The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most 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 We gave Musa the Book and made it a guidance to the children of Israel, saying: Do not take a protector besides Me; 2 You are the descendants of those whom We carried (in the Ark) with Noah. He was truly a thankful servant. 3 And We decreed for the Descendants of Israel in the Book that, “You will indeed create great turmoil in the earth twice, and you will surely become very proud.” 4 (We told them) during your first uprising of evil We shall send to you Our mighty servants, who will chase you from house to house. This is a decree already ordained. 5 and after a time We allowed you to prevail over them once again and aided you with wealth and offspring and made you greater in number. 6 (We said): 'If you do good, it shall be for your own souls; but if you do evil it is likewise' And when the second promise came (We sent them against you), to sadden your faces and to enter the Mosque as they entered it the first time, they utterly destroyed whatever they came across. 7 Your Lord may well show Mercy to you, but if you revert to your evil behaviour, We shall revert to chastising you. We have made Hell a prison for those who are thankless of Allah's bounties. 8 Indeed, this Qur'an guides to that which is most suitable and gives good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a great reward. 9 and for those who do not believe in the Everlasting Life We have prepared for them a painful punishment. 10