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 We gave Moses the Book, and made it a source of guidance for the Children of Israel, commanding: "Take no other Guardian beside Me." 2 (They were) the seed of those whom We carried (in the ship) along with Noah. Lo! he was a grateful slave. 3 We forewarned the Children of Israel in the Scripture, "Twice you shall commit evil in the land. You shall become great transgressors." 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 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 Belike your Lord may yet have mercy on you; and if ye still revert, We will revert. And We have appointed Hell for the infidels a prison. 8 Surely this Koran guides to the way that is straightest and gives good tidings to the believers who do deeds of righteousness, that theirs shall be a great wage, 9 And that (as for) those who do not believe in the hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful chastisement. 10