Khutba on Isra and Mi’raj
الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي بعبدِهِ ليلًا مِن المسجدِ الحرامِ إلى المسجدِ الأقصَى أسرَى، ثم عَرَجَ به إلى ما قاب قوسَينِ أو أدنَى، حيثُ أراهُ من ءاياتِهِ الكبرى، وأوحى إليه ما أوحى، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير، ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدٌى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.
Today’s date is the 24th of Rajab. In just two nights time, on Sunday night, it will be the 27th night of Rajab, the date upon which the Messenger of Allah made his famous Night Journey and Ascent, the Isra’ and Mi‘raj.
Now every Muslim knows something of this night and something of its miraculous nature, but I thought this a good opportunity to remind ourselves of what actually happened on that night and of the true significance of those events.
It is my intention to first recount, in brief, the main events of that night in chronological order and then mention what they mean to us as Muslims, since the account is much more than just the tale of a strange and miraculous journey far beyond the scope of normal human experience, but is a series of lessons to be reflected upon and learnt.
There is no dispute that the Night Journey and Ascent actually took place for they are well-documented in both the Qur’an and the Sunna, to the degree that is kufr to deny it.
قال الله عز وجل “سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آَيَاتِنَا إِنَّه هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ”
Allah says in His Noble Book, referring to the Night Journey: “Glory be to Him who took His slave on a journey by night from the Masjid-al-Haram to the Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, in order to show him some of Our Signs. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
وقال تعالى، مشيرا إلى المعراج: “وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَى وَمَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى عَلَّمَهُ شَدِيدُ الْقُوَى ذُو مِرَّةٍ فَاسْتَوَى وَهُوَ بِالْأُفُقِ الْأَعْلَى ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَى مَا يَرَى وَلَقَدْ رَآَهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى عِنْدَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى عِنْدَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَى لَقَدْ رَأَى مِنْ آَيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَى”
And He says, alluding to the Ascent, “By the star when it descends, your companion is not misguided or misled; nor does he speak from whim. It is nothing but Revelation revealed, taught to him by One immensely strong, possessing power and splendour. He stood there stationary – there on the highest horizon. Then he drew near and hung suspended. he was two bow-lengths away or even closer. Then He revealed to His slave what He revealed. His heart did not lie about what he say. What! Do you dispute with him about what he saw? He saw him again another time by the Lote-tree of the Furthest Limit, beside which is the Garden of Refuge, when that which coved the Lote-tree covered it. His eye did not waver nor did he look away. He saw some of the Greatest Signs of his Lord.”
And the details of the journey are mentioned in all the major books of Hadith, including Bukhari and Muslim, and in all the major books of seerah, narrated from more than 26 of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah. There are some slight differences between the accounts, but they all agree upon the following sequence of events. But, before I relate these events, it is important that you know that all of these things happened to the Prophet @ while he was fully awake – it was not a dream as some people have claimed since, if that had been the case, the idolaters of Quraysh would have had no cause to deny his story.
On the night of the Isra and Mi‘raj, Jibril came to the Messenger of Allah while he was sleeping, woke him up and led him out to where he found a white riding mount waiting for him, taller than a donkey but shorter than a mule. This was the Buraq. Jibril instructed him to mount whereupon they commenced their journey and continued until they had reached Bayt al-Muqaddas in Jerusalem where the Prophet alighted and found a company of other Prophets including Ibrahim, Musa and Isa, who made dua for him and asked him to lead them in prayer. Then, after the Prophet had finished praying with them, two vessels were brought before him, one containing milk and the other wine, and he was asked to chose one them. When he drank the milk and left the wine, Jibril told him, “You have chosen the fitra.”
Then after the Messenger of Allah completed his visit to Jerusalem, he began his Ascent or Mi‘raj. He ascended each heaven in turn, encountering a different Prophet at each stage of the way, until he had gone beyond all of the heavens and come to the Lote Tree of Furthest limit – a place two bow-lengths away or even closer where no created being had ever before come.
There he greeted his Lord saying,
التحيات لله الطيبات الصلوات لله
“Greetings are for Allah, as are prayers and good deeds.”
Allah, glory be to Him, returned his greeting saying.
