The Magnificent Journey "Al-Isrāʾ wal-Miʿrāj" | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Sh. Yaser Birjas

The Magnificent Journey "Al-Isrāʾ wal-Miʿrāj"

My dear brothers and sisters, in this time of the year, the Muslim community usually commemorates one of the most important and significant events that happened in the history of Islam, and the history of the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ and his life, and that is الإسراء والمعراج (al-Isra wa'l-Mi'raj), the magnificent journey of al-Isra wa'l-Mi'raj in which Allah miraculously moved the Prophet ﷺ from Mecca to Jerusalem, al-Masjid al-Aqsa, and Allah then summoned the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in a magnificent journey that is furthermore to go all the way up to the seventh heaven to meet his Lord for a very special appointment, and that is to receive as-Salah.

Brothers and sisters, when we study that seerah and we study that event or that story, we only go over the event, how magnificent the story is, how amazing the event was, how miraculous it was, of course, and we talk about the actual journey itself, how the Prophet ﷺ received Jibreel with al-Buraq, that very strange animal or ride, and they took them in such a very powerful speed into Jerusalem, and then he met with the anbiya and he went to the seventh heaven and met with his Lord. Beautiful story. Amazing, significant story, there's no doubt about it.

The Context: Understanding the Timing

But why did Allah take the Prophet ﷺ in that particular time of his mission ﷺ? Why? And what is our reflection on this? What's the lesson for us to learn from that? It's not just about giving the Prophet ﷺ a miracle. It's not just giving him a miracle. It's a lesson for the ummah after the Prophet ﷺ to learn from as many generations as we will live.

So to give you the meaning of that story, we have to understand the context because what the context is, subhanAllah, is similar to what the ummah is going through today. We live a time of disappointment, a time of abandonment, you could say, and many people feel desperate. SubhanAllah, they see that the victory is not coming anytime soon and we did everything in our power. What else can we do? But unfortunately we see that the powerful kufr is taken over. Disobedience to Allah is prevalent among the community, the Muslim ummah. What's happening here?

The Prophet's Mission Timeline

So how is that related to the Prophet's ﷺ story of al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj? If you look back at the story of the Prophet ﷺ, in a flash, he received إقرأ (iqra) ﷺ, reading the name of your Lord who created in Mecca. And for the first three years he was giving his da'wah secretly. Few people embraced Islam, predominantly the weak among the community. And then when two powerful people became Muslim, Hamza and Umar ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ was given the permission to go out publicly.

When the da'wah became public, it became a threat to the people of Mecca for four years. They tried everything in their power to stop the Prophet ﷺ. They tortured the believers. Some of the sahaba asked the Prophet ﷺ for permission to go somewhere. So the Prophet ﷺ sent them to Abyssinia. They went to Abyssinia because there was a Christian king who was known to be fair and tolerant. And the Prophet ﷺ said, you're going to worship Allah well over there. And they did. For four years.

The Boycott and the Year of Grief

And then the Meccans, when they realized that they could not stop it, so they went with the boycott. Three consecutive years of what we call today concentration camps. The believers and the family of the Prophet ﷺ were put in that valley, Shaib Abi Talib, for three years. And many of them, towards the end of that siege, died. Among those who passed, the two most important figures in the life of the Prophet ﷺ. His beloved Khadija ﷺ. His beloved emotional support. His wife Khadija ﷺ, she passed. And his uncle Abu Talib, his political support, passed as well. And as a result of all of this, the Prophet ﷺ was going through so much grief that that year was called the year of grief.

When Abu Talib passed, his uncle, the Prophet's ﷺ uncle, Abu Lahab, he took over. And Abu Lahab, being the chief of Banu Hashim, the family of the Prophet ﷺ, he was an enemy to the Prophet ﷺ. He was an enemy to his own nephew. So what did he do to the Prophet ﷺ? He kind of said to the people of Mecca, he's yours. I'm not going to give him protection. He removed that protection.

The Journey to Ta'if

And the Prophet ﷺ needed to continue to deliver the message. And the closest town to him was At-Ta'if. So he goes on that very dangerous journey. He goes to At-Ta'if ﷺ. And he spent about 14, some would say 40 days with the people of At-Ta'if, calling them to Allah. He says, accept from me what my own people rejected. Accept from me the da'wah, the support. Accept that from me. And you will be victorious. You will get this.

