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 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 (We made it a guide for) the offspring of those whom We carried in the Ark with Noah, a thankful servant (of God). 3 And We decreed unto the Children of Isra'il in the Book; ye will surely cause corruption in the land twice, and ye will surely rise to a great height. 4 So, when the time of the first prediction came, We sent against you Our creatures full of martial might, who ransacked your cities; and the prediction was fulfilled. 5 Then did We grant you the Return as against them: We gave you increase in resources and sons, and made you the more numerous in man-power. 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 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 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 for those who do not believe in the Everlasting Life We have prepared for them a painful punishment. 10