السلام عليك أيها النبي ورحمة الله وبركاته
“Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessing”, so the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied, saying,
السلام علينا وعلى عباد الله الصالحين. أشهد الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله
“Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allah. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, One without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.” In those eternal moments Allah revealed to His beloved Prophet what He revealed to him and made the prayer incumbent upon the Muslim umma.
Then before the night had come to its end, the Messenger of Allah returned to Makkah – with the entire journey having taken place in less than a single night. As he told Umm Hani,
“يا أمّ هانئ، لقد صليتُ معكم العشاءَ الآخِرةَ، كما رأيتِ، بهذا الوادي ثمّ جئتُ بيت المقدَّس فصليتُ فيه، ثمّ صليتُ الغداةَ معكم الآنَ كما تروْنَ”
“Umm Hani’, I prayed the final night prayer with you, as you saw, in this valley, then I went to Jerusalem and prayed there. Then I prayed the morning prayer with you now as you can see.”
The next day, he told the idolators what had happened to him the previous night, but they sneered at him and rejected him. Then they went to Abu Bakr and said to him, “Have you heard what your companion is saying? He claims to have travelled last night to Jerusalem, prayed there, and then come back to Makka before morning!” So Abu Bakr replied, “By Allah, if that is what he says then he has spoken the truth. And what do you find so astonishing about that? Every day, he tells me that communications come to him from the heavens to the earth in but a single moment of the day or night and I believe him. That is far more extraordinary than that which has so amazed you!” It was this immediate acceptance that led to Abu Bakr being given the title as-Siddiq, the truthful.
This is only a brief synopsis of the events of that night – the full story is related in the books of hadith, seera and tafsir and I encourage you all to study it. But even this basic outline contains much for us to reflect upon and many important reminders, the most important of which, perhaps, is the indication it gives us of the exalted station of the Messenger of Allah and the rank he held with his Lord. This is clear in both segments of his journey – the isra on the earth and the mi’raj through the heavens:
It is narrated from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah said about his time in Jerusalem that night,
“وقد رأيتني في جماعة من الأنبياء فحانتِ الصلاةُ فأممتُهم”
“I saw myself in a group of the Prophets, and when the time for prayer came I was their imam.” Abu Ja‘far ibn Ali ibn al Husayn said, “Thus, Allah honoured Muhammad above the inhabitants of the Heavens and the earth.”
وذكر البزار عن علي ابن أبي طالب أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلّم ركِب البراق وجاء بجيريل عليه السلام إلى الحجاب الذي يلي الرحمانَ فبينما هو كذالك إذ خرج ملَكٌ من الحجابِ فقال رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم: “يا جبريلُ مَن هذا” قال “والذي بعثك بالحق إني لأقرب الخلق مكانا وإن هذا الملكَ ما رأيتُهُ منذ خُلِقتُ قبل ساعتي هذه.”
And al-Bazzar narrated from ‘Ali ibn abi Talib that the Buraq took the Messenger of Allah to the veil just below the All Merciful from behind which an angel appeared, so the Messenger of Allah asked Jibril (who was accompanying him), “Who is this,” Jibril replied. “By the One Who sent you with the Truth, I have been granted a station closer to Allah than all the rest of creation, and yet, I have never seen this angel before.”
These accounts are very important in understanding the place the Messenger of Allah occupies within creation. First, he was honoured above all Prophets by being appointed their imam, and then he was honoured above everything in creation by being brought to a station where no other created being, not even the angels, had ever stood. He went beyond the earth, beyond even the heavens and the entirety of existence to a station two bow-lengths away or even closer.
Although there is a spatial and physical significance to the Isra and the Mi’raj in the sense that the Prophet physically went to Jerusalem, physically led the other Prophets in prayer and physically passed the Prophets, one by one, on his ascent through the seven heavens, it also has a ruhani significance. The fact that the Messenger of Allah passed all the other Prophets on his ascent demonstrates that he had surpassed them – that he had reached levels of spirituality that went beyond Adam, beyond Isa, beyond Musa, and even beyond Ibrahim in the seventh heaven and the closest Angels.
