Title: The Book of Delight at the Discussion of the Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad

Description

This 16th-century manuscript contains an early copy of the mystical work by Najm Al-Dīn Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Ghayṭī (died 1573) entitled Kitāb al-ibtihāj bil-kalām ‘alà al-Isrā’ wal-Mi‘rāj (The book of delight at the discussion of the night journey and ascension of the Prophet Muhammad). Islam teaches that in the Isrā’ (the night journey), Muhammad traveled from Mecca to Jerusalem on the mythological beast Burāq, and that on that same night occurred the Mi‘rāj, Muhammad’s ascension to the heavens. The author of the work was a religious scholar who lived in Cairo. This manuscript copy, made before the original author’s death, is especially significant for its age, having been created in AH 979 (AD 1571).