Mi'raj

The Israʾ and Miʿraj (Arabic: الإسراء والمعراج‎, al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj) are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621. Within Islam it signifies both a physical and spiritual journey. The Quran surah al-Isra contains an outline account, while greater detail is found in the hadith collections of the reports, teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad.

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God (Allah) . Mi'raj . Prophet Muhammad

What is the view in regards to the heavenly ascent of the Prophet Muhammad (s)? Was it spiritual or bodily? If it was bodily then how does one explain the expression of two bows or nearer, that is mentioned in the Quran, when God is not physical?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 5 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The view of the Shia is that the ascent of the Prophet (saw) was bodily as well as spiritual, but that does not negate the possibility of certain parts of the ascension being purely spiritual as the body of the Prophet (saw) would remain in the plane that is suitable for a body during that particular part of the journey (even if that is not the corporeal world). So the ascent as a whole was bodily and spiritual.

May you always be successful.