The Truth about 'Isra-Miraj'

'Isra wa Miraj' is one of the most celebrated events in the Muslim cultural consciousness, and every year on the 27th of Rajab in the Hijri calendar, Muslims mark one of the greatest mystical experiences the Prophet Muhammad (sa) have had in his eternally-blessed life. Whereas 'Isra' points to the Night Journey from Makka to Jerusalem undertaken by the Holy Prophet (sa) in the space of a single night; 'Miraj' denotes the Heavenly Ascension where the Holy Prophet(sa) encountered several Judeo-Christian prophets and finally came into the Divine presence: within two-bows'length of God Himself or nearer (53:10). The spiritual journeys of the Holy Prophet(sa) are significant for the deep connection it establishes between Divine messages of the past and the present- between Islam and the Prophetic heritage of old, with the ancient religions with Jerusalem as their spiritual home. Likewise, it was during the Miraj that the ritual prayer of Islam- the Salat- recieved its present form and shape.

Although rooted in events indicated in the Qur'an, with a range of details described also in scores of sacred traditions attributed to the Holy Prophet (sa); there is, however, much confusion and misunderstanding prevails among the masses concerning the true nature and meaning of the 'Isra-Miraj' journeys. Whether both the Night Journey and the Heavenly Ascension were physical occurrences? Where these journeys point to one incident with two different names, or, are, in reality, two entirely-different incidents, or were they two-stages of one mystic experience? What is the meaning and significance of the 'Isra-Miraj' journeys for devout Muslims- those who aspire to the Divine Presence in the fashion of the blessed Prophet of Islam? On the occasion of the Miraj Shareef- Saturday, 21 March 2020~ 27 Rajab 1441 AH, Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir A. Azim (atba) of Mauritius made a well-rounded speech after the Salat-ul-Esha to explain concerning the 'Miraj and Isra'.

Here is the Text of the Speech:

Becoming ‘Maryam’, Bearing ‘Isa’

Our body is like Mary.

Each of us has a Jesus inside.

If a pain and yearning shows up inside us,

the Jesus of our soul is born.

If there is no pain, no yearning,

the Jesus of our soul will return to its origin from

the same secret passageway he came from…

If there is no pain, no yearning,

we will remain deprived

not benefiting from that Jesus of the soul.

-Hadhrat Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (ra) in Mathnawi---Translated by Omid Safi, in Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition (Yale, 2018).

A true believer becomes like ‘Maryam’ and is infused with the Holy Spirit

In Surah Al Tahrim, we read: 

“And Allah next compares the believers to Maryam, the daughter of Imran, she took care to guard her chastity, so we breathed into him (the believer who is exemplified here) Our inspiration while she declared her faith in the revelations of her Lord and His scriptures and she became of the devoted ones to prayers and obedient to Him”- (Surah Al Tahrim, HQ, 66: 13)

In this Qur’anic verse, Maryam is set as an example for righteous servants of Allah. Like Maryam, true believers- though they are not Prophets of Allah- can also be bestowed with Divine revelations. Such a servant is like Maryam and then Allah will infuse His Ruh in him and he will become the like of Jesus, a servant of God and recipient of His Revelations. According to Hazrat Khalifatul Massih Awwal Allama Hakkim Nuruddin (ra), “the verse clearly informs us that in the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), there will be people- both men and women- like Maryam, who will guard their chastity, be devoted to prayers, declare faith in the Scripture and because of being an obedient servant of Allah will receive the blessings of Divine Revelations. This promise has been given in the very first chapter of al-Fatihah in the words, “Show us the path of those whom you bestowed your Mercy”.