Isra and Mi'raj (The Night Journey and Ascension)
إسراء ومعراج
واقعہ اسراء و معراج
Field atlas · Terrain
Interactive 3D map
Historical maps album
58 local-first recordsHistorical overview
The Night Journey (Isra) and Heavenly Ascension (Mi'raj) occurred around 621 CE (circa 2 BH). According to classical Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was conveyed in a single night from Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca to Al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem aboard the celestial Buraq, accompanied by Archangel Jibril (Gabriel). Stopping at sacred places along the route, the Prophet led an assembly of all past Prophets in prayer at Al-Aqsa. Subsequently, he ascended through the seven heavens, meeting earlier Prophets such as Adam, Isa, Yahya, Yusuf, Idris, Harun, Musa, and Ibrahim, ultimately reaching Sidrat al-Muntaha. During this miraculous journey, Allah ordained the five daily prayers (Salah) for the Muslim community. Upon returning to Mecca before dawn, the Prophet described Jerusalem accurately and foretold the exact arrival time of a Quraish trade caravan he had passed en route.
Historical context and how to read this record
This record presents Isra and Mi'raj (The Night Journey and Ascension), dated in the archive as c. 621 CE / 2 BH and associated with Mecca to Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis). The date, place, summary, named groups, terrain features, and references shown here come from the bundled or published event record. They provide a concise entry point for study, while the linked source notes remain the place to check what each historical or religious text actually reports. A label in the archive is not, by itself, proof that every chronology, number, or interpretation is agreed across historians.
The timeline on this page is deliberately limited to information attached to the record: its displayed event date and era, its named location, and the geographic markers that the map author normalized for the scene. These map markers are not a minute-by-minute sequence of movements. They do not claim to reconstruct every decision, speech, or formation. Where historians preserve differing accounts, the distinction matters: a conventional date can help readers orient themselves, but a date recorded in a database should not be mistaken for a universally settled day or for a primary-source quotation.
The terrain is a deterministic educational model. A shared height function keeps water, formations, landmarks, and ground visually aligned; the normalized coordinates make the same record render consistently when the optional cloud archive is unavailable. This approach supports comparison of broad relationships—such as a camp in relation to a water feature, a fortified settlement against a highland, or a route beside a valley—without presenting synthetic elevation as archaeological survey data. Lighting, camera angle, and visual scale are choices for legibility, not evidence about the historical scene.
Read the forces and commanders panel as a record of the labels supplied for this map, not as an independently verified census. Estimates in classical narratives can differ because authors preserve separate transmissions, use rounded totals, or describe groups in different ways. This page keeps uncertainty notes attached to the relevant record when they are available. A missing strength estimate means the archive does not make one here; it should not be filled by inference from the size of a marker or from the appearance of the 3D scene.
The source dossier names the references bundled with this event, including Qur’anic passages or classical works where supplied. Numbering, chapter divisions, translations, and pagination can vary by edition, so a careful citation should identify the edition and translator consulted. A source title in the list is a research lead, not a claim that the entire event is established by that work alone. Compare the passages in context, separate a source’s wording from later commentary, and consult qualified scholarship when a question concerns creed, law, or a contested historical conclusion.
For an efficient study sequence, begin with the short overview, note the event date and place, then select each geographic marker in the dual reader. The camera will move to the schematic coordinate while the corresponding source note is brought into view. Next compare the land and water features, read any force labels and their uncertainty notes, and return to the source dossier before drawing conclusions. This order helps distinguish what the archive records, what the visualization illustrates, and what a reader may need to verify in a primary edition. The purpose is source-aware orientation and respectful learning, not a substitute for historical fieldwork or a scholar’s judgment.
Record timeline and tactical markers
- Archive date: 2026-10-03 · c. 621 CE / 2 BH
- Recorded setting: Mecca to Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis)
- Map feature 1: Al-Masjid al-Haram Sanctuary
- Map feature 2: Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa Enclosure
- Map feature 3: Mount Sinai (Jabal Musa)
- Map feature 4: Bethlehem (Bayt Lahm)
- Schematic marker 1: Prophet Muhammad & Jibril (on Al-Buraq) · Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) · Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Archangel Jibril
- Schematic marker 2: Assembly of Prophets at Al-Aqsa · Prophet Ibrahim (AS) & Prophet Musa (AS) · All preceding Prophets of God
- Schematic marker 3: Quraish Merchant Caravan (Observed) · Quraish Caravan Leader · Meccan traders and camels
Marker ordering is a reading aid, not a chronological claim about the event.
Forces and commanders
- Prophet Muhammad & Jibril (on Al-Buraq) — Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) (Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Archangel Jibril)
- Assembly of Prophets at Al-Aqsa — Prophet Ibrahim (AS) & Prophet Musa (AS) (All preceding Prophets of God)
- Quraish Merchant Caravan (Observed) — Quraish Caravan Leader (Meccan traders and camels)
Geography: water and landscape
- Zamzam Well (Mecca) (well)
- Oasis of Yathrib (Madinah Stop) (oasis)
- Al-Masjid al-Haram Sanctuary
- Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa Enclosure
- Mount Sinai (Jabal Musa)
- Bethlehem (Bayt Lahm)
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 63, Hadith 112
- Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 309
- Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah Al-Isra (17:1)
- Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 6