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Muslims mark Isra and Miraj |
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Written by Samira Ali Gutoc
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Monday, 22 September 2003 |
Muslims around the globe will observe the "Isra and Miraj" today Tuesday, September 23. The Quezon city-based Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA) will observe said holidays to mark one of the holiest events in the Islamic calendar.
Isra and Miraj mark Prophet Muhammad's night journey (thru Angel Gabriel's help) from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from the rock now located in the Dome of the Rock to heaven. This is not a religious holiday in the conventional way as there are no celebrations or festivities associated with it. However, it is a time for reflection and prayer and some choose to fast during the day.
It was during this journey that it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad that the Muslims should pray five times a day to God, a cornerstone of the Islamic faith. Also, as with other Islamic events and holidays, the exact day regresses on the more commonly used solar calendar as the Islamic calendar is based on lunar cycles, like the Chinese.
Prophet Muhammad was said to have seen "Paradise full of poor people" and "hell full of liars, gossipers and backbiters."
The Qur'an, Islam's holy scripture, describes the events: "Glorified be He (God) who took his servant (Muhammad) for a journey by night from al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca) to al-Masjid al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem), whose precincts we have blessed..." "Masjid" is the Arabic word for "mosque." Masjid Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock are located on "Haram Al-Shareef," or the "noble enclosure" in Jerusalem's Old City. Jerusalem is one of Islam's holiest sites, after Mecca and Medina in the Arabian Peninsula. It was home to many of the shared prophets of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, including David, Solomon and Jesus. It was Islam's first "Qibla," or direction in which Muslims pray to during their daily prayers.
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