1. The Incident of Isra (Journey to Masjid Al-Aqsa)
سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْ٘ اَسْرٰي بِعَبْدِهٖ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ اِلَي الْمَسْجِدِ الْاَقْصَا الَّذِيْ بٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهٗ لِنُرِيَهٗ مِنْ اٰيٰتِنَاﵧ اِنَّهٗ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ.
Flawless is the being who one night took His servant from the Sacred Mosque to that Distant Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed so that We can make him observe some of Our signs. Indeed, only He hears and knows all. (17:1)
وَمَا مَنَعَنَا٘ اَنْ نُّرْسِلَ بِالْاٰيٰتِ اِلَّا٘ اَنْ كَذَّبَ بِهَا الْاَوَّلُوْنَ وَاٰتَيْنَا ثَمُوْدَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُوْا بِهَا وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِالْاٰيٰتِ اِلَّا تَخْوِيْفًا. وَاِذْ قُلْنَا لَكَ اِنَّ رَبَّكَ اَحَاطَ بِالنَّاسِﵧ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الرُّءْيَا الَّتِيْ٘ اَرَيْنٰكَ اِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَالشَّجَرَةَ الْمَلْعُوْنَةَ فِي الْقُرْاٰنِ وَنُخَوِّفُهُمْ فَمَا يَزِيْدُهُمْ اِلَّا طُغْيَانًا كَبِيْرًا .
What has stopped Us from sending signs of punishment is that the earlier generations had denied them. We had given the Thamūd a she-camel [in a similar way] as an eye-opening sign but they were unjust to themselves and denied it. [What then is the use to send signs?] We only send signs to frighten [people before punishing them]. Remember when [for such an admonition and warning,] We said to you: Your Lord has surrounded these people; [and they were making fun of this]. The dream We showed you We made it a trial too for these people [because of this attitude of theirs] and that tree as well which has been cursed in the Qur’an. We are only frightening them of their fate, but this thing is merely increasing them in their extreme rebelliousness. (17:59-60)
In verse 1 of Surah Al-Isra, ‘Sacred Mosque’ refers to the Kaaba in Mecca and ‘Farthest Mosque’ refers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Both mosques were constructed by Allah’s command and designated as the centers for the call to monotheism. Consequently, they have always remained under the custody of the descendants of Prophet Abraham (PBUH), including the surrounding areas of Mecca and Palestine. Custodianship and trust of the Kaaba and Mecca, the mother of towns, was conferred upon the Ishmaelites, and the administration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the authority over the land of Palestine was given to the Israelites. When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was sent as a messenger among the Ishmaelites, and the Israelites were relieved from the duty of calling to religion and bearing witness, Allah decided to entrust both Mecca and the land of Palestine to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his nation, the Ishmaelites. This is the historical background in which the Prophet (PBUH) was taken to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Qur’an narrates the incident of the Isra briefly, without mentioning specific details except for the nature and purpose. The stated points are as follows:
Firstly, that one night, Allah took His Prophet from the Sacred Mosque to the Al-Aqsa Mosque—a mosque far distant, hundreds of miles away.
Secondly, Allah’s purpose in taking him there was to show him some of His extraordinary signs. This meaning is implied in the words li nuriya hu min ayatina (to show him some of Our signs) without detailing these signs. However, based on the contextual indicators and other parallels in the Qur’an, it is plausible that these include the divine signs, evidence, heavenly lights, and blessings that filled these two abodes. Presumably, the intent of showing these to the Prophet was to give him the good news that the guardianship of these centers of monotheism was about to be entrusted to him. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi comments:
The apparent purpose of displaying these (signs) is to make it clear that it is the will of Allah Almighty that from then on,
this trust would be taken away from the ungrateful and the betrayers and entrusted to him (Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)). (Tadabbur-e-Qur’an 4/475)
The third point is that the event of the Prophet’s (PBUH) journey from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid Al-Aqsa and the presentation of the signs of Allah to him occurred in a dream. The words from Surah
Al-Isra, verse 60, Wa mā jaʿalnā al-ru’yā allatī araynāka (The dream We showed you…) support this.
The summary can be outlined in a few key points as follows:
The points that are not mentioned in the event are as follows:
The important points for the explanation and understanding of the verses are:
Firstly, verse 1 commences with the words Subhāna alladhī and ends with innahu huwa samīʿu al-basīr. The terms translate to ‘Exalted is He’ and ‘Allah is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.’ These attributes of ‘hearing and seeing’ essentially expound the term Subhān. They explicate the ultimate purpose of the event of Isra with great precision. Javed Ahmed Ghamidi states in Al-Bayan:
These attributes explain the way the word Subhān occurs at the beginning of the verse. The implication is that since God hears and knows all, hence it is His responsibility to bring to account the people who had gone back on their promises and who in the words of Jesus (PBUH) had made his House ‘a den of robbers,’ (Matthew, 21:13). This had to happen after hearing and reading what the Israelites said and did in it. Thus the Almighty decided that this House was to be entrusted to the custody of His last prophet. It was because of this reason that he was brought here from the Sacred Mosque in one night. God is free of all defects; hence He cannot in the slightest tolerate that He choose a nation to conclusively communicate the truth to people and leave it unaccountable in spite of such rebelliousness from it. It was essential that He make some other arrangement to realize this objective. He thus chose the Ishmaelites to carry out the obligation of preaching and conclusively communicating the truth at the global level. (Al-Bayan 3/63)
Secondly, the phrase alladhī bāraknā hawlahu (Whose precincts We have blessed) from the same verse implies that it is not merely the charge of Masjid Al-Aqsa being referred to, but also the governance over the region wherein this mosque stands. Similarly, the words linuriyahu min ayātinā (to show him of Our signs) suggest that among the signs, authority over the land of Palestine is also encompassed. Javed Ahmed Ghamidi writes:
After the migration of Prophet Abraham (PBUH) from Babylon, Allah Almighty selected two places, at which, by His command, two mosques were established, and they were designated as centers for the propagation of monotheism for the entire world. One is located in the land of Arabia and the other in Palestine. The first spot is a valley that is barren, and the second is exceedingly fertile. For this reason, it has been called the ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ in ancient scriptures. The Qur’an alludes to this with the expression ‘alladhī bāraknā hawlahu’, specifically denoting that the remote mosque being mentioned is the one in Jerusalem. ... (linuriyahu min ayātinā signifies that) it is indicative of the fact that along with the Holy Sanctuary of Mecca, the custodianship of Palestine and its sanctuary will also be given to the Ishmaelites. (Al-Bayan 3/62)
Third, in verse 59, Allah has made clear the reasoning behind not sending down additional signs to warn and threaten the disbelievers of Quraish. The reason, as told, is that whenever such signs were dispatched, rather than paying attention and becoming alarmed, people would reject them and ridicule them. For illustration, the text mentions the sign of the she-camel sent to the people of Thamud, and their subsequent denial of it.
