Shab e-Meraj (Isra Night) – 27th of Rajab -Significance in Islam
Shab e Miraj is also famous for the names like Isra and Miraj, Isra’wal Miraj and sometimes Waqia e Miraj as well. It is the 27th day of the month of Rajab in the Islamic calendar. Allah SWT (God) took Prophet Muhammad SAW (spelled as Muhammad or Mohamed sometimes) on a famous journey from blessed Mecca(Makkah) to Jerusalem(Palestine) and then to heaven.
It was 621 C.E. and the day was Sunday or Monday when the Incident of Mi’raaj took place.
Shab e Miraj Reference from Quran
Surah Al Isra 17:1
سُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسۡرَىٰ بِعَبۡدِهِۦ لَيۡلاً۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡأَقۡصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكۡنَا حَوۡلَهُ ۥ لِنُرِيَهُ ۥ مِنۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَآۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ
Holy is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque (in Makkah) to the farther Mosque (in Jerusalem) whose surroundings We have blessed that We might show him some of Our Signs. Indeed He alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (17:1)
Shab e Meraj- A scientific perspective
It has been an ongoing conversation and discussion for many years concerning the technique for the movement of Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW and his offspring during the Meraj. Numerous things have been said concerning the ascension and it is being physical or just profound even though from the Glorious Qur’an and the Ahadith there is no uncertainty that it was a physical rising.
In any case, one issue from the perspective of science forestalled a few people in accepting the truth and in this way, the Meraj of Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was recorded as being essentially otherworldly. Another gathering went above and beyond and accepted this total occasion was a fantasy and that Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) encountered the Meraj during his sleep!
The magnificent Journey and the Logics
The magnificent ascension conflicted with the logical and regular laws of today, for example, the law of gravity of the earth; its speed of movement of 25,000 miles for each hour; the weightlessness of an article that is outside of the airspace of the earth; the way that it is beyond the realm of imagination to expect to inhale the air that is outside our climate; the different infinite beams; shooting stars and pneumatic force; and the speed of light that goes at the speed of around 300,000 kilometers per second; and other such examples.
Luckily, in any case, it must be realized that through logical research and examination, the space researchers of the Soviet Union effectively propelled Sputnik I. The world’s first satellite was about the size of a b-ball, weighed just 183 pounds, and took around 98 minutes to circle the Earth on its curved way, on October 4, 1957. They had the option to show to humanity effortlessly, that they could conquer such issues as the gravitational force, issues with taking in space, and others, through different mechanically structured and manufactured hardware and instruments.
Indeed, even today, the space science inquire about is ever-expanding and the researchers and specialists are certain that in a short time, they will have the option to put life on one of the planets in our nearby planetary group; similarly, as today, they have opened up the investigation to the moon and the planet Mars.
These logical advances and headways in innovation and industry are a reasonable confirmation that such a heavenly journey (that of Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his descendants) is conceivable and can not be delegated something outlandish.
A General Misconception
Let me clear a misconception for this ascension(Waqiah e Miraj), it is a notion that Prophet PBUH, saw Allah SWT with his own eyes. This very notion is not altogether correct. For that let me add here a reference from Sahih Muslim.
Hadhrat Ayesha RA says:
“Whoever thinks that prophet Muhammad PBUH saw his lord, he surely attributed a great lie on God…Haven’t you heard that Allah says that the eyes do not reach Him but He reaches the eyes.” (Muslim Kitab-ul-Iman-Book of Faith)
Significance of Shab e Meraj
The evening of the 27th of Rajab denotes the beginning of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH’s) venture just as the mission towards propagating the genuine importance behind the religion Islam. It was on this unique day that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) passed on Allah’s exceptional message, right when the Angel Jibril came towards Him with the heavenly disclosure.
The evening of Isra involved the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) being taken by Allah Almighty on a blissful journey that began at Makkah and went to Jerusalem at Masjid-e-Aqsa and afterward the sky above to meet with the Creator of this entire Universe. Every single Muslim adherent ought to watch this heavenly day or favored night as an occasion of incredible centrality.
The majority of the Muslims spend their maximum time on the 27th of Rajab at the mosques, observing fasts, offer deliberate supplications (Nawafils), recount Quran, dhikr, and give a give charities. Recollecting the occasions of Isra and Miraj is likewise a typical standard of 27th Rajab.
Keep yourself busy in Azkaar and say “La Ilaha IllAllah Muhammadur Rasulullah” as much as you can in the holy month of Rajab. Presenting Surah al Ikhlas can return in the harmony and gift on the reciter and his family. May Almighty Allah shower His endless gifts on us all right now. Ameen!
And may He protect us all from all sorts of pandemics, like coronavirus and the deadly diseases that are the clear signs that we should adhere to the cause of Islam and we should reconsider our deeds if somehow something bad had happened by all of us in our lives. May Allah forgive us all. Aameen.
