“Last night I was taken on the Night Journey.”

They asked, “Where to?” He replied:

“To Bayt al-Maqdis.”

They asked, “And by morning you were back among us?” He replied:

“Yes.”

He said: Some began clapping, while others placed their hands upon their heads, astonished at what they supposed to be a lie.

They said, “Can you describe the mosque to us? For among the people are those who have travelled to that land and seen the mosque!” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied:

“I began describing it, but some details of the description became unclear to me.”

He said: The mosque was then brought before me as I watched, until it was placed before the house of ‘Iqal—or ‘Uqayl. So I described it while looking at it.” He said: There was another detail in the description which I have not retained. He said: The people then said, “As for the description, by Allah, he has given it correctly.”

It was recorded by al-Nasa’i in al-Sunan al-Kubra (6/377/11285), Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf (11/461/11746), Ahmad (1/309)—and through him al-Diya’ al-Maqdisi in al-Mukhtarah (1/309)—al-Harbi in Gharib al-Hadith (5/115/2), al-Bazzar (1/45–46), al-Tabarani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir (12/167/12782) and al-Awsat (1/136/2/2623), and al-Bayhaqi in Dala’il al-Nubuwwah (2/363), from