Ascension to Heaven

What Happened After the Seventh Heaven?

    The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued his narration of Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj and said:

“I was taken to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha, whose leaves were like the ears of elephants and whose fruits were like large earthenware vessels. When it was covered by the Command of Allah, it underwent such a change that none among His creation has the power to describe its beauty. Then Allah revealed to me what He revealed, and He made fifty prayers obligatory upon me every day and night.”

 

The Five Daily Prayers: A Gift from Allah  

    Then I went down to Moses (peace be upon him), and he said, “What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah?” I said, “Fifty prayers.” He said, “Return to your Lord and beg for a reduction in the number of prayers, for your community shall not be able to bear this burden, as I have put the Children of Israel to the test and tried them, and found them too weak to bear such a heavy burden.”

The Prophet ﷺ said, “I went back to my Lord and said, ‘My Lord, make things lighter for my Ummah.’” The Lord reduced five prayers for me. I went down to Moses and said, “The Lord has reduced five prayers for me.” He said, “Verily, your Ummah shall not be able to bear this burden. Return to your Lord and ask Him to make things lighter.”

I then kept going back and forth between my Lord, Blessed and Exalted, and Moses, until He said, “There are five prayers every day and night. O Muhammad, each prayer is credited as ten, so that makes fifty prayers. He who intends to do a good deed but does not do it will have a good deed recorded for him; and if he does it, it will be recorded for him as ten. Whereas he who intends to do an evil deed but does not do it, it will not be recorded against him; and if he does it, only one evil deed will be recorded.”

I then came down, and when I came to Moses and informed him, he said, “Go back to your Lord and ask Him to make things lighter.” Upon this, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ remarked, “I returned to my Lord until I felt ashamed before Him.”

What Did the People of Makkah Say About This Journey?

    Finally, the Prophet ﷺ was taken back to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and returned to Makkah on the Buraq. On his return journey, he saw various caravans heading towards Makkah, which he would later describe to the Quraysh as evidence that he had truly made this miraculous journey. Allah also displayed Bayt al-Maqdis to the Prophet ﷺ while the Quraysh were questioning him in the Hijr of the Ka‘bah [Bukhari].

This entire journey took place in a very short period of time. Allah therefore supported the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ with evidence to challenge those who might question the credibility of his journey. The next day, the Prophet ﷺ told the people what had happened to him the previous night. They mocked him and refused to believe that he had completed this journey in a single night, even though the journey normally took more than a month.

They said to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), “Look at what your companion is saying. He claims that he went to Jerusalem and came back in one night.”

Abu Bakr replied, “If he said that, then he is truthful. I believe him concerning the news of the heavens—that an angel descends to him from the heavens. How could I not believe that he went to Jerusalem and came back in such a short time, when Jerusalem is on earth?”

At that, Abu Bakr was given the title As-Siddiq because of his firm belief in what the Prophet ﷺ said.

We, as Muslims, believe that this miraculous journey truly took place. We ask Allah to protect our Iman and our hearts and to accept us among the true believers.

To read Part 1 of Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj, please click here.

To read Part 2 of Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj, please click here.