The notion of heavenly ascent by the purified is to be found in many ancient traditions of the lands adjoining the eastern part of the Mediterranean: in ancient Egyptian beliefs, in Mazdaism, in Greek and Latin philosophical traditions, in the Jewish tradition and its Christian offshoots, in Manichaeism, in Mandaeism, as well as in the Sanskrit Upanishads of India, and in the Qur'an.
In Christian writings, the ascent is by a ladder, or a series of steps, a stairway.
In the Qur'an and later Islamic writings, the ascent is by way of heavenly ropes, the asab.