THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE
We mentioned earlier that the aI-Miraj was the most important event in
the entire life of the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam). This is so because the Miraj culminated
with the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) actually meeting with his Lord. According to the Qur'an the
believer's life has to be lived entirely for the sake of Allah. And the
ultimate goal in life for the believer is to "meet with his Lord"
(18:11). Therefore the ultimate goal in life of the believer is to experience a
personal Miraj which will spiritually transport him to a contact or
meeting with the Lord which is appropriate to his spiritual status.
Miraj is, in fact a religious
experience, although not all religious experiences qualify as Miraj. And
since the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) is reported to have said that prayer (salaah) which
Muslims perform five times a day is the Miraj of the believers, the
implications is that prayer is most conducive to religious experience. Indeed,
in the context of the statement of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) that the worshipper is closest
of all to his Lord when he is in the posture of prostration (sajda) during
prayer, the worshipper can in fact strive for repeated Miraj or
religious experiences.
Even without these statements of
the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) it should be clear that prayer (salaah) is the vehicle
through which the approach to Allah (subhanahu
wa ta’alah)
is be pursued since of all the articles of divine guidance which have reach
mankind through the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), prayer (salaah) is the only thing he did not receive here
under from Gabriel. For salaah he had to be transported to the special presence
of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) to receive it from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) Himself. The implication is
clear. Salaah was brought by Muhammad (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) himself from 'above' so that the
believers may use it to go, themselves, 'above'.
Our interpretation of Miraj as
a religious experience of the transcendental world is reinforced when we examine
the time and date when the Prophet's (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) Miraj took
place and the position it occupies in the sequence of spiritually important
dates which follow it in the Islamic calendar.
Firstly the Miraj of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) took place in the night time
and spiritual pilgrims are well aware that religious experience is much more
likely to be achieved during worship in the night time. Secondly the Miraj of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) took place on 27 Rajab, a date
which seems to be linked with 27 Ramadan (lailatul Qadr). The month of Ramadan, which is the month of compulsory fasting
contains within it a secret night known as the 'night of power'. It is usually
thought to be 27 Ramadan.
It would appear that this period of two months (Rajab
27 Ramadan 27) is a special season when the collective spirituality is
progressively enhanced until finally the individual effort of even the average
worshipper elevates him to eligibility for religious experience. This, of course, is subject to
the condition that such an average worshipper is living a life of conformity
with Allah's (subhanahu
wa ta’alah) law.
The progressive enhancement
begins on 27 Rajab when the worshipper refreshes his memory about the Prophet's Miraj
and is reminded that salaah is the vehicle of his personal Miraj. He pays attention to improving
the quality of Salaah.
On 15 Shaban he follows the
example (sunnah) of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) and fasts for the day - a trial
run, really, to prepare for the rigours of the fast of Ramadan. Thus on 15
Shaban, fasting (saum)
is added to Salaah and worship
moves into a higher gear. In addition there is the enhanced consciousness of the
obligation to be charitable. The Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) was exceptionally charitable in
the month of Shaban.
On 1 Ramadan not only does the
compulsory month of fasting for all Muslims begin but, also, there is qiyam al-lail or the prayers of the night
vigil, when it is customary for the entire Qur'an to be recited.
The recitation of the Qur'an in
the month of Ramadan is unlike normal recitation at other times of the year.
When the believer recites the Qur'an in Ramadan he does so with the image in
his mind of the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) reciting the Qur'an for Gabriel who would check the recitation.
In the last Ramadan of his life he was required to recite the Qur'an twice.
In addition, the month of
Ramadan is the month of charity par excellence. Believers are supposed to be
most charitable of all in Ramadan. Ramadan is also the month in which Shaitan
is kept in chains and the most favourable opportunity exists to earn divine
mercy and forgiveness. And so, all through Ramadan, from the very first
sighting of the crescent moon of Ramadan to the eventual sighting of the
crescent moon of Shawwal, the believer constantly prays to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) for forgiveness for his or her
sins.
Fasting, the night-time prayer
vigil, charity, prayers for forgiveness, and recitation of the Qur'an has the
dramatic impact of effecting a substantial qualitative improvement of worship.
When on the 21 Ramadan the seclusion and withdrawal from worldly affairs for
about ten days (itiqaf) commences, the worshippers reach a pitch or
intensity of worship which makes this period most conducive (spiritually) for
religious experience. Finally comes 27 Ramadan, the night of power (lailatul
Qadr), when Allah (subhanahu
wa ta’alah) sends
down the angels and Gabriel for every errand - i.e. to bestow, among other
things, the supreme gift of Miraj to all those who deserve it and who
have earned it.
When the Qur'an asserts that
the night of power (lailatul Qadr) is superior to a thousand months
(97:4), the implication is that which can best be experienced on that night
(namely Miraj) is better than an entire life-time (a thousand months
standing for an average life-span) lived without that experience (Miraj).
END
Coming Soon ..... The Objective & Goal of Muhammad (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam)
No comments:
Post a Comment