The religious holiday Isra’ and Mi’raj is celebrated by the Islamic faith this year from sundown of February 6 to sundown of February 7.
Isra’ and Mi’raj represent two parts of the physical and spiritual journey that the prophet Muhammad is believed to have taken around 621 AD.
The first part, Isra’ — meaning “night journey” — recognizes Muhammad having traveled on the back of a Buraq (a winged horse-like animal) from Mecca to Al-Aqsa (Jerusalem), where he led the prophets Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and Isa (Jesus) in prayer.
The Arabic name Isra — pronounced “ees-ra” — is gender-neutral in use, given to baby boys and baby girls by Muslim parents. Isra also has special significance as the name of one of the chapters of the Qu’ran — Al-Isra’.
In case you missed these Names of the Day:
Name of the Week: Sahar
This week’s Name of the Week was nominated by @rhodes2nowhere! If you would like to nominate a name yourself, you can head over to the name of the day thread on our forums. Sahar is a striking Arabic girl’s name meaning “dawn” — a symbol of awakening and new beginnings
Name of the Day: Anais
Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell — more commonly known as Anaïs Nin — was born on February 21, 1903 in France. Born to Cuban parents, Nin was the daughter of the composer Joaquín Nin and the classically trained singer Rosa Culmell.
I know a woman named Isra!