Introduction

The story of al-Burāq is widely known in the Muslim world. It is commonly described as a supernatural creature, often portrayed as a winged horse and, in later artwork, sometimes with a human face, a crown, or other decorative features. For many Muslims, this has become the accepted image of the creature that carried Prophet Muhammad during the Night Journey (al-Isrāʾ) and Ascension (al-Miʿrāj).

 

A closer reading of the Qur'an, however, reveals something quite different. Although the Night Journey is mentioned in Surah al-Isrāʾ (17:1), the Qur'an never mentions al-Burāq by name. It also does not describe a horse, a winged creature, or any other supernatural means of transport. Instead, the verse simply states that Allah carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque to show him some of His signs. The emphasis is on God's power and the purpose of the journey, not on how the journey took place.

 

The detailed description of al-Burāq appears only in later Islamic sources, including the hadith, the sīra literature, classical tafsir, and, later still, in Islamic art and devotional writings. Over the centuries, these traditions expanded the brief Qur'anic account into the rich narrative that is familiar today.

 

This blog explores how the understanding of al-Burāq developed over time. It argues that the popular image of al-Burāq as a supernatural, horse-like creature is rooted in post-Qur'anic tradition rather than in the Qur'an itself. It also examines the view of a number of scholars who have noted similarities between later depictions of al-Burāq and motifs found in earlier Jewish, Christian, Persian, and Near Eastern traditions. While these parallels are worth examining, they should be understood as scholarly interpretations rather than conclusive evidence of direct borrowing.