The Night of Al-Isrāʾ Wal-Miʿrāj | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Dr. AbdulRazzak Junaid

I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. Exalted is He above the like, and the equal. And I bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, and His advisor and His friend, and His best among His creation, and His trustee in His revelation. His Lord has sent him as a mercy to the worlds. And as an argument against all servants. So Allah guided him out of misguidance, and made him see out of ignorance, and multiplied him after his shortcomings, and gathered him after his shortcomings, and ensured him after his fear, and made him rich after his wealth. So the blessings of Allah and His peace be upon him, and upon his good, pure family, and all his companions, and those who follow them with good till the Day of Judgment.

All praise is due to Allah, our Creator, the Originator and Designer of the heavens and the earth. And upon the best of creation, Muhammad. We send our salutations upon him, his family, his companions, and all those that follow them in goodness till the end of times.

The Special Night of Isra Wal-Mi'raj

My dear respected brothers and sisters, today, the 27th of Rajab, is a very special day in our history. It's a very special day in the history, and the seerah of our beloved Messenger. And the ummah has taken it upon themselves to make this the day, where in the masajid, and in the institutions, and amongst the Muslims, they acknowledge and remind one another, of that amazing, magnificent journey of Rasulullah, the journey of Isra wal Mi'raj. It's not more so about the date, but the event itself, that is so special.

The Context Before the Journey

And for us to understand truly the journey of Isra wal Mi'raj, we have to understand the context before it. Imagine years and years of the Prophet himself, humiliated, insulted, mocked, his people tortured, some of them killed before his own eyes. Boycotted for years, where then, that led right before Isra wal Mi'raj, to the weakness, the sickness, and then eventually the passing of his external support, the one who was like a father to him, Abu Talib, for over 40 years, who was under his care. He lost his father figure. Abu Talib had passed away.

And Khadijah radiallahu anha, the one he loved absolutely the most, the one who he had all his children with, the one who he loved so dearly, the one who supported him and believed in him, she also passed away.

And the Prophet then journeys into Ta'if in hopes that they will believe in him and give him support and aid. But rather than doing that, they mocked and insulted him further. They pelted him and threw rocks at him, until his sandals were filled with his innocent blood. To the point as he's leaving the mountains of Ta'if, which is 80 kilometers away, and he's walking back, he doesn't even know where he's walking, from the loss of blood.

And he makes that heartbreaking dua:

Such powerful dua that really requires a lesson on its own. And then after all of this, after all that he has endured, he is given the gift of Al-Isra Wa Al-Mi'raj, the miraculous journey to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and then the ascension to the heavens.

The Beginning of the Journey

The Prophet, in one of the nights he was sleeping in the house of one who was like a mother figure to him, Umm Hanif. He was sleeping there. The roof is split open. Jibreel Alayhi Salaam with two other angels come. They take the Prophet in the middle of the night. Asra bi'abadihi layla, Isra, it only occurs in the middle of the night. If it's the beginning, it's Adlaja. So it's in the middle of the night.

The Prophet is then taken to Hijr Ismail, the Hatim, where he had open heart surgery. From the top of his chest to the bottom of his belly, it's opened up and his heart is cleaned. Ma kanabihi min adha from all the harm that he faced and the opposition from his people. His heart was cleaned with Zamzam again, the fourth time in the seerah. And then his heart was filled. A gold vessel was brought and his heart was filled with Iman. Purified. Just like we purify ourselves before Salah, we do wudu. The Prophet was going through this to be prepared for the ascension.

The Mount Al-Buraq

Then Jibreel Alayhi Salaam brought Al-Buraq, an animal that was tall, handsome-faced, white, pure white, bigger than a donkey, smaller than a mule. Its thighs with wings. Every step it takes, it goes as far as the eye could see. And the Prophet rides with Al-Buraq, rides on Al-Buraq. But before it goes on, Al-Buraq is startled. Al-Buraq, it jumps. And Jibreel has to calm it down. And the commentators of this hadith mentioned that Al-Buraq was overjoyed of the Prophet about to ride it. Because all of the prophets have ridden Al-Buraq before. But because of the Prophet, it was overjoyed, so it jumped.

The Prophet then on Al-Buraq, all the way is taken on that miraculous night journey to Baitul Maqdis in just a part of the night. And he went through 12 different things that he saw, was made to see from the unseen, which I will discuss in a later khatira.

At Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa

The Prophet then arrives at Baitul Maqdis where they say the Wailing Wall is. And he tied Al-Buraq where all of the prophets before had tied the Buraq. And then he entered into Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. اللهم حرر المسجد الأقصى. May Allah allow us to enter into Masjid Al-Aqsa without seeking any permission from anyone other than a Muslim, Ya Rabb.

