Zirr bin Hubaish narrates: I asked Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him): Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offer prayer in Bayt al-Maqdis? So Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O bald one from the front! Are you saying that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offered prayer in it? I replied: Yes, let the Qur'an decide between me and you. Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Bring it, whoever seeks evidence from the Qur'an succeeds. So I recited this verse before him: «سُبْحَانَالَّذِيأَسْرَىبِعَبْدِهِلَيْلًامِنَالْمَسْجِدِالْحَرَامِإِلَىالْمَسْجِدِالْأَقْصَى» "Glory be to Him Who took His servant by night from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa." Then Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: Where did you find in this that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offered prayer there? If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had offered prayer there, then it would have been made obligatory upon you people to pray there, just as it has been made obligatory upon you to pray in Masjid al-Haram. Then Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) informed: An animal was presented to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), whose back was long, which was called Buraq. Its one step would reach as far as the eye could see, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained continuously mounted on the back of Buraq, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) observed Paradise and Hell, and the promise of the Hereafter is more gathering. Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: People say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) tied it. Why? Would it have run away leaving the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? Whereas the One Who knows the unseen and the seen had subjugated it for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Hadith Referenceمسند الحميدي / 453
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسناده حسن
Hadith Takhrij«إسناده حسن وأخرجه ابن حبان فى «صحيحه» برقم: 45، والحاكم في«مستدركه» برقم: 3389، والنسائي في«الكبرى» برقم: 11216، والترمذي فى «جامعه» برقم: 3147، وأحمد فى «مسنده» برقم: 23757 ، برقم: 23795 ، برقم: 23807 برقم: 23808، برقم: 23820، والطيالسي في«مسنده» برقم: 411، وابن أبى شيبة فى "مصنفه" برقم: 32356 ، برقم: 37728، والطحاوي فى «شرح مشكل الآثار» برقم: 5014»
Benefit: This hadith proves that scholarly discussion and debate should continue, as many knots are untied through it. The Ascension (Mi'raj) is true, and the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was granted a physical Ascension; its details are present in the Qur'an and Hadith.
Source: Musnad al-Humaydi: Commentary by Muhammad Ibrahim bin Bashir, Page: 453
´Narrated Zirr bin Hubaish:` "I said to Hudhaifah bin Al-Yaman: 'Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) perform Salat in Bait Al-Maqdis?' He said: 'No.' I said: 'But he did.' He said: 'You say that, O bald one! Based upon what do you say that?' I said: 'Based upon the Qur'an, (the Judge) between you and I is the Qur'an.' So Hudhaifah said: 'Whoever argues using the Qur'an, then he has indeed succeeded.'" (One of the narrators) Sufyan said: "He means: 'He has indeed proven'" - and perhaps he (Sufyan) said: "He triumphed." He (Zirr) said: "Glorified is He Who took His slave for a journey by night from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (17:1).' He (Hudhaifah) said: 'Do you see (this proves that) he (ﷺ) performed Salat in it?' I said: 'No.' He said: 'If he had performed Salat in it, then it would have been required upon you that you perform Salat in it, just as it is required that you perform Salat in Al-Masjid Al-Haram.' Hudhaifah said: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was brought a beast with a long back - stretching out like this - one stride of it, is as far as his vision. So, the two of them remained upon the back of Al-Buraq until they saw Paradise and the Fire, and all of what has been prepared for the Hereafter, then they returned back to where they began.' He said: 'They say that he was fettered, but for what? Because he might flee? The Knower of the unseen and the witness subdued him.'"
Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Freywai
Explanation: 1: Exalted is He who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
2: This statement of Hudhayfah radi Allahu anhu is according to his own knowledge, whereas it is clearly mentioned in the hadiths that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam led the prophets alayhimus salam in prayer there, and also tied the Buraq at the place where the other prophets used to tie their mounts (al-Tuhfa with al-Fath).
3: That is, with the same swiftness with which he went, he also returned.
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi – Majlis ‘Ilmi Dar al-Da‘wah, New Delhi Edition, Page: 3147