Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) undertook a night journey from Mecca in Arabia to Jerusalem (Isra), then ascended to the heavens (Miraj) and back before dawn. Miraj is traditionally observed on 27th Rajab, one year before the Hijrah to Madina (621 AD). This event was rejected by infidels, yet believed by those who embraced Islam, though its awe still has not fully sunk in.

Pre-Islamic Arabia was centred around Mecca, which served as a religious and commercial hub. Arabs practised polytheism, with a narrow base of monotheism, amid honour-kinship arrogance, female infanticide, superstition and endless tribal feuds, yet possessed eloquence of language. They stayed peripheral to the influence of Byzantine Christian and Sassanid Zoroastrian civilizations.

Arabs were tribally brutalised, morally broken, spiritually hollow, reaching the edge of transformation, which coincided with the mission of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Meccans resisted his message and persistently mocked believers, saying they follow none other than a man who was bewitched (Quran 25:8). The event puzzled both infidels and believers, as their understanding of the universe was inadequate. Infidels rejected it, while believers, despite their limited worldview, accepted the Prophet's (PBUH) miraculous journey.

Even before Miraj, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was declared "a mercy to all worlds" (Quran 21:107), and his rank is reflected in this journey: "He was taken by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, to show him the signs of His Lord" (Quran 17:1). He then ascended to other realms until reaching the ultimate........

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