1. In a night when darkness dyed its garments
And covered existence with blackness

2. Were it not for the stars in their shining rays
All would be shrouded in gloom's darkness

3. Silence prevailed, everything tranquil
And slumber prevailed over all people

4. The Trustworthy came with Al-Buraq leading him
A lightning bolt formed of brilliant steeds

5. It sped like ether waves swiftly
Where dimensions shrink before it

6. Where the Prophet was sunk in sleep
Deprived of mattress and pillow

7. After Khadija, nothing gave him comfort
A house to remind him of her and their bed

8. So he came to Umm Hani's abode seeking
Solace - can a lover's heart find solace?

9. There a light slumber took him
Chased by wakefulness and drowsiness

10. When the Trustworthy Gabriel shook him
"Arise, the time of the meeting has come near"

11. He shuddered at what he saw plainly before him
An angel whose light had wings and led

12. "What lies behind you?" "By God's name, arise
For what God has decreed and intended"

13. Upon Al-Buraq's back he steadied himself
Heading for Jerusalem, home of devotion

14. Dimensions drew near from their horizons
Though distant, settlements and towns

15. Like lightning, like thought quick to envision
Depths and vastnesses shrink before it

16. Pausing a while at Mount Sinai
And Bethlehem where his birth occurred

17. And the Third of the Two Holy Sanctuaries he prayed
With the prophets, all his equals

18. Moses, Jesus, and Abraham - all together
Ancestors and descendants embraced

19. To the heavens and its holiness they ascended together
Where shooting stars fall and galaxies lie

20. Its gates opened for his coming
Impregnable to others, shut tight

21. There Adam anxious and hopeful
For the earth and all his offspring's deeds

22. They come in varied hues of corruption in their tyranny
Mushriks, Nasara, and Jews

23. Blood flows between them like rivers
The weak oppressed, children burnt

24. No deterrent deters the arrogant
So they claim divinity or near it

25. The angels saw humbly, knowing
What would come from ascetics and the devout

26. The prophets, the righteous altogether
Greeted him, and the martyrs and worshippers

27. He showed him His great signs, nothing
Compared to what he was shown without end

28. He drew near to the Highest Assembly and kissed him
No worshipper attained that station

29. And comprehended all creation in an instant
Beyond enumerating, counting or plumbing

30. Such is the wisdom of the Ascension and the awareness
Of what neither study nor count can grasp

31. As suddenly as he came, he returned before dawn
Undaunted by the journey and exertion

32. Returned, most knowledgeable of all in it
Bearing the secret of guidance and the path

33. But they denied him in ignorance
Mocked by polytheists and atheists

34. They tested him - how lost they were!
Like ants in the shade of dunes

35. They philosophized about their time and place
And horizons they were accustomed to

36. And were arrogant - but God's command prevails
They almost perished by their own hands

37. But despite them, guidance spread
Throngs and individuals flocked to him

38. And his brilliant sun lit up the universe
Guiding all with its radiance