The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, 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 Moses the Scripture and made it a guidance for the Children of Israel that you not take other than Me as Disposer of affairs, 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 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 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 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 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 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 and warns those who deny the life to come with grievous punishment. 10