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 And [thus, too,] We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses, and made it a [source of] guidance for the children of Israel, [commanding them:] "Do not ascribe to any but Me the power to determine your fate, 2 you who are the descendants of those whom We carried in the Ark with Noah. He was a truly thankful servant." 3 And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture: Ye verily will work corruption in the earth twice, and ye will become great tyrants. 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 Thereafter We gave you a return of victory over them, and We supported you with riches and children, and We made you a numerous concourse. 6 If you do good deeds, you will for your own good – and if you commit evil, it is for yourself; therefore when the second of those promises came – so the enemy maim your faces, and enter the mosque as they had entered it the first time, and destroy until they ruin all they could capture. 7 Your Lord may haply be merciful to you. But if you repeat it, We shall do the same. We have constituted Hell as prison for unbelievers. 8 This Quran shows the way to that which is the most upright and gives to the righteous believers the glad news of 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