They refused. They rejected him. And not just rejected him, they ridiculed him. They mocked him. They insulted him. And on his way out, they even stoned him ﷺ. He came out bruised, physically and emotionally ﷺ. There when the Prophet ﷺ was arriving to Mecca, the news spread that he was rejected in At-Ta'if. So that's it, no support whatsoever.

And with that, the Prophet ﷺ started looking to negotiate if he could possibly come into the city, his own home. He was refused to enter into his own home until he found an alliance with a man, Al-Mut'im ibn Adi. He says, I got you. He says, I'll protect you. He gave him asylum. And this man, he went with his children, all armed, with everything that they had. And they went out of town. They brought Muhammad ﷺ in the middle, entered with their entourage. And everybody is yelling at Al-Mut'im ibn Adi, how dare you do this? How could you do this to us? We can't, why did you do this? And he just said, no, don't touch him. He's my man right now. Anyone touches him, he's now enemy of my family. And that was an honorable thing for them. So when he went to the, with the Prophet ﷺ, he says, go and be guided, so the Prophet made tawaf, went back home.

The Miraculous Night Journey

It was in that time that the Prophet ﷺ is now alone. His wife is not there. His support is not there. He's by himself in the house, ﷺ, probably maybe looking at the ceiling of the roof of his house. And in that small room, of course, it's in that moment of reflection that Jibreel came to the Prophet ﷺ and says, come with me. And the Prophet ﷺ was surprised. He saw that animal, al-Buraq, and he said, let's go, we're going to take a ride. And he flew him from Mecca all the way to Jerusalem.

Today that journey is easy to comprehend, because we fly this in a few hours, alhamdulillah. But back then, a journey like this was no way this is possible. Do you remember the first time you were on a plane? How crazy you wanted to be by the window so you could see? And how amazing the sights were when you traveled that journey? Imagine the Prophet ﷺ going through that first time experience. And then not just that, in Jerusalem, he goes from there all the way up to the seventh heaven to meet his Lord in a station that the Sahaba, the Prophet ﷺ, he said, I reached a position that Jibreel told me proceed.

And obviously the Prophet ﷺ did not know where to go. He asked Jibreel, come with me. He says, I cannot. I reached my limit. Like if I pass, I'll be burned. Like I'm not allowed to pass this point. You go. So he was put in a position higher than that position, subhanAllah, only to receive from his Lord without any middle person, without Jibreel. You tell your people that they're obligated to pray 50 prayers every day and night. And the Prophet ﷺ says, we listen, we obey.

But our favor right now is actually the favor of Musa ﷺ on us. That Musa ﷺ, he stopped the Prophet ﷺ on that journey multiple times, reducing the 50 prayers to five prayers. So we owe it to Musa ﷺ for that. But then the Prophet ﷺ, he received that and Allah says there are five in number, 50 in reward. And that's it. That's the command of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ comes down and Jibreel came to the Prophet ﷺ for the next few days, leading him in salah to teach him what we do on regular basis, my dear brothers and sisters.

The Transformation and Response

But then the following day in the morning, the Prophet ﷺ comes out very excited. That spirit, the broken spirit they came with when he came down from At-Ta'if is gone. The people, they thought Muhammad is going to come out and they're going to still mock him and ridicule him and laugh at him because he's going to be looking down. Instead, he came out so energized ﷺ. He saw miracles. Nothing's going to stop him now.

To Abu Jahl, what's so exciting, because last night I went to Jerusalem, I came back. Now again, for us, this is easy to do today. But back then, he says, and you're willing to tell the people that. And the Prophet ﷺ said, of course I will. He calls and he goes, look here, look at this man. He says he does this, he does that, and now he says he went to Jerusalem, coming back in one single night. It takes us months to do that journey.

So they went to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. Ya Abu Bakr, your man is saying he went to Jerusalem in one single night and he came back again. Forget about the heavens. He says, if it's true he said that, I believe him. He goes, you believe this? He says, I believe he's bringing me the news from Allah, the Creator. You think it's going to be difficult for Allah to do it for him? Like if he truly said that, I believe it. I have no doubt that it happened. And that's why the Prophet ﷺ called this man what? Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. The man who believed in the truth.

