Lailat al Mi'raj was observed on Thursday night, the 6th of June in Bangladesh. Before I proceed onto speaking my mind, let us view some facts.
Lailat al Mi'raj (Arabic: لیلة المعراج, Lailätu 'l-Mi‘rāğ), also known as Shab-e-Mi'raj (Persian: شب معراج, Šab-e Mi'râj) in Iran, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and Miraç Kandili in Turkish signifies the night of the Isra and Mi'raj. According to Wikipedia, some Muslims celebrate this event by
offering optional prayers during this night, and in some Muslim
countries, by illuminating cities with electric lights and candles.
I find this in line with the media reports that have been compiled by various media over the past day in Bangladesh. Although the Daily Star, bdnews24, banglanews and a whole group of others appropriately forgot to mention it (keeping inline with their secular and Islamophobic tendencies), the BSS (Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha), New Age, Financial Express and natunbarta gave us a bleak announcement of Shab-e-Miraj. The television channels literally kept mum on the issue at hand, giving the impression that the events of Lailat al Mi'raj are virtually irrelevant and its importance non-existent. With a ban on Diganta TV and especially Islamic TV in place, few people outside the realm of the pious even knew that Shab-e-Miraaj was actually on Thursday night in Bangladesh. Furthermore, reports which had lines such as "The Muslim devotees offer special prayers all the night in mosques and
homes to seek blessings of Allah for welfare of the entire nation and
the Muslim Ummah" were designed to detract many from the main lessons to be learned from this miracle (معجزة).
The lessons of Lailat al Mi'raj that I deem to be important stems from the following excellent narration that I found on the internet.
"Some
scholars said the Prophet's journey took about one-third of the night, i.e., his
journey from Makkah to Jerusalem, then to the heavens and what is above
them, and then back to Makkah The next day the Prophet told the people
what happened to him the previous night. The blasphemers belied the Prophet and
mocked him, saying, "We need a month to get there and back, and you are
claiming to have done all this in one night?" They said to Abu
Bakr, "Look at what your companion is saying. He says he went to
Jerusalem and came back in one night." Abu Bakr told them,
"If he said that, then he is truthful. I believe him concerning the news of
the heavens--that an angel descends to him from the heavens. How could I not
believe he went to Jerusalem and came back in a short period of time--when these
are on earth?" At that, the Companion, Abu Bakr, was called
"as-Siddiq"--because of how strongly he
believed all what the Prophet said.
The blasphemous people
questioned the Prophet: "If you are truthful, then describe to us Masjid
al-Aqsa and its surroundings." They asked this because they knew
Prophet Muhammad had never been there before the previous night. Allah
enabled the Messenger to see Masjid al-Aqsa, and he described the masjid
and its surroundings in exact detail. Moreover, the Prophet said, "On
my way back, I saw some of your shepherds grazing their animals in a particular
location. They were searching for a camel they had lost." The Prophet
continued by giving the description of the camel. When these shepherds came
back, they told their people what happened to them--precisely as the Prophet had
already told them.
These blasphemers admitted
the Prophet's description was exact. Despite that, they were still stubborn and
rejected the faith. They did not accept Islam. Only those whom Allah
willed to be guided, will be guided. The person whom Allah did not
will to be guided, will not believe--regardless of how much explanation or how
many proofs he is shown. "
Lailat al Mi'raj taught me the lesson of the importance of faith in the teachings Islam and the Prophet and the fact that the path of the establishment of Islam was never a path of roses. Same applies to the present, whether in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt or anywhere in the world for that matter. Islam was never meant to be confined to mosques, homes or personal lives, but as a code for life, for everything should be dedicated to God alone and a Muslim is required
to submit himself completely to the Will of Allah in all his affairs
(what means): "Say: ‘Truly, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my
dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. No partner has He: this am I
commanded, and I am the first of those who submit to His Will.’" [Quran
6:162]
We ask Allah
that we would all die as Muslims. We ask Allah to bestow on us the
bounty of entering Paradise without torture.
And Allah
knows best.
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