Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm
Madad Ya Sayyidi Ya Rasul Allah ﷺ, wa Mashayikhina Sheikh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqaniق, Sheikh Muhammad Ar-Rabbaniق
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuhu
Tariqatuna as-sohbah, wa-l khayru fi-l jam‘iyyah.
Our Way is through sohbah, and all goodness is in gathering.
Mubarak the month of Rajab. Alhamdulillah, Allah ﷻ allowed us to reach it safely.
“Allahumma barik lana fi Rajab wa Sha‘ban wa ballighna Ramadan.”
This is the du‘a of the Prophet ﷺ, asking Allah ﷻ to place barakah and blessing in these two months, and to allow us, in sha’ Allah, to reach Ramadan carrying that same barakah and blessing.
In sha’ Allah, we are now approaching the blessed night of Israʾ Mi‘raj. On this night, the Prophet ﷺ was taken on the Night Journey. He ﷺ was taken from Makkah al-Mukarramah to al-Quds al-Sharif, Jerusalem, and from there he ﷺ was raised through the heavens, up to the Divine Presence, to ‘Arsh ar-Rahman ﷻ.
This is a very holy night. It is the second holy night of Rajab. One holy night has already passed, and now this one is coming. It is the night before the 27th of Rajab. This night is blessed, and the following day is a day of fasting.
Allah ﷻ honored His Beloved ﷺ with this night after years of hardship. The three years before Israʾ Miʿraj were extremely difficult for the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims. The final year of those three was the most painful.
The unbelievers, the mushriks of Quraysh in Makkah, imposed a boycott on the Prophet ﷺ and all his family. They isolated him ﷺ and his tribe, even those who had not accepted Islam. They cut off trade with them. They forbade marriage with them. They prevented food and water from even reaching them.
For three years, the Prophet ﷺ and his people were gathered and locked up in their area and prevented from having a basic normal life. They were completely isolated and oppressed by the mushriks of Quraysh.
The leaders of Quraysh agreed upon this injustice and wrote this evil agreement on a paper and hung it in the Ka‘bah to make it strong and mandatory on everybody.
Then one day, Allah ﷻ gave permission for this evil to finish. A cousin of Sayyidatina Khadijahر, from her tribe, stood up against Abu Jahl and all the other leaders of the Quraysh. He said this is injustice, this is zulm (oppression), and that they could not allow such cruelty against their own people and relatives. We have to finish this evil paper that we hung inside the Ka‘bah.
SubhanAllah, so many people supported this man and together they rose against Abu Jahl and the rest of the very harsh unbelievers. When they went to the Ka‘bah to tear down the paper that stated the isolation and boycott of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ and his tribe, they found that an earthworm had eaten the paper completely, and only the Name of Allah ﷻ remained.
Those years of hardship took their toll. Sayyidatina Khadijahر, the beloved wife of the Prophet ﷺ, became ill and passed away. Forty days later, his uncle Abu Talib, who had protected and defended him ﷺ all his life, also passed away.
So it was a very sad year for the Prophet ﷺ. It was the Year of Sadness, ‘Aam al-Huzn. In history it is referred to as the Year of Sadness. It is a long story.
Then Allah ﷻ ordered Sayyidina Jibril (AS), “Prepare yourself, and tell all the heavens, all the paradises, and all the angels to adorn themselves and wear their best, for My Beloved ﷺ will come to meet Me tonight.
Tell the sun to shine more brightly, tell the moon to be more beautiful, tell the stars to be more shiny. Tell the earth to be more happy and tell the heavens and the angels to get ready, for My Beloved ﷺ is coming tonight.”
“Go to Paradise and bring a Buraq.”
All the Buraqs in Paradise were getting ready in their finest form. Only one small Buraq stood quietly in a corner, saying, “I am small, no one will look for me. I love Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ so much and I wish to carry him on this journey. But all the others look nicer and more beautiful than me. I do not think anyone will look for me.”
Then Allah ﷻ ordered Sayyidina Jibril (AS) to take that Buraq, because he was humble and did not think much of himself, and he was chosen.
When Sayyidina Jibril (AS) came to the Prophet ﷺ, so many angels came with him to welcome the Prophet ﷺ. Sayyidina Jibril (AS) awakened our Prophet ﷺ and prepared him for the holy Journey. Sayyidina Jibril (AS) brought water from the heavens for the Prophet ﷺ to make wudu, and then the Prophet ﷺ mounted the Buraq.
Wherever the Buraq’s eye could see, his step would reach.
Sayyidina Jibril (AS) accompanied the Prophet ﷺ on the journey from Makkah to Jerusalem, and thousands and thousands of angels welcomed him ﷺ.
All of them called out, “Look at us.”
The Prophet ﷺ replied, “I am going to my Beloved. I cannot look at you. I can only look towards my Beloved, towards Allah ﷻ.”
