Insights into Israa and Miraj

அளவற்ற அருளாளனும் நிகரற்ற அன்புடையோனுமாகிய எல்லாம் வல்ல அல்லாஹ்வின் திருப்பெயரால் துவங்குகிறேன் அஸ்ஸலாமு அலைக்கும்,

First sermon

All praise is due to Allah, the Greatest, the Transcendent, Who has availed His believers with ever increasing blessings and bounties. I testify that there is no deity but Allah, One without partner. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is within them. And He is over all things competent.

I also bear witness that Muhammad is His dearest Servant and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and those who follow in their footsteps until the Last Day.

As to what follows, I urge you and myself to be ever conscious of Allah and to construct our lives in accordance to what He has ordered us as He says, “O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.” (Al Hashr: 18).

 Dear Muslims,

Allah the Almighty attributed His Apostle Muhammad pbuh with many qualities out of respect to his status. Israa and Miraj was a miracle and an evidence of this special treatment. Allah the most Exalted says, “Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from Al Masjid Al Haram to  Al Masjid Al Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”(Israa:1).

It took place during some hard times when the Prophet pbuh had to endure the ill-treatment of those who disbelieved him in Mecca and Taif and the loss of his strong supporter Abu Talib and the closest person to his heart, his wife Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her.

Allah the Almighty carried his Prophet pbuh from the Holy Mosque in Mecca to Al Masjid Al Aqsa in Bayt Al Maqdis (Jerusalem), marking the first leg of the nightly journey. This was followed by the Ascension to heavens, the aim being to show him some of His greatest signs to help him overcome his grief and strengthen his determination.

He pbuh mounted Al Buraq towards Jerusalem- where Allah the most Exalted gathered other Prophets pbut- and led prayers. On this account, he puuh said, “I also saw myself among the group of apostles… [and] when the time of prayer came I led them.”

Appointing him as Imam indicates the high rank of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh and the great merit attached to leading prayers and mosques. It is from there (the mosque) the journey began and ended. The mosque is therefore placed at the core of the Muslim’s identity as he daily commutes to it and strives to well maintain it. So whoever his heart is after the mosque shall be protected from the misery of a day when hearts and eyes fluctuate.

In his description of the night journey, Anas Ibn Malik narrated from Abu Dhar as the Prophet pbuh saying, “Then he took my hand and ascended with me to the nearest heaven, when I reached the nearest heaven, Gabriel said to the gatekeeper of the heaven, 'Open (the gate).' The gatekeeper asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered: 'Gabriel.' Heasked, 'Is there anyone with you?' Gabriel replied, 'Yes, Muhammad is with me.' He asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel said, 'Yes.' So the gate was opened.”

Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, mentioned that in different heavens, the Prophet pbuh found such prophets as Idriss, Isa, Musa and Ibrahim, pbut.

Finally, he reached the highest point in the heavens, about which Allah says, “And he certainly saw him in another descent at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary- near it is the Garden of Refuge- when there covered the Lote Tree that which covered [it]. The sight [of the Prophet] did not swerve, nor did it transgress [its limit]. He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.” (Annajm: 13-18).

Among the scenes he pbuh saw was the lot of those who used to engage in rumour mongering and backbiting. He said, “During the Miraj (the Night of Ascension), I saw a group of people who were scratching their chests and faces with their copper nails. I asked, 'Who are these people, O Jibril?' Jibril replied: 'These are the people who ate flesh of others (by backbiting) and trampled people's honour.”

This Hadith is a reminder for us to avoid falling into similar sins and a call to keep away from backbiting and slander, because of their serious consequences on the individual and society.

 Dear Servants of Allah,

During the Ascension to heavens, prayers were prescribed as mentioned by our Prophet pbuh: “Allah the Almighty enjoined fifty prayers upon… So I went back to my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and He said: 'They are five (prayers) but they are fifty (in reward), and the Word that comes from Me cannot be changed.”

The Hadith shows the great status of prayers and the importance of observing them. Allah the most Exalted further confirm their merits by saying, “Re-establish [regular] prayer. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.”(Annisaa: 103). Indeed those who are dedicated to performing them on time and seeking Allah’s satisfaction by increasing optional prayers are the winners. Through them one can make up for his imperfections, get closer to his Creator and enter Paradise.

