Taken from readingislam.com
Q: Could you please detail for me the significance of the night of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj? What does it commemorate and is there anything specific that we should do on this night?
Answered by counselor: Shahul Hameed
Salam, Thank you very much for your question.
When and How
Allah says in the Quran what means:
*{Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.}* (Al-Israa' 17:1)
There is no doubt that Al-Isra (the night journey) followed by Al-Miraj (the heavenly ascension) was one of the miracles in the life of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
According to the most accepted view, it happened on the 27th of Rajab, the seventh month of the Hijri calendar, in the tenth year of Muhammad's prophethood.
It is reported in Hadith literature, that the Messenger of Allah was carried from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to the "Farthest Mosque" (Al-Masjid al-Aqsa) in Jerusalem on a creature called Al-Buraq in the company of the archangel Gabriel (peace be upon him). There he led a congregational prayer of the prophets of God.
Then Gabriel took him to the heavens where he met the prophets Adam, John, Jesus, Idris, Aaron and Moses (peace be on them all). In the seventh heaven, he met Abraham (peace be on him).He was then brought to the Divine Presence. The details of this encounter are beautifully detailed in the beginning of surat An-Najm (52).
Prayer: God-given Gift
During this time, Allah ordered for his nation fifty daily Prayers. But on the Prophet's return, he was told by Prophet Moses (peace be on him) that his followers could not perform fifty Prayers. Thus, he went back and eventually it was reduced to five daily Prayers. After this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to Makkah on the same night itself.
Therefore, Muslims should be thankful to Allah for this gift. They should take care of it and never neglect it. It is the thing that allows the Muslim to communicate with the creator five times as day.Time and Space Are Not Bound for Allah
One major lesson of that miraculous event, was that space and time which are bound by laws of nature for humans, are not so bound for Allah. On that night prophet Muhammad bridged time and space and this world, traveling to the heavens by Allah's will.
I believe that for those who study philosophy the abstract as well as the symbolic implications of the event might be very stimulating indeed. The gap between the reality of this life and that of the life to come simply diminished. This is illustrated by the Prophet's encounter with other prophets who were long since dead as far as we normally think of it but who, in reality, live as beings in a different form somewhere else.
The implications of the night journey cannot be overstated. The miraculous nature of the Prophet's journey established his divine-stated legitimacy as the seal of all prophets. Allah brought him to Him to show us his true worth in the sight of Allah.
All religious traditions share the concept of miracles, that is, something that defies logic, nature, or the established constitution and course of things.
We will limit our discussion to legitimate miracles from Allah, which are by definition the only true miracles. When the forces of disbelief are strong, typically the prophetic miracles that oppose them are stronger.
Prophet Moses was given several miracles, which included his staff that turned into a massive snake and culminated in his parting of the Red Sea, as a divine response to the extreme infidelity of Pharaoh.
Similarly, Prophet Jesus was given even the power to raise the dead, in order to establish his legitimacy before the Jews who would ultimately condemn him to death for blasphemy.
Nevertheless, his miracles were undeniable by their nature, and it was only the obstinacy and arrogance of the people to whom he was sent that enabled them to deny him.
Muhammad's night journey was obviously not easy for the pagan Makkans to believe. Nevertheless, the Prophet proved it logically by describing the approaching caravans that he overtook on his miraculous return.
Thus, this particular prophetic miracle not only established the Prophet's eminence for Muslims as discussed above, but it also helped to prove his prophethood to the non-believers of his time.
Celebrating the Event
As far as the Muslims are concerned, there is no particular celebration, fast or prayer to commemorate Al-Isra and Al-Miraj. But in some places, the Muslims themselves have started to have commemorative functions, where the story of the night journey is told in poetry or lectures.
While the Prophet himself did not establish these practices, there are scholars who maintain that gatherings meant to remind the Muslims of the importance of Al-Miraj in the history of Islam, or to remind us of the importance of love for the Prophet and the significance of the city of Jerusalem, are permissible.
I hope this answers your question.
Salam.
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Some useful reading:
(1) Al-Isra and Al-Miraj: A Miraculous Journey - ReadingIslam.com
(2) The Glorious Night Journey & Miracle of Ascension (PDF) - Musharraf Hussain Al-Azhari
(3) Masjid Al-Aqsa - "The Farthest Mosque" - Ramadan4u
(4) Some Miracles Of The Prophet (SAW) - Ramadan4u
(5) Prophet Muhammad Leading Prophets on the Night of Al-Israa' - ReadingIslam.com
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Pakistan batsman Yousuf opts out of Champions Trophy to observe Ramadan
Extracted from dailymail, UK, 15th July 2008
Pakistan middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf has opted out of the Champions Trophy to observe the rules of fasting and prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The 33-year-old has strictly followed the Muslim faith ever since he converted from Christianity in 2005 and has often stated that he would avoid playing during Ramadan, which this year runs from September 1 to September 30.
