Fri, 29th Mar, 2024 / 19 Ramadan 1445
الجمعة ٢٩ , مارس , ٢٠٢٤ / 19 رَمَضَان 1445
Fri, 29th Mar, 2024 /
19 Ramadan, 1445
الجمعة ٢٩ , مارس , ٢٠٢٤ / 19 رَمَضَان , 1445

Praise be to Allah, Who is clear of being a body and being in a place or having a similar or equal. May Allah raise the rank of the Master of the predecessors and those who came after them, our master and leader, Muhammad, and all his brothers in Prophethood and his Al and companions and wives and offspring and whoever follows them in goodness until Judgement Day.

Honoured guests, to each and every one of you, with each and every name and honourable traits;
To the heads of the scholarly committees, charitable associations, Islamic centres, disciplinary schools, muftis, sheikhs, preachers, teachers, thinkers, and specialists;

to the participants from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, East Timor, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Hong Kong, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and others’ it gives us pleasure to meet with you on the occasion of the Isra’ and Mi^raj commemoration.

However, this year it is from a far due to the spreading of the Corona virus. Despite that, it did not prevent the meeting of hearts. Our pleasure in being here with you is great on this fragrant occasion. How would we not commemorate this occasion when it is of the greatest miracles of our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

Allah the Exalted said:

﴾سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى﴿
﴾الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ﴿

 

Which means: [Praise be to Allah Who enabled His slave Muhammad to make the journey at night from Masjid Al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa, which is surrounded by a blessed land, to show him some of the wonders of His creations, Allah is attributed with Hearing and Sight.]

One who praised Prophet Muhammad in poetry said:
You glided like a full moon in its orbit shining brightly
on the universe, washing away darkness
And the Aqsa Mosque is veiled in holiness
Adorned by the light of guidance shining
And the Prophets at its doorway all gathered
Near the Prophet out of love and acceptance
O you who was granted the ascension above the heavens
You alone were granted the Mi^raj and Isra’

Honoured guests:
The miracle of the Isra’ is confirmed in explicit text of the Qur’an and the authentic Hadith. Hence it is an obligation to believe that Allah granted the Prophet ﷺ the night journey from the honoured Makkah to the Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem].

Moreover, the people of truth whether predecessors, or successors, muhaddiths or scholars of the creed or exegetes, or scholars of Jurisprudence; had a consensus that the Isra’ was by body and soul while being awake, and that is the truth. The wisdom behind the Isra’ is as Allah said:

لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا﴿

Which means: to show him the wonders of some of Allah’s creation.

Indeed, our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him saw in his Night Journey very many wonders which contained lessons and examples for us. He saw, during his Night Journey, the state of those who do not pay Zakah and the state of those whose heads feel heavy to fulfil the Prayer, and the state of the fornicators, and the state of those who drink alcohol. What he saw includes what was narrated by Imam Ahmad from the route of Ibn Abbas.

He said, “The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said, “When it was the night when I was taken on the Night Journey, I smelt a pleasant odour. Then I said, “O Jibril, what is this nice smell?”
He replied, “This is the smell of the lady who used to comb the hair of Pharaoh’s daughter and her children.”

The Prophet said, “And what is her story?”
Jibril replied, “As she was combing the hair of the Pharaoh’s daughter that day when the comb fell she said, “Bismillah”.
The daughter of the Pharaoh said to her, “My father?”
She said, “No, my Lord and the Lord of your father is Allah
She said, “Will I tell him that?”
She said, “Yes”
She told him then he called her. He said, “ do you have a Lord other than me?”
She said, “Yes. My Lord and your Lord is Allah

He called for a big container of copper and it was heated. Then he ordered that she and her children be thrown into it.
She said, “I have a request of you”
He said, “And what is your request?”
She said, “I want you to gather my bones and the bones of my children in one shroud and bury us”
He said, “You will have that from us”

So, he called for her children and they were thrown in front of her, one by one until they reached a boy of hers that was nursing. It was as if she was delayed because of him. He said, “O mother, face it bravely for the torture of this world is easier than the torture of the Hereafter.”
So, she faced it bravely.

