Muhammad's Ascention, Al-Isra

When we look at the subject of the prophet Muhammad's Night Journey and Ascension into heaven, know as Al-Isra, there are few specific details that are constant in the number of versions that exist on the subject. In fact, there are only two passages in the Qur'an that give a direct reference to the episode, leaving the highest concentration of information to the Hadiths. To complicate the subject further, there are a number of different …

…debated endlessly, there are unifying factors, and it is from these factors that any real understanding would have to develop. Without debating the legitimacy of the Qur'an or Hadiths as a body of text, at a minimum we can establish that the journey did occur and it did reaffirm Muhammad's status as the last prophet. This in itself may be enough to satisfy those who want to find some kind of meaning from the event.