The Lessons for Our Time

My dear brothers and sisters, that energized the Prophet ﷺ for the next three years until the hijrah was commanded. What do we learn from this? What's the significance of that story to us over here? Look at what happened here. When the Prophet ﷺ was in his probably most, the lowest emotional moment. The year of grief and sorrow. The ummah is in a moment, a very low moment. They couldn't see a way out. They don't know where to go, in which direction, subhanAllah. Sounds familiar to you all, right? It sounds familiar. We don't know where to look. We don't know where to go to find support and help and guidance and we just don't know. It sounds very familiar.

It's in that moment when people lose almost every single hope, that's when Allah brings about miracles. That's when the victory of Allah comes. It came to the Prophet ﷺ before. It came for the believers as well and will continue to be the sunnah and the way of Allah. When people lose all hope in everything and everybody, Allah will intervene. So, when the Prophet ﷺ was in that moment, Allah said to the Prophet ﷺ, don't be sad. Let me show you something. And the miracle that happened to the Prophet ﷺ was enough. Not that he didn't believe before, but now he has a sight of it, ﷺ. He has seen it, he's experienced it, ﷺ.

Divine Intervention in History

It happened to Musa ﷺ as well. Musa ﷺ, when he left with Bani Israel, ironically, he left from Egypt, taken into the Holy Land. By the time they went to the beach and to the bank, they started looking behind him. They saw the Pharaoh and his army catching up with them. And they told Musa ﷺ, they're going to catch up with us. That's it. We're done. Said, no, no, no. Allah is with me. He'll guide me. It was in that moment when people saw there was no hope, no escape, that Allah, just like he did to the Prophet ﷺ, he did to Musa ﷺ, changed the laws of physics, the laws of water, and he split the sea for him and for his people, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Ibrahim ﷺ, when he was in that desperate moment, as he was flying right now in the air, he's flying in the air towards the fire, he's doomed, khalas, he's done.

The Divine Test and Miraculous Relief

Comes to him, Jibreel, قال ألك حاجة؟ You need help? Do you need anything from me? In that moment, what is left for him, that's it, he's done. قال أما إليك فلا حاجة. For me, I'm good. ولكن حسبي الله ونعم الوكيل. But Allah is sufficient for me. And my reliance is only in Him, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Instantly, Allah says, قلنا يا نار كوني برداً وسلاماً على إبراهيم. Allah said to the fire, be cool. Be safety for Ibrahim. Changing the rules of everything, bringing those miracles.

Hope in Times of Darkness

Brothers and sisters, hope inshallah wa ta'ala. Hope is coming. When you see things get darker and darker, every time you watch the news, you cannot even imagine the world can go lower than this. Every time you open, subhanAllah, the news, you see things just like لا حول ولا قوة. Where are these people going? How low can people be? And they keep going there, and subhanAllah, even every time we think that we're done with this and something new that surprises you about how low people are willing to go and be.

So therefore, when we start losing that hope, I hope that those who remain steadfast, remain hopeful, and they see that Allah still tested them to that limit. That's when the victory of Allah comes. That's when change comes.

Lessons from Al-Isra wal-Mi'raj

1. Strength and Honor for the Prophet

So brothers and sisters, to go through these lessons of the Prophet quickly, number one, it was for the Prophet to give him strength in his heart after, of course, he was in that sorrow, the year of sorrow. Strength in his heart that Allah, He called upon him for that particular journey. And that is to show the Prophet that you're honored. You haven't been abandoned. No, no, no. You deserve to come to a station that even Jibreel was unable to go to.

2. Allah's Absolute Control

Number two, it shows that Allah is in control. He's capable of doing all things, subhanahu wa ta'ala, even miracles like this. Now, we don't expect miracles of that nature for us, or for the people, the believers, for the oppressed, and for those who are wronged. But we know Allah will take care of them. Allah's way will never change. Because He, as He mentioned in the first ayah, and if He allows it to happen, not that He likes it, not that He approves it, but it's part of the test. And I know there's a wisdom behind that.

