Were the Miraj and Isra physical or spiritual journeys? By Jalees Ahmed
PART II In an attempt to prove the physical ascension of Prophet Jesus (as), some Muslims today present the journey of the Miraj and Isra in a nonsensical manner to add weight to their baseless notion. In the first part of this article, we analysed the spiritual journey of the Miraj through the lens of the Holy Quran, hadith and logical proofs and proved how it was indeed a spiritual journey and not, as other Muslims assert, physical. In this part, we will focus on the journey of Isra. Again, our non-Ahmadi brothers and sisters assert that this too was a physical journey. However, like the Miraj, with a close analysis of the Quran, hadith and other sources, ample evidence indicates that this was in fact, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a spiritual journey. The journey of Isra has been mentioned in Surah Bani Israel:
The verse further reads that the main reason it occurred was so “that We might show him some of Our Signs.” A further study of this Surah shows us that this was in fact a spiritual journey as the word “ru‘ya” has been used. َ َ ْ َ َ َ َ َ َ ْ َ ُّ ْ َ َّ ت َّ ً َ ْ اس وما جعلنا ِ الرؤ ي� ال ِ ي� أر يناك ِإال ِفتنة ِللن “And We made not the vision which We showed thee but as a trial for men.” (Surah Bani Israel, Ch.17: V.61) The word “ru‘ya” undoubtedly lays the matter to rest. The word not only means a dream, but according to the context it is used in, can mean a spiritual sight too, meaning that the journey the Holy Prophet (SAW) undertook was a spiritual journey and was a sign shown to him. Thus, the Holy Quran itself has testified that this journey was a “ru‘ya” and a spiritual journey.
To briefly explain the journey, Isra is the name of the spiritual journey where the Holy Prophet (SAW) was taken from Mecca to Jerusalem on, what is described as, a beautiful white an“Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by imal, larger than a donkey, but smaller than a night from the Sacred Mosque to the Dis- mule, named Burraq. tant Mosque, the environs of which We have blessed, that We might show him [some] of When the Holy Prophet (SAW) reached JeruOur Signs. Surely, He alone is the Hearing, the salem, he tied the animal and entered the Seeing.” (Surah Bani Israil, Ch.17: V.2) mosque, where he met with the past prophThis verse alone is more than enough to ets, in which Abrahamas, Mosesas and Jesuprove that the journey of Isra was spiritual. sas in particular have been mentioned, and The words “asraa” and “laylan” clearly indicate led them in prayer. that the entire journey took part in one night. َ َّ ْ َْ أ َ ْ ال ْس ِج ِد َ ْ ال َر ِام إ َل َ ْ س ٰى ِب َع ْب ِد ِه َل ْي ًل ِّم َن َ ْ ُس ْب َح َان َّال ِذي أ ال ْس ِج ِد الق َص ال ِذي ِ ْ َّ َ ب� َر ْك َنا َح ْو َ ُل ِل نُ� َي ُه ِم ْن َ يآ� ِت َنا ۚ إ َّن ُه ُه َو �ُ الس ِم ُيع ال َب ِص ي ِ ِ
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