Fourth, verse 60 continues in the same vein. It cites three instances of signs provided to the Quraish. These are the besiege of Mecca, the occurrence of the Night Journey (Isra), and the accursed tree. The Qur’an details that the Quraish’s reaction was no different than that of earlier communities—they too engaged in the worst behavior by denying and making fun of God’s signs. As a result, these warnings did not foster faith and submission in them; rather, they only escalated their transgression.
Among the three signs outlined previously, the second instance involves Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) journey to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This indicated that the guardianship of both Mecca and the Sacred Mosque, as well as Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, was to be handed over to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The disbelievers of Quraish mocked it, transforming a significant warning and a threat into a fitnah (trial) for themselves. Javed Ahmed Ghamidi writes:
This is a reference to the incident of the night journey with which the surah began. Since there was also a warning in it for both the Quraysh and the Israelites that besides the Sacred Mosque, the Bayt al-Maqdis too is now being entrusted to the Prophet (PBUH) it was made fun of. Mocking words like ‘see now they are trying to forcibly occupy the Bayt al-Maqdis’ were cracked. So much so that in the words of Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi, the thing that was meant to warn and admonish them and to inform them of the future became a trial for them because of their misdeeds. (Al-Bayan 3/94)
Fifthly, the word ru’ya is a very common and widely utilized term in Arabic. It corresponds to ‘dream’ in English, Hindi, and Urdu, implying the act of seeing something in one’s sleep. It is widely used in poetry and prose to connote the meaning of dream. Its meaning is established as such in Arabic lexicons. It appears around seven hundred times in Hadith literature, carrying the same meaning. In the Holy Qur’an too, this term has been used seven times across chapters, and on every occasion, it implies nothing else than a dream. Given the usage and connotations of this term, it is imperative that in the mentioned verse it should be interpreted as a dream, thus, the journey of Isra ought to be regarded not as a corporeal expedition but as a spiritual experience.
Sixthly, however, the dream referred to here is not the mundane dream that is a regular experience for humans. It is not by means of that nature. Instead, this vision is a kind of divine revelation, exclusively accessible to the honored prophets. Ordinary people have no connection to it. What is revealed in this type of dreams to the prophets is true, aligns with reality, and is fact-based. Sometimes, these dreams are clearer and more vivid than what one sees with their eyes when awake. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi discusses this type of vision:
...The dreams shown to the prophets, peace be upon them, are visions of truth. They have several distinctive characteristics. First, a true dream is one of the channels of divine revelation. Just as Allah Almighty conveys His guidance to His prophets and messengers in the form of words through an angel, in some instances, He also communicates guidance through dreams.
The second characteristic is that this vision is exceedingly clear, unambiguous, and luminous like broad daylight (Ka-Falqi As-Subh), providing the prophet with complete satisfaction and tranquility of heart. Even if there are symbolic elements in the vision, Allah Almighty makes their interpretation clear to His prophet.
The third characteristic is that when the purpose is to show events and realities, this mode is more reassuring for a divine prophet because it allows for the full details of events to be observed, along with the representation of meanings and realities that are otherwise difficult to capture in words.
The fourth characteristic is that the insights gained through these dreams are more definitive, comprehensive, and thousands of times deeper and more extensive than what is seen with the naked eye. Eyes might be deceived, but a true dream is devoid of any deceit. The eyes can only see within a limited scope, but a dream can encompass a substantially wider range. Eyes are limited to observing only visible forms, whereas a dream grasps meanings, truths, and enlightenment as well. Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, desired to see the divine manifestation with his own eyes but found it unbearable. By contrast, through the visions shown to our Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, during the Night of Ascension, he observed all of them without his vision being overwhelmed. (Tadabbur-e-Qur’an 4/475-476)
From this explanation, it is clear that this was a formal journey, organized by the command of Allah Almighty, and during this journey, everything the Prophet (PBUH) observed was real, definitive, and certain.
Seventhly, the language and structure of the aforementioned verses from Surah Isra indicate the completion of the discussion. The Qur’an does not provide any further or related details about this matter elsewhere. Therefore, one must regard this as a distinct, unique, and complete event, and avoid trying to relate it to any other incident mentioned in the Qur’an and hadith literature.