Shab -e- Maeraj
Monday, May 26, 2014
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 27th 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…….” (17:1) 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 He ll after the Day of Judgment was shown to the Prophet PBUHas
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 significan ce 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 2nd
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 Imam AS. 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, this 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 a lso 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.
posted by Saqib Naveed @ 7:40 AM,
0 Comments:
Post a Comment