The tournament is scheduled to be held in Pakistan between September 11 to 28.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which had delayed the announcement of the 30-man preliminary squad for the International Cricket Council tournament, has accepted Yousuf's request.
'We have received a request from Yousuf that he wants a Ramadan break,' said Shafqat Naghmi, PCB chief operating officer .
'The board respects his feelings and has decided to accept his request.'
Yousuf is Pakistan's most experienced batsman with 9,242 runs, including 15 centuries, from 269 one-day internationals.
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It is not uncommon to find brothers and sisters taking the month of Ramadan or the last 10 days of Ramadan off as holiday. Take a vacation for Allah - We take a break from our jobs for almost everything in life. Why not this time to focus on worshiping and thanking our Creator. If this is not possible at least take a few days off if you can. This can make it easier to stay awake at night to do extra Ibadah, not having to worry about getting to work the next day. It will also facilitate doing Itikaf. It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadan in the masjid for Itikaf. Allah's Messenger used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time." (Muslim). Allah's peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet.
Pakistan middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf has opted out of the Champions Trophy to observe the rules of fasting and prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The 33-year-old has strictly followed the Muslim faith ever since he converted from Christianity in 2005 and has often stated that he would avoid playing during Ramadan, which this year runs from September 1 to September 30.
The tournament is scheduled to be held in Pakistan between September 11 to 28.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which had delayed the announcement of the 30-man preliminary squad for the International Cricket Council tournament, has accepted Yousuf's request.
'We have received a request from Yousuf that he wants a Ramadan break,' said Shafqat Naghmi, PCB chief operating officer .
'The board respects his feelings and has decided to accept his request.'
Yousuf is Pakistan's most experienced batsman with 9,242 runs, including 15 centuries, from 269 one-day internationals.
----------------------------------------------------------------
It is not uncommon to find brothers and sisters taking the month of Ramadan or the last 10 days of Ramadan off as holiday. Take a vacation for Allah - We take a break from our jobs for almost everything in life. Why not this time to focus on worshiping and thanking our Creator. If this is not possible at least take a few days off if you can. This can make it easier to stay awake at night to do extra Ibadah, not having to worry about getting to work the next day. It will also facilitate doing Itikaf. It was a practice of the Prophet to spend the last ten days and nights of Ramadan in the masjid for Itikaf. Allah's Messenger used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time." (Muslim). Allah's peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Anti-Islamic Lies Are Weakening My Belief
Taken from islamonline.net, 30/04/2008
Question: I have recently found a Christian website called Contender Ministries. This website expresses many misconceptions about Islam. I feel disgusted by these misconceptions, especially about jihad. According to the website there is much evidence in the Qur’an which encourages jihad (striving for Allah) (which they have misunderstood as a ‘holy war’) against non-Muslims. This website also talks about contradictions in the Qur’an. Of course I don’t believe there are contradictions in the Qur’an, but I hope you can improve my confidence in the Qur’an. My Christian friend has also read this website and he wants me to tell him whether the information on it is true or false. Your response will be much appreciated, and may peace be upon you.
Answered by: `Abdul-Lateef Abdullah
Wa `alaykum as-salam
There are a zillion websites now that make up all kinds of things about Islam. If we all quit our jobs and spent 24 hours a day responding to all of them we wouldn’t be able to answer all the charges waged against Islam. Most are simply nonsense and rely on peoples’ ignorance about Islam to form their arguments. This means interestingly, that we should be focusing on getting the right knowledge and information about Islam out instead of spending all of our time reacting to false accusations.
The thing they love to do most is to take Qur’anic ayat (verses) and Hadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad) out of context. Every ayah and hadith was revealed or spoken in a particular context. For example, the ayats about jihad were almost always in reference to a particular group of people during the Prophet’s life, not any group in general. They love to use such ayats in general which is simply a false application and understanding of the Qur’an. They also use very loose and strange translations of the Qur’an. They like to read the Qur’an the way they read the Bible – without any knowledge of the Islamic methodology for understanding its revealed text. However, Allah has provided our noble scholars with knowledge of every ayat and hadith – why it was revealed, who and what were the circumstances involved, and so on. But they like to use their own methodology of understanding Islamic texts, which is wrong. Islam has its own methodology which must be followed and that methodology requires knowledge.
There are many Muslim sites that refute these charges. I’m sorry I cannot take the time to respond to all of their charges. I would look at these sites as a start to finding the answers to your particular questions.
