The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Purity is to Him Who took His bondman in a part of the night from the Sacred Mosque to the Aqsa Mosque around which We have placed blessings, in order that We may show him Our great signs; indeed he is the listener, the beholder. (This verse refers to the physical journey of Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him – to Al Aqsa Mosque and from there to the heavens and beyond. The entire journey back to Mecca was completed within a small part of the night.) 1 We gave Moses the Book, and made it a source of guidance for the Children of Israel, commanding: "Take no other Guardian beside Me." 2 The seed of those We bore with Noah; he was a thankful servant. 3 And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book: 'You shall corrupt the land twice, and you shall ascend exceedingly high' 4 So when the promise for the first of the two came, We sent over you Our servants, of mighty prowess, so they went to and fro among the houses, and it was a promise to be accomplished. 5 Then, We gave the turn back to you to prevail over them, and We helped you with wealth and children, and made you the greater host. 6 If you do good, you will do good for your own souls, and if you do evil, it shall be for them. So when the second promise came (We raised another people) that they may bring you to grief and that they may enter the mosque as they entered it the first time, and that they might destroy whatever they gained ascendancy over with utter destruction. 7 It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, but if ye repeat (the crime) We shall repeat (the punishment), and We have appointed hell a dungeon for the disbelievers. 8 This Koran guides to the straightest way. It gives glad tidings of a great wage to the believers who do good deeds, 9 and [it announces, too,] that We have readied grievous suffering for those who will not believe in the life to come. 10