Masjidul Aqsa: The Mi’raaj

We mentioned in the previous khutba about the first part of the blessed journey, known as Isra, which is when the Prophet ﷺ travelled from Makkah to Masjidul Aqsa. In today’s khutba, we will highlight the second part of the journey, which is called Mi’raaj, the Ascension.  

 

Al-Mi’raaj, or the ascension, refers to when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ travelled upwards from Masjidul Aqsa, until the Prophet ﷺ met Allah.  

 

Allah said about the journey,  

 

لَقَدْ رَأَىٰ مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَىٰ 

He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord”. [53:18] 

 

 

What happened during the ascension to the heavens? What are some of the greatest signs of Allah the Prophet ﷺ saw during the Mi’raaj, the ascension? There is long hadith that narrates what the Prophet ﷺ saw. But just to summarise, as Prophet ﷺ rose up from Masjidul Aqsa to the heavens, he went through the first heaven to the second, then third, then fourth all the way to the seventh heaven. At each heaven, he met and had conversations with various Prophets. So, he met and had a conversation with Adam, Yahya, ʿIsa, Yusuf, Idris, Harun, Musa, and Ibrahim. After visiting few other stations, the Prophet ﷺ went up to meet Allah and Allah blessed the Prophet ﷺ and the Ummah with five daily prayers. This is a rough summary of the Mi’raaj. When you go home, you can research the detail of this journey, as the conversation the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ has with the other prophets is amazing, as well as some of the other things the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw.  

 

 

If Allah wanted, He could have taken the Prophet Muhammed from Masjdul Haram to the heavens, but Allah chose to take the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ from Masjidul Aqsa. This emphasises the importance of Masjidul Aqsa. Allah is giving significance and high status to Masjidul Aqsa. So, a question to myself and to you brothers and sisters is, how much value should we give to Masjidul Aqsa? Do we only think about Masjidul Aqsa when it is on the news? Do we give it some value when it is attacked only? We should give importance to it all year round. We should start our own journey learning about Masjidul Aqsa. Maybe we can start by watching some videos about the virtues of Masjidul Aqsa. Maybe we can watch some YouTube videos about the design of the various mosques in that blessed land. 

 

The ascension was a very important event in the life of the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ as he received the command to pray five times. So, every few prayers, we can remind ourselves that prayer was established during the Mi’raaj, ascension that started from Masjidul Aqsa. When we hear names of the prophets, such as Musa, Isa, Ibrahim, we can remind ourselves that meetings took place between the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and other prophets during the Mi’raaj, which started from Masjidul Aqsa. As you can see, Masjidul Aqsa is connected to a large portion of our religion and so we should really be connected to Masjidul Aqsa and learn more about it.

One might ask, when did the Isra and Mi’raaj take place during the life of the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ ? It actually took place during one of the hardest times in the life of the Prophet ﷺ. His wife Khadijah died, his uncle died, the Muslims were boycotted for three years, where they were starved and had to eat the leaves of the trees, and the Prophet ﷺ was beaten and driven out of a town called Ta’if. But then Allah blessed the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ with the Isra and Mi’raaj. It was a reminder that Allah was with him. It was a reminder that other prophets also went through struggles, but came out victorious. It reassured the early Muslim community that Allah’s help was near. It is a reminder to all of us as well, that victory is near and Allah is always there for us. Whilst we struggle to fight injustice and racism, Allah is with us. Whilst we struggle with boycotting the different products funded by the apartheid regimes, Allah is with us. Allah is with us in our struggle to use our social media to help display the victims of genocides. Our struggle to free the oppressed people puts us on the same path as the great prophets.  

 

In conclusion, dear brothers and sisters, the ascension, the Miraaj, started from Masjidul Aqsa and ended with a conversation with Allah. The fact that the journey started from Masjidul Aqsa signifies the importance of this blessed land. We should make du’a for our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed and be part of the struggle by doing whatever we can to help alleviate their pain and suffering.  

 

May Allah give us the ability to always be connected to Masjidul Aqsa and help free it. Ameen.