Abstract
The miʿrāj (Ascent) of the Prophet Muhammad was a foundational event in his life that established him as a major prophet who not only met the major previous prophets who had come before him but also arrived at the very throne of God. This article presents this narrative in the development of Islamic spirituality in the Middle Ages and shows how medieval Muslims interpreted it in relation to Muhammad's prophethood and his derived insight into the heavenly world (Paradise) that awaits the faithful. The main contribution of the article is to show how medieval Christians, especially those of the fifteenth century (Alonso de Espina, Pope Pius II, and Roberto da Lecce), viewed this narrative in light of Christian teaching. These Christian authors knew that this event in the life of Muhammad gave him religious authority and they therefore discredited it in their polemical works. Their polemical attack was not simply about the differences between the Muslim and Christian visions of Paradise, but also about the person and mission of Muhammad, the vision of God, other basic theological beliefs, and the role of spirituality, especially prayer, in religion.