AL ASRA WAL MEIRAJ

On one morning in 621 AD, the last Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) informed the people of Makkah that last night he traveled from Makkah towards Heavens and made a stopover in Jerusalem, and then he returned back to Makkah during the same night. It was extremely difficult for the people of Makkah to accept that reality except very few Muslims. People challenged his claim. How is it possible that he (Peace be upon him) could have traveled from Makkah to Jerusalem and from Jerusalem towards the Heavens and returned to earth within a portion of a night?

Had it been a dream or a spiritual journey, it would have made easy for the people to accept it. However, Muhammad (peace be upon him) went on to this journey with his physical body and soul. This is what made difficult for the people to accept his journey. Not only the opponents denied this miraculous journey of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) but few Muslims too followed the footsteps of non-Muslim "intellects" and refused to accept that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) could have traveled on this journey with his physical body and soul. There could be several reasons of their denial but the most important are three. Firstly, these people might not have the required knowledge and the understanding of the powers of Almighty Allah. Secondly, these people may have doubts about the capabilities of Almighty Allah who runs the operations of this entire universe by Himself. Thirdly, these people would not accept the extraordinary claim from anyone (including Allah's Messenger) because they themselves are incapable, jealous or suffered from vanity. They see Allah and His Messenger (Peace be upon him) through their own shortcomings and incapability.

Al-Asra wal Me'raj

The miraculous journey of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had two segments. The first segment of journey is called "AL-ASRA" (the horizontal travel). In this segment Muhammad (Peace be upon him) traveled on Earth from the Grand Mosque of Makkah (Masjid Al Haraam) to the Distant Mosque of Jerusalem (Masjid Al-Aqsa). The second segment of the journey is called " AL-ME'RAJ" (the vertical travel). In this segment Muhammad (Peace be upon him) traveled vertically from Jerusalem towards the Heavens and returned back to Earth.

Al-Asra (The Horizontal Journey)

To avoid any confusion and doubts among human beings, regarding this miraculous journey, Allah pointed towards Himself in the holy Qur'an that Allah made this journey possible for Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This Miraculous journey was not the work of a creation. This was the work of Almighty Creator, the most pure and the absolute perfect.

There is nothing impossible for Him. Allah could create Adam without both parents, Allah could create Jesus without a father, Allah could create life from the dead and Allah did create the Sun, the moon, the Galaxies, the Heavens, the Earth, etc.… Allah can also create the miraculous journey of Al-Asra Wal Me'raj for Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Why is it so difficult to accept?

" Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant (Muhammad) for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did Bless in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who heareth and seeth (all things). (Al-Qur'an, 17:1)

The miraculous journey of Al-Asra wal Me'raj took place a year or two before Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) migrated to Madinah. Earlier, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) faced very sad and disturbing situations. His beloved Uncle Hadhrat Abu Talib who protected him day and night from the cruelty of his opponents passed away. Same year, his beloved wife, Hadhrat Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her) passed away. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) loved her very much. He was very sad and disturbed by these two deaths. On one side, his beloved uncle and wife were no more around him and on the other side, the non-believers of Makkah increased persecution of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers. Therefore, he decided to go outside Makkah and give message of Allah to the other tribes and cities. He traveled to Taif, a town about 55 KM south of Makkah. When he (peace be upon him) presented Islam to the chiefs of Taif, they showed the worse behaviour. They not only rejected his message but they sent young kids after him to throw rocks at him. These rocks wounded Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and he bled so much that his feet were stuck in his own shoes with his own blood. He fainted, his companion Hadhrat Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) helped him. Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) was going through very painful period? Allah sent angel Gabriel (May Allah's peace upon him) to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and ordered him to escort Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) on this miraculous journey in order to show him the wonders of Allah.

Allah knew that it would be very difficult for human beings to accept the true story of this miraculous journey. If Muhammad (Peace be upon him) would have gone directly towards Heavens from Makkah, it would have been impossible for people to verify his claim. Therefore, Allah took Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to Jerusalem first. This earthly journey provided a perfect opportunity for the people to challenge Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and verify his claim. Therefore, when Muhammad (Peace be upon him) stood in front of the people of Makkah and told them about his miraculous journey, the pagan traders who used to travel to Jerusalem for their business and they had seen the Al-Aqsa mosque (Temple Mount) asked him several questions. They asked whatever they could ask about the temple mount (Masjid-Al-Aqsa). They even asked him how many windows, how many doors and the colour of Masjid-al-Aqsa. Muhammad (Peace be upon him) replied all their questions correctly. No one could have answered those questions without really seeing Jerusalem.

Several authentic Ahadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) from Muslim, Bukhari and other books of Hadith provide the details of Al-Asra Wal Me'raj. Among the narrators of various Ahadith about Al-Asra Wal Me'raj are Hadhrat Omar ibn Al-Khattab, Hadhrat Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hadhrat Ibn Masood, Hadhrat Abu Dhar Ghaffari, Hadhrat Abu Saeed Khudri, Hadhrat Ibn Abbas and several other prominent companions of Allah's Messenger (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon them).

Allah created several proofs of this journey for the people of Makkah and the world. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) told the people that when he was traveling towards Jerusalem he passed near a trade caravan. This caravan was bringing grain for the people of Makkah. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said, when his ride (an animal from the Heaven called "BURRAQ") passed near one of the camels, carrying one black and one white sacks of grain, the camel lost its balance and fell down and broke its leg. After few weeks, when the caravan arrived at Makkah the people of Makkah asked the people of caravan, "did some thing unusual happened with the caravan?" They said yes, “we were very surprised one night when one of our camel carrying two sacks of grain suddenly tried to runaway and lost its balance and fell down and broke its leg". The people in the caravan had not heard the story of Al-Asra Wal Me'raj yet.

Ibn Abi Kabshah, one of the pagan traders of Makkah constantly argued and said how it is possible that someone can travel to Jerusalem from Makkah and return in one night? At that time, the distance between Makkah and Jerusalem was almost a month long journey (one way). Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) told him, "Let me tell you another proof of my travel. Your trade caravan is coming back to Makkah and I saw your caravan too. One of your camels was lo