Al-Mi'raj

Overview

Al-Mi'raj is a yellow, hare- or rabbit-like creature with a single black horn described in medieval Arabic 'wonders' literature, most famously in Zakariya al-Qazwini's 13th-century Marvels of Things Created. It is said to live on Dragon Island in the Indian Ocean and to drive all other beasts to flight at the sight of it.

Details

Origin:

A creature of Arabic-Persian wonders literature; located in the storyworld of the medieval Indian Ocean, on the unmapped 'Dragon Island'.

Regions:

Jazīrat al-Tinnīn (Dragon Island) of medieval Arabic cosmography, Indian Ocean of the marvels tradition

First Reported:

c. 1260

Full Account

Al-Mi'raj (Arabic: ٱلْمِعْرَاج, al-miʿrāj) is a mythical creature of medieval Arabic literature. Its earliest sustained description is in the cosmographical work ʿAjāʾib al-Makhlūqāt wa Gharāʾib al-Mawjūdāt ('Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing', also known as The Wonders of Creation) by the 13th-century Persian polymath Zakariya al-Qazwini (c. 1203–1283). Qazwini describes the al-mi'raj as a yellow beast resembling a hare or rabbit in size and shape, distinguished by a single prominent black horn rising from its head like that of a unicorn. The animal is said to inhabit a place called Jazīrat al-Tinnīn ('Dragon Island' or 'Sea-Serpent Island') in the Indian Ocean. According to a version of the legend of Iskandar (Alexander the Great), the islanders gave the creature to him as a gift after he defeated a dragon menacing their flocks. Despite its small, otherwise rabbit-like form, the al-mi'raj is described as fearsome: all wild beasts flee at the sight of it, and Arabic and Persian sources treat it as dangerous to humans as well. The oldest surviving illustrated manuscripts of Qazwini's text — including Bavarian State Library Cod. arab. 464, dated to c. 1279/1280 or 1377 — preserve early depictions of the creature. Qazwini's al-Mi'raj sits within a wider Arabic-Persian tradition of horned hares and 'unicorns' that overlaps with the European jackalope motif and with the karkadann.

Also Known As

• ٱلْمِعْرَاج (Arabic)
• al-miʿrāj (Arabic (transliteration))
• ʿarāj (Arabic (manuscript variant))
• baqrāj (Arabic (manuscript variant))
• al-Maharāj (Arabic (manuscript variant))

Etymology

Origin:

Arabic; manuscript transmission yields several variants (al-miʿrāj, ʿarāj, baqrāj, al-Maharāj).

Meaning:

The standard form al-miʿrāj is unrelated to the better-known Islamic term miʿrāj for the Prophet Muhammad's ascent to heaven; the creature's name is treated as a proper noun.

First Use:

13th century, in Qazwini's Marvels of Things Created.

Timeline

• c. 1260 — Zakariya al-Qazwini composes ʿAjāʾib al-Makhlūqāt wa Gharāʾib al-Mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created) (Earliest sustained description of the al-Mi'raj)
• c. 1279 — Earliest surviving illustrated manuscript of Qazwini's Marvels of Things Created (Bavarian State Library, Cod. arab. 464) (Preserves early visual depictions of the al-Mi'raj)

Sightings & Evidence

Cultural Significance

Treated within the wonders-literature framework as a real but remote creature of the Indian Ocean.

Related Phenomena

• Karkadann — Persian / Arabic single-horned beast, sometimes equated with the rhinoceros, often appearing in the same wonders literature
• Jackalope — North American horned-hare folkloric creature with later popular and taxidermy traditions
• Abada — Two-horned Central African 'unicorn' with antidotal properties
• Unicorn — European single-horned mythical creature

Tags

Sources

• Al-Mi'raj — Wikipedia
• ʿAjāʾib al-Makhlūqāt wa Gharāʾib al-Mawjūdāt (Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing)
• Bavarian State Library, Cod. arab. 464 — illustrated Qazwini manuscript including al-Mi'raj — Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich