The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ 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 To Moses We gave the Book and made it a guide for the children of Israel, so that they would not have any one as their guardian other than Me 2 O progeny of those whom We bare with Nuh: verily he was a bondman grateful. 3 And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Scripture that, "You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you will surely reach [a degree of] great haughtiness. 4 When the time of the first of these warnings came, We sent against you servants of Ours, of great might, who ravaged your homes. So the warning was fulfilled, 5 And after a time We allowed you to prevail against them once again, and aided you with wealth and offspring, and made you more numerous [than ever]. 6 (We told you), "If you do good, it will be for your own benefit, but if you do bad, it will be against your souls. When the prophecy of your second transgression will come to pass, sadness will cover your faces. They (your enemies) will enter the mosque as they did the first time to bring about utter destruction. 7 Your Sustainer may well show mercy unto you; but if you revert [to sinning,] We shall revert [to chastising you]. And [remember this:] We have ordained that [in the hereafter] hell shall close upon all who deny the truth. 8 Verily this Qur'an directs you to the path that is straight, and gives happy tidings to those who believe and do the right: For them is a great reward. 9 As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have prepared a painful punishment. 10