Isra and Mi’raj, the Night Journey
What the Quran and the authentic hadiths say, and the prayer prescribed that night
The Isra is the Night Journey of the Prophet ﷺ from Makkah to Jerusalem; the Mi’raj is his ascension through the heavens, the same night. The Quran speaks of it in Surah Al-Isra’ and at the start of Surah An-Najm. That night the five daily prayers were prescribed. Historians differ on its date.
What is the Isra and Mi’raj?
Isra means “night journey”: the Prophet ﷺ was carried from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Mi’raj means “ascension”: from there he rose through the heavens. Both took place the same night, in Makkah, before the Hijra.
What the Quran says
The first verse of Surah Al-Isra' says that Allah took His servant on a journey by night, from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, to show him some of His signs.
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سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ
subḥāna lladhī 'asrā biʿabdihī laylam mina l-masjidi l-ḥarāmi 'ila l-masjidi l-aqṣa lladhī bāraknā ḥawlahū linuriyahū min 'āyātinā | innahū huwa s-samīʿu l-baṣīr
Exalted is He who took His Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] by night from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
Near the start of Surah An-Najm, verses 13 to 18 describe the Prophet ﷺ seeing the angel Jibril a second time, by the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary (Sidrat al-Muntaha), and beholding great signs of his Lord; commentators link them to the night of the Mi’raj.
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وَلَقَدْ رَءَاهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ
walaqad ra'āhu nazlatan 'ukhrā
And he certainly saw him in another descent
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عِندَ سِدْرَةِ ٱلْمُنتَهَىٰ
ʿinda sidrati l-muntahā
At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary -
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عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰٓ
ʿindahā jannatu l-ma'wā
Near it is the Garden of Refuge [i.e., Paradise] -
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إِذْ يَغْشَى ٱلسِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَىٰ
idh yaghsha s-sidrata mā yaghshā
When there covered the Lote Tree that which covered [it].
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مَا زَاغَ ٱلْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَىٰ
mā zāgha l-baṣaru wamā ṭaghā
The sight [of the Prophet (ﷺ)] did not swerve, nor did it transgress [its limit].
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لَقَدْ رَأَىٰ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِ ٱلْكُبْرَىٰٓ
laqad ra'ā min 'āyāti rabbihi l-kubrā
He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.
The journey, according to authentic hadiths
The collections of authentic hadiths recount the night in detail, in the words of the Prophet ﷺ. Here is the essential.
The journey in five stages
- By night, from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem Verse 17:1 in Surah Al-Isra'
- The ascension, heaven after heaven, with the angel Jibril Sahih al-Bukhari 3887
- The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary (Sidrat al-Muntaha) Verse 53:14 in Surah An-Najm
- The prayer prescribed: fifty, then lightened to five Sahih al-Bukhari 349
- The return to Makkah, and the account given to Quraysh Sahih al-Bukhari 3886
The Prophet ﷺ recounted that he rode al-Buraq, a white mount larger than a donkey and smaller than a mule, to Jerusalem, prayed two rak’ahs in the mosque there, then was taken up to the heavens with Jibril.
The Prophet ﷺ recounted that he rose from heaven to heaven with Jibril and greeted prophets there, from Adam in the first heaven to Ibrahim in the seventh, and that the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary was then shown to him.
The prayer, prescribed that night
It is the gift of that night that touches a Muslim’s life every day: the five prayers.
The Prophet ﷺ recounted that Allah prescribed fifty prayers that night; on Musa’s advice he went back to ask for a lightening, until there were five prayers worth fifty.
Back in Makkah
When Quraysh refused to believe him, the Prophet ﷺ stood by the Kaaba and Allah showed him Jerusalem: he described its features while looking at it.
When did this journey take place?
In Makkah, before the Hijra: on this the accounts agree. The year and the month, however, are not fixed by the authentic texts, and historians differ. So this page gives no date, and presents no practice specific to a night of the year: the texts cited here mention none.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Isra and the Mi’raj?
The Isra is the night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem; the Mi’raj is the ascension through the heavens that followed, the same night.
When did the Isra and Mi’raj take place?
In Makkah, before the Hijra. The year and the month are not established by the authentic texts, and historians differ. For your community’s customs, ask the imam of your mosque.
Which prayer was prescribed that night?
The five daily prayers. Fifty at first, they were lightened to five, worth fifty, as the hadith shown above recounts.
Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-25 · Report an error