The mi'raj (المعراج al-mi'rāj), al-mi'raj or miraj (المراج) is a legendary creature, which looks like a yellow hare with a single black horn on its forehead. All wild animals run away from it. According to al-Qazwini, it was given to Iskandar (Alexander the Great) by the inhabitants of Dragon Island (Jazīrat al-Tinnīn), when he killed a dragon plaguing them.[1]
Name[]
The word معراج mi'rāj literally means "ladder" in Arabic, but is usually translated as "ascension". In Islamic tradition it is a name of the event, when Prophet Muhammad journeyed to heaven and received instruction regarding prayer from God himself.
Samuel Bochart renders the name as mirag.
Gallery[]
Bavarian manuscript
Walters manuscript
References[]
- ↑ Ettinghausen, Richard. The Unicorn: Studies in Muslim Iconography. Freer Gallery of Art. Occasional Papers 1. p. 66.