The keeper of Kaaba

Images real and unreal from 'Baghdad, Iowa" journal.
By Usama Alshaibi

Al-Buraq take me to the heavens

Al-Burāq ( البُراق‎), is a celestial steed, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, with the wings and tail of a peacock and head of a woman. This winged angelic-creature Buraq, whose name means the "the shining (or lighting)" can travel through the heavens. In the 17th sura of the Quran, the the prophet of Islam, Muhammad rode the Buraq to the distant temple and later up to the 7th heaven to meet Allah during the "Night Journey."