The Magnificent Journey Part 2

Two main problems arise when we look at the narrations about al-isra' wal mi'raj. First, the narrations are in bits and pieces without any chronological order. The reason for this is simple. The companions all remembered certain parts of what the Prophet told them, and they narrate only those parts. Often there is contradiction between different reports about finer details, but this is not because the sahabah were lying, but perhaps they just recalled inaccurately what they heard from the Prophet. We too will face the same problem if we plucked at random a few people after a lecture to see if all that they recall are exactly the same. In any case, the big picture of what happened is preserved.

Secondly, there are many many exaggerations about the events that took place during this journey. Sadly, many 'penceramahs' still go around telling these tales without veifying the authenticity of the reports in which these tales and myths can be found. Most of what I will present here is from Shaykh Yasir Qadhi's seerah series. The Syahkh is well known for his academic approach to most topics and so I have very little doubt, if any, about the reliability of the reports he speaks about. I believe all the content from his lectures are from reports which are either authentic or at least acceptable.

The Isra' begins near the Ka'bah, at the Haatim (some of us call it the hijr Ismail) specifically. There is another report in Bukhari which says Jibril came to the house of the Prophet and set off from there. Scholars like Ibn Hajar have tried to reconcile the two reports and say that perhaps Jibril came to the house of the Prophet first, and then took him to the Haatim, where his chest was cleaved and his heart cleansed with Zam zam, and then they set off together towards Baitul Maqdis. This is one example of contradicting reports, both equally authentic. From here on, I will only state one version which Shaykh Yasir feels to be the best. So do not be alarmed if you find that what is written here is different from what you've heard/read elsewhere. It's bound to happen and is not a disaster for even the scholars have a hard time piecing things together.

As mentioned above, Jibril cleaved the Prophet's chest and washed his heart with Zam zam. This is the 2nd time this incident occurs, the first being when he was a child. During the first incident, a black dot (the dot of syaitan) was removed from his heart. This time however, the cleansing was more to fortify his heart for the things he is about to witness throughout his journey. The Buraq, a creature which looked like a cross between a donkey and a mule, pure white in colour, was brought to him. In one report in Tirmidhi, it is said that the Buraq became restless, as any animal would, when the Prophet tried to mount it. Jibril yanked the muzzle and said to the Buraq, "Alam tastahi??" i.e. "Have you no shame?? For wallahi, there is no one who has ridden you who is more blessed by Allah than this man!" This report tells us that perhaps the Buraq was ridden upon by others before him, most likely Prophets or perhaps even the Jinns. It is described as a Dabbah, which means an animal with flesh and blood. So the Buraq is like any living animal, only super elusive, appearing only when summoned. hence, no need to try to go around the world looking for it, coz you're definitely not gonna find it!

It is called al-Buraq probably because of it's lightning speed, since the word for lightning in arabic is Barq. The Prophet SAW said, each step of the Buraq is as far as the eye can see. That's why he managed to go to Baitul Maqdis (Jerusalem) and back in one night, a journey that would otherwise take weeks to complete in that era.

Here is a map of the journey, in case some of us are still in the dark about where Baitul Maqdis is. Sometimes we're so zealous about boycotting the zionists, which is a good thing, but we have no clue where Palestine actually lies on the map.



So you can see where Mecca is. And right at the top of the map is Jerusalem, within the borders of the Israel, east of the Mediterranean Sea. Just remember for a later discussion, that most of the area east of the Mediterranean sea including Syria, Jordan, Palestine, a bit of Egypt and the north of the Hijaz, was once upon a time cumulatively called Syam, and it is this area that Allah refers to when He says, "Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed,...." al-isra' verse 1.

To be continued.