Shab-e-Meraj

Shab-e-Meraj
Written by - 
Hazrat Maulana Abulfatah Syed Nusrat Qibla Tashreefullahi
In the name of Allah the compassionate, the Merciful
A brief description of the Meraj:  
Just one year before his exodus from Mecca to Madina, on the 27
th 
night of Rajab, Prophet 
Muhammad
PBUH 
had a unique experience in the history of all religions. The Prophet
PBUH
, 
accompanied by Angel Gabriel was taken for Night Journey-(ISRA) from Mecca to Aqsa 
Mosque in Jerusalem. There he led a congregation of the souls of all the earlier Prophets
PBUT
. 
Then accompanied by Angel Gabriel he had the Ascension-(MERAJ) to Heavens. In the 
heavens he met again with the Prophets
PBUT
 individually. Then he was taken to see the 
Paradise and the Hell. He was shown what would be the fate of the humans after the Day of 
Judgment. How the Believers and the Righteous would be rewarded in the Paradise and also 
how the non-believers and the wicked would be chastised in the Hell. After seeing several 
important divine Signs (Ayaat) he was led by Gabriel to the Sid’rah (The Berry Tree). 
Gabriel stopped there. The Prophet
PBUH 
proceeded from there to the Divine Proximity. The 
Prophet
PBUH 
had the Vision of God, Lord of the Universe. Five obligatory prayers were 
ordained by the way of Thanksgiving. The Prophet
PBUH 
was brought back to the earth and to 
his own place before the Dawn prayers in the same night.  
This Great event has been described above very briefly. The details can be read in the 
books about the Meraj of the Prophet
PBUH
.  
The most important things we believe about the Meraj are noted below:  
1) The night journey (ISRA) and the Ascension (MERAJ) both did not take place 
“spiritually” nor they were merely in a “dream”, as a few people argue. They took 
place with the “body and soul,” and the Prophet
PBUH 
was fully awake.  
Qur’an says that: “Glorified be He Who Carried His servant by night…….”  
The word ‘Abad’ (servant) applies to a ‘person’ with his body and soul. Therefore, to 
say that the ascension was only spiritual is wrong. In fact it was with the body and 
soul and in full awareness.  
2) The Prophet
PBUH  
did not go for Meraj for seeing Angel Gabriel in his original form as 
some people try to explain. The Prophet
PBUH 
had the Vision of his Lord and that is the 
essence of the Meraj as believed by a majority of the Companions of the Prophet
PBUH
. 
The Prophet
PBUH 
had seen Angel Gabriel in his original for at least twice on the earth 
earlier. Hence, there was no need to see him again by ascension to heavens.  
3) What will happen in the Paradise and the Hell after the Day of Judgment was shown to 
the Prophet PBUH as if it was happening before his eyes. 



How To Spend- The night of Meraj (Ascension)  
    The night of Ascension of our Prophet (Allah Bless him and give him peace) is the night of 
great significance for us because it is a night of great rewards, blessings and bounties of 
God. It should not be wasted by sleeping or by watching movies etc. Believers should spend 
the whole night worshiping, begging for forgiveness, seeking divine mercy and aspiring for 
His true love and vision. A few tips about how to spend this night are given below:  
1. Start Zikrullah ... Remembrance of God right from the sunset. Offer Magrib and Isha 
prayers with jam'at or in congregation and continue Zikr up to sunrise, as far as possible. 
2. Try to be with Wuzu (ablution) during the whole night. Whenever it is lost take a fresh 
ablution. It should be followed with offering two rak'at of Wuzu Greeting or thanks giving 
prayer. 
3. In the 1st rak'at, after Surah Fateha recite "Wallazeena Iza fa'alu fahishatan....." and in 
the 2
nd
 rak'at after reciting Surah-Fatiha "Wa man ya-mal....." as taught by our Imam, the 
Promised Mehdi (May God Bless Him and give Him peace). And after the two salaams, go 
into Sajdah (prostration) and say the Munajat as taught by the ImamAS
. Thereafter, pray for 
a firm, strong and unshakable Iman (faith) for yourself and for all the loved ones. Pray for 
the well being of yourself and all the fellow human beings. Solicit His love and purity of 
heart from the lust and greed of the world and worldly attractions. Ask for Halal or 
permissible means of living. Pray for making our conduct to be in obedience to His Book and 
His Prophet
SAS
. Pray for health and well being of the self and the loved ones. Pray for the 
ultimate bounty, which is His Vision within this lifetime. 
4. Whenever you take ablution, offer this prayer during this night. Prayers five times a day 
was made obligatory for all the believers. We do not remember how many we missed in our 
life time. Therefore, offer Qaza or make-up prayers. We may offer all the five obligatory 
prayers with Witr-Wajib of one day as Qaza. These may cover the prayers of five or three or 
at least one day. We may seek forgiveness from the questioning in the grave for our failure 
in offering the prayers during our lifetime.  
5. Fortunate believers, men and women who have been regularly offering Tahajjud or late 
night prayers may offer it now i.e. before dawn.   
6. Eat Sahr food if you intend to observe fasting the next day, which is also very rewarding 
(of sawab) in the life hereafter.  
7. After offering Fajr prayer in congregation stay performing Zikrullah or remembrance of 
God with love and devotion up to Sunrise.  
May Allah make us His whole-hearted worshipers! Please remember that Worship of our 
Beloved, Merciful Lord is the very purpose of our coming into this world.