In addition to the answer provided by the Counsellor I'd like to add that we (the Muslims) are constantly being attacked by evil elements of today's society. In the UK, these same groups targeted Jews in the 1930's, followed by Afro-Caribbean community in the 1960's, followed by Asian communities in the 1970's, Romany Gypsies and Eastern Europeans in the 1980's and 90's - and following 9/11 their speciality is targeting Muslims in general. In the media, specially newspapers you read derogatory articles about Islam from people with little or no knowledge. When you try and contact them to correct their errors, the papers will not publish your comments. Unfortunately this is the sign of times we live in. The only way to fight this anti-Islamic hatred is to integrate further and take up prominent roles in society - we need more brothers and sisters in politics to represent the Muslim communities (from grass root levels to cabinet roles), we need more muslims as social workers (to protect our youngsters), more sisters as Doctors, GP's, more teachers to help our children - infact more of everything.
The Islamic Jurisprudence Council which met in Makkah in November 2007, under the chairmanship of Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, with 70 Muslim dignitaries and scholars encouraged Muslims in the West to participate in elections in non-Muslim countries and play an effective political role, especially if elections brought about public good or prevented social evils.
It said this was the only way for Muslims abroad to secure their rights. It also encouraged Muslims in the West to integrate into Western societies but cautioned them against adopting any Western habits that are contrary to the principles of Islam. Those who presented papers included Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Subeyel, imam of the Grand Mosque. The Islamic Jurisprudence Council also emphasized that dialogue with non-Muslims supported by well-prepared media programs are essential in confronting anti-Islamic campaigns.
Question: I have recently found a Christian website called Contender Ministries. This website expresses many misconceptions about Islam. I feel disgusted by these misconceptions, especially about jihad. According to the website there is much evidence in the Qur’an which encourages jihad (striving for Allah) (which they have misunderstood as a ‘holy war’) against non-Muslims. This website also talks about contradictions in the Qur’an. Of course I don’t believe there are contradictions in the Qur’an, but I hope you can improve my confidence in the Qur’an. My Christian friend has also read this website and he wants me to tell him whether the information on it is true or false. Your response will be much appreciated, and may peace be upon you.
Answered by: `Abdul-Lateef Abdullah
Wa `alaykum as-salam
There are a zillion websites now that make up all kinds of things about Islam. If we all quit our jobs and spent 24 hours a day responding to all of them we wouldn’t be able to answer all the charges waged against Islam. Most are simply nonsense and rely on peoples’ ignorance about Islam to form their arguments. This means interestingly, that we should be focusing on getting the right knowledge and information about Islam out instead of spending all of our time reacting to false accusations.
The thing they love to do most is to take Qur’anic ayat (verses) and Hadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad) out of context. Every ayah and hadith was revealed or spoken in a particular context. For example, the ayats about jihad were almost always in reference to a particular group of people during the Prophet’s life, not any group in general. They love to use such ayats in general which is simply a false application and understanding of the Qur’an. They also use very loose and strange translations of the Qur’an. They like to read the Qur’an the way they read the Bible – without any knowledge of the Islamic methodology for understanding its revealed text. However, Allah has provided our noble scholars with knowledge of every ayat and hadith – why it was revealed, who and what were the circumstances involved, and so on. But they like to use their own methodology of understanding Islamic texts, which is wrong. Islam has its own methodology which must be followed and that methodology requires knowledge.
There are many Muslim sites that refute these charges. I’m sorry I cannot take the time to respond to all of their charges. I would look at these sites as a start to finding the answers to your particular questions.
Wa `alaykum as-salam
----------------------------------------------------------In addition to the answer provided by the Counsellor I'd like to add that we (the Muslims) are constantly being attacked by evil elements of today's society. In the UK, these same groups targeted Jews in the 1930's, followed by Afro-Caribbean community in the 1960's, followed by Asian communities in the 1970's, Romany Gypsies and Eastern Europeans in the 1980's and 90's - and following 9/11 their speciality is targeting Muslims in general. In the media, specially newspapers you read derogatory articles about Islam from people with little or no knowledge. When you try and contact them to correct their errors, the papers will not publish your comments. Unfortunately this is the sign of times we live in. The only way to fight this anti-Islamic hatred is to integrate further and take up prominent roles in society - we need more brothers and sisters in politics to represent the Muslim communities (from grass root levels to cabinet roles), we need more muslims as social workers (to protect our youngsters), more sisters as Doctors, GP's, more teachers to help our children - infact more of everything.
The Islamic Jurisprudence Council which met in Makkah in November 2007, under the chairmanship of Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, with 70 Muslim dignitaries and scholars encouraged Muslims in the West to participate in elections in non-Muslim countries and play an effective political role, especially if elections brought about public good or prevented social evils.
