Night 27 Ramadan (Rajab) is called the Night of the Ascension, or Laylat al-Miraj. On this night, Muslims remember the miraculous journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascension to the heavenly throne of Allah. It is believed that on this night Allah decides on the fate of everyone living, taking into account his piety and listening to prayer requests.
Arise fearful:
In your cave
Holy lamp
It burns until the morning.
Heartfelt prayer
Prophet, remove
Sad thoughts
Promotional video:
Crafty dreams!
Until the morning prayer
Humbly create:
Heavenly book
Read until morning!
- (A. Pushkin)
In Arabic, the night is called Laylat al-Isra wal Miraj, which means "The Night of Travel and Ascension." All night Muslims do not sleep, read the Koran, pray and retell the old legend about the journey of the prophet. The Koran says about him: "Praise be to the one who carried his slave from the forbidden mosque to the most distant mosque at night, around which we blessed him … He is truly all-seeing, all-hearing." The forbidden mosque is the Masjidal Haram mosque, which is located in Mecca, and the farthest mosque, Masjidal Aksa, is located in Jerusalem.
On the night of al-Miraj, the prophet, together with the angel Jibril (Gabriel), moved from Mecca to Jerusalem. First, Muhammad and the archangel Jibril visited Mount Zion, and then the prophet was allowed to see heaven and hell, after which he appeared in the seventh heaven before the Lord, reaching the highest spiritual state for a human being. However, neither he nor the angel were allowed into the transcendental regions.
Jibril offered Muhammad two glasses - one with milk, the other with wine. Muhammad took only milk. The Archangel exclaimed: “Truly you are on the right path - you and your people! Wine is prohibited for you. Therefore, devout Muslims do not consume alcoholic beverages.
Jerusalem, which in Arabic is called al-Quds (meaning "shrine") is considered one of the holy cities of Islam. In it, along with Christian and Jewish shrines, is one of the main shrines of Islam - the sacred "protected area" al-Haram am Sharif on the Moria hill. At the time of Muhammad, there was not a single mosque in Jerusalem. Only later, in 686-691, a mosque was erected, which was named "Dome of the Rock". This is the third most important mosque after the Meccan and Medina.
On the night of al-Miraj, grandparents remember the legends and stories they heard from their parents. The legend has survived that the Prophet Muhammad told his companions about an extraordinary event. It happened when he was a child and lived in the Banu Saad tribe:
“Once I was with one of the brothers tending the lambs behind the tents, and then two men in white robes with a golden basin full of light came up to us. They grabbed me, cut open my stomach, then took out my heart, cut it open, took a black blood clot from it and threw it out. Then they washed the heart and entrails with snow and cleansed it. Then one of them said to the other: "Weigh him and ten of his people." He weighed me with them, and I turned out to be equal to them in weight. Then the first one said: "Weigh him and a hundred of his relatives," and he weighed me, and I was equal to them in weight. The first said: "Weigh him and a thousand people from his people." He weighed me, and I balanced them. Then the first one said: “Leave him. If we weighed him with all his people, he would be equal in weight to him."
Parents often talk about how terrible torments await a person who has appropriated someone else's inheritance in hell. Thus, during his wonderful journey through the sky, Muhammad visited heaven and hell. He saw in hell a crowd of people who, writhing in terrible pain, swallowed burning coals and shouted wildly. Archangel Jibril explained to the prophet that these people appropriated the property of the orphans. Therefore their stomachs are filled with hellfire.
Parents teach their child Islam, faith in Allah and his messenger Muhammad. If they abandoned the faith, the child has the right to leave them. Faith in Allah is higher than love for parents.
In all other cases, honoring parents and elders is the immutable duty of a Muslim. "Obedience to the father is as good a deed as obedience to Allah," the Qur'an says.
Who is in charge after Muhammad?
According to some Muslims, the rights of the Caliph (the main one in the Muslim community and state) should have been transferred to any faithful chosen by the Islamic community. Others believed that the only legitimate heirs and successors of Muhammad could only be his son-in-law Ali and his descendants. Those who held this point of view came to be called Shiites.
Shiites recognize the Sunnah (the actions and statements of Muhammad, which are a model for the entire Muslim community and every Muslim in solving all life problems), but interpret it in their own way. They add the words to the creed: "Ali is the viceroy of Allah."
In addition to the general Muslim Shiites, they celebrate their holidays and memorable days. They hold martyrdom cults and memorial rituals in high esteem.
Shiites make a pilgrimage not only to Mecca, but also to the burial places of the holy martyrs. The current Iraqi cities of Karbala and Najef have sprung up around the graves of Ali and his son Hussein. In Najef, a mosque of rare beauty, decorated with gold and precious stones, was built above Ali's tomb. More than three tons of gold were used to make the doors of the mausoleum alone. Mashhad is the main holy place in Iran, one of the main centers of Shiite theology and education. More than a million pilgrims visit this city every year.
The Day of Remembrance of Hussein, who was assassinated on October 10, 680, is the main date of the Shiite religious calendar. In Iran, mourning for Hussein is celebrated on a special scale.
During the first ten days, mysteries are arranged, showing the story of Hussein's death. The episodes of Hussein's journey from Medina to Iraq are reproduced in a poetic and theatrical form. In the courtyards of mosques, madrasahs and in special rooms, tents with funeral stretchers with the symbolic bodies of the dead are set up. Readings to rose are arranged - legends about him and his loved ones. Mourning flags and slogans are hung on the streets, processions with black banners are held.
The reader's sermon to the rose ends with the singing of the boys' choir. While singing, the participants in the procession beat themselves in the chest with fists and stones, some stab themselves with chains and daggers. The bleeding wounds should be a reminder of Hussein's suffering. The words "Shah Hussein, wah, Hussein" are often repeated. Hence another name for this day - "Shahsey-Vakhsey". Then the performance itself begins, when episodes of his life and tragic death are shown. A special genre has developed in Shiite poetry - the taziya poems, which narrate about the martyrdom of the Ali clan and substantiate the main idea of Shiite Islam - the idea of hereditary power in the Ali clan.
Ashura ceremonies (the day of remembrance of Hussein) have many prohibitions. These are days of fasting and prayer. All entertainment is prohibited. Even smiling is considered reprehensible - it is a grave sin.
For Sunnis, ashura is also a day of remembrance, but they celebrate it more calmly.
From the book: "100 Great Holidays". Elena Olegovna Chekulaeva