Lailat al Miraj 27 Rajâb

The Isrâ' (in Arabic إسراء "night journey", coming from the verb سرى [sara'a], "to travel at night") is, for Muslims, the night journey of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem. It is followed by the Miraj (معراج, "ladder, ascent"), the moment when, according to Muslim tradition, Muhammad ascended to heaven in the company of the angel Gabriel on a mount called Buraq (بُرَاق).

Early Islam does not mention the destination but a tradition emerging after the Crusades gives the destination as Mount Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, making it the third holiest city in Islam.

All the stories of Isra and Miraj relate the same sequence of events:

• Muhammad, who is sleeping in Mecca near the Ka'bah, is awakened by the angel Gabriel;
• he makes the journey to the most distant mosque (changed to Jerusalem by a late tradition, the name Jerusalem not appearing in the Koran) on Buraq, a kind of supernatural horse. On the way, Muhammad meets good and evil powers, visits Hebron and Bethlehem;
• Arriving in Jerusalem, he meets the Prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and leads their prayer.
• he ascends to the seven heavens by a “ladder” or always on Buraq;
• He visits the seven heavens. In the lower heaven he meets Adam, in the second he meets Jesus ('Issa) and John the Baptist (Yahya), in the third he sees Joseph son of Jacob (Yusuf), in the fourth he sees Enoch (Idris), in the fifth he sees Aaron (Haroun), in the sixth he sees Moses (Moussa) and finally, in the seventh heaven, he meets Abraham (Ibrahim). He then reaches a place where he hears the sound of the pens that write destiny;
• he meets God and discusses with Him the number of daily prayers. Moses participates in the discussion and encourages Muhammad to ask for a reduction in the number of prayers from fifty to five, which is done after several trips back and forth, without these prayers losing any value;
• He returned to Mecca, where his story was received with skepticism by those close to him, except for Abu Bakr.

Numerous details, variations and additions exist in the texts. Bukhari, for example, mentions the Lotus of the Borderlands, Sidrat al-Muntaha and Muhammad's visit to Paradise; some texts also mention a visit to Hell. The modalities of Muhammad's awakening vary: sometimes, the archangel Gabriel is accompanied by Michael and opens the roof of the house.