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THE NIGHT FLIGHT (LAILAT AL MIRAJ)

August 21st, 2006
posted by Ryan Rowe

Today was a public holiday in the United Arab Emirates, marking the Muslim festival of Lailat al Miraj.  I’ve been trying to soak up the Arab and Muslim culture since arriving here, so I did a bit of digging to find out what this holiday is all about.  Let me tell you a little bit about what I discovered.

The holiday is intended to celebrate the miracle of the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad into Heaven, also known as the Night Flight or Night Journey.  The Qur’an tells the miraculous story of this journey which occurs in two parts, the Isra, and the Mi’raj.  You can read it in detail here:

The Miracle of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj

In the first part of the journey, the Prophet is met by the archangel Gabriel and provided with a Buraq (a winged horse) to take him from Mecca to Jerusalem (see map below).  When they arrive there, the Prophet stops to pray at the “farthest mosque” (considered by many to be the Temple Mount).  Afterwards he is blessed with a special vision to see Earth and all of its inhabitants.  He is able to see the servants of Allah as well as those who do not believe and the way they will be punished for their sins.

An interesting description of this winged horse, known as the “Buraq”, from a Sahih Muslim al-hadith:

“I was brought by the Buraq, which is an animal white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place its hoof at a distance equal to the range of vision.”
Source: Buraq-Wikipedia

From what I understand, an al-hadith is the message of the Prophet.  Having read a few of them during my research, I would characterise them as proverbs, though I doubt that proverbs (in the sense I have known them) are meant to have religious significance.

The second part of the journey is Mi’raj, which is the actual Ascension into Heaven.  As he walks up the stairs to meet with Allah, he sees the various levels of Heaven and meets with all of the Prophets who came before him (although Muhammad is considered of the highest level).  He sees the enormity of Heaven and communicates with Allah.  He doesn’t really speak with Him, because Allah doesn’t communicate in the way that human beings do.  His “voice” is described as an attribute.  What immediately comes to mind is the song of whales in the depths of the ocean…

It was during this meeting that Allah requested that Muslims commit to prayer five times a day.  This is a custom respected by Muslims here in the UAE and in fact is compulsory for all Muslims.  The first prayer is just between dawn and sunrise (the call for prayer these days is at 4:40am), and the last occurs after dusk.  I often hear the calls to prayer in the early morning (getting home from the clubs on the weekend), and from my office building in the evening.  They come from the mosques that are scattered all over the city.  The sound of it is actually quite enchanting.

This being the first religious holiday in the UAE since I arrived in June, I was a bit curious to see how the city would celebrate.  Festivities for Lailat al Miraj tend to be focused on children and bringing the community together.  Having been about the city a bit today, I was a bit surprised not to observe anything marking the special day (or maybe I don’t know what to look for).  But there’s a reason why.

Something interesting that I found out is that Rajab 27 (the night that the Prophet took his journey, 27th day of the month Rajab) corresponds to August 22nd on the Western calendar (Gregorian calendar).  But our holiday was today.  According to various sources, the holiday is actually celebrated in the evening and lasts until the moon rises the following day.  As restaurants and bars (yes, they have them here) were prohibited from selling alcohol from sundown yesterday until sundown today, I expect that this was the fasting period, and the celebration / feast / or break of the fast occurs tonight.  So, I should be out for the party!

I’m hoping to visit a mosque at some point, though I’m hesitant to go on my own, for fear of what the locals might say or think of my intrusion on their spiritual customs.  I think I will ask one of my Muslim colleagues to take me to a mosque someday if it’s appropriate … so that I might understand a little more about this often misunderstood religion.

Monday, August 21st, 2006 at 11:01 pmand is filed under middle east. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “THE NIGHT FLIGHT (LAILAT AL MIRAJ)”

  1. china, here I come! Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    [...] 30 will mark the birth of the Prophet (in Arabic known as Leilat al Miraj and which I wrote about on here in 2006). Note from my original article that the holiday in 2006 fell on Aug 21 - this is because religious [...]

  2. Alex Says:
    August 13th, 2008 at 12:50 am

    I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!

  3. shaai Says:
    September 25th, 2008 at 1:41 am

    hey rayan..just one thing to say to u..if u look deeper into islam u will find peace and have eternal happiness..I pray allah to show u the right path..:)

  4. Nauman Ghauri Says:
    May 6th, 2009 at 12:20 am

    Everyone rants “I am right”, leave them all, lets get along with science, and the atlast you will have no otherway but Islam.

  5. Zeeshan Says:
    July 19th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    Ryan please always add PBUH (Peace be up on him) after our prophet’s name. This has to be repeated at every point of time anyone mentions prophet’s Mohammad (PBUH) Name.

    Thanks and good work. Allah will definitely show you the right path.

  6. debbie Says:
    July 19th, 2009 at 9:10 pm

    hi Ryan, Leilat al meiraj is a really special day as you mentioned in your story above. i wanted to find it to read it again because i have become muslim, since i, like you, have gone into it a lot more. I love it and wouldnt change a thing. you seem to love the beach, sea and outdoors. i am an absolute fanatic with the above - a true beach bum - but i always thought i had everything i ever wanted. strangely enough after becoming muslim i realised that i had found that piece that now fulfils me. Whatever your religious preference, it is quite exciting to see somebody like you getting information and learning as you have. i am going to check out your facebook site
    chow

  7. Irf Says:
    July 21st, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    Debbie, Congrat on become the muslim.

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