T
he sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorra exacted God’s punishment. Sending rains of fire and brimstone down to destroy the cities and bury them under the earth. The prophet Lot, son of Ibrahim, was sent to
Sodom and Gomorra to warn the people against disobeying God’s commands, but when they chose to ignore his message God vowed to punish them severely. After descending from heaven, the Angel Gabriel told Lot to leave the city with his wife and daughters, and warned them not to look back as they made their escape. Scripture says that as they left, Lot’s wife defied the instructions of the angels by looking back on the city, and she was immediately turned into a pillar of salt. Along the southern shore of the Dead Sea in al-Karak Governorate, Jordan, stands a tall sculpture made out of salt rocks. According to legend this is a statue of the Prophet Lot’s wife. Sending rains of fire and brimstone down to destroy the cities and bury them under the earth. The prophet Lot, son of Ibrahim, was sent to Sodom and Gomorra to warn the people against disobeying God’s commands, but when they chose to ignore his message God vowed to punish them severely.
P
rophet Muhammad preparing for his meeting with God by the archangels Jibrīl and Mīkāl one evening while he is asleep in the Kabah, the sacred shrine of Mecca. They open up his body and purify his heart by removing all traces of error, doubt, idolatry, and paganism and by filling it with wisdom and belief. In the earliest interpretations of
the Mirāj, the prophet is then transported by Jibrīl directly to the lowest heaven. From Jerusalem, where the Dome of the Rock now stands, he is accompanied by Jibrīl to heaven, ascending possibly by ladder or staircase. Muhammad and Jibrīl enter the first heaven and proceed through all seven levels until they reach the throne of God. Along the way they meet the prophets Adam, Yaḥya, Isa, Yūsuf, Idrīs, Hārūn, Musa, and Ibrāhīm and visit hell and paradise. Once Muhammad appears before God—there is some question as to whether he actually saw him—he is told to recite the ṣalāt (ritual prayer) 50 times each day. Mūsā, however, advises Muhammad to plead for a reduction of the number as being too difficult for believers, and the obligation is eventually reduced to five prayers each day.