3. The Divine Connection Through Prayer

Number three, my dear brothers and sisters, it shows us the importance of that divine connection that we unfortunately sometimes don't do it right. As-Salah, the five daily prayers. Everything Allah commands the Prophet to perform when he was on earth. As-Salah, He summoned him all the way to the seventh heaven. Because that connection is unique. This is your personal relationship with Allah. This is your personal connection and communication with Allah. Why would you mess it up? Why would you cut yourself off from Allah's connection?

He's given you an opportunity to have that very private connection with Him five times a day. At least. If you just maintain the five daily prayers, that's all. He's given you this opportunity, this honor to stand before Him. When everybody else is busy and neglectful and you are there standing before Allah saying, الله أكبر, guide me the straight path. What an honor to be in His presence, subhanahu wa ta'ala. But then we waste that. We miss Salah, we sleep off, we just kind of like ignore it, make it quickly, we don't pay attention to Salah, that's why Allah summoned the Prophet to bring him up so that to show us the value of the five daily prayers.

And Ramadan is coming. I hope those who have excuses will find that Ramadan will make you remember and realize, I don't have any excuse. I'm just being lazy. So therefore, start living Ramadan before Ramadan starts, my dear brother and sister, and be careful with your Salawat.

4. The Central Position of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa

Another thing we learn from this lesson is the central position of al-Masjid al-Aqsa and Jerusalem in our faith. It's not a trivial thing, it's not just a book of history, it's central. Because Allah mentioned clearly in the Quran, from the sacred house of Allah to the farthest Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. It was mentioned intentionally by Allah, telling us that the message right now, developed right now to you, to unify the message of Allah, because it's not just a religious duty, it's a historical duty as well too.

5. Unity of the Divine Message

What we learn as well is when the Prophet, he led the Anbiya in Salat in jama'ah. The Prophet said in the story, so Salat time came and I led them in Salat. This is to show that Islam is nothing new or strange. It's a continuation of the divine message that Allah sent throughout all the Anbiya from including Musa and Isa. So it's nothing strange and that is the message that you need to carry and never ever shy away from admitting that you're Muslim and Islam is nothing strange. No, it's a continuation of what people believe in as well too.

6. Faith in the Unseen

We also learn from this, my dear brothers and sisters, that as a believer, a great part of my faith is also based on iman al-ghaib, to believe in the unseen. Yes, alhamdulillah, we've been called to believe based on knowledge. Have the knowledge there is no God worthy of worship but Allah. But there is an element that is based on faith, there is no doubt about it. And that's why Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was praised for that position. Abu Bakr didn't need to have a proof because he had seen it through the life of the Prophet and from the original message. So when Allah is present in the heart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, he believes it. He said, that's why he said, if it's true that he said that, then I believe it. So sometimes you're going to have to have that faith in that element where you don't really have anything else beside that.

7. Relief After Hardship

My dear brothers and sisters, we also know as a lesson from this story, is that as Allah mentioned in the Quran:

With every hardship, you'll find relief. For every hardship, there will be relief. And for every hardship that we're going through on an individual level, on family level, community, global, ummah level, there will be relief. Our job, our duty is to work on this, hoping that Allah will deliver that relief sooner than later.

The Honor of Being Allah's Servant

My dear brothers and sisters, one last thing, one last message we learn, we find it at the beginning of surah al-Isra. When Allah said to the Prophet:

Allah says, Praise be to Him. أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ The One who delivered His servant, His slave on that journey, at night. Allah, out of all the honorable titles the Prophet deserves as being a great messenger of Allah, a great prophet, a great human being, of all the beautiful titles the Prophet deserves, Allah named him by what? عَبْدِهِ His servant.

What does that mean, my dear brothers and sisters? That realized for us, that we realize that the greatest station, the most honorable thing you can honor yourself with is to admit that you're a servant of Allah. Not servant of your desires, not servant of anyone's interest or anybody's way. No, you are the true servant of Allah. You want to honor yourself? Then live as being a true servant of Allah.

Ask yourself, what does Allah want from me? What's my mission? What's my goal? How can I fulfill this obligation that I am a truly servant of Allah? You work on this, my dear brothers and sisters, and you will see miracles will happen to you in this life.

Conclusion: Living by Faith

Isra wal Mi'raj is not just a story to be told. No. It's really, it's a guide. It's a guide where you always live by faith. And that faith is always established through action. And the basic action you need to do with it is to maintain your five daily prayers.