Our Master pbuh said, “the first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels- though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect.

“If it is defective, He will say: See there are some optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayers to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly.”

Dear Muslims,

Back from his night journey, the Prophet pbuh narrated his experience to his people, but there were amongst them who disbelieved him and discredited his prophethood. Theyalso challenged him to prove his claims. So he described for them Jerusalem and its landmarks as someone who was familiar with every single corner of the place.

In this regard, he said, “When the people of Quraish did not believe me (i.e. the story of my Night Journey), I stood up in Al Hijr and Allah displayed Jerusalem in front of me, and I began describing it to them while I was looking at it.” The Hadith came to further strengthen the believers’ faith and trust in their Prophet pbuh that what he prophesied was from Allah the most Exalted.

It was reported by Abu Salama that some people came to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, “Have you listened to your friend? He is claiming that he visited Jerusalem and returned back in one night? Immediately Abu Bakr replied: “if he said so, then it is absolute truth.”

They insisted, “Do you really believe that he visited all these places in one night and even before dawn?” Thereupon, he said, “yes of course, I believe him even farther than that, I believe him in hell and paradise.” This incident earned Abu Bakr the title “al Siddiq” meaning the most truthful.

With this in mind, we seek Allah’s grace to strengthen our faith and make us among those who always maintain prayers, and help us obey Him, His Prophet Muhammad pbuh, and those He has ordained upon us to obey pursuant to His instructions: "O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you."(Annisaa: 59).

May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and benefit us all in whatever is in it of the Ayas and the Wise Dhikr. I say this and ask Allah the Great, the Most Honoured for forgiveness for me, you and all the Muslims for every sin, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Second sermon

Praise be to Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity but Him, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, may the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his pure family, his companions and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows, please fear Allah by observing Him whether in secret or in public, and know that among the lessons of Israa and Miraj is bringing into focus the great value of preserving the integrity of the Muslim. For this reason, Allah the most Exalted ordered us to protect ourselves by avoiding everything that may cause harm, be it a word or action.

One source of threat that is medically proven is smoking; it affects both hearts and lungs and causes cancer. It also hurts those who are around the smoker, a kind of situation that recalls in mind the Hadith saying, “there should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” Moreover, such a [deadly] habit not only kills one’s health, but also makes him poor, a further reason to confirm the size of its harm.

Dear Servants of Allah,

Bear in mind that you are asked to offer prayer and greetings upon our most noble Prophet pbuh for Allah says, "Indeed, Allah and His angels sends blessing upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace." (Al Ahzab: 56).

 blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah." May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad pbuh, his family and all his Companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

O Allah, may we ask You to help us with what gets us closer to Paradise and furthers us from hell. O Allah we seek Your grace to admit us, our parents, whoever has done a favour to us and all Muslims to Your Paradise.  O Allah guide us to perform good work and give up misdeeds.

O Allah, make Iman (faith) beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts, and make us hate disbelief, immorality and disobedience. O Allah, I seek from You guidance, virtue, purification of the soul and being self-sufficient. O Allah, let us see the Truth as Truth and grant that we follow it. And let us see Falsehood as Falsehood and grant that we avoid it.

May Allah also mend our intentions, grant that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes and make success be an ally to us. O Allah, we seek Your favour to raise our status, increase our good deeds, remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.

O Allah, we implore You at this instant not to let a sin unforgiven, a distress unrelieved, an illness unhealed or a handicapped without relief, a dead without

mercy or a debt unsettled. Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.

May Allah grant our leader HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Deputy, HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, success and provide strength and assistance to his brothers, Their Highness The Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

O Allah, forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead, and make blessings follow us and them. May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Maktoum and all their brothers, the Late UAE Sheikhs. O Lord, forgive and show mercy, You are the Ever Merciful and there is no strength or power save with Allah, the High, the Great.

We pray to Allah, the Most Gracious, to continue blessing the UAE and all Muslim countries with safety and security.

O servants of Allah, remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful for His benevolence He will increase His blessings to you. Allah, the Most High, says, "And establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do." (Al Ankaboot: 45).

Translation
Mostapha El Mouloudi