This is the station of the Messenger whose umma we are blessed to be a part of and whose example and sunna we strive to follow. He is the best of creation and we must never forget that – we must never stop loving him or saying salawat on him, and must never stop thanking Allah for allowing us to know him and be a part of his umma.
أقول قولي هذا و أستغفر الله لي و لكم و لسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته. قال الله عز وجل في كتابه العزيز: “عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَلاَ يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا اِلاَّ مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِن رَسُولٍ.”
Allah says in his Noble Book: “ He is the Knower of the Unseen, and does not divulge His Unseen to anyone except a Messenger with whom He is well pleased.”
There are many other important lessons we can draw from the story of the Isra, and Mi‘raj, and I would like to mention some of these in brief, inshAllah, in this second Khutba.
Firstly, it reminds us of the limitations of the sciences and senses in which we trust and upon which we depend, since it shows that there is an entire world out there that most of us cannot and will not ever see: an Unseen world. For on that night, the Messenger of Allah saw things and did things that defy the attempts of conventional science to explain, such as travelling from Makkah to Jerusalem and back on horseback in a single night, or seeing Prophets from previous generations in the flesh.
This reminder is one that we have great need for, especially in this age of sensory overload. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the world is just what our five senses experience but it is so much more than that. The Unseen world is there and is real – the fact that we do not see it does not make it any less real. As Shakespeare said, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Secondly, it reminds us of the importance of the prayer and the central position it occupies within the deen of Allah. The first thing the Messenger of Allah did when he arrived in Jerusalem was to do the prayer, and the only act of worship that was made obligatory during the Mi‘raj was the prayer.
Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, describing what happened when he was at the Lote Tree of Furthest limit, “Then Allah revealed to me what He revealed to me and He made fifty prayers every day and night obligatory for me.” Then he mentioned that when he passed by Musa, he told him to go back to his Lord since 50 prayers would be too much for his people. So he went back to his Lord, and every time he went back to his Lord, his Lord deducted five prayers, and every time he went back to Musa, Musa told him that he must get the number of prayers reduced because they would be too much of a burden for his people. This continued until the number had been reduced to five prayers.
Allah said, “Muhammad, they are five prayers every day and night. Each prayer counts as ten, so that makes fifty prayers…” When the Prophet passed by Musa, he again told him to go back and get the number reduced, but the Prophet answered, “I have gone back to my Lord so often that I am ashamed before him,” and returned to his people with the five prayers that we know today: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha.
So the one act of worship that Allah revealed to His slave when he was the closest as any created being could be was the prayer, and the one act of worship the Prophet brought back for his umma from the Mi‘raj was the prayer.
Imam al-Qushayri said, “I heard Abu ‘Ali ad-Daqqaq, say, ‘Our Prophet in reality brought the Mi‘raj back with him to his umma, for the prayer is the Mi‘raj brought down. The Mi‘raj of the Messenger of Allah had three distinct stages: From the Haram to the al-Aqsa Mosque; from the al-Aqsa Mosque to the Lote Tree of Furthest Limit; and from the Lote Tree of Furthest Limit to a station two bow-lengths away or closer. In the same way, the prayer has three stages: Standing, bowing and finally prostration.’”
Thirdly, it reminds us that our actions in this world have consequences. The Messenger of Allah was shown on his journey how different actions that people undertake or neglect in this world are punished in the Unseen, even before they take their positions in the Next World:
While on his Night Journey, the Messenger of Allah came upon a people with only rags covering their private parts, wandering around like cattle, grazing on dari’(a species of bitter thorny bush) and zaqqum (a species of tree with extremely bitter fruit)…” so he asked Jibril who they were. Jibril replied, “These are those who neglected to pay zakat on their wealth.”
Then, the Messenger of Allah saw a river of blood, boiling as if it were bubbling in a cauldron. On both sides of this river were angels with fire(balls) in their hands, which they would throw every time a person’s head rose up out of (the blood). Those fireballs would go straight into their mouths, causing them to burst into flames, and they would continue to burn until they had sunk again to the bottom of the river. When the Messenger of Allah asked about them, he was told that they were people who engaged in usury and so were being punished for it until such time that they would be admitted to the Fire.
Then the Prophet came upon a group of women, some suspended by their breasts and others hanging upside down, so he asked Jibril about them and Jibril replied ‘These are the women who commit fornication and then kill their children.’
