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 guide for the Children of Israel saying, "Do not take anyone besides Me as a guardian, 2 You are the descendants of those whom We carried (in the Ark) with Noah. He was truly a thankful servant. 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 (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 Then We granted you an upper hand against them, and strengthened you with wealth and children, and multiplied your numbers. 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 It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, and if you again return (to disobedience) We too will return (to punishment), and We have made hell a prison for the unbelievers. 8 Lo! this Qur'an guideth unto that which is straightest, and giveth tidings unto the believers who do good works that theirs will be a great reward. 9 (It also declares) that for the disbelievers We have prepared a painful torment in the life to come. 10