Buraq

The Buraq (الْبُرَاق ælˈbʊrɑːk "the lightning") is a heavenly equine in Islamic tradition that served as the mount of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his Isra and Mi'raj journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and up through the heavens and back by night. The Buraq is also said to have transported certain prophets such as Abraham over long distances within a moment's duration. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, referring to the writings of Al-Damiri (d.1405), considers al-burāq to be a derivative and adjective of برق barq "lightning/emitted lightning" or various general meanings stemming from the verb: "to beam, flash, gleam, glimmer, glisten, glitter, radiate, shimmer, shine, sparkle, twinkle". According to Encyclopædia Iranica, "Boraq" is the Arabized form of "Middle Persian *barāg or *bārag, 'a riding beast, mount' (New Pers. bāra)". According to Islamic tradition, the Night Journey took place ten years after Muhammad announced his prophethood, during the 7th century. Muhammad had been in Mecca, at his cousin's home (the house of Fakhitah bint Abi Talib), when he went to al-masjid al-harām "the inviolable/sacred temple" (Al-Haram Mosque). While he was resting at the Kaaba, Gabriel appeared to him bringing the Buraq, which carried Muhammad in the archangel's company, to al-masjid al-aqṣá "the farthest/distant temple", traditionally held to be in Jerusalem and identified with the Holy Temple (Bayt Al-Maqdis). After reaching Jerusalem, he alighted from the Buraq, prayed on the site of the Temple, and then mounted it again as the creature ascended to the seven heavens where he met Adam, Jesus and his cousin Joseph, Enoch, Aaron, Moses and Abraham one by one until he reached the throne of God. God communicated with him giving him words and instructions, most importantly the commandment to Muslims to offer prayers, initially fifty times a day. At the urging of Moses, Muhammad returned to God several times before eventually reducing the number to five. According to Ibn Ishaq, the Buraq transported Abraham when he visited Hagar and Ishmael.