Tareek Alhedaya – Israa' 2/part 1

Allah (SWT) opens Surat Al-Isra’ with the mention of this event, “Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey.” The verb refers to a supernatural force, and in this instance the verbal subject is Allah (SWT) and not the Prophet (PBUH), even the mere ability of the Prophet (PBUH) to see what he saw was given to him by Allah (SWT), “in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).”  Thus, Alesra’ w’alorooj is a miracle that goes beyond our ability to imagine, our logic, our understanding and the laws of nature, and is only plausible as part of one of our creeds, which is believing in Alghaib (the unseen).

Allah Promised almottaqun (those whose fear of Allah prevents them form committing sins), he promised them aljannah (heaven) as a reward for their faith and certitude.  It is no coincidence that Allah (SWT) describes almottaqun at the beginning of Surat Albaqara,  “This is the Book (the Qur’ân), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious believers of Islamic Monotheism who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]. Who believe in the Ghaib and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and spend out of what We have provided for them [i.e. give Zakat , spend on themselves, their parents, their children, their wives, etc., and also give charity to the poor and also in Allah’s Cause – Jihad].”

Hence, the first description of almottaqun is, those who believe in Alghaib, then those who perform their salah (prayer).  Believing in alghaib preceded assalah.  Many things fall under believing in alghaib.  Amongst others, believing all that which the Prophet narrates about his journey, including the description of Jibril (Gabriel) and all the other scenes the Prophet describes.

The depiction of the event in Surat Al Israa, “Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey” clarifies that it is Muhammad’s Lord who took him.  Therefore, listening to what the Prophet (PBUH) says and believing it is part of believing in alghaib.  Abu-Bakr (one of the companions) teaches us a lesson in believing in alghaib.  When he heard what the non believers said about Alesra’ w’alorooj he confirmed that it is an unbelievable event but since Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said this happened then it did happen.  We believe him because he is Assadek Alameen (the truthful, the honest), a title that the atheists themselves gave him because he had never lied in his life.

The fact that there is still an ongoing debate about Alesra’ w’alorooj is another divine miracle.

In fact, Allah teaches us in Surat Al-Israa to say Subhan Allah (“Glory to Allah”) whenever we hear something that is hard to believe, to remember The Great Author of the extraordinary event (SWT), He who did take his servant for a journey, because what He did is far above. 

Another point I want to draw your attention to is the use of the word “servant” instead of “prophet” or “messenger”. This word was chosen to refer to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) because this voyage was meant for the servant and not the prophet nor the messenger. At this stage, Muhammad was a servant of Allah (SWT), because that was His wish and what Allah (SWT) wishes occurs and what He wishes for him to see, he will see as the verse says, “in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).”  Note how the verse says, “we might show him” and not “he might see”. It implies that something occurs to the Prophet (PBUH) that limits his sight to what Allah (SWT) wants him to see.  The Prophet did not argue about this verse because the Qur’an is the truth, “will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw?”  He had nothing to do with what he saw, it is Allah (SWT) who made him see it; Allah (SWT) is the author of this action.

In Surat Al Israa, Allah (SWT) says, “ in order that We might show him” while in Surat Annajm He (SWT) says, “For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest!” meaning that he saw specific things that were meant for him to see.

When Musa (AS) (Moses) made his request to Allah he chose the right wording, “O my Lord! Show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon Thee.” Musa did not say, “I want to see you”, but he said, “show to me”.  Musa (AS) knew that he could not see by himself, but by the power of Allah (SWT).  This is why this event is considered a miracle, so glory is to Allah, He who made it happen and He who did take his servant.

Here, I would like to elaborate on the word “servant”.  When the word servant is used to refer to the ownership of a human to another human, then the word indicates humiliation and dishonor. On the contrary, referring to a person as Abdullah (the servant of Allah, the all-mighty) is a great honor.  Therefore, this word was chosen to refer to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in order to honor the Prophet and to get him ready for the upcoming order of making salah mandatory. The implication is that as a Muslim, I am the servant of Allah the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds and it’s an honor.  In life, when we receive orders from others, we find that difficult to take. It’s a totally different story when the order is from Allah (SWT).

