• In the year before migration (621 C.E) the Prophet (pbuh) was taken on a journey, “from the sacred mosque to the farthest mosque” (17:1).

  Candidates may include some of the following points. All other relevant points must be credited.

  Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Surah Al-Isra, 17:1)

• The Prophet (pbuh) was woken from his sleep and his heart was washed with zamzam.

• He was then taken on Buraq from Makkah to Jerusalem by the angel Jibril.

• There the Prophet (pbuh) led all the previous prophets in prayer.

• He was asked to choose between milk and wine, and he chose the milk, to which Jibril said, “You have been guided on the fitra.”

• After that, Jibril took him to the heavens.

• He (pbuh) met Adam at the door to heaven, and thereafter he ascended and met various other prophets (some of whom should be mentioned).

  1. On the first heaven he met Adam,
  2. on the second Isa and Yahya,
  3. on the third Yusuf,
  4. on the fourth Idris,
  5. on the fifth Harun,
  6. on the sixth Musa, and
  7. on the seventh Ibrahim.

• He was led to the Lute Tree, past which Jibril could not go, and then met with his Lord.

• He was given prayers and the last 2 verses of Surah Baqarah (2:285-286)

  The Messenger ˹firmly˺ believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They ˹all˺ believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers. ˹They proclaim,˺ “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. ˹We seek˺ Your forgiveness, our Lord! And to You ˹alone˺ is the final return.” Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford. All good will be for its own benefit, and all evil will be to its own loss. ˹The believers pray,˺ “Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord! Do not place a burden on us like the one you placed on those before us. Our Lord! Do not burden us with what we cannot bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our ˹only˺ Guardian. So grant us victory over the disbelieving people.”

• On his way down, he met Musa who suggested the Prophet (pbuh) ask God to reduce the number of prayers given to his people. The Prophet (pbuh) did this several times, then at five, stopped, saying he was too embarrassed to ask for further reduction.

• He was shown some of the inhabitants of Heaven and Hell.

• This all took place in one night, and when the Prophet told the people, the Quraysh laughed at him, but Abu Bakr believed in the event straight away.

• The Quraysh challenged the Prophet ﷺ to describe Jerusalem.

  • But God Almighty revealed these things to him, causing them to appear before his very eyes. He then began giving them a detailed description of all that they asked him about.

Why do you think it was important for God to take the Prophet (pbuh) on this journey?

• The Prophet (pbuh) had been through a period of difficulty and this event made him realise that God had not left him. It allowed him to see what he, and all Muslims, should be striving for which gave him renewed strength.
  • He had lost his closest supporters and was being mocked for being left by God.
• The events reassured him of his closeness with God and his status among other messengers, and gave him spiritual support.
  • He realised his status amongst prophets (as seal of the prophets), he led them in prayer.
• He realised the blessings God had given his community (by giving the five prayers), which gave him renewed hope in his message and he began to work towards better prospects for him and his community.
• His physical support came from his companions who believed that if the Prophet said it happened, then it did.
• It was one of the main miracles other than the Qur’an.