The
blessings of Salat upon the Prophet ﷺ
Our Beloved Prophet ﷺ said, "Recite Salat upon me
abundantly on the day of Jumu'ah as it is witnessed by the Angels. A person
does not recite Salat upon me except that it is presented to me until he
completes his recital. Sayyidunā Abū Dardā رَضِيَ
اللّٰهُ عَنْه asked, "Even after you pass away?" He ﷺ replied, "Yes, even after my passing.
Indeed Allah Almighty has forbidden upon the earth that it devour the bodies of
the Prophets عَلَيْهِمُ الصَّلَاة. So the Prophets of
Allah Almighty are alive and given sustenance."¹
صَلُّوا عَلَى الْحَبِيْب صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّد
Dear Islamic brothers! The creed of
the people of Islam is that the Prophets عَلَيْهِمُ
السَّلَام are alive in their graves with a real life as they were in this
world.¹This is clear from the narration mentioned above.
¹
Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1637
سُبْحَٰنَ
اللّٰہ Glory be to Allah Almighty! When this is the status of all
the Prophets عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَام, then what
will be glory of the leader of all the Prophets, the beloved of the Creator,
our master, the chosen Prophet Muhammad حَلَّى اللّٰهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم؟ Most definitely the Prophet
ﷺ is still alive today and aiding and availing his devotees. However,
our weak eye sights fall short of seeing him. How beautifully has my master,
the Imām of Ahl Al-Sunnah, Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُاللّٰهِ
عَلَيه expressed:
Tu zindah hay Wallah! Tu
Zindah hay Wallah!
Meray chashm-e-'alam say chup jaanay waaley²
By Allah! You are alive. By
Allah! You are alive
O you who is veiled from the world of my eyes
The
Miracle of Miʿrāj and the Condition of That Time
When our beloved master, the chosen
Prophet ﷺ announced his prophethood and
messengership and began calling people towards the worship of the One True God,
Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ, those who were
steeped in disbelief and polytheism became his mortal enemies. Even though
every page of the blessed life of the Prophet ﷺ
was before them, purer than the morning dew, more flourishing than flowers,
more illuminating and more radiant than the sun and the moon, and free from
every outward and inward defect and blemish, they began to belie the Prophet ﷺ.
When they were unable to respond
upon seeing the manifest signs of Prophethood, and nothing was succeeding for
them, they alleged that these miracles were magic and sorcery. These oppressors
put thorns in his path, cast stones on his noble body, poured down calamities
and adversities, and stoked an atmosphere of defamation and disparagement. All
this oppression was increased when the Prophet's uncle, Abū Ṭālib, and then a
few days later, the Mother of Believers, Sayyidah Khadījah Al-Kubra رَضِيَاللّٰهُعَنْهَا, both passed away in
the 10th year after the Proclamation of Prophethood.
¹
Bahar-e-Shari'at, vol. 1, p. 58
² Hada'iq-e-Bakhshish, vol. 1, p. 158
Despite all of these obstacles, the
Beloved Prophet ﷺ did not abandon the
call of Islam and continued to prevent people from disbelief (kufr) and
polytheism (shirk). At this delicate phase, whoever would accept the Prophet's
call to the truth and become honoured with Islam would become the target of the
brutality and oppression of the disbelievers. In this state, time passed
slowly, and this 10th year also reached its conclusion.
Then the 11th year begins. In this
year also, the atmosphere of defamation, disparagement, brutality, and
oppression is stoked, but despite all these obstacles, adversities and
calamities, the Prophet ﷺ remains immersed in
elevating the word of truth.
In this way, the month of Rajab
arrives and when its 27th night transpires, Allah Almighty honours His beloved
Prophet ﷺ with a distinction that no one has ever
received before him, nor will anyone receive after him. An incredible event
that leaves the listener stunned, causes the disbelief and rejection of those
that consider the intellect as the be all and end all to increase, and makes
the belief of those fortunate ones of complete faith increase.
