In the Realms of al-Isrā’ and al-Mi‘rāj

Maqāṣid-Based Reflections on Meaning, Guidance, and Civilizational Purpose

By
Nidā’ Khālid Al-Badawī
The University of Jordan

Introduction: A Journey Beyond Time and Space

On a night when the darkness of trial was pierced by the light of divine empowerment, the Beloved ﷺ was taken on the Night Journey from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, and then raised to the highest heavens. This was not a journey confined to time and space, but a divinely orchestrated ascent in which honor converged with cultivation, and revelation met preparation.

Al-Isrā’ and al-Mi‘rāj are not to be approached merely as historical events, but as a profound pedagogical paradigm that invites maqāṣid-based reflection—revealing laws of spiritual purification, stations of elevation, and the eloquence of divine guidance. Allah the Exalted declares:
{سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا} [al-Isrā’: 1].
Glorification inaugurates the event, while honor defines its ultimate purpose [1]. In this sacred memory, certainty is rekindled in the heart, guidance is redrawn in the mind, and the believer is called to ascend—spiritually, intellectually, and civilizationally.

1. Al-Aqṣā: The Axis of Civilizational Unity

Al-Masjid al-Aqṣā transcends physical geography. It represents the unity of divine revelation, the continuity of prophetic guidance, and the sacred core of religious history. When the Prophet ﷺ led all prophets in prayer therein, the unity of tawḥīd, the seal of prophethood, and the linkage between past, present, and future were decisively affirmed [2].

Allah says: {.الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ} [al-Isrā’: 1]. Blessing here signifies both sanctity and mission. In the consciousness of the Ummah, al-Aqṣā is not a historical episode but a permanent civilizational marker. Supporting and defending it is therefore not emotional rhetoric, but a scholarly, ethical, and practical obligation. Allah says:
{وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ} [al-Anbiyā’: 71].

2. Purification before Empowerment: The Opening of the Chest

The opening of the Prophet’s ﷺ chest prior to the ascension is not merely a physical miracle, but a profound educational symbol. Just as the heart was purified and filled with faith and wisdom, no believer ascends toward perfection without inner purification [3].

Allah states: {قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا} [al-Shams: 9].
Purification is not a spiritual luxury, but a prerequisite for empowerment. From a maqāṣid perspective, rectifying the inner self is the gateway to divine opening. Ascension to the heavens begins with cleansing the earth within the heart.

3. Encountering the Prophets: Unity of Message and Mission

As the Prophet ﷺ encountered the prophets across the heavens—each greeting him as “the righteous brother”—the unity of the prophetic mission unfolded [4]. Reformers are not isolated figures, but interconnected links in a continuous chain of divine guidance.

Allah declares: {إِنَّ هَذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً} [al-Anbiyā’: 92].
Learning from predecessors is a foundational methodological principle, essential for building sustainable reform. Revelation remains consistent even as contexts evolve. Allah says:
{وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ} [al-Anbiyā’: 25].

4. From Obligation to Mercy: The Reduction of Prayers

The reduction of daily prayers from fifty to five—while retaining the reward of fifty—reveals a deeply rooted jurisprudence of facilitation grounded in mercy and awareness of human capacity [5].

Allah says: {يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ} [al-Baqarah: 185].
Hardship is never an end in itself, but a means for moral refinement. Allah further affirms:
{وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ} [al-Ḥajj: 78].

5. Prayer: The Believer’s Daily Ascension

Prayer was prescribed in the heavens to remain a celestial bond between the servant and the Creator—a daily ascension of the soul [6]. Allah commands:
{وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي} [Ṭā Hā: 14].

Prayer is not mere ritual; it is tranquility, nearness, and spiritual elevation. It is the pillar of religion and the gateway to relief.

6. Relief after Hardship: The Divine Timing of Consolation

The occurrence of al-Isrā’ after the Year of Sorrow reveals a divine pattern: relief follows hardship, but only at its appointed time [7].
Allah reassures: {فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا} [al-Sharḥ: 5].
Trials are not endings, but thresholds to empowerment.

7. Sidrat al-Muntahā: Dignity, Identity, and Ultimate Honor

Reaching Sidrat al-Muntahā represents the pinnacle of divine honor—a station attained only through sincerity and perfect adherence [8]. Allah says:
{عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَىٰ * عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى} [al-Najm: 14–15].

True dignity is earned through faithful following, not proclaimed through slogans.

8. Abū Bakr and the Ethics of Absolute Trust

When Quraysh denied the Night Journey, Abū Bakr affirmed it without hesitation, earning the title al-Ṣiddīq [9]. His criterion was submission to revelation, not empirical familiarity.

Allah describes the believers as: {الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ} [al-Baqarah: 3].

9. Reading with Integrity: Preserving Revelation

A maqāṣid-oriented reading requires methodological rigor: distinguishing authentic from weak reports, avoiding Isrā’īliyyāt, and rejecting symbolic interpretations that negate historical reality [10].

Allah assures: {إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ} [al-Ḥijr: 9].

10. From Spiritual Ascension to Civilizational Witnessing

True ascension must extend beyond the prayer niche. Spiritual elevation must be accompanied by intellectual, scientific, and civilizational responsibility [11].

Allah declares:
{وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ} [al-Baqarah: 143].

Conclusion: Toward a Renewed Civilizational Ascension

Al-Isrā’ and al-Mi‘rāj embody the laws of purification, empowerment, and guidance. As Ibn ‘Āshūr emphasized, the ultimate objective of Sharī‘ah is preserving the order of the Ummah through the rectitude of the individual [12].

The believer who ascends through prayer must also ascend through awareness and responsibility. Allah declares:
{وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ} [Āl ‘Imrān: 139].

References

1. Ibn Kathīr, Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar. (1999). Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm. Riyadh: Dār Ṭayyibah, Vol. 5, p. 53.

2. Al-Mubārakfūrī, Ṣafī al-Raḥmān. (2001). Al-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm (The Sealed Nectar). Beirut: Dār al-Hilāl, p. 124.

3. Al-Ghazālī, Muḥammad. (2005). Fiqh al-Sīrah. Cairo: Dār al-Shurūq, p. 118.

4. Al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book of the Merits of the Anṣār, ḥadīth no. 3887.

5. Al-Zuḥaylī, Wahbah. (1985). Uṣūl al-Fiqh al-Islāmī. Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, Vol. 2, p. 803.

6. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Muḥammad. (1996). Zād al-Ma‘ād. Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Risālah, Vol. 1, p. 192.

7. Al-Ṣallābī, ‘Alī Muḥammad. (2008). Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah. Beirut: Dār al-Ma‘rifah, p. 345.

8. Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Naysābūrī. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Faith (Kitāb al-Īmān), ḥadīth no. 162.

9. Ibn Hishām, ‘Abd al-Malik. (1955). Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah. Cairo: al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī Press, Vol. 1, p. 399.

10. Al-Shāṭibī, Ibrāhīm ibn Mūsā. (1997). Al-Muwāfaqāt. Al-Khobar: Dār Ibn ‘Affān, Vol. 2, p. 342.

11. Al-Qaraḍāwī, Yūsuf. (2001). An Introduction to the Study of Islamic Sharī‘ah. Cairo: Maktabat Wahbah, p. 156.

12. Ibn ‘Āshūr, Muḥammad al-Ṭāhir. (2001). Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah al-Islāmiyyah. Jordan: Dār al-Nafā’is, p. 274.