of Allah, "Sidrat al-Muntaha": It is the middle of Paradise, and upon it are the surplus folds of fine silk and of brocade.

It is narrated from Ka'b that Sidrat al-Muntaha is the place at which the affair of every prophet and every angel comes to its end.