Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The incident of Isra and Miraj, which will be on the night that connects Wednesday to Thursday, is a divine miracle of Allah (swt) given to Rasulullah (saw). Allah (swt) says in Surah Al-Isra: “Exalted is He who took His Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”[1] On that blessed night, the Messenger of Allah (saw) arrived at the Masjid al-Aqsa with his mount named Buraq. There, he led the prayers of the prophets of the past ummahs as an imam and thus was given the name, Imam al-Anbiya (Imam of the Prophets)[2]. He was then offered two glasses, one containing wine and the other milk. When the Prophet Muhammad (saw) preferred the milk, Jibril (as) said: “Praise be to Allah Who guided you to Al-Fitra (the right path); if you had taken (the cup of) wine, your nation would have gone astray.”[3] After that, the Prophet (saw) ascended to the sky with Angel Jibril (as). As he was ascending, he met with prophets in different layers of the heavens.

Then he was addressed to Allah (swt) and the Prophet Muhammad (saw) was given three good news. These are the five daily prayers, the last verses of Surah Al-Baqara and the sins of those who do not associate with Allah will be forgiven.[4] After this ascension with soul and body, he returned to Mecca the same night.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The Makkan polytheists, who were aware of the incident, denied this occurrence by saying that such an event would not be possible overnight. Abu Bakr (r.a.) showed his loyalty with his firm faith. On this occasion, he earned the nickname Siddiq, which means “very loyal, sincere, loving the right”.

As soon as he heard the news, he made the following statement: “By Allah, if he actually said that, he has told the truth. There really is nothing to be amazed about, for he has told me that information comes to him from Allah, from the sky to the earth, in an instant during the night or day and I believe him. And that is even more strange.!”[5]

Dear Jama’ah!

In the verse we read at the beginning of the khutba, Allah (swt) describes Masjid al-Aqsa, which is the starting point of the ascension, as “We blessed its surroundings” and points to the virtue and holiness of this Masjid on its own. This expression also shows the holiness of the lands around it. These lands, which contain the first qibla of Muslims and the third of the holy mosques, Masjid al-Aqsa, have been blessed by Allah (swt). Believers who have the spirit and inheritance of Isra and Miraj should not forget their responsibilities towards that blessed land. Believers should not forget Masjid al-Aqsa, which witnessed the ascension of the Messenger of Allah.

They should travel there so that their lights don’t go out and the congregation is not lost. They should not leave Masjid al-Aqsa abandoned and alone.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Of course, the miraculous event, which happened to Rasulullah (saw), has meanings within meaning. And we will derive different and rich meanings from this important subject in proportion to our knowledge and wisdom. However, the common meaning that all members of the ummah should know until the Day of Judgment is the prayer that became obligatory for us on this holy night. We should not forget that every believer has the opportunity to rise to the heavens, and this is undoubtedly through the prayers we will perform. All thanks to Allah (swt), who gave us the opportunity to get out of the daily life, come before him and rise at least five times a day. I would like to end the Khutba with a hadith that declares the importance of prayer, which our Prophet described as “the light of my eyes”: “The bonds of Islam will be undone one by one. Each time one bond is undone, the people will move to the next one (and adhere to that). The first bond to be undone will be ruling (al-hukm) and the last one will be prayer (al-salaah).”[6]

May Allah (swt) allow us to be of the siddiq like Abu Bakr (ra), having undoubted and strong faith. May Allah (swt) allow us to succeed in performing the best of prayers. Ameen.

[1] Surah Al-Isra, 17:1
[2] Bkz. İbn-i Hişâm: Es-Sîre En-Nebevîye (1990), 2/48
[3] Bkz. Buhârî, Eşribe, 1, H.No: 5576
[4] Bkz. Müslim, İman, 76, H.No: 173
[5] İbn-i Hişâm: Es-Sîre En-Nebevîye (1990), 2/49-50
[6] Müsned-i Ahmed, H.No: 22160; İbn-i Hibban, H.No: 6715.

Khutba-The Rise to the Heavens