Likewise, in the wording that comes through the narration of Umm Hāniʾ, while what is firmly established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs—through the chain of Sharīk ibn Abī Namir from Anas—is that the Night Journey began from the Sanctuary, at the Hijr. That narration too contains certain peculiarities, already discussed, one of them being the phrase, “before revelation had come to him.” The answer is that the angels’ first visit did indeed occur before revelation; nothing happened on that night. They then came to him on another night—about which that phrase was not used—for this visit was after revelation had descended. The Isrāʾ, therefore, unquestionably took place after his commissioning: either shortly thereafter, as some have claimed, or much later—about ten years, according to others, and this is the stronger view. On that night his chest was washed a second—some say a third—time, in preparation for his being taken up to the Highest Assembly and the Divine Presence. He then mounted the Burāq—an elevation, magnification, and honor for him. When he reached Jerusalem, he tethered it to the ring by which the prophets used to tie their mounts; he then entered the Sacred House and prayed facing its qiblah as a greeting to the mosque.

Hudhayfah—may Allah be pleased with him—denied that he entered Jerusalem, tied the animal, and performed that prayer there; this is unusual, and an affirmative report is given precedence over a negating one.

The scholars then differed about his meeting with the prophets and leading them in prayer: did it occur before his ascent, as the earlier account suggests, or after his descent, as some versions indicate? The latter is more fitting, as we shall explain when presenting both opinions—Allah knows best. Some have said that his prayer with the prophets took place in heaven. The same question applies to his being offered the three vessels—milk, wine, and water: did this happen in Jerusalem, as mentioned, or in heaven, as is established in the sound ḥadīth?

In sum, when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had finished with Jerusalem, the Miʿrāj—the staircase—was set up for him, and he ascended through it to the heavens. The ascent was not upon the Burāq, as some imagine; the Burāq remained tethered at the door of the Jerusalem Mosque for his return journey to Mecca. He rose from one heaven to the next until he passed beyond the seventh. Each heaven he entered welcomed him with its intimate angels and eminent prophets. He named the messengers he saw: Adam in the lowest heaven; John and Jesus in the second; Idrīs in the fourth; Moses—on the soundest view—in the sixth; and Abraham in the seventh, leaning against al-Bayt al-Maʿmūr, which seventy thousand angels enter every day to worship through prayer and circumambulation.