Dear Islamic brothers! This
astounding occurrence is known as the Miʿrāj. In the Quran, mentioning it
briefly, Allah Almighty states:
سُبْحَٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ اَسْرٰى بِعَبْدِهٖ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ
الْحَرَامِ اِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْاَقْصَا الَّذِيْ بٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهٗ لِنُرِيَهٗ
مِنْ اٰيٰتِنَا ۭ اِنَّهٗ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ
Glory be to Him Who took His
bondsman by the night from the Sacred Mosque (the Ka'bah) to Al-Aqṣā Mosque
around which We have placed blessing, in order that We may show him Our great
signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.¹
Let us delve into its detailed
explanation.
Explanation
of the Event of Miʿrāj
It is the beautiful, illuminated
Monday night of the 27th of Rajab in the 11th year of the proclamation of
Prophethood, 2 years before the migration.² The Beloved Prophet ﷺ, having led the 'Isha prayer, is resting
in the home of the daughter of his uncle, Sayyidah Umm Hānī رَضِيَاللّٰهُعَنْهَا³ when the roof of the sanctified room
opens. Sayyidunā Jibrīl عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام
descends into the sacred presence and takes the Prophet ﷺ from the home of Sayyidah Umm Hānī رَضِيَاللّٰهُعَنْهَا
to al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, laying him down in the ḥaṭīm.⁴
Opening
of the Blessed Chest
The beloved Prophet ﷺ was resting on one side, here (at the ḥaṭīm
of the Ka'bah), with the effects of slumber still present⁵ when Sayyidunā
Jibrīl عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام presented himself
once more. This time, he opened the blessed chest of the Prophet ﷺ from the blessed collarbone to the blessed
stomach and extracted the pure heart. He filled it with faith and wisdom. A
golden vessel was brought; Sayyidunā Jibrīl عَلَيْهِ
السَّلَام bathed the pure heart of the Prophet ﷺ
with the water of Zam Zam, filled it with faith and wisdom, and replaced it
into the blessed chest.6
¹ Kanz-ul-Iman
(translation of Quran)] (Part 15, Surah Bani Isra'eel, verse 1)
² Mir'aat al-Manajih, vol. 8, p. 135
³ Al-Sirat Al-Nabawiyyah li Ibn-e-Hisham, vol. 2, p. 38
⁴ Fath Al-Baari, Kitaab Manaqib Al-Ansaar, Bāb Al-Miʿrāj, vol. 7, p. 256, under
the Hadith 3887
⁵ Al-Marja' al-Sabiq - 6 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3887
Mounting
the Burāq
After this, a mount was presented in
the sacred court of the Prophet ﷺ. It was a white
animal called Burāq, and was larger than a donkey and smaller than a mule.1 It
was saddled and bridled2 and its speed of travel was such that it would place
its next step as far as its gaze would reach.3 Whenever it would climb upwards,
its forelegs would shorten and hind legs would extend, and whenever it
descended from height, its forelegs would extend and hind legs would shorten.
Because of this, its back would remain level in both states4 so that the one
mounted on it would not face any kind of difficulty.
When the beloved Prophet ﷺ moved closer and intended to mount the
Burāq, it began to buck, unable to contain its happiness. Seeing this,
Sayyidunā Jibrīl عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام
put his hand on the Burāq's mane saying, "Are you not ashamed, O Burāq? By
Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ! No personality has
mounted you in all creation more noble and dignified than the chosen one,
Sayyidunā Muhammad ﷺ." Hearing this,
it was so ashamed that it began to sweat until it became soaked, and it stopped
bucking and became still.5
1 Ṣaḥīḥ
al-Bukhārī: 3887
2 Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: 3131
3 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3887
4 Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat lil-Ṭabarānī: 3879
5 Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah li Ibn Hisham, Dhikr Al-Isra Al-Miʿrāj; Jāmiʿ
al-Tirmidhī: 3131
No comments:
Post a Comment