Miraj in Islam

The journey of Muhammad the Prophet has been tabulated in Quran Surah Al-Israh. The last journey of the last Prophet of Islam is depicted in Miraj. In this article, we will discuss what the meaning of this word is and its significance in the Islam religion. According to the interpretation, it is the last journey of the Prophet to heaven where he met many angels and lastly to God. God commanded him to go back to his faithful devotees and teach them how and when to pray. This journey is celebrated by the Muslims by following the Islamic calendar.

What is Miraj?

Muhammad the Prophet (570 - 632) was the last prophet of the Islam religion who went to heaven in his journey guided by the angels or sons of God. It was in the year 621 when he ascended towards heaven. This journey has two significant parts to be discussed. Its explanation is better in the Hadith where the deeds, reports, teachings, and sayings of Muhammad have been elaborately tabulated.

The Miraj meaning in it suggests the preparation and ascension of the prophet to heaven for meeting God and to learn how to pray for him. As per the depiction, it happened in the year 621 and is considered to be one of the prime celebrations for the Muslim communities. According to the Islamic calendar, Lailat Al Miraj is the 27th day of the Rajab Month.

The first part of the journey depicts the part where he went to the farthest mosque. He was entirely guided by the archangel Gabriel or Jibril. The archangel brought transportation specially made for the prophets. It was called Buraq. Gabriel brought this mystic creature to reduce the time of journey to the farthest worshipping place and then to heaven. As per the explanations in Hadith and Ahadith, it all happened in a night.

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Before entering Heaven, he met many other archangels, prophets, messengers of God, and angels. Once he reached the worshiping area, he was tested by Gabriel under the supervision of God. Gabriel or Jibril brought him a vessel of wine, a vessel of milk, and water separately. He was then asked to choose from one of them. He instinctively chose milk.

Before he was taken on this journey, he was resting in Kabah, the shrine of Mecca. He was approached by Jibril and Mikael (Michael). Muhammad’s body was opened and cleaned by these two archangels to remove even the slightest traces of error, idolatry, doubt, and paganism. He was then filled with belief and wisdom before taking him on the journey of his lifetime to meet God. Due to this concept, the actual Miraj meaning is ‘ladder’ or something that elevates you to a higher level.

In the second part of the journey, he toured through the seven stages of heaven and met with the prophets who arrived on earth before him such as Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), Jesus (Isa), and John the Baptist (Yahya). In this entire journey, he was guided by Gabriel but at the Seventh stage of heaven, he was not allowed to enter.

There was a holy tree called Sidrat Al Muntaha. It was Muhammad who was allowed to enter this level and go close to the tree. It was here he met with Allah, the Almighty. He was then instructed to do prayers 50 times every day and was told to portray the same to his followers.

It all happened in one day and it is celebrated as Lailat Al Miraj. When Allah was done giving instructions, He told him to return back to his followers on earth and spread the words. When he was returning, Musa or Moses met him on the way. Musa then convinces Muhammad to go back to Allah and ask to reduce the times devotees will pray. Muhammad went and came back nine times and eventually reduced the number of times of praying in a day to 5.

Moses again asks him to go to Allah and reduce the times people need pray but Muhammad felt ashamed of going so many times and wanted to keep it 5 times only. This part of the journey has immense significance in the world of Islam. The devotees of Allah do offer their prayers right from sunrise till sunset and for five times.

The Miraj significance shows us what happened in a single night and how the Prophet met God after traveling with the archangels. It also shows how he spent the first part of the journey in the farthest worshipping place and had to give a test. Despite being pure as dew, he was cut open by two archangels to remove the traces of idolatry, doubts, errors, and paganism to make him perfectly pure so that he can meet Allah.

It also tells us how the archangels were not allowed to go beyond the Seventh Stage of Heaven or the Sidrat Al Muntaha. It was Muhammad who was allowed to enter and meet Allah. The Holy Tree gave him more wisdom, purity, and enlightenment. He learned how to offer prayer to Allah and was commanded to teach the same to his devotees on earth.