We said before that the orders to fast, go on pilgrimage and pay zakah (tax paid to the poor) were given on earth.  On the other hand, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was ordered to perform Salah and let all Muslims know that Salah has become a fard (a mandatory act of worship for all Muslims) while he was in heaven, the closest to Allah a person can get.  This shows how important Salah is and how it gets humans closer to Allah.  The first thing we are asked about on the Day of Judgment is our Salah.  If it was sincere, then all our deeds will be so, and if it is corrupt then so will be our deeds.  This meaning is conveyed in the Qur’anic verse, “Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do.” (29:45) Those who perform their salah properly, it stops them from committing any shameful deeds. The salah became mandatory by describing how to get closer to Allah, “Nay, heed him not: But bow down in adoration, and bring thyself the closer (to Allah)”(96:19) Allah (SWT) coupled the salah with the prostration because it brings us the closest to Allah.  Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made this clear when he said, “the closest Allah’s servant can get to Him is when he prostrates”. In fact, performing sujood (prostration: a part of salah where the person kneels down and places his/her face on the floor) is considered the most important part of salah because we put the noblest part of our body, our forehead, on the ground to indicate complete submission to Allah. Allah said to Maryam (AS)(Mary): “O Mary! Be obedient to thy lord, prostrate thyself and bow with those who bow (in worship)”(3:43). Prostration was mentioned before bowing to indicate submission during prayers.

The presenter asks about the authentic hadith that talks about alesra’ w’alorooj and the subject of salah and what it means, and whether it is a bond between the servant and his Lord.

Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are the two most integral books of hadith and after them comes Imam Ahmad’s.  They all mentioned the hadith without giving many details about what the Prophet (PBUH) saw, and only stating one or two events with ahadith traced back to the Prophet himself.

In that respect, all that matters to us is that the event did take place, and believing in it is a duty on every Muslim.  As a Muslim, I should understand the concepts of migration and esra’ and orooj.  We’ve said before that the Muslims migrated but the Prophet (PBUH) was exiled and did not leave of his own will.  I believe in this case in the Qur’an and I chose the hadith narrated by Muslim or Bukhari, over which they had some differences that did not amount to disagreements.

The Hadith narrated by Muslim is:

Anas Bin-Malek, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated, Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) said<

I was brought Al-Buraq, which is an animal white and long, bigger than a donkey but smaller than a mule that would place its hoof at a distance equal to the range of vision.  I mounted it and came to Jerusalem (Bait Al-Maqdis), then tethered it to the ring used by the prophets.  I entered the mosque and prayed two rak’ahs (units of prayer) in it, and then came out and Jibril brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk.  I chose the milk, and Jibril said, “You have chosen the thing of natural disposition.”  Then he took me to heaven.  Jibril then asked the gate of heaven to be opened and he was asked who he was. He replied, “Jibril.”  He was again asked, “Who is with you?”  He (Jibril) said, “Muhammad.”  It was asked, “Has he been revealed to?”  Jibril replied, “He has indeed been revealed to.”  So the door of the heaven was opened for us, and there!  We saw Adam.  He welcomed me and prayed for my good. Then we ascended to the second heaven.  Jibril (AS) asked the gate of the heaven to be opened, and he was asked who he was.  He answered, “Jibril.”  He was again asked, “Who is with you?”  He replied, “Muhammad.”  It was asked, “Has he been revealed to?”  He replied, “He has indeed been revealed to.”  The gate was opened.  When I entered Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam, and Yahya (John the Baptist, son of Zachariah) (peace be upon both of them), cousins from the maternal kinship, welcomed me and prayed for my good.  Then I was taken to the third heaven and Jibril asked for the opening of the door. He was asked, “Who are you?”  He replied, “Jibril.”  He was (again) asked, “Who is with you?”  He replied, “Muhammad (may peace be upon him).”  It was asked, “Has he been revealed to?”  He replied, “He has indeed been revealed to.”  The gate was opened for us and I saw Yusuf (Joseph) (AS) who had been given half of (worldly) beauty. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being. Then he ascended with us to the fourth heaven. Jibril (AS) asked for the gate to be opened, and it was asked, “Who are you?”  He replied, “Jibril.”  It was (again) asked, “Who is with you?”  He said, “Muhammad.”  It was asked, “Has he been revealed to?”  He replied, “He has indeed been revealed to.”  The gate was opened for us, and lo!  Idris (AS)(Enoch) was there. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being. (About him) Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious, has said: “And We raised him to a high station” then he ascended with us to the fifth heaven and Jibril asked for the gate to be opened.