The Prophet entered and all of the prophets had come. All of the Anbiya, all of the Rusul, they came in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. And the Prophet was there. And Jibreel Alayhi Salaam pushes the Prophet forward to lead the Salah of all of the prophets.

Rajab is a special month, Jama'ah. Because Rajab is the month where the Qibla changed. And Rajab is the month of Al-Isra and Al-Mi'raj. It's as though these events are preparing the Prophet that the banner and the baton of prophethood is now in your hands. The Qibla will become then Mecca as the Qibla change was also in Rajab. All of the prophets before, لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَلَا تَنْصُرُنَّهُ They're all here to aid, support and believe in you. And the Prophet leads them in two raka'ah.

The Choice Between Milk and Wine

And then the Prophet after finishing leading that Salah, he is then brought two vessels. One of milk and one of wine. Laban and khamar. And of course the Prophet is not gonna be given from the khamar of the dunya. If the Prophet is given a choice in takheer, it's gonna be between two things that are tayyib and halal. And yet the Prophet chose the milk. And Jibreel told him, اخترت الفطرة You chose the natural disposition of a person. You chose the purity of Islam. You chose the natural disposition just as a child wants the milk of his mother. And just like that, you chose the natural disposition and the purity that a Muslim always leans towards.

And the scholars, they mentioned why he didn't choose the khamar even though it was halal for him from Jannah. Because even what resembles the haram in the dunya, he wanted to avoid. And just like that for us, when we do rizq, when we go into business, let us always choose the pure path. May Allah make our rizq halal and tayyib, ya Rabb.

The Ascension Through the Seven Heavens

The Prophet, buraq was tied. He was then taken on the divine ascension to al-mi'raj. The mi'raj on a divine ladder with Jibreel Alayhi Salaam, where then he ascends to the first heaven. And Jibreel tells the gatekeeper of that first heaven, iftah, open. Who is it? Jibreel, who's with you? Muhammad. هل أرسل له؟ Was he sent for? Yes. مرحباً فنعم المجيء جاء. Welcome. And what an excellent visit this is.

The First Heaven - Prophet Adam

And the Prophet enters into the first gate of the heavens, the first heaven, the first level. And he sees there the father of all of mankind, Adam Alayhi Salaam. Jibreel Alayhi Salaam tells him to give his salams to his father. The Prophet extends his salams. And Adam Alayhi Salaam tells him, مرحباً بالابن الصالح والنبي الصالح. Welcome, O righteous son. Welcome, O righteous prophet.

And the Prophet, he sees a number of prophets in each level. And they are not chronological. But the ulama, the scholars, they mentioned a deep wisdom behind it. This journey is to prepare the Prophet for the years to come after. And so just as Adam Alayhi Salaam was removed from Jannah, and then he was brought back later, the Prophet now is to be prepared to leave Mecca. And he'll come back later.

The Second Heaven - Prophets Isa and Yahya

And then he goes to the second level, the second heaven. The same conversation between the gatekeeper and Jibreel Alayhi Salaam. Welcome, welcome. فَنِعْمَ الْمَجِيءُ جَاءَ And then he sees Isa Alayhi Salaam and Yahya Ibn Zakariya, the two prophet cousins Alayhi Salaam. And each time the Prophet sees these prophets, he later describes the description of the physical features of these prophets. He mentioned Isa Alayhi Salaam to have curly hair, and to be of medium build. And they mentioned that just as Isa and Yahya faced opposition from Banu Israel, that the Prophet in Medina will face a new opposition with Banu Israel from the Yahud, Banu Qaynuqa and the other tribes.

The Third Heaven - Prophet Yusuf

And then he was taken to the third level, where then he met Yusuf Alayhi Salaam. And all of these prophets are saying, welcome O righteous brother. And the Prophet described Yusuf to have half of beauty, half of jamal. And the Prophet just as Yusuf returned back to his brothers later on and forgave them, the Prophet will return back in Fath Makkah and say the exact words of Yusuf Alayhi Salaam, لا تثريب عليكم اليوم. There is no blame. اذهبوا انتم الطلقة.

The Fourth Heaven - Prophet Idrees

Then the fourth level, the Prophet is made to see Idrees Alayhi Salaam, the first prophet to write with the pen. And just like that, at that time after Fath Makkah, the Prophet begins to send many letters to the different empires and tribe leaders in order to spread the da'wa and to get more support.

The Fifth Heaven - Prophet Harun

The Prophet is then seen at the fifth level, Harun Alayhi Salaam, who was beloved by his people. As his brother Musa had the jalal, the awe and the might, Harun had the beauty, the jamal. And so just like that, the Prophet, after he unites all of the Arab, he becomes so beloved to them because they were never united before until the banner of Islam came and brought them together.