The Prophet ﷺ reached Jerusalem and met all the Prophets (AS) there. He ﷺ prayed with them two rak‘ahs, upon the way of Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS). The Prophet ﷺ was Imam for all the Prophets (AS).
In the first rak‘ah, he ﷺ read Al-Fatiha and Al-Kafirun.
In the second rak‘ah, he ﷺ read Al-Fatiha and Al-Ikhlas.
Then began the ascension, al-Mi‘raj, into the seven heavens.
At the beginning they brought the Prophet ﷺ three drinks. One was water, one was wine, and one was milk. They offered them to him ﷺ and he chose the milk. He took the milk and drank, and left a little at the bottom of the glass.
Sayyidina Jibril (AS) said, “Your nation, your Ummah, is saved. If you had chosen the water, they would have drowned like the nation of Sayyidina Nuh (AS). If you had chosen the wine, they would have gone astray like so many other nations. You chose milk, and milk is iman. But you did not finish it, so a small portion of your Ummah will enter Hell.”
The Prophet ﷺ reached again for the glass to finish it.
They said, “No, you cannot. Now it is done.”
Then in the first heaven, he ﷺ saw a very old, tall, big, and beautiful man. This man was looking to his right and laughing, and looking to his left and crying.
The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Who is that man?”
The answer was, “This is your father, Sayyidina Adam (AS).”
The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Why is he doing this?”
The answer was, “He looks to his right and sees his children who go to Paradise and he becomes happy. Then he looks to his left and sees his children who go to Hell, and he feels pity for them and cries.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ walked towards Sayyidina Adam (AS) and gave salam.
Sayyidina Adam (AS) answered the salam and said, “Welcome to my righteous son, my righteous Prophet.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ and Sayyidina Jibril (AS) ascended to the second heaven.
In the second heaven, he ﷺ met Sayyidina Yahya (AS) and Sayyidina ‘Isa (AS). They are cousins. Sayyidina ‘Isa (AS) was raised to the fourth heaven, but because he had one needle in his pocket, he came down to the second heaven.
Sayyidina ‘Isa (AS) was zahid. He had nothing from dunya and he did not love anything from dunya. He carried only three things: a cup to drink water, a comb for his hair, and a needle to fix his clothes. Then he gave away the cup as sadaqah, and then he gave away the comb as sadaqah. Only the needle remained, and because of that needle he descended to the second heaven.
In sha’ Allah, he will come after Sayyidina Mahdi (AS) comes and will be from the nation of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. We hope to see him.
Sayyidina ‘Isa (AS) and Sayyidina Yahya (AS) welcomed the Prophet ﷺ and called him their righteous brother and beloved Prophet ﷺ.
The distance between each heaven is five hundred years.
In the third heaven, the Prophet ﷺ met Sayyidina Yusuf (AS). Sayyidina Yusuf (AS) was the most handsome and most beautiful human created after Sayyidina Adam (AS) and Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. His face was like a full moon and full of light. He welcomed the Prophet ﷺ.
In the fourth heaven, the Prophet ﷺ met Sayyidina Idris (AS). Sayyidina Idris (AS) is still alive. He welcomed the Prophet ﷺ and said he was in the garden of Paradise but waiting for the Prophet ﷺ to open its door.
In the fifth heaven, he ﷺ met Sayyidina Harun (AS).
In the sixth heaven, he ﷺ met Sayyidina Musa (AS).
On this night, prayer was made obligatory. First it was fifty prayers a day. Sayyidina Musa (AS) said it was too heavy and the Prophet ﷺ returned again and again until it became five prayers. But each prayer is rewarded ten times, so five prayers carry the reward of fifty.
In the seventh heaven, he ﷺ met Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS). He resembles the Prophet ﷺ the most. Around him were many children of all ages. These were the children of the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ who passed away young. Sayyidina Ibrahim ﷺ said he looks after them and teaches them Qur’an, and they will intercede for their parents on the Day of Judgment.
Sayyidina Ibrahim (AS) sent his salams to the Ummah and taught a dhikr to plant trees in Paradise:
“Subhan Allah, walhamdulillah, wa la ilaha illa Allah, wallahu akbar, la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.”
On this holy night pray two rak‘ahs. In each rak‘ah read Al-Fatiha and twenty Al-Ikhlas.
After salam, read this du‘a, followed by any du‘a you wish.
May Allah ﷻ grant us a share from the honour and mercy He bestowed upon His Beloved ﷺ on this night, and allow us to benefit from the openings placed in Israʾ and Mi‘raj according to our sincerity.
May He ﷻ make our prayers a true ascent for us, forgive our weaknesses, and return us from this night more obedient, more humble, and nearer to Him than before.
Al-Fatiha.
• Hjh Rukiye Sultan
Guide to the upcoming Israʾ Miʿraj here.
Discover more from SufiHub - Tariqatul Naqshbandiyyatil Aliyyah (Sheikh Muhammad 'Adil)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.