It said this was the only way for Muslims abroad to secure their rights. It also encouraged Muslims in the West to integrate into Western societies but cautioned them against adopting any Western habits that are contrary to the principles of Islam. Those who presented papers included Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Subeyel, imam of the Grand Mosque. The Islamic Jurisprudence Council also emphasized that dialogue with non-Muslims supported by well-prepared media programs are essential in confronting anti-Islamic campaigns.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Most Muslim coverage 'negative'
Taken from BBC, Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Researchers looking at the way British Muslims are represented by the media say they have found that most coverage is negative in tone.
A Cardiff University team behind the study looked at nearly 1,000 newspaper articles from the past eight years.
Two-thirds focused on terrorism or cultural differences, and much of it used words such as militancy, radicalism and fundamentalist.
The research was commissioned by Channel Four's Dispatches.
Dr Paul Mason, a member of the team, said the team looked at three area.
They carried out a statistical analysis looking at types of stories and the way Muslims were described and the language used, the photographs used alongside the stories and they analysed the types of case studies used.
He said: "We looked at both nouns and adjectives and the way in which British Muslims were described.
"And we found the highest proportion of nouns used were about things like extremism, suicide bombers, militancy, radicalism - which accounted for over 35% of the adjectives used about British Muslims - fanatic, fundamentalist - those kinds of languages were used.
"And Islam was portrayed or constructed in the language as dangerous or backward or as a threat," he said.
The team found that since the attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States and 7 July 2005 in London there had been an increase in stories about British Muslims and this peaked to more than 4,000 in 2006.
'Perceived threat'
Mr Mason added: "What you have to be careful of here is to watch the kind of generalisation of the very, very small number of people that are involved in political violence of any kind and the generalisation about Islam which is carried out by the newspapers.
"So following 9/11 and 7/7 of course there is a perceived threat from the public and the public are concerned about political violence.
"But it is wholly wrong to make what the newspapers do in the generalisation of those who carry out public violence to the whole of Islam and the whole of the British Muslim community."
He said there were concerns that journalists and editors may have sought to appeal to their own readership about some perceived threat to British unity or values.
You get these inaccurate stories about this threat of there is going to be more mosques than churches, which is a complete nonsense.
"There are roughly 900 mosques and there are 42,000 churches, so this is a ridiculous report."
The Channel Four documentary, It Shouldn't Happen To A Muslim, investigated whether the 7/7 London bombings and the fear of terrorism had fuelled a rise in violence, intolerance and hatred against British Muslims.
-------------------------------------------------------
Useful Info:
(1) It shouldn't Happen To A Muslim - Channel 4 (Some brief info and useful downloads related to the documentary)
(2) Islamophobia Watch - A very useful website documenting the war against Islam
Researchers looking at the way British Muslims are represented by the media say they have found that most coverage is negative in tone.
A Cardiff University team behind the study looked at nearly 1,000 newspaper articles from the past eight years.
Two-thirds focused on terrorism or cultural differences, and much of it used words such as militancy, radicalism and fundamentalist.
The research was commissioned by Channel Four's Dispatches.
Dr Paul Mason, a member of the team, said the team looked at three area.
They carried out a statistical analysis looking at types of stories and the way Muslims were described and the language used, the photographs used alongside the stories and they analysed the types of case studies used.
He said: "We looked at both nouns and adjectives and the way in which British Muslims were described.
"And we found the highest proportion of nouns used were about things like extremism, suicide bombers, militancy, radicalism - which accounted for over 35% of the adjectives used about British Muslims - fanatic, fundamentalist - those kinds of languages were used.
"And Islam was portrayed or constructed in the language as dangerous or backward or as a threat," he said.
The team found that since the attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States and 7 July 2005 in London there had been an increase in stories about British Muslims and this peaked to more than 4,000 in 2006.
'Perceived threat'
Mr Mason added: "What you have to be careful of here is to watch the kind of generalisation of the very, very small number of people that are involved in political violence of any kind and the generalisation about Islam which is carried out by the newspapers.
"So following 9/11 and 7/7 of course there is a perceived threat from the public and the public are concerned about political violence.
"But it is wholly wrong to make what the newspapers do in the generalisation of those who carry out public violence to the whole of Islam and the whole of the British Muslim community."
He said there were concerns that journalists and editors may have sought to appeal to their own readership about some perceived threat to British unity or values.
You get these inaccurate stories about this threat of there is going to be more mosques than churches, which is a complete nonsense.
"There are roughly 900 mosques and there are 42,000 churches, so this is a ridiculous report."
The Channel Four documentary, It Shouldn't Happen To A Muslim, investigated whether the 7/7 London bombings and the fear of terrorism had fuelled a rise in violence, intolerance and hatred against British Muslims.
-------------------------------------------------------
Useful Info:
(1) It shouldn't Happen To A Muslim - Channel 4 (Some brief info and useful downloads related to the documentary)
(2) Islamophobia Watch - A very useful website documenting the war against Islam
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