April 24th, 2017 is now declared as Muslim Holiday. It is one of the 6 Holidays recognized in the former RAG IX and RAG XII.
The feast is popularly known as the prophet's ascension. The complete name of the feast is "Laylat al-Isra' wa-l-mi'raj" tha can be translated as the 'night journey and the ascension.
There are two Qur'anic texts pointing to this feast. The 1st S 17. 1 "Glory be to Him who carried (asra) his servant by night from the masjid al-haram to the masjid al-aqsa, the environs of which we have blessed, that we might show him some of our signs. Surely, he alone is all-hearing, the all-seeing."
The 2nd is a description of the vision that the prophet saw as captured in S 53: 8-18: "He revealed his word when he was on the uppermost horizon. Then the prophet drew near, then leaned down. So that he became one chord to two bows or closer still. Then he revealed to his servant that which he revealed. The heart lied not in seeking what he saw. Will you then dispute with him about what he saw? And certainly.he saw him a second time, near the farthest lotus-tree, near which is the garden of refuge..."
Later tradition put together these two texts and organized them into a long tale now known to us as the story of the night journey and ascension of the prophet from masjid a;-haram to masjid al-aqsa to heaven...
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