The life of the Prophet Muhammad - Ibn Kathir - volume 2 of 4

62 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
There are some who claim that the night journey took place on the first Friday
night of Rajab, this having been the "night of the al-ragha'ib", the night of the
great gifts, wherein the common system of prayer was first established. But there
is no foundation for that. But God knows best. Some recite the following line
concerning this:
"It was a Friday night when the Prophet was made to ascend, the night of Friday,
the first of Rajab."
This poetry is somewhat weak, but we have quoted it merely as testimonial for
those who maintain this.
We gave reference to the traditions relating to this in detail regarding God's
words, "Glory be to Him who carried His worshipper on a journey by night from
the masjid al-haram, the 'sacrosanct mosque', to the masjid al-aq@, the 'further
mosque', whose precincts We had blessed that We may show him Our signs. He
it is who hears all, sees all" (snrat al-Isrz'; XVII, v.1).
Let us then record herewith the lines of authority and the sources and the
support for or criticism of these. This will be convincing and sufficient in itself.
And all praise and credit goes to God.
We will give here the gist of the words of Ibn Ishaq, God bless him. Having
recounted the earlier sections, he went on, "Then the Messenger of God (SAAS)
was taken by night from the mayid al-haram to the mayzd al-a@, the latter being
the holy temple of Aelia. By then Islam had spread in Mecca into Quraysh and
all the Arab tribes."
He continued, "Concerning the night journey of the Messenger of God
(SAAS), I learned what follows from a hadith that came down from Ibn Muscad,
Aba Sa'id, 'A'isha, Mu'awiya, Umm Hani', daughter of Aba Talib, God bless
them all, and al-Hasan b. Aba al-Hasan, Ibn Hisham al-Zuhri, Qatada and other
scholars. Individually they gave information that combines in this account.
"The night journey of the Messenger of God (SAAS) was filled with trials and
tribulations and (instances) of God's power and authority; it provides a lesson
for men of intelligence, a guidance, a mercy and an affirmation for those with
faith and belief. It was certainly an act of God.
"He carried him on this journey as and how He wished, to show him those of
His signs He so desired. He thus surveyed some of the might of God, His will,
power and authority by which He accomplishes His purposes.
"'Abd Allah b. Masciid would say, as I have been informed, 'The Messenger
of God (SAAS), was brought al-Burzq, that being the name of a mount on which
previous prophets were carried; its stride was such that it could place its hooves
as far as it could see. He was borne away on it.
"His companion (Gabriel) then took him off to see the signs between heaven
and earth. Eventually he reached Jerusalem, where he found Abraham, Moses
and Jesus, in a company of prophets assembled for him. He led them in prayer.