Buraq

The first happened when he was a child, around four years old, according to scholars of Sirah, and this is the second one.

In another narration, Sahih Muslim, the Prophet tells about Al-Buraq, which we will talk about a little bit today.

I was brought Al-Buraq, this animal that is white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule.

Meaning that he puts his front hoofs a distance equal to the range of its vision.

And then so the prophet says, I mounted it and I came to the temple or to Bayt al-Muqdis in Jerusalem.

We don't have anything that kind of confirms this.

Perhaps Jewish people at the time believed this because they, of course, kind of held that ground as very, sacred, a sacred spot, and we'll talk about what do some Jewish people think about the Temple Mount in a second, insha'Allah.

Al-Buraq, what is this creature that is a very interesting one and that is mentioned in the story? Now, it is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari that uti'tu bil-Buraq, meaning the Buraq was brought to the Prophet .

And if we haven't, we certainly will.

Because Allah ﷻ has told us in the Qur'an, in many different places for example do you think you'll be left to say i believe and you will not be tested so we know that these things will happen so the isra wal mi'raj subhanallah the isra being the night journey from mecca the masjid al-haram to jerusalem the masjid al-asa in one night so it's one thing to embark upon it on the Buraq, subhanAllah, and Angel Jibreel, it's another thing then, the next day, to be able to think, subhanAllah, this is what's happened, and to reveal this to people, and to have their reactions.

There are going to be some times, only you understand what's going on, and people just have to catch up.

But to have that confidence in ourselves, that I know what's happened to me, and this is what has happened, and this is what I know, this is what I believe, it takes a lot sometimes to stand alone.

So he took, in the story of Mi'raj, when the Burak arrived, the Prophet sat on the Burak.

And the Buraq started to move around.

And Jibreel came and spoke to the Buraq and said to the Buraq, settle down.

Nobody more noble than him has rode you.

Tells us that there were others who had rode the Buraq before.

One of them being Ibrahim a.s. Ibrahim a.s. would ride on the Buraq.

And from Jerusalem would travel to Mecca.

That's where he arrives.

But there are, uh, I mean, there's, a lot of the stories associated with the, um, uh, uh, with the s- the miracle of the Isra and Mi'raj, you know, where the, where the prophet tied up the, um, oh, I'm, I'm forget- I'm spacing out on the name.

Buraq.

The Buraq, yes.

Yeah.

So, but there's like several places that are now known as the Buraq Staircase, the, the Buraq, uh, you know, Prayer Room, the Buraq, because again, like the legends of where he tied up the Buraq are unknown.

So these things emerge, and there's stories within stories throughout the whole place.

So, uh, just, it's, like going on, going back to what you're asking about the story.

What's the purpose of the night journey and ascension? It is to show the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam some of the signs of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا And here in another narration in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, أُوتِيتُ بِالْبُرَاقِ Meaning this magnificent creature called Al-Buraq, who he describes sallallahu alayhi wa sallam as an animal that was white, long, larger than a donkey, but smaller than a mule.

وَهُوَ دَابِطٌ أَبْيَضُ طَوِيلٌ فَوْقَ الْحِمَارِ وَدُونَ الْبَغْلِ يَضَعُ حَافِرَهُ عِنْدَ مُنْتَهَى طَرَفِهِ The interesting thing about this magnificent creature is that it places its hoof a distance equal to its range of vision, meaning as far as the eye can see, that's where it puts its hoof, and that's where it kind of moves to, subhanAllah.

So he says, فَرَكِبْتَهُ I mounted it and came to the temple.

That's why it's called the Dome of the Rock.

Right? That's a bird's eye view of it, and that's, uh, another picture of it on the inside.

So inside the Dome of the Rock, you can actually see this rock that is said to be where Al-Buraq was tied according to that hadith.

Right? However, there is another interpretation among scholars that the Al-Buraq was actually tied somewhere else.

Now, there's a simple way to test the principle that's being proposed.

Muslims hold the Al-Buraq Wall sacred, too.

We believe it to be the wall beside which the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, tethered Al-Buraq on the night of his miraculous journey.

Now, Jewish worshipers know it as the Western Wall, and they pray there every day.

So I want you to imagine that a Palestinian government announced this.

And building massively for Jews only immediately.

You know, the Old City, uh, the whole plaza in front of the Al-Buraq, in front of the Western Wall, where was the Maghrebi, um, community had a neighborhood there immediately.

Mm.

So they were never even thinking to consider maybe somehow they would recognize, certainly not the Palestinians, and they didn't want to give anything back, and they said, "Why should we?" And he was taken aside by, you know, some of his comrades saying, "What are you talking about?"