Over 1430 years ago, the Prophet Muhammad went on an amazing journey across time and space. The journey began when the Prophet lay near the Qaba, the small cuboid building towards which all Muslims face for prayers, when he was approached by the Archangels Gabriel and Michael, bringing with them the stead of the Prophets, Buraq. The Prophet travelled hundreds of miles stopping at Madinah, Madyan, Mount Sinai and Bethlehem, before finally arriving at Farthest Mosque, in Jerusalem. From there, the Prophet ascended to the Heavens, visiting Paradise and Hell, meeting some of the Prophets, including Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and then having an audience with God. When the Prophet returned to Makkah, it was as if only a few moments had passed.

 

To commemorate this amazing journey, Building Bridges in Burnley ran a creative writing workshop with a group of students from St Peters and St John's Primary Schools, looking at how journeys are portrayed in poetry, before helping the children to write their own poems about their very own amazing journeys.

 

Next, an event was held on 9th July 2010 at the Jinnah Centre in Burnley. Father Peter Hapgood Strickland of St Andrew's Church began by telling the story of the Ascension of Jesus Christ and what it means for Chrisitans. Bea Foster of the Burnley Methodist Church and Kath Bill of St Peter's Church read out some of the poems written by the children. Nasrullah Anwar of Building Bridges in Burnley then delivered a PowerPoint aided retelling of the events of the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey (available to view and download at http://bbburnley.co.uk/Documents/The%20Night%20Journey.pdf)