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.
