Our Discarded Gift

بسم الله

Quran, (17:1).. “Glorious is He Who made his servant travel by night from Al-Masjid-ul-Haram to Al-Masjid-ul-Aqsa of which environs We have blessed, so that We let him see some of Our signs. Surely, He is the All-Hearing, the All- Seeing.”

We are forced to contemplate, as we are left only with the shadows of these days as they race by, leaving us at a complete loss.

A sense of excitement and anticipation rises, while we find ourselves heading for the month of mercy. The month of the Qur’an. The month for spirituality. The month for us.

But before the blessed month dawns upon us, it is a true gift, that we are bestowed with two more beautiful months in our midst.

The events of this miraculous month are drilled mechanically into our minds, but we cannot envisage what had occurred from the quarters of the Holy Mosque in Jerusalem, when the Mubaarak body of our Nabi (SAW) was elevated through the span of the seven heavens.

We can’t comprehend how the angel Jibraeel (AS) had accompanied our Nabi (SAW) through this night journey, wishing for the honour of  extending his wings to stand as a bridge of safety for us, when the righteous Ummat is to cross the Pulsiraat. We can marvel at the power of Allah Ta’ala, when He had actually stopped the rising of the sun, just so He could prove the truth of His last Messenger (SAW).

SubhanAllah.

We cannot dare to imagine the wonder of it all. Our feeble minds cannot even fathom the thoughts of what had occurred that night, when the Salaah of the Ambiyaa had taken place at Masjidul Aqsa, and our Nabi (SAW) was made to lead it. No-one can even envision that particular Jamaat, of every great Nabi and devotee of the Almighty.

Imagine that concentration. The straightness of those safs. The unison of their actions as each Nabi raised their hands, and the echo resounded through the air as His greatness was completely acknowledged. The true grandeur of the Almighty was truly done justice to, with those words. Allahu Akbar.

Allahu Akbar. It must have been sublime. Can we even comprehend that Salaah?

We cannot. Because the Salaah of today is completely devoid of that type of commitment. We read it, but we are not praying. We are doing the motions, but we feel nothing.

Yet every Rajab, without fail, we are reminded about the miracle of the span of space that our Nabi (SAW) ascended. A space that it is said, just till the first heaven, exceeds 500 years. And not just any years, these are years from a timeline that we cannot comprehend. A miraculous journey that no modern age mobile can ever conquer. That was the miracle of Miraaj. The miracle that brought Salaah.

And we have an immense amount of insight into that phenomenon, the Isra and Miraaj. When our Nabi (SAW) saw the sheer beauty of Jannah, and the treacherous torture of Jahannam.

We’ve heard about how our Allah Ta’ala had beckoned him toward Himself, the Almighty. How He had called the Messenger (SAW) to meet his Lord.

And the heavens rejoiced and were lit up, as the Prophet (SAW) was elevated and approached his Lord. He called our Master (SAW), towards Him.

“Do not be afraid, O (Ahmad) Muhammad; approach!”

And then, he met our Allah. Comprehend that. That he met the Almighty.

“Allah appeared to me in a very beautiful form. That moment we heard angels of skies were talking on some matter.

Allah said “O Muhammad”.

I said ” Here I am, O Allah, at Your service; here I am at Your service”.

Allah asked “What are the angels talking about?”.

I said “O Allah! I don’t know.”

So Allah placed his hand between my shoulders and I felt its coolness in my chest. And then every thing was revealed to me.” (Jamia Turmadi)

Understand that he met the Greatest, the Most-Powerful.

In the end, our Nabi (SAW) reached the place that nobody had reached before, attaining divine acceptance, grants and bounties, and most of all, a gift.

A gift for us, which we have discarded without a thought.

And we are well-read about the miracle and it’s awesomeness, but we fail to acknowledge it’s significance. We have discarded the pureness of it’s bounty, Salaah, that we are meant to read as if our Lord is right before us.

As if we are seeing Him. As if He is right before us, like the night of ascension for our Nabi (SAW).

We have forgotten, because even when every creature on earth is calling out to us, Akeemus Salaah, establish Salaah, stand up for Salaah, we refuse to acknowledge. Every excuse comes to mind, postponing our duty. Everything takes preference over Salaah.

The lakes, oceans and lands are summoning for us to bow down before the Almighty, but we take no heed.

Five times a day. Not once or twice, but FIVE times in one day, we hear the call to prayer.

Hayya Alas Salaah, Hayya Alas Salaah.

Hasten to Salaah.

But we do not relent. Our mundane tasks have consumed us. Our love for the Duniyaa has triumphed over the rightful position of Salaah in our lives. These things have diverted us from the reality of our disposition.

The reality that we are just slaves.

Slaves of our Master, who is calling for us to bow down. Who is waiting for us to turn to Him, to come closer to Him, just as he summoned His Nabi (SAW), on that miraculous night. Just like that, He is beckoning us to come nearer to Him.

Come, My slave. Come seek solace in Me. There is no other comfort but with Me. 

And when you are in that position of sujood, with your hands and knees on the ground, your forehead in meeting with the earth from which we are created, we can never be closer to Him in this world.

There is no ransom for Salaah, such is that value of one Salaah. It can never be replaced. We can never get a Salaah back, once it has passed. And the punishment for that one missed Salaah is a tremendous amount of time in the hellfire.

Don’t, dear Muslims, don’t let it pass.

We fail to realise, that it truly is a gift, because without it, we would have no direction. We would be floating around aimlessly, in this indulgent world.

We would be completely lost, if Salaah was not made compulsory for us.

We would be doing no Ibaadat whatsoever! We would be completely unmindful of the fact that we were throwing away our Aakhirah in the process.

Indeed, it is said that if the Ummah of Nuh (AS) was given this Salaah, they would never have been drowned. Such is the magic of this Salaah, and elevation of our blessed Ummah. Such is our rank, that only we were given Salaah as a safeguarding.

As a means to show some gratitude, when we say Allahu Akbar, let us truly acknowledge that there is nothing greater than Him. Let’s remember that when we want to speak to Allah, all we have to do is get onto our Musallah. Let’s take every Salaah as if it is our last.

For verily, in the remembrance of Allah, do hearts find rest.

In this world, and the next.

• Ibaadat
• Islam
• Miraaj
• Salaah