The Night Journey & Ascension – Layla al-Isra wa al-Mi’raj – Shaykh Faid Mohammed Said
Allah Guides to His Light Whom He Wills [Quran, 24:35]
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Beneficent
“He certainly saw of the Greatest of Signs of His Lord.” [Quran, 53:18]
In describing what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw on the Night of Ascension, Allah (Most High) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the “Greatest of Signs”!
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw beyond everything to the Light of Allah Most High; whilst Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) had only seen the mountain!
“The heart did not lie [about] what it saw.” [Quran, 53,11]
Speaking about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Allah (Most High) calls Him ‘Fuad’ or ‘Heart’; and in describing His experience on the Night of Ascension, Allah Most High said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not lie in what He saw.
Normally, we would say that ‘he did not lie in what he said’, thus describing for us that what was seen cannot even be described by words or even comprehended by us.
“The sight [of the Prophet] did not swerve…” [Quran, 53:17]
On that night, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not even blink upon seeing what He saw, but Syedina Musa (Peace be upon him) collapsed upon seeing what he saw!
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the Greatest of the Signs (ayat) of Allah (Most High) – Al Kubra.
Hell is a sign, Paradise is a sign, the Throne is a sign, but if you see the Greatest of Signs, the rest becomes nothing; when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Gabriel (peace be upon him) from where he had ascended, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) described him as a small bird, and then as a worn and tattered cloth.
In what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw there is a secret: He did not tell all that He saw, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw what He saw as it is – He saw the reality of it! the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw with his heart, and He saw reality and how it works.
For us, the baraka (blessing) we take from the journey of Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and what he saw is that when he came back and after seeing the Greatest of Signs, Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cried when the young baby died. Then, he carried stones to build his masjid, he asked about the black woman who used to clean the masjid and he was told: “you claim to be a Prophet!”
And all this despite having seen the greatest of signs.
Hence, for us, if the Greatest of Creation after seeing the Greatest of Signs humbled himself to come back and be with us, to whom else should we look!
“…Follow Me and Allah will love you…” [Quran, 3:31]
Allahumma salli alaa Nur.
Shaykh Faid Mohammed Said
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