These are only some of the many groups of people whom the Prophet passed by during his night journey, each group undergoing a different form of torment based on the wrong actions they committed in this world. We often forget the seriousness of the actions we commit and do not take sufficient care to ensure that they are correct and in accordance with the Book and Sunna. The Messenger of Allah is here describing what is happening in the Unseen at this very moment to those who commit such acts. In other words, what happens to them BEFORE they take their places in the Hereafter. The consequences for these actions are much more immediate than many of us realise and so we are complacent and unconcerned, thinking we will have plenty of time to rectify our ways. Take heed of the warnings of the Messenger of Allah! Hear the descriptions he gives of the people he encountered on his night journey and, whenever you find yourself about to commit one of the actions of those people, stop and call to mind the punishment he described them undergoing. That may well cause you to reconsider! May Allah protect us and give us the himma and resolve to avoid wrong action and not become one of those people.
Fourthly, it reminds us of how truly remarkable the greatest miracle of the Messenger of Allah, the Book of Allah, the Quran is. For, despite hearing of all the remarkable things that happened to the Messenger of Allah on that night, things beyond the ken of normal men, things that transcended the natural laws of earth and left them far behind, still Abu Bakr did not consider them particularly remarkable when compared to the Revelation itself. He said, “By Allah, every day, the Prophet tells me that communications come to him from the heavens to the earth in but a single moment of the day or night and I believe him. And that is far more extraordinary than that which has you so amazed!”’
These are but some of the extraordinary lessons that can be drawn from the account of this blessed journey, there are many more. The Isra’ and Mi‘raj is much much more than just a wonderful story. In order to help us remember this great night and give it its proper due, we will gather together here in the Mosque on sunday night between Maghrib and ‘Isha. I urge everyone who can come to intend.
May Allah make us of those who reflect and take heed. May He grant us understanding of the true significance of what happened to the Messenger of Allah on that blessed night and grant us access to its secrets and its fruits. May He increase us in love of His Messenger and in appreciation of the blessing that He bestowed upon us by making us part of his umma. Alhamdullilah was shukrulillah. All praise and thanks is due to Allah.
إنَّ اللهَ ومَلائِكَتَهُ يُصلُّونَ على النَّبِي يَا أَيُها الذينَ آمنوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وسَلِّمُوا تَسْليماً. اللهمَّ صَلِّ وسَلِّم وبارِك عَلَيْهِ وعلى آلِهِ وصَحْبِهِ أجمعين.
وارض اللهم عن الخلفاء الراشدين المرشدين الحنفاء ساداتنا وأئمتنا أبي بكر وعمر وعثمان وعلي ، وعن سائر الصحابة أجمعين، خصوصا الأنصار منهم والمهاجرين، وعن التابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
اللهم اهد أولات أمور المسلمين لما يرضيك ولاتباع سنة نبيك صلى الله عليه وسلم وثبت أقدامهم على الصراط المستقيم وأصلحهم يا رب العالمين.
اللهم بارك على شيخنا، و على أميرنا، وعلى جميع أمراء وزعماء المسلمين.
اللهم بارك على المسلمين في هذه المدينة ووفقهم لما تحبه وترضاه يا أكرم الأكرمين.
اللهمّ أَعِزَّ الْلإسلامَ والمُسِلمينَ (3) واَخْذُلِ الكُفْرَ والكافِرينَ، وانْصُرِ المُجاهِدينَ في سَبِيلِ اللهِ. واجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وكَلِمَةَ الكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلى.
ربنا ءاتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الأخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار.
اللهم لا تضعْ في مقامِنا هذا ذنبا إلا غفرْتَه، ولا عيبا إلا سترْتَه، ولا مريضا إلا شفيتَهُ وعافيتَه، ولا مسجونا إلا طلَّقْتَ سراحَه، ولا مسافرا في برِّك وبحرِك إلا سلِمتَهُ وغنِمْتَه.
إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عَنِ الفحشاءِ والمُنكَرِ والبغي، يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون، ولَذِكْرُ اللهِ أكبر والله يَعْلَمُ ما تَصْنَعُون. وقُومُوا إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يرحمكم الله