The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ 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 vouchsafed unto Musa the Book and We appointed it as a guidance to the Children of Isra'il: take not beside Me a trustee. 2 (They were) the seed of those whom We carried (in the ship) along with Noah. Lo! he was a grateful slave. 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 When the time of the first of these warnings came, We sent against you servants of Ours, of great might, who ravaged your homes. So the warning was fulfilled, 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 [And We said:] "If you persevere in doing good, you will but be doing good to yourselves; and if you do evil, it will be [done] to yourselves." And so, when the prediction of the second [period of your iniquity] came true, [We raised new enemies against you, and allowed them] to disgrace you utterly, and to enter the Temple as [their forerunners] had entered it once before, and to destroy with utter destruction all that they had conquered. 7 Perhaps your Lord will have mercy on you. If you return to disobedience We will also punish you again. We have made hell a prison for the disbelievers." 8 Surely this Quran guides to that which is most upright and gives good news to the believers who do good that they shall have a great reward. 9 and that those who do not believe in the world to come -- we have prepared for them a painful chastisement. 10