It was asked, “Who are you?”  He replied, “Jibril.”  It was (again) asked, “Who is with you?”  He replied, “Muhammad.”  It was asked, “Has he been revealed to?”  He replied, “He has indeed been revealed to.”  The gate was opened for us and then I was with Harun (Aaron) (AS).  He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.  Then I was taken to the sixth heaven.  Jibril (AS) asked for the door to be opened.  It was asked, “Who are you?”  He replied, “Jibril.”  It was asked, “Who is with you?”  He replied, “Muhammad.”  It was asked, “Has he been revealed to?”  He replied, “He has indeed been revealed to.” The gate was opened for us and there I was with Musa (AS).  He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.  Then I was taken up to the seventh heaven.  Jibril asked the gate to be opened.  It was asked, “Who are you?”  He said, “Jibril.”  It was asked, “Who is with you?”  He replied, “Muhammad” (may peace be upon him). It was asked, “Has he been revealed to?”  He replied, “He has indeed been revealed to.”  The gate was opened for us and there I found Ibrahim (Abraham) (AS) reclining against Al-Bait Al-Ma’mur where seventy thousand angels enter every day, never to visit (this place) again.  Then, I was taken to Sidrat Al-Muntaha whose leaves were like elephant ears and its fruit like big earthenware vessels.  When it was given a cover by the Command of Allah, it underwent such a change that none among the creation has the power to praise its beauty. 

Then, Allah revealed to me a revelation and He made obligatory for me fifty prayers every day and night.  Then, I went down to Musa (AS) and he asked, “What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah?”  I said, “Fifty Prayers.”  He asked: Return to your Lord and beg for reduction (in the number of Prayers), for your community will not be able to bear this burden. As I have put to test the Children of Israel and tried them (and found them too weak to bear such a heavy burden). He (the Holy Prophet) said, I went back to my Lord and said, “My Lord, make this duty lighter for my Ummah.” (The Lord) reduced five prayers for me. I went down to Musa and said: (The Lord) reduced five (Prayers) for me. He said, “Verily your Ummah will not be able to bear this burden; return to your Lord and ask Him to make things lighter.”  I then kept going back and forth between my Lord, Blessed and Exalted, and Musa, till He said, “There are five prayers every day and night.  O Muhammad, each being credited as ten, so that makes fifty prayers. He who intends to do a good deed and does not do it will have a good deed recorded for him; and if he does it, it will be recorded for him as ten; whereas he who intends to do an evil deed and does not do, it will not be recorded for him; and if he does it, only one evil deed will be recorded.”

I then came down and when I came to Musa and informed him, he said, “Go back to your Lord and ask Him to make duty lighter.”  Upon this Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) remarked,  “I returned to my Lord until I felt abashed before Him.”

When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) described al-buraq, he used familiar depictions of that period of time that suited the minds of the time. The word al-buraq is derived from the Arabic word Barq, which literally means lightening to symbolize speed.  There are a lot of ahadith claiming that Al-buraq did not want to be ridden by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and that Jibril

Jibril told al-buraq that it had never been ridden by anyone who is better than Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This type of information is of no value to us. We ought to follow what the Prophet said, “One of the virtues of good Muslims, is leaving what does not concern them”.  I am trying to show the viewers here the difference between an authentic and a weak hadith.  The main difference is that the latter goes into unimportant details.  I would like to warn the viewers of a book entitled “by Ibn-Abbas” full of strange Ahadith.

The Prophet then says in the hadith that he tethered it to the ring used by the prophets at the Al-Aqsaa mosque.  Many scholars disagreed with this point arguing: “would Al-buraq have been stolen if the prophet hadn’t tied it?”  Our answer is that we’ve learnt from the Prophet that when a man asked him, “do I leave my camel and trust in Allah?”  The Prophet replied, “Tie it and trust in Allah”, and this is a genuine hadith narrated by Muslim.  The Prophet is teaching us that despite the fact that he is a prophet and in the company of Jibril, he is being responsible.  After that, the Prophet prayed two Rak’aas.  Here, some say that prayers were not mandatory yet but we would like to remind them that the Prophet (PBUH) used to pray since he began preaching. The prayers became mandatory on Muslims during this event.  However, he himself was already practicing wudu (ablution) and salah as taught to him by Jibril.

Please note that At-Tabari (a widely respected scholar) in his book considers that this event took place at the beginning of the preaching, which is not true. Ibn Khaldun (a widely respected Islamic scholar) talked about Alesraa w’alorooj in three lines only in his book, “He took his servant from the sacred mosque to Al-Aqsaa mosque, then to the heavens were he saw Sudrat al-muntaha and the heavenly haven” which shows how unimportant details are.