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 Moses the Book, and made it a guidance to the Children of Israel: 'Take not unto yourselves any guardian apart from Me.' 2 O progeny of those whom We bare with Nuh: verily he was a bondman grateful. 3 And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book: 'You shall corrupt the land twice, and you shall ascend exceedingly high' 4 So when the [time of] promise came for the first of them, We sent against you servants of Ours - those of great military might, and they probed [even] into the homes, and it was a promise fulfilled. 5 We, then, gave you a chance to defeat your enemies with the help of increasing your wealth and offspring. 6 [And said], "If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, [you do it] to yourselves." Then when the final promise came, [We sent your enemies] to sadden your faces and to enter the temple in Jerusalem, as they entered it the first time, and to destroy what they had taken over with [total] destruction. 7 Perhaps Allah will have mercy on you. But if you return, We will return. We have made Gehenna (Hell) a prison for the unbelievers. 8 This Koran guides to the straightest way. It gives glad tidings of a great wage to the believers who do good deeds, 9 and for those who do not believe in the Everlasting Life We have prepared for them a painful punishment. 10