Practical theories of Muhammed's Night Journey?

Question

Hi, I am currently taking an Intro to World Civilization class, and we are up to the creation of Islam. My teacher stated that Muhammed's night journey involved him being in Mecca one night, and miraculously being in Jerusalem the following day, supposedly an impossible natural feat. Now, I have caught my teacher making several mistakes in her lessons, and first off wanted to confirm this is an accurate description of the the event. Second, what are some of the practical theories that have arisen to explain this miracle? Thank you!

Answer 1

I have heard that too. I think that it was made up because of the embarrassing historical fact that Muhammad never made it to Jerusalem in his lifetime.

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According to the Quran, Allah allegedly took Muhammad on a journey from the Kabah in Mecca to the Temple at Jerusalem:

"Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque (Masjid al-Aqsa), whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things)." S. 17:1

...The problem with all of this is that the first Jerusalem Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian armies in 587 BC. Furthermore, General Titus and his Roman soldiers leveled the Second Temple in AD. 70, more than five centuries before this alleged night journey to Jerusalem took place. In fact, the Temple that eventually became Masjid al-Aqsa did not come into existence until AD. 691 when Amir Abd-ul-Malik built it.

These preceding factors make it highly improbable to date Sura 17:1 to the time of Muhammad. This passage could have only been written sometime after the erection of Masjid al-Aqsa. This is further substantiated by the fact that Masjid al-Aqsa contains no early references to the supposed night journey. This is a strange omission since Muslims claim that Masjid al-Aqsa was erected in commemoration of this alleged event. The inscriptions that do mention the night journey are later additions made by Abdul Hamid II in 1876, nearly eleven centuries later.

In light of all this, we ask the following questions:

-What Temple did Muhammad visit, enter and pray at before ascending to heaven?

-Seeing that the Quran mentions a journey to a Mosque that did not exist during the lifetime of Muhammad, how can you consider the Quran to be 100% the word of God?

-In light of the fact that both the Quran and the Islamic traditions contain this historical error, how can you trust either source to provide you with reliable information on the life of Muhammad and the first Muslims?

-Does not the fact that the Quran mentions a Mosque which was only erected in AD 691 prove that there were Muslims who unashamedly and deceitfully added stories to the Quranic text and passed them off as revelation from God?

-If you cannot find an answer to this historical problem within the Quran, why do you still remain a Muslim?

Answer 2

The story, greatly elaborated by tradition, relates that Muhammad made the journey astride Buraq, a mythical winged creature, in the company of the archangel Gabriel.