Sufism and Tasawwuf - Naqshbandi Sufi Way

The Reality of Israa’ and Mir`aaj

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

15 June 2012 Burton, Michigan

Jumu`ah Khutbah at As-Siddiq Mosque

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.

O Believers, Muslims, Mu’mins! Tonight is a great night that Allah (swt) described in the Holy Qur'an in Surat al-Israa’, the visit or Night Journey the Prophet (s) made to Allah's Divine Presence. He reached Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa, and Allah has said in the Holy Qur'an, to show His Greatness, telling Himself by Himself, praising Himself by Himself:

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Subhaan-alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan min al-masjid al-haraam ila 'l-masjidi 'l-aqsaa 'Lladhee baaraknaa hawlahu li-nooriyahu min ayaatinaa innahu huwa ‘s-samee`u 'l- baseer.

Glory be to He Who transported His Servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship (at Mecca) to the Remote House of Worship (at Jerusalem), the environs of which We had blessed so that We might show him some of Our Signs, for verily He Alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Surat al-Israa’, 17:1)

Allah (swt) is saying, “Glory be to Me!” He is Proud, that is from Allah's Beautiful Names and Attributes that He is The One, and there is no one else. He (swt) is saying, “Everyone else does not exist without My Order and I am The One making everyone exist and be seen. Glory be to Me that I have moved and gave a journey to My Beloved Servant, who is My `Abd!”

Prophet (s) reached from Before (all Creation), when Allah (swt) created him before Sayyidina Adam (a), about which Prophet (s) said:

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Kuntu nabiyyan wa adama bayna ’l-maa’i wa ’t-teen.

(The Prophet (s) said:) I was a Prophet when Adam was between soil and water.

And in another hadith:

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Kuntu nabiyyan wa Adam bayn ar-roohi wa 'l-jasad.

I was a Prophet when Adam was between soul and body.

Before that time he was in `Uboodiyyah, and before that Allah created the Light of Muhammad from His Light, which means he was in Allah's Light in complete `Uboodiyya and no one can say other than that!

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Awwala maa khalaqa allahu noora nabiyyika yaa jaabir.

The first thing that Allah created is the Light of your Prophet.

Prophet (s) is telling this to the Sahaabah (r). Before Allah (swt) created the Throne and all creation, He created Sayyidina Muhammad’s Light that was in `Uboodiyya in sajda. Then Allah created the angels from the Light of Sayyidina Muhammad (s) and ordered them to make salaat `ala al-Mustafa (s), to show the greatness and the highest respect and honor of generosity to of His Prophet, the one who is in `Uboodiyya, whose Light is in prostration from the first moment of his creation!

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Inna-Llaaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabiyy.

Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. (Surat al-Ahzaab, 33:56)

All angels are praising the Prophet (s), and that order is non-stop with no end, so angels are in every moment praising the Prophet (s) in every position: some standing, some sitting, some in ruku` , some lying down, some in sajda. So Allah is praising Himself by Himself in this night!

“Israa’” means to move overland or moving above the earth and seeing. “Mi`raaj” means ascending. In an airplane you cannot see what is happening on earth because the plane is so high and you need to be lower, but the Prophet (s) moved in space and Allah gave him the power to see what was happening on earth! What is the hikmat, wisdom, that Allah (swt) did not raise the Prophet (s) directly to His Divine Presence, to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adna? Why did He take him to Masjid al-Aqsa? It is because the Quraysh had two journeys every year, one in winter and one in summer, to Palestine and in Damascus to Masjid al-Umawiyy, from where they bought goods, loaded their camels and returned by caravan. Allah (swt) wanted the Prophet (s) to see everything in case the Quraysh might ask about something they can understand; they might not understand the Mi`raaj to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adna, but they can understand, “What did you see on the road?” Prophet (s) told them, “I saw the caravan at that point on the road and in this number of days it will arrive.” That was to give them evidence from what they knew to be occurring on earth.

Allah (swt) did not say “Masjid Aqsaa,” but rather “Masjid al-Aqsa,” “the” farthest mosque that you can see on the horizon, far away. It means, “ Yaa Muhammad! I am moving you and your ummah from a place that is a haram to where haraams cannot be done.” That is why no sin can be committed at the Ka`bah or it will be written against you; even a bad intention will be written as sin. So don’t stay too much. Some people want to make hijrah to there, but it is difficult to be there always because any bad intention, which normally is not written as a sin, is written in Mecca Haram as a sin. So you must not get angry there or it will be written.

So in the literal meaning, Allah (swt) is taking the Prophet (s) to the farthest place you can reach, and in the symbolic meaning, He is taking you from a place where you cannot commit sin to a place that is furthest on the horizon. From there, Prophet (s) passed by Madinat al-Munawwarrah, as mentioned by many scholars, and from there to Masjid al-Aqsa. Here Allah (swt) is praising Himself for what He did, whicih is the highest, utmost honor and respect to the Prophet (s), by ordering all angels to decorate all the heavens!

