Buraq
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Al-Burāq (البُراق "lightning") is a mythological steed comparable to the Greek Pegasus, believed to be a creature from the heavens which transported the various Islamic prophets.
Description in Islamic sources
Islamic sources describe it as a tall, white, handsome-faced, long eared, bridled male beast, bigger than a donkey but smaller than a mule. It has two wings on its thighs and its step is so wide that it "reached the farthest point within the reach of the animal's sight."[1][2] In others it is a white, winged, half-mule, half-donkey, who's every stride can take it as far as the eye can see.[3]
Some traditions also describe it with the head of a woman and the tail of a peacock,[4] similar to the Hindu Goddess Sri Kamadhenu who is sometimes depicted as a winged cow with a peacock's tail and the head of a woman.[5]
The Night Journey (al-Isra wal-Mi'raj)
Muslims believe that the Buraq carried Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to the seven heavens, from the heavens to the then non-existent "farthest mosque" (Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem) and back to Mecca during the Isra and Mi'raj or "Night Journey".
During his visit to the heavens, prior to meeting with Allah, Muhammad met with various prophets, including Musa (Moses) who allegedly wept because there would be more Muslims in heaven than Jews.[6]
The Buraq was also said to transport Ibrahim (Abraham) when he visited his wife Hagar and son Isma'il (Ishmael). According to tradition, Abraham lived with one wife in Syria, but the Buraq would transport him in the morning to Mecca to see his family there, and take him back in the evening to his Syrian wife.[7][8]
This is where Muhammad also supposedly went through the upper heavens and bartered with God to get the number of daily prayers down from 50 to 5.[9][10]
Critics contend this story is difficult to reconcile with modern information about our universe, such as the distance between the heavens having to be a minimum of our visible universe, which is approximately 46.5 billion light years away.[11] For context, a light year is the distance light travels in one year, which is 5.88 trillion miles/9.46 trillion kilometres,[12] making the distance around 2.7342e+22 miles away.[13] There is also not enough oxygen to breathe in space[14] and Ebullism can occur, where in a low pressure environment like space, the boiling point of your body’s fluids becomes much lower,[15] as well as radiation and issues, with estimates of how long a human could survive being at most minutes without a modern space suit.[16] One could argue he was supported by Gods 'magic' to break the laws of physics, though that would make the purpose of the Buraq somewhat redundant.
Religious significance
The journey is an event which is now celebrated by Muslims every year,[17] and is the title of one of the chapters of the Qur'an (Al-Isra, "The Night Journey"). Sahih sources further detail that the event was a literal journey and not a dream.[18][19]
Location of the Buraq
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Ibn al-Faqih (fl. 902), ibn Abd Rabbih (d. 940), Abd al-Ghani al-Nablusi (d. 1731), and other classical and traditional scholars have suggested that the Buraq is tethered to a location near the southwest corner of the Haram (the sanctuary around the Ka'baa).[20] More recently, however, many have maintained that the Buraq is located at the south end of the Western Wall Plaza (also referred to as "Ḥā’iṭu ’l-Burāq", or "the Buraq Wall") at the al-Buraq Mosque in Jerusalem, Palestine/Israel.[21]
In 1840, a British Jew asked for permission to pave an area near the Western Wall. The then governor of Syria responded with the following:
Relevant sources
This story can also be found from in the earliest biography of the prophet by Ibn Ishaq (read for free here: the Sirah Rasul Allah - translated by A.Guillaume) on pages 181 - 187 (which are on pages 114-117 of the PDF).
See Also
- Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Silliness
- Animals - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Animals
External Links
References
- ↑ "...a white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to me... The animal's step (was so wide that it) reached the farthest point within the reach of the animal's sight." - Sahih Bukhari 5:58:227
- ↑ "...the Buraq, handsome-faced and bridled, a tall, white beast, bigger than the donkey but smaller than the mule. He could place his hooves at the farthest boundary of his gaze. He had long ears. Whenever he faced a mountain his hind legs would extend, and whenever he went downhill his front legs would extend. He had two wings on his thighs which lent strength to his legs." - Muhammad al-Alawi al-Maliki, al-Anwar al Bahiyya min Isra wa l-Mi'raj Khayr al-Bariyyah
- ↑ The Life of Muhammad. A translation of Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah". Translated by Alfred Guillaume. Oxford University Press. First published 1955. pp 182. (Found on page 115 of the linked PDF)
- ↑ Burāq - Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed February 27, 2012
- ↑ For example, see the image of Sri Kamadhenu here and then compare it to the image of al-Buraq here
- ↑ "Moses said, 'I weep because after me there has been sent (as Prophet) a young man [Muhammad] whose followers will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my followers.' "- Sahih Bukhari 5:58:227
- ↑ Journeys in Holy Lands p. 117
- ↑ Firestone, Reuven (1990). Journeys in Holy Lands: The Evolution of the Abraham-Ishmael Legends in Islamic Exegesis. SUNY Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7914-0331-0. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ↑ The Life of Muhammad. A translation of Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah". Translated by Alfred Guillaume. Oxford University Press. First published 1955. pp 186 - 187. (Found on page 117 of the linked PDF)
- ↑ Sahih Bukhari 5:58:227
- ↑ How Far Away is the Edge of the Universe? Museum of Science Podcast. Janine Myszka.
- ↑ What is a light-year? FAQs. Exoplanet Exploration. NASA.
- ↑ How Long is the Drive to the Edge of the Universe? Randall Munroe. 2022. The New York Times.
- ↑ Ask Dr. Universe: Why can’t we breathe in space? 2021. The Spokesman review
- ↑ Can You Survive in Space Without a Spacesuit? 2016. Labmate Online. International Labmate Limited.
- ↑ How long could you survive in space without a spacesuit? Andrew Jones. 2023. Space.com
- ↑ Khadija Bradlow - A Night Journey through Jerusalem - Times Online, August 18, 2007
- ↑ "Ibn Abbas added: The sights which Allah's Apostle was shown on the Night Journey when he was taken to Bait-ulMaqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) were actual sights, (not dreams). - Sahih Bukhari 5:58:228
- ↑ The Life of Muhammad. A translation of Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah". Translated by Alfred Guillaume. Oxford University Press. First published 1955. pp 181 - 187.
- ↑ Elad, Amikam (1995). Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic Worship: Holy Places, Ceremonies, Pilgrimage. BRILL. pp. 101–2. ISBN 978-90-04-10010-7.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ F. E. Peters (1985). Jerusalem. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 541–542.. Arabic text in A. L. Tibawi (1978). The Islamic Pious Foundations in Jerusalem. London: The Islamic Cultural Centre. Appendix III.
