Mohammed's Flying Buraq

Muhammad flew on a Buraq?

After his first wife died Mohammed had an experience, whether real or a dream it is debated, but he claimed to have gone on a Nocturnal Journey to Jerusalem¹ (though the word Jerusalem does not actually appear in the Quran) on a celestial beast called Buraq. There, it is claimed he ascended to the seventh heaven and met Abraham, Moses and Jesus on the site where now stands the famous mosque, the Dome of the Rock (As-Sakhra). This is no small matter seeing as how it is also on the foundation of what was once Solomon’s temple, the “Holiest of Holies” for the Jews. After a heavenly experience with the angel Gabriel Mohammed was back in Mecca early the next morning. Jerusalem was destined to become the third most holy site for his later followers. Though Jerusalem does not appear anywhere in the Qur’an this legend stands. In some English versions of the Qur’an the word “Jerusalem” is interjected into the text in brackets in Surah 17:1 a clear effort to deceive the naïve English readers. Tradition has it that the rock wanted to follow Mohammed to heaven but was restrained by the angel Gabriel whose fingers left imprints on the western side of the stone.² Muslims can often be seen praying in Jerusalem with their backs to this domed structure (completed in A.D. 715) while facing south toward Mecca.

This flying camel story has been embellished so that it appears at other religious tourist spots as well. A beautifully illustrated book of colored lithographs by the British artist David Roberts illustrates his travels from Egypt to Syria in 1838. He records a stop at the summit of Mount Sinai where there was both a chapel and a mosque in disrepair. He examined a legend in the mosque where there is claimed a paw print from Mohammed’s Buraq made during the prophet’s famed night journey. Why Mohammed would go out of his way to stop at this remote site defies logic, (but most of the Quran defies logic).

1 Hejirah, or flight, marks the beginning of the Muslim era, which is designated Anno Hegira, A.H. in the Muslim dating system.

2 Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb 1996, The Ark of the Covenant, pg. 52, by Leen Ritmeyer