Mālik says: In another recital he tells us about the night when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was carried on the Night Journey from the Mosque of the Kaʿbah:
Three figures came to him—before revelation had reached him—while he was sleeping in the Sacred Mosque. The first asked, “Which one is he?” The middle one replied, “He is the best of them.” A third said, “Take the best of them.”
That night passed, and he did not see them again until they came to him on another night, just as his heart perceived it. The Prophet’s eyes would sleep, yet his heart did not sleep; likewise all the prophets— their eyes sleep but their hearts remain awake. They did not speak to him until they lifted him up and set him beside the well of Zamzam, whereupon Gabriel took charge of him.
Gabriel then split the area from his upper chest to the base of his throat, removed the contents of his chest and abdomen, and washed them with Zamzam water by hand until his interior was completely cleansed. A golden basin was then brought, containing a golden bowl filled with faith and wisdom; he packed it into his chest and into the vessels of his throat—meaning the veins of his neck—then closed him up.
[After that he mounted the Buraq and travelled until he brought him to Jerusalem, where he led the prophets and messengers in prayer as their imam—Jarir] 1.