Persecution

The Quraysh Learn of al-Isra

~The morning after al-Isra, c. one year before the Hijrah

The Year of Sorrow to the Night Journey·chapter 9 of 9

What happened

In brief

The morning after the Night Journey the Prophet ﷺ woke in the Haram wondering how to tell his people, and Abu Jahl found him and called the Quraysh together to hear it. He told them he had gone to Jerusalem and prayed there in the night. They laughed and doubted until a man who knew the city asked him to describe it; Allah raised Bayt al-Maqdis before his eyes and he answered every question, then told them of three caravans he had passed, the first of which arrived as he spoke. Abu Jahl called it sorcery. Abu Bakr RA, told before the Prophet ﷺ could reach him, said that if he had said it then it was true, and earned the name al-Siddiq.

Significance

Marks the first public test of faith after al-Isra wal-Mi'raj: the Quraysh's mixture of mockery, doubt, and grudging astonishment, contrasted with Abu Bakr RA's immediate and reasoned belief, for which he was given the title al-Siddiq (the Truthful, the one who affirms the truth of the Prophet ﷺ) from this occasion onward.

The Year of Sorrow to the Night Journey·Chapter 9 of 9The morning after

See the whole story

Previously← Al-Isra wal-Mi'raj (The Night Journey and Ascension)~c. 1 year before the Hijrah (~621 CE) · 1 BH

This is the last chapter of the story.

Connected events

Grew out of

Miracle~c. 1 year before the Hijrah (~621 CE) · 1 BH
Al-Isra wal-Mi'raj (The Night Journey and Ascension)
The morning after the journey Abu Jahl found the Prophet ﷺ in the Haram and called the Quraysh together to hear it.

Around this time

Other events recorded around the same time. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.

MiracleAl-Isra wal-Mi'raj (The Night Journey and Ascension)~c. 1 year before the Hijrah (~621 CE) · 1 BH ConversionThe Conversion of Usayd ibn Hudayr & Sa'd ibn Mu'adh~During Mus'ab ibn Umayr RA's mission in Yathrib, between the two Covenants of Aqaba SermonThe First Friday Prayer (Salat al-Jumu'ah) in Islam~During Mus'ab ibn Umayr RA's mission in Yathrib, before the Second Covenant of Aqaba RevelationThe Prophet ﷺ's Vision of the Land of Emigration~621 CE · 1 BH PledgeThe Second Covenant of Aqaba~12th year of the dawah, a few months before the Hijrah · 1 BH

Sayings & Actions4

1

Abu Jahl in the Haram

Tell them what you told me.

Abu JahlTo Muhammad ﷺ

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

What is the matter with you? Has anything happened?

M

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Yes, something happened.

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

What?

M

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Last night, I was taken from here to Jerusalem.

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

And you are here amongst us now?!

M

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Yes, I am waking up amongst you here.

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

If I call your people, the Quraysh, will you tell them exactly what you have just told me?

M

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Yes, I will.

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Come forth! We have an announcement to make!

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Tell them what you promised you would tell them.

M

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Last night, I went to Bayt al-Maqdis and I prayed in Masjid al-Aqsa.

A man of the Quraysh who had visited Bayt al-Maqdis· UnnamedTo Muhammad ﷺ

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

Can you describe it for us?

M

Narration · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

I became so worried and anxious that I was not able to answer; I had never been so worried before. Then, as I waited for what to respond with, I saw in the distance Bayt al-Maqdis rising up before me, until it extended above the house of Aqil ibn Abi Talib. No question they asked of me except that I saw Bayt al-Maqdis shown to me, from whichever angle I needed to see it, so that I answered with utmost precision.

A man of the Quraysh who had visited Bayt al-Maqdis· Unnamed

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

As for the descriptions of Bayt al-Maqdis, he is fully accurate.

M

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

I will give you some signs as well: one is the caravan of so-and-so, and they will be returning soon, for they were closest to the city; one is the caravan of so-and-so, and they had lost a camel, and you can ask them about that camel; and one is the caravan of so-and-so, and they had a large urn of water that I drank from.

Abu JahlTo Muhammad ﷺ

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

If you saw one of them in such-and-such a place, that caravan should be arriving in Makkah right now.

M

Quote · Recounted later by the Prophet ﷺ to the sahaba

Abu Jahal didn't know whether to mock and make fun of me then and there, or to delay it until later so that I would not retract what I said when he calls other people.

A later reflection the Prophet ﷺ shared with the sahaba about Abu Jahal's reaction in the moment.

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in the Haram

This is clear sorcery.

Abu Jahal went to confirm the caravan's arrival himself and found it exactly as the Prophet ﷺ had described.

2

Al-Siddiq

If he said it, it is true.

A man of the Quraysh (bearer of the news to Abu Bakr)· UnnamedTo Abu Bakr RA

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in Makkah

Do you know what your companion has just said? He claims to have gone all the way to Jerusalem and back: two months' journey in one night!

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in Makkah

If he said that, then it must be true.

A man of the Quraysh (bearer of the news to Abu Bakr)· UnnamedTo Abu Bakr RA

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in Makkah

Do you believe him in such a claim?!

Quote · Morning after al-Isra, in Makkah

I believe him in something even more amazing than this: he claims that revelation from above the seven heavens comes to him instantaneously.

People involved8

A man of the Quraysh (bearer of the news to Abu Bakr)· Unnamed
speaker
M
Muhammad ﷺ
A man of the Quraysh who had visited Bayt al-Maqdis· Unnamed
speaker
Abu Jahl
speaker
Abu Bakr RA
speaker
M
Muhammad ﷺ
Abu Jahl
mentioned
Abu Bakr RA
addressed