The Night of Isrā’ and Mi‘rāj

Bismi Llahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim

AlḥamduliLlāh we have reached this day again, Shukr to Allāh ﷻ. Tonight is a holy night inshā’Allāh. It is the night of miracles of our Holy Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. It is a night which is worth thousands of years. The events that took place within two hours according to the worldly time require thousands of years for a person to travel and see those places. Certainly, it is especially for our Holy Prophet ﷺ, but its Barakah came to his Ummah as well.

On this night our Holy Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam travelled from Makkah to Jerusalem and visited other Prophets there. He visited holy places and then ascended to heavens. There, he went to the presence of Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla in the end, in a way known to Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla. It is a gathering, or a meeting that our minds cannot comprehend. There is always a meeting. It is impossible without meetings.

A favor granted to our Holy Prophet ﷺ was given as a present to his Ummah as well. That’s an important thing which is the order for the Ummah to pray. They used to pray before that as well, but it wasn’t five times a day. It was made Farḍ to the Ummah on that night. As a pillar of Islām, fasting was also practiced. But it was made Farḍ in Madīnah. Same with Hajj. There was no Zakāt then. They used to say Shahāda and pray. But it was ordered and made Farḍ for the Ummah on Laylatul ‘Isrā’ wal-Mi‘rāj as a present for them.

So prayer is the most valuable pillar of the religion. And prayer was ordered to our Holy Prophet ﷺ by Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla directly without any means. Jibrīl ‘alayhi s-salām used to be a means between them. But it was ordered directly, without any means to pray fifty times a day. Fifty times means that mankind was created to worship, and they would worship without stopping. We would pray fifty times a day. As the Ummah of Sayyidinā Mūsā ‘alayhi s-salām couldn’t carry it, through Sayyidinā Mūsā ‘alayhi s-salām and by the mercy of Allāh ﷻ – Our Holy Prophet ﷺ wouldn’t say that it was too little or too much in front of Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla because of his Adab. So when Sayyidinā Mūsā said that it was too much and the Ummah would not carry it… Certainly, many of us know this story of our Holy Prophet ﷺ. We will tell it again. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla reduced it to 45 times. When told it was a lot, it became 40. Sayyidinā Mūsā ‘alayhi s-salām told our Holy Prophet ﷺ to reduce it to 35, 30, 25, 20, 15 and then 5. It was reduced to 5. Even for the five times, Sayyidinā Mūsā ‘alayhi s-salām said to our Holy Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam that it was too much. Our Holy Prophet ﷺsaid, “No. If we reduce the five times, there would be nothing. There wouldn’t be the Barakah or beauty of prayer. There would be no pillar of the religion then.” Sayyidinā Mūsā ‘alayhi s-salām knew it, because everyone find it difficult to pray now. If they pray two Rakāat, even that seems hard. We sometimes tell people to pray two Rakāat. They say, “We pray two Rakāat once during Jum’ah.”

Therefore, these five times a day are a gift from Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla to people. It is the greatest favor, the greatest goodness to people from all aspects, spiritually and physically. It’s every movement, everything in it is Thawāb, Barakah and good for people. Those who skip prayer take on a big responsibility. They deprive themselves from great benefits. They are at loss. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla is the One who created everything. Does He ﷻ need your imperfect praying? No. Hāshā (far from it). Even if you pray imperfectly, Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla accepts it. But He ﷻ doesn’t need your prayer. He ﷻ has ordered it for your goodness. Prayer was ordered by Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla from the highest, the greatest place to our Holy Prophet ﷺ directly without any means. That’s why prayer is a very important thing.

And then, apart from this, Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla granted many gifts to the Ummah. Also the last two Ayāhs of Sūrat al-Baqarah (Āmana ar-Rasūlu..), which wasn’t sent through Jibrīl ‘alayhi s-salām but was ordered directly by Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla. In one of these Ayāhs, it is said, ‘لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا’, ‘Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.’ (Qur’ān 02:286). Allāh ﷻ didn’t order anything that people cannot carry. People can do all of them. People can do what Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla ordered easily. And if it was praying fifty times a day, people would still be able to do it. There is no obstacle for it. But out of mercy, it was reduced to five times. When Allāh ﷻ orders something, He ﷻ orders things that we can carry. He ﷻ doesn’t order what we cannot do.

Therefore, may this night be blessed for all of us. Inshā’Allāh may we pay attention to our prayers. It is a gift from Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla to our Holy Prophet ﷺ and to the Ummah. There cannot be a greater gift. Prayer is a pillar of the religion. It is important. How lucky are those who do it. And those who miss it, if they pray it as Qada’ (make up) later, they are saved. But its virtue is not even a thousandth part. If they pray all their lives to make up for their missed prayers, they won’t have the same virtue, says our Holy Prophet ﷺ.

That is why we have to be careful. We have to pay attention to our prayers. Ḥajj and Zakāt became Farḍ afterwards. The first farḍ is saying Shahāda that Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla is One, and the next after it is prayer. Prayer is very important. Be careful. Don’t miss it. Do it on time. Unless you have to… Allāh ﷻ forgives you when you have to skip it, or when you imitate other Madhhab. But you do so when it’s unavoidable at all. Imitating other Madhhab is not by choosing the easy way and skipping the prayer. When it’s so necessary, while you are travelling, when you can’t do anything, it is fine to imitate. Inshā’Allāh Allāh ﷻ will forgive. But otherwise, it is not right. May Allāh ﷻ make this night full of Barakah for all of us. May it be blessed and good inshā’Allāh.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Sohbah by Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani

27 February 2022 / 26 Rajab 1443

Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Dergah – Lefke

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