The Sixth Heaven - Prophet Musa

And then at the sixth level, the Prophet was made to see Musa Alayhi Salaam. And Musa Alayhi Salaam, as they wandered the desert and faced many strong tribes, the Prophet, at this stage of his prophethood, his ummah will go out to fight major empires like the Roman Empire.

The Seventh Heaven - Prophet Ibrahim

And then the seventh level, the Prophet is made to see his father, Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam, where he is against Al-Bayt Al-Ma'mur, which is like the Kaaba all the way in the heavens, where 70,000 angels come every day and they don't return until Yawm Al-Qiyamah. Imagine how many angels have done and gone to Al-Bayt Al-Ma'mur. And Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam is there and he says, welcome O righteous son, welcome O righteous prophet.

The Divine Meeting and Its Gifts

And so just like Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sees Ibrahim resting at Al-Bayt Al-Ma'mur, this is an indication and overshadowing that one of the last things he will do before his soul is taken ﷺ, is the farewell hajj, hajjatul wada. Each of these prophets preparing him ﷺ, for a part and a journey that he will undertake after returning from the journey of Al-Isra and Al-Mi'raj.

And then he ﷺ is taken to the lote tree, Sidratul Muntaha, where he mentioned and described colors that he could not put into words ﷺ. Golden butterflies, things out of this world, the description of Sidratul Muntaha. And there:

He saw Jibreel عليه السلام in his angelic form. Allah in Surah Al-Fatir describes the regular angels to have 2, 3, 4 wings. Jibreel had 600 wings, completely covering the horizon. The feathers of the wings emanating from it pearls and corals, things beyond this world, things we cannot imagine except that it was revealed to us and mentioned in the hadith.

And then Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, where Jibreel did not have access, no one had access. He is taken to the divine meeting where then he meets with Allah. We don't know what happened there, not much detail, a private meeting between Allah and His most beloved creation, Muhammad ﷺ. But we do know 3 things were granted to him there. The first were the last 2 verses of Surah Al-Baqarah.

The Three Divine Gifts

My dear brothers and sisters, we have now reached in the journey of Al-Mi'raj where Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in that divine meeting of Allah with Allah, His Creator, our Creator, Rabbul Alameen. Three things were given to him that we know:

The two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. The second thing was the glad tidings that every believer who says لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ will enter into Jannah and will be forgiven after the punishment or whatever. All believers will enter into Jannah. May Allah make us people of Jannah, Rabbul Alameen, بِلَا حِسَابٍ وَلَا عَذَابٍ - without account and without punishment, Ya Rabb.

The Gift of Salah: Our Mi'raj

The third thing that he was given is the Mi'raj that you and I can take, and that is Salah, the commandment of Salah. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was there, of all of the ibadah, over there in the Mi'raj he was given the commandment of Salah for the Ummah.

And then you know, 50 times, 50 salawat in the day. He goes back down, Musa عليه السلام says go back وَاسْأَلْ رَبَّكَ التَّخْفِيفَ - ask for it to be easier for your Ummah. أُمَّتَكَ لَا تُطِيقُ - your Ummah cannot do it, it's too much. And then Prophet Muhammad ﷺ kept going back and back and back minimum 5 times until it became 5 times. And Musa still told him: Go back, your Ummah can't do it. And then he said I went back قَدْ رَجَعْتُ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي حَتَّى اسْتَحْيَيْتُ مِنْهُ - until I'm too shy now to go again and ask for less than 5. And then Allah from that moment had declared that the Ummah will pray 5 times a day.

My dear brothers and sisters, our Mi'raj, our ascension to the heavens is not of course through climbing. This is Rasulullah ﷺ's miracle. Ours is when we go into Salah. Ours is when we go into Sajdah:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 979)

The closest you can get to your Lord is when you fall into Sajdah.

Preparing for Ramadan Through Salah

And with Ramadan around the corner:

Ramadan is around the corner. The best thing that a person can do in the month of Shaban is to prepare for the month of Ramadan by fasting frequently, by praying all of their 5 salawat. This is non-negotiable. As a believer you must pray 5 times a day:

And when you think of this miraculous journey of Rasulullah ﷺ and how the commandment of Salah was given particularly in that divine meeting, it should make you realize the status of Salah. It should make you realize that there is no exception. The difference between us and the disbelievers is our Salah.

So how can we fall short? How can we only have a few rows of brothers for Fajr? How can we fall short in not praying the 5 times a day? So from now until Ramadan, make a pact with yourself and Allah that I will do my very best not to miss any Salah. This is the best way you can get that connection to Allah.

Du'a

I ask Allah to make us people of Quran:

I ask Allah to make us people of Salah. I ask Allah to make us people of Salah. I ask Allah to make us people of Salah.

I ask Allah that he allows us to pray in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa without seeking permission from anyone but Muslims, Ya Rabb Al-Alameen.