Isra and Mi’raj.

When the coffee in his cup was being cold, a friend had asked me. “Actually, why do muslims need to pray 5 times a day?”

My reply was, “It started with a white unicorn-like creature, his body was smaller than a mule, but larger than a donkey..”

The Night Journey (Children of Israel).

Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Mutalib was made a prophet by his wife, Khadijah; by a pious Christian, Waraqah; by a revelation revealed to him by the angel Gabriel by the command of God from the Seventh Heaven to the cave Hira; in the mountain Jabal al-Nour; in the month of Ramadhan; in the year 610 in Mecca.

Muhammad was 40 when we was made a prophet by Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Zaid ibn Harithah.

Then he was made waiting for 3 years. The angel Gabriel had not yet revealed Muhammad more of the Ayats (verses) that later compiled into Surahs (chapters). But when the Ayats formed into Surahs, and these Surahs spoke of Ad-Din (religion/way of life), Muhammad preached the word of God to save as many souls from eschatological fire, to remind them of the Creator — the only one true God : Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

But Muhammad himself, had never met nor spoken to God directly — for angel Gabriel was the medium. Not until one night.

The night was special in the year 620, when Muhammad had his chest cut open by the angel Gabriel; and his heart cleansed with knowledge and filled with faith; and recovered the same night without a scar — his body was washed with the zamzam water, and he travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem, and he travelled from Jerusalem to Heaven, after he said “no” to a rock that wanted to follow him, the rock was then left hanging, levitating in the thin air, defying gravity (Islamic tradition has it that the stone is still hanging and can be found in The Dome of the Rock), and then he toured the Heaven and Hell, spoke to Adam, Jesus and John, Joseph, Enoch, Aaron, Moses, Abraham — each of them were guarding the gates of 7 Heavens, before he finally spoke to God.

The Night Journey was made possible with the help from a unicorn-like creature, his name was Buraq.

Buraq’s body was smaller than a mule, but larger than a donkey. His ears were long and his wings gave strength to his legs. His hooves could reach the distance of his vision. He came from the Heaven. The angel Gabriel brought him down.

With Muhammad on Buraq, the angel Gabriel accompanied Muhammad to travel until to the end of the Seventh Heaven where the was a lote tree that marked the boundary in which no creation can be allowed to pass. The lote tree was called Sidrat ul-Muntaha. Its leaves were as big as the ears of elephants and its fruits were as large as the jars. There were rivers too, two of them were the Nile and the Euphrates : Their stream was flowing from the end of the Heaven to the land of men and made their soil fertile, on earth.

From this boundary, Muhammad spoke to Allah directly.

The God had ordered Muhammad to enjoin his people to pray 50 times a day.

But on the way down to earth, Mosses had asked Muhammad of what he had been ordered to do. When Muhammad told Moses that he had been ordered to enjoin his people to pray 50 times a day, Moses told Muhammad about the children of Israel and how praying 50 times a day would become a burden to his people.

Muhammad went back to the end of the Seventh Heaven and asked God for a reduction. He went back and forth several times until it was reduced to five times a day.

From 50, it was reduced until to five times a day, and that is why the Muslims pray 5 times a day. It’s a miraculous night journey that makes them praying 5 times a day. It’s an order from the God.

The two-part night journey is called : Isra and Mi’raj.

The Seventh Heaven is called Jannatul Firdaus.

***

“That is among the beautiful stories i’ve ever heard!” He was smiling, although of course, the story i told him was so much shorter than this. “So, why are you eating pork and drinking wine?”

“Those stories were my favourites when i was young. Most of them are from the Sirah Rasulullah (traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad) and from the Hadith (traditional Muslim collections of Muhammad’s sayings and doings), but validated by the Quran, although the Quran itself, doesn’t elaborate the story of this night journey — the tradition does. I had been sent to islamic institutions for 11 years: 2 years in islamic kindergarten, 6 years in islamic school, 3 more years in a full islamic boarding school. But i guess, i’ve grown up.”

“Grown up into?”

“A person. I no longer believe in eschatological punishment, heaven, god, or hell, for they require faith and i don’t have that. Gods make the finest stories no doubt, but the spirits of gods only exist in the hearts of believers and i ain’t one of them. The math, the science, the logic doesn’t make gods stand tall on the land, but the languages they use to tell you the stories of gods, move your soul, linger in your mind and plaster faith onto your heart. To me, gods are the world’s greatest literary works.”

“Literary works? You’re so funny la Firdauz.”

Gods are the stories of ancient magic that are easier to believe than to accept them as the works of literature and philosophy.

“Yeah, hihi. I know, so silly of me. But that’s what i think about gods. The stories are prime, the magic is divine but their presence is just spiritual. Gods are more historical than factual. And you know the irony? That my name is Firdauz, and i was named after the Seventh Heaven, and from those verses in the Al-Quran which speak of the Kafirs, the non-believers, God has promised me hell for eternity.”

Oh, hell. Yeah eternity, thank God.