The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the 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 descendants of those We carried [in the ship] with Noah. Indeed, he was a grateful servant. 3 We made it known to the Israelites through the Torah that they would twice commit evil in the land with great transgression and rebellion. 4 Hence, when the prediction of the first of those two [periods of iniquity] came true, We sent against you some of Our bondmen of terrible prowess in war, and they wrought havoc throughout the land: and so the prediction was fulfilled. 5 Then We granted you an upper hand against them, and strengthened you with wealth and children, and multiplied your numbers. 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 We said, "Your Lord may yet have mercy on you, but if you do the same again, so shall We: We have made Hell a prison for those who deny the truth." 8 Surely, this Quran guides to the most upright way and gives good news to the believers who do good deeds, so that they will have a great reward 9 And that (as for) those who do not believe in the hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful chastisement. 10