Allah, Allah. Brothers in belief, where are we today in comparison to this amount of patience?
Where are we today in comparison to this amount of belief in the truth?
Where are we today in comparison to the complete adherence to the teachings of the leader of the nation, Muhammad, peace be upon him?

Where are we today in comparison to those; … and our society forgets day after day these attributes and is oblivious, day after day to the extreme need to adhere to the belief of prophet Muhammad, that of the Sunnis, of the Ash^ariyys and Maturidiyys.

As for the Ascension, it is confirmed by the explicit text of the authentic Hadiths. The Qur’an does not explicitly mention it. However, it contains what is very close to being an explicit mention.   Allah said:

﴾وَلَقَدْ رَ‌ءاهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَ‌ىٰ عند سدرة المنتهى عندها جنة المأوى﴿

This means: {Verily, he saw Him a second time at Sidratul Muntaha. There is jannatul ma’wa}.

The reason for the ascension was to honour the Prophet by allowing him to see the wonders of the upper world, and to raise his rank. Allah said:

﴿لَقَد رَأَى مِن ءايَاتِ رَبِهِ الكُبرَى﴾

Which means: Indeed he saw some of the astonishing creations of his Lord.

The matter is not as some ignorant people claim, that the reason behind the Ascension is for the Prophet to reach a place where Allah, the Exalted, resides. They also claim that the Prophet met with his Lord as the creation meets with a creation.

Allah is clear of the place and the direction because He, the Exalted, is not a body. He, the Exalted does not resemble anything of His creations. It is not permissible to believe the lie that is mentioned in some books, which is that Allah’s came closer to Muhammad until he was a cubit or less close to him. One must be warned from the book named “Kitabul Mi^raj” which is wrongly and falsely attributed to Ibn Abbas.

Imam Muslim narrated from lady  ^A’isha, may Allah accept her deeds, about His saying:

﴾ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوسَينِ أَو أَ دنَى﴿

Which means: Then he approached and came closer [to the Messenger] and was at a distance of two cubit-lengths or (even) nearer.

She [Lady ^Aisha] said, “That is Jibril, may Allah raise his rank. He used to come to him in the form of men but that time he came to him in his own form, and he blocked the view of the horizon.”

Brothers and sisters in Islam,
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah raise his rank and protect his nation from what he fears for them, prayed with the Prophets as the Imam in the Aqsa Mosque; After that he ascended to the sky.

In the heavens, he met with a number of Prophets after he had met them in the Aqsa mosque. In the first sky he met our Master Adam peace be upon him. In the second sky he met the maternal cousins, Jesus the son of Mary and Yahya the son of Zakariyya, peace be upon them.

In the third sky he met Yusuf, peace be upon him. In the fourth he met Idris peace be upon him. In the fifth he met Harun peace be upon him. In the sixth he met Musa, peace be upon him. In the seventh he met Ibrahim, peace be upon him. All of them welcomed him and made supplication for him for goodness.

Then Jibril took him to Sidratul Muntaha and Allah revealed to him what He revealed and He obligated on him and his nation 5 Prayers in the day and night. Among the wonders that the Messenger, peace be upon him, saw in the Ascension was Albayet Almamour, Sidratul Muntaha, Paradise, al-Hurul ^In, the Wildan al Mukkhalladin, the Throne, and other things.

Then he returned to Makkah, and some scholars said, “His travel from Makkah to the Aqsa Mosque and his return to Mecca happened in about a third of the night. He told Um Hani’ about his journey and then he told the blasphemers that he was escorted on this night journey. The blasphemers did not believe him, rather, they mocked him.

