Bismillahir
Rahmanir Raheem
Assalamu Alaikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barkatuh!
Friday Nasiha
The Yearly
Celebration of
the Night of Isra' and Mi`raj
By
Shaykh
`Abdul
`Aziz ibn Baz
(May Allah have mercy on him)
Reprinted from Al Hudaa Magazine
All praise is for Allah; and salah and salaam upon
the Messenger of
Allah, his followers and his companions.
There is no doubt that the incident of Isra' and
Mi`raj is (from) among
the great signs of Allah, indicates the truthfulness of His Messenger,
Muhammad (Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam), and the
greatness of his (Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam) position with Allah. It
is also among the evidences
showing the ability of Allah (Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala) and it is proof that
Allah is above
all His creation.
Allah Subhanuhu
wa Ta`ala) has
said: Glorified (and exalted) be
He (Allah) Who took His slave
(Muhammad) for a Journey by night from al-Masjid al-Haram (at Makkah) to
the Farthest Mosque
(in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that
We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayaat (proofs, evidences, lessons,
sigs, etc.)
Verily, He (Allah Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala) is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.
[17:1]
It has been narrated from the Messenger (Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam) of
Allah (Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala) that,
Allah
(Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala)
ascended him to the heavens through the seventh heaven. Therein His Lord
spoke to him
what He intended and obligated upon him from the five prayers. Allah
(Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala)
initially obligated fifty prayers, however our Prophet (Sall'Allahu
alaihi wasallam) did not
cease to demand and ask
ease from Him, until Allah (Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala) made it five (in
number). Hence there are
five prayers obligated, but fifty in (number) reward; for every good
action is equivalent to ten
of its like. For Allah (Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala) is all praise and thanks
for all His
blessings.
This date on ISRA' and MI`RAJ occurred was not
established in the
authentic narrations [of the Prophet Muhammad (Sall'Allahu alaihi
wasallam)], neither during the
month of Rajab nor in
any other month.
All that has been
mentioned concerning the date of
occurence of al-Isra wal-Mi'raj is deemed among the scholars of hadith
to be _unauthentic_.
Belonging to Allah is a great Wisdom in causing the people to forget the
date of its occurrence.
However,
even if its date was confirmed, it
would nonetheless be
_impermissible_ for the Muslims to distinguish that night from other
nights by doing anything from among the acts of worship. Neither it
would be permissible for
them to celebrate it, as the Prophet
(Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam) and
his companions neither
celebrated it nor did they distinguish it with any special acts of
worship.
Should such a celebration of that Night be
lawful, the Messenger
(Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam)
would have clarified it to the people either by word or deed. And had
such a thing occurred, it
would have become known and common, and the companions would have
transmitted it to us.
The
companions passed on from their Prophet
(Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam)
everything which
Muslims are in need of. Never were they remiss or negligent with regard
to religion. Indeed, they were the first to lead the way to every good.
If the celebration of
this night had been lawful, they would have been first to do it. The
Prophet (Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam) also is the most sincere in
guiding people. He most truly
fulfilled his mission, and
performed his noble duty. If the glorification and celebration of that
night had something to do with Islam, the Prophet (Sall'Allahu alaihi
wasallam) would never have
neglected it nor
concealed it.
Since nothing about this
was narrated from the Messenger
(Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam) and his companions, therefore
glorification and celebration of that
night was absolutely
nothing whatsoever to do with Islam, as Allah has perfected for this
nation its religion, completed His favor upon it and rebuked and refuted
the innovators who
introduce into the religion that which Allah has not allowed.
And Allah
(Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala), said: This day, I have perfected
your
religion for you,
completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your
religion. [5:3]
And Allah
(Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala), has also said: Or have they
partners
with Allah who have
made laws for them in religion that which Allah allowed not? And had it
not been for a
decisive word (gone forth already), the matter would have been judged
between them. And verily for wrongdoers is a painful torment.
[al-Shura,
21]
The Prophet
(Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: He who
innovates
something in this matter of ours
that is not of it will have it rejected. [al-Bukhari, Muslim]
In another wording reported by Muslim: He who does an act which our
matter is not (in agreement) with will have it rejected.
It is reported in the Sunan of Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi that al-`Irbad
ibn Sariyah said, "The Messenger of Allah (Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam)
gave us a sermon by which our hearts were filled with fear and tears
came to our eyes. We said, "O Messenger of
Allah, it is as though this is a farewell sermon, so counsel us."
He
(Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam)
said:
"I counsel you to fear Allah and to give absolute obedience
even
if a slave becomes your
leader. Verily, he among you who lives (long) will see great
controversy, so you must keep to my Sunnah and that to the rightly
guided (in beliefs and actions)
Caliphs after me; cling to them stubbornly. Beware of newly invented
matters, for every invented matter is an innovation and every innovation
is
going astray and every going astray is in hte Hell-Fire."
The narrations of such meaning are numerous. And indeed it has been
confirmed that the Companions of the Messenger (Sall'Allahu alaihi
wasallam) as well as the early
generations of pious
scholars who followed, cautioned and warned against heresies and
innovations. These warnings were not mentioned by them except for the
fact that innnovations are
unnecessary additions to the religion.
Innovations
are something new to
Islam which Allah has not given permission for. Also in performing these
affairs, a
resemblance of the enemies of Allah (from the Jews and Christians)
occurs; in that, they added and innovated in hteir religions something
that they had no permission
from Allah.
In addition, any
innovation in the religion is implied by
the person performing it that Islam is incomplete and has faults because
by innovating and adding
to Islam one accuses Islam of not being complete. This, of course, is
well known to contain a great deal of gross corruption, vile actions,
and a contradiction to the
saying of Allah: This day, I have perfected your religion for you... as
it is also an obvious contrast to the traditions of the Messenger
(Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam)
that caution and warn against
innovations.
I hope that what was mentioned from the
evidences is sufficient and
convincing enough for the seeker of the truth in rejecting this
innovation (bid`ah) of celebrating
the night of Isra' wal Mi`raj and warning against it because it has
nothing to do in anyway with the religion of Islam.
Since Allah has obligated to give Muslims sincere advice, to elucidate
the Divine laws for them, and has forbidden concealing knowledge, I felt
it necessary to call to
attention my Muslim brothers against this innovation (bid`ah) which has
spread throughout many cities so much so that the people thought it to
be part of Islam.
Allah is responsible to correct the affairs of
all the Muslims and grant
them success in comprehending the religion and to give us, along with
them, success in holding
firm to the truth, ascertaining it, and leaving what opposes it; for
Allah is Capable over all. May Allah bless and be merciful upon His
Slave and Worshipper and
Messenger (Sall'Allahu alaihi wasallam), his followers, and his
companions. (Aameen)
URL:
http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=111
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Our Lord!
grant us
good in this world
and
good in the hereafter,
and save us
from the chastisement of the fire
(Aameen)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