Allah (swt) is saying, subhaan-alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan min al-masjid al-haraam ila 'l-masjidi 'l-aqsaa, “Praise be to Me, The One Who can make this possible, to move His Servant in a journey from Masjid al-Haraam to Masjid al-Aqsaa, around which We made a blessed place, and to show him Our Signs, Our Power and what no one else can see!” At that point even Sayyidina Jibreel (a) said, “I cannot move forward.” Li nuriyahu min ayaatina, “to show him from Our Signs by himself (in secret),” and then Allah (swt) took him to the Divine Presence.

Do you think that if anyone went to the Divine Presence, earth can carry him? Can anyone descend from Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa to reach two bows’ length near the Divine Presence, and the heavens carry him? Everyone has his own position; you cannot be moved forward from your position and you cannot be moved to a lower position. Also, Allah (swt) cannot be seen because no one can carry that, although in one heaven His Attributes can be seen, the mu`min in the highest Paradise will see them, but normally Allah (swt) cannot be seen.

So when the Prophet (s) came descended to earth, did it carry him? No, rather he is carrying the earth! When he came down his foot was like a magnet and the whole earth was held by the feet of the Prophet (s). Evidence of this is when one time, Sayyidina `Ali (r) was walking through al-Madina and saw in front of him a very old lady carrying a basket. Out of respect, Sayyidina `Ali (r) with adab did not pass that lady; not like us today, who all pass elderly people, when the way of respect is to give them the way. In the Middle East or Muslim countries, if you see an old person standing on the bus you give your seat. Here a boy of 12 years will not care and not show respect to the elderly. Islam teaches all respect and good manners. Sayyidina `Ali (r) saw that woman carrying a basket and moving forward very slowly.

Out of respect he said, “Can I help you?”

She said, “Yes, I was waiting for someone with futoowah, chivalry, to carry this for me and you came.”

She put the basket down and Sayyidina `Ali (r), the strongest among the Sahaabah, picked it up and was not able to lift it beyond his knees! Allah had put the entire earth in that basket without making the basket bigger or the earth smaller! Sayyidina `Ali (r) was a sahaabi and the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet (s), and he was only able to carry the earth up to his knees. So what about the one who went to Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa, is the earth able to carry him? And when he returned, immediately the earth stuck to him like a magnet. So who is carrying whom?

Like the angels who carried the Throne and Allah (swt) wanted to show His `Azhamat, as Grandshaykh (q) explained, that they are going to carry `Arsh, but instead the `Arsh is carrying them up to now! So when the Prophet (s) descended to earth, who is carrying whom; is the Prophet (s) carrying the earth or is the earth carrying the Prophet (s)?

And Allah (swt) said, “Since you believed in My Prophet, I am making you witness for all other nations and Muhammad, My Messenger, is going to be witness for you.” And it is said the 313 Messengers and 124,000 Prophets will be asked, “Did you deliver the Message?” and they will say, “Yes we did,” while unbelievers will say, “We were never given any message!” Then the believers will be called as witnesses. Who are the witnesses mentioned in Holy Qur'an?

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Wa kadhalika ja`alnaakum ummatan wasatan li-takoonoo shuhadaa `ala ‘n-naasi wa yakoona ‘r-rasoolu `alaykum shaheedan wa maa ja`alnaa ‘l-qiblata ‘Llatee kunta `alayhaa illa li-na`lama man yattabi`u ‘r-rasoola mimman yanqalibu `alaa `aqibayhi wa in kaanat la-kabeeratan illaa `alaa ‘Lladheena hada ’Llahu wa maa kaana ‘Llahu li-yudee`a imaanakum inna ‘Llaha bi ’n-naasi la-ra’oofu ‘r-raheem.

And thus have We willed you to be a community of the middle way, so that you might bear witness to the truth before all mankind, and that the Prophet might bear witness to it before you. And it is only to the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who follow the Prophet and those who turn about on their heels, that We have appointed the direction of prayer which you formerly observed, for this was indeed a hard test for all but those whom Allah has guided aright. But Allah will surely not lose sight of your faith, for behold, Allah is Most Compassionate and a Dispenser of Grace towards Mankind. (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:143)

That we witness that Sayyidina Adam (a), Sayyidina Nuh (a) and Sayyidina Ibrahim (a) delivered their messages to mankind, and there are two witnesses for every Prophet, and then Sayyidina Muhammad (s) will come at the end to bear witness on us. It is an honor on us to witness them and it is honor that Allah (swt) took the Prophet (s) on the Night Journey and that He granted us so many gifts on that Night, especially as-Salaat, the Five Prayers! May Allah guide all to Islam!

Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

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