The Night Journey (Isrāʾ) and Ascension (Miʿrāj) of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) constitute pivotal events in Islamic tradition, serving as theological cornerstones for Muslim understandings of prophecy, cosmology, and divine-human interaction. While the Quran briefly alludes to these events (Q 17:1, Q 53:1-18), their detailed narratives emerge predominantly from ḥadīth literature and early exegetical works. This study employs a history of ideas methodology to systematically classify the diverse interpretations of the Miʿrāj among the Companions (Ṣaḥāba) and Successors (Tābiʿūn) during Islam's formative first century (1-100 AH).
By reconstructing this intellectual landscape, the research illuminates how early Muslims negotiated the boundaries between metaphysical experience, communal identity, and prophetic authority. The study adopts J.G.A. Pocock's conceptual framework for tracing the evolution of ideas within their socio-historical contexts, focusing on semantic shifts in terms like Isrāʾ and Miʿrāj, functional differentiation of narratives, and their reception history in relation to pre-Islamic Arabian cosmology and Judeo-Christian eschatological traditions. This approach intentionally diverges from traditional isnād-criticism by prioritizing the content and function of narratives over their chains of transmission.
The research draws on primary sources including early ḥadīth compilations such as Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq and Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, tafsīr works like al-Ṭabarī's Jāmiʿ al-Bayān, and historical chronicles including Ibn Saʿd's al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā. Analysis reveals four dominant interpretive paradigms among early Muslims: The Terrestrial Journey (Arḍī) model advocated by figures like ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb emphasized a literal physical journey from Makkah to Jerusalem with minimal supernatural elements, serving to connect Islam to Abrahamic holy sites.
The Miraculous Proof (Muʿjizah) perspective, associated with Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq and ʿĀʾishah, framed the event as public prophetic authentication incorporating visionary encounters. The Eschatological Vision (Rūḥānī) interpretation by Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and Ḥasan al-Baṣrī viewed the ascent as spiritual communion, drawing on Syriac Christian ascension literature while emphasizing practical injunctions like the five prayers. Finally, the Ontological Elevation (Maʿnawī) model articulated by ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Salmān al-Fārisī understood Miʿrāj as metaphysical transcendence, integrating Neoplatonic purification concepts that would later influence Sufi cosmology.
These interpretations developed within a rich historical context that included pre-Islamic Arabian cosmology's tripartite universe and Zoroastrian soul journey narratives, as well as early Islamic developments like the Umayyads' political instrumentalization of the narrative and theological debates about prophetic corporeality and cosmological structure. The findings demonstrate how Miʿrāj narratives significantly impacted Islamic doctrine by solidifying Muhammad's status as Khatam al-Nabiyyīn and reinforcing bodily resurrection concepts, while methodologically illustrating early Muslims' creative adaptation of existing motifs and challenging simplistic orthodox/heterodox binaries.
Ultimately, this typology reveals the Miʿrāj as a polysemic event that accommodated diverse theological needs from communal identity formation to metaphysical speculation, suggesting promising avenues for future research on classical Sufi commentaries and other later developments. The study underscores the value of intellectual history approaches for understanding early Islamic thought and its complex engagement with multiple cultural traditions.