Numerous Marfu (directly attributed) narrations regarding the event of Mi‘raj are recorded in the books of Hadith. Among the Sihah Sittah (the six authentic collections), these narrations have been transmitted by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah. However, they are not mentioned in the Muwatta of Imam Malik and the Sunan of Abu Dawood. The primary narrator of these narrations is Anas Ibn Malik (RA). In some versions, he narrates directly from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), while in others, he transmits through Abu Dharr Ghifari (RA) and Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (RA). If the chains of transmission (Asanid) of these narrations are examined in the mentioned books, the following representative narrations can be identified:
1. Bukhari, Hadith No. 7517
Sulaiman (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i - Follower of Follower) → Shareek bin Abdullah (Tābi‘i - Follower) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
2. Bukhari, Hadith No. 349
Yunus (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (Tābi‘i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → Abu Dharr Ghifari (RA) (Companion) → Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
3. Bukhari, Hadith No. 3887
Hammam bin Yahya (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Qatadah (Tābi‘i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (RA) (Companion) → Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
4. Muslim, Hadith No. 429
Hammad bin Salamah (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Thabit al-Bunani (Tābi‘i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → The Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
5. Muslim, Hadith No. 433
Yunus (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (Tābi‘i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → Abu Dharr Ghifari (RA) (Companion) → Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
6. Muslim, Hadith No. 434
Saeed (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Qatadah (Tabi’i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (RA) (Companion) → The Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
7. Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 3346
Saeed (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Qatadah (Tābi‘i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (RA) (Companion) → The Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
8. Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1399
Yunus bin Yazid (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (Tābi‘i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → The Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
9. Nasa’i, Hadith No. 448
Hisham Dastuwa’i (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i) → Qatadah (Tābi‘i) → Anas bin Malik (RA) (Companion) → Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (RA) (Companion) → The Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
In these nine narratives, the narrators include six Followers of Followers (Tābi‘ Tābi‘i), four Followers (Tābi‘i), and three Companions. The four Followers who have narrated these hadiths are:
These four Followers are not narrating from different companions but from the same companion, Anas bin Malik (RA). As a necessary consequence of this fact, it is essential to accept two realities:
The first is that, in essence, this is one narration transmitted from Anas bin Malik (RA). From him, it was further narrated by four different narrators. That is, it is one hadith which has been reported through four different chains.
Secondly, the differences that have emerged in its text are possibly the result of errors, forgetfulness, omissions, or additions by the followers (Tabi’een) or the narrators after them. This is because it is very unlikely for a credible narrator to relate an incident in such a way that it is contradictory or varies within itself. That is, it is inconceivable for any rational and intelligent person to, for example, describe a single event as both a dream and a wakeful experience at the same time.
In this context, when we compare the aforementioned chains of transmission, one chain appears to differ from the others in terms of the core events. This is the chain of Thabit al-Bunani, which has been narrated by Muslim. That is, the narrations of Shareek bin Abdullah, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, and Qatadah in Bukhari share a general similarity, whereas the narration of Thabit al-Bunani in Muslim is different from them. This difference is evident in terms of both omissions and additions. In the three narrations of Bukhari, the incident of the splitting of the chest (Shaq al-Sadr) is mentioned, whereas in the narration of Muslim, there is neither any mention of it nor any indication toward it. Similarly, the journey to Masjid Al-Aqsa is not part of the event in the three narrations of Bukhari, while in the narration of Muslim, the event begins with this journey. Based on this analysis, it seems reasonable to conclude that the original event is the one transmitted by Shareek bin Abdullah, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, and Qatadah. In contrast, the narration transmitted by Thabit al-Bunani appears to contain certain inaccuracies.
Furthermore, Thabit al-Bunani’s narrative highlights a departure and discrepancy from the incident of Isra mentioned in the Qur’an. This is because, in the Qur’an, only the event of Isra, i.e., the journey from Masjid Al-Haram to Masjid Al-Aqsa, is described. The celestial journey of Mi‘raj is not included with it, while in Thabit al-Bunani’s narration, both these journeys are combined and recounted. Other narrations do not pose this problem of non-conformity with the Qur’an, as they do not mention the event of Isra at all.
Another noteworthy point is that aside from Sahih Muslim, no other hadith compiler among the Sahih books has transmitted Thabit al-Bunani’s narration. In Sunan an-Nasa’i, however, a narration on the same subject, No. 450, has been transmitted by Yazid bin Abi Malik from Anas bin Malik (RA). Nonetheless, this narration has been deemed munkar (rejected) by Nasir al-Din Albani.
Based on these detailed considerations, it is most prudent to suspend judgment on some parts of the narration recorded by Thabit al-Bunani in Muslim, considering them a result of his or some subsequent narrator’s error, forgetfulness or additions, and to derive the details of the event of Mi‘raj from other narrations.