Some of those blasphemers geared up and went to Abu-Bakr and said to him, “Do you believe your friend’s claim that he travelled to the Holy House in Jerusalem and returned to Makkah in one night?”.
Abu Bakr said, Did he say that?”
They replied, “Yes”.
He said, “I testify that if he had truly said this, he would be truthful.

They replied, “So, you believe that he would be able to travel to the land of Sham (and back to Makkah in one night and returning before dawn?”
He said, “Yes, I believe him in matters that are far beyond that. I believe him in matters about the heavens”. Abu Salamah said: By this, Abu-Bakr became known as As-Siddiq.

The blasphemers then asked the Messenger of Allah to describe al-Aqsa Mosque to them because, they knew that he had never travelled to that part of the world yet with his locals. Then, Abu Jahl gathered his people and they sat listening as the Prophet ﷺ told them what he saw. Some of those who were listening and had been to that land said, “As for his description, by Allah (I swear), he has it right.

O you who described Al-Aqsa, you describe it as if you were its architect and builder.

Dear ladies and gentlemen of the audience,
What is famous among the statements of the scholars is that the Isra’ and the Mi^raj occurred in the month of Rajab. Al-Hafidh as-Suyutiy has made more than fifteen statements in this regard. The most famous of which is that ‘it was in the month of Rajab’.

The imam Abu Hayyan related in his exegesis, ‘Al-Bahr Al-Muhit’, from the mother of the believers, ^Aisha (may Allah accept her deeds), that she said, “It occurred in Rajab”.

The Hafidh Sirajuddin al-Bulqiniy affirmed this statement in ‘Mahasen Al-Istilah’ (i.e. The Merits of Convention) and said, “The night of al-Isra’ in Makkah is the night of the 27th of Rajab”. By this clear statement he also affirmed the truthfulness of the statement according to the Shafi^iyy school of thought, being, “The two sheikhs, the two imams, Al-Rafi^iyy and An-Nawawaiyy, in “Rawdat At-Talibin’ and in ‘^Umdat Al-Muftin’, mention the time of the night of al-Isra’ saying, “It was the evening of the 27th of Rajab”.

Also, on that day the Sultan Salahuddin Al-Ayubiy may Allah accept his deeds, conquered Jerusalem after it had been ruled by them for ninety years. On victory, he made a great scene re-entering it and the Muslims rejoiced for this great victory that brought back to them the Holy House, which is a pathway of our Master Muhammad ﷺ.

This happened on the night of the 27th of Rajab in memory of al-Isra’ and al-Mi^raj.

Brothers of Faith,
Talking about the miracle of the Isra’ and Mi^raj is enjoyable and interesting. For this reason, we are pleased to announce that we are holding another meeting next Saturday for preachers and students of this religion during which time we shall relay by way of recitation, ‘The Answers to the seeker of the Knowledge of Al-Isra’ and Al-Mi^raj’.

This invitation will be extended to you and through you. We shall limit the discussion to mentioning the stories that are confirmed and true only; while warning of the fabrications and lies that envelope this event.

An example is the claim of some tale teller that, “There was a dialogue in the heavens between God and the angels and Muhammad ﷺ regarding the matter of At-Tahiyat, and as some of them say that, ‘Jibril said to Muhammad ﷺ: ‘If I come closer, I will burn’, and the like.

In closing, we shall end this talk with conveying an authorization of some Islamic books, while mentioning some Hadiths (almusalsalah) of chained ascription. Then we shall hand out the certificates of Attendance and Authorization, to whom ever requests.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,
Once again, I extend to you the invitation, asking Allah to gather us in person next time, and up close on this fragrant occasion, and in better social circumstances, security, and safety. May the coming year bring you blessings and goodness. May Allah’s peace and mercy be upon you.

Chairman of Darulfatwa Australia
The High Islamic Council of Australia
Dr. Sheikh Salim Alwan Al-Husayniy (by lineage)

Saturday 29th of Rajab 1442, coinciding with 13th of March, 2021.

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