Al-Buraq the Heavenly Steed
Al-Buraq (ِِالبراق) is a supernatural creature in Islamic tradition that travels extremely rapidly. It appears in the context of the Prophet Muhammad’s miraculous night journey (Arabic Isra’ إسراء) from Mecca to Jerusalem, followed by the ascension (Ar. Mi‘raj معراج). This journey occurred on the 27th of Rajab in the Islamic calendar, and is remembered among Muslims every year. The journey is mentioned in the Quran only briefly (Quran 17:1). Al-Buraq and other details regarding the journey are given in Hadith (Traditions). Al-Buraq has been portrayed in some sources as male, and in other sources as female, and visual artists portray it with a human face. Islamic Studies scholar Omid Safi describes al-Buraq as “an angel-horse” here. Miguel Asín Palacios wrote about how the story of this Night Journey influenced medieval European literature, especially the work of Dante.
Why am I writing about al-Buraq today? I have been seeing references to the creature in so many places this week, and I want to add my support to endeavors to celebrate and remember this story. It is a beautiful contribution to world literature, and for those interested, it also provides a source for interfaith inspiration.
Recently M. Lynx Qualey made a Twitter call for a “coffee table book with art & literature about al-Buraq,” including the work of Ahmed Bouanani, Anis Arafai, and Buraq-themed art of Moroccan artist Touda Bouanani, daughter of Ahmed Bouanani:
Yasmine Seale also shared the image of “Al-Buraq” by Gora Mbengue, a master of Senegalese reverse glass painting (sous-verre / souwère in Wolof), 1975:
See Yasmine Seale’s visual history of Al-Buraq here.
In the Bulaq podcast series by Ursula Lindsey (The Arabist) and M. Lynx Qualey (arablit.org), Al-Buraq came up in the latest Ep. 24 (in Ahmed Bouanani’s work).
In addition to visual art and writing, al-Buraq also shows up in oral poetry and song. When I conducted my dissertation fieldwork research in Morocco in 2011, the most popular Malhun song in public performances that summer was Al-Buraqiyya, in reference to the chorus which refers to the Prophet Muhammad as Rakib al-Buraq, ‘Rider of the Buraq’. (My dissertation on Moroccan Malhun poetry is available here for free, and includes a full English translation of the text in an Appendix.) I described the excitement this song created in the audience: “During the popular song Al-Burāqiyya, a sort of mosh pit formed to our left where several girls in headscarves laughed and danced together at the song that praised the prophet Muhammad.” To hear the song, click here:
For a video, see here.
The story of the Prophet Muhammad’s ascension, acknowledging previous prophets, was incredibly inspiring for Ranya Idliby. A Palestinian American, she began searching within Islam, her faith tradition, in the wake of the Islamophobia that followed 9/11. She writes about the story, on page 5 in The Faith Club (2006), as “essentially an interfaith vision in which Muhammad rides a magical winged horse ridden before him by Jesus, Moses, and other biblical prophets…My heart raced with excitement as I read all this. I was dumbfounded. Why weren’t Muslims telling the world this story?”
The story of this miraculous journey, and the supernatural creature of the Buraq, have the potential to captivate the imagination through sources and audiences that occupy a wide spectrum from sacred to secular. Here’s to al-Buraq!
Image Credits
Top Image: “Buraq on a reproduction of a 17th-century Mughal miniature” from Wikipedia
Penultimage image source: “The Mi’raj or The Night Flight of Muhammad on his Steed Buraq”, Folio 3v from a Bustan of Sa`di” (ca. 1525–35 present-day Uzbekistan or Afghanistan) Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Bottom image source: “The Fabulous Creature Buraq” (1660-80 India) Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY