1 - QADR NIGHT is a night in the blessed month of Ramadân. Imâm-i Shâfi’î noted that it was most probably the seventeenth night, while Imâm-i a’zam Abű Hanîfa said that the most probable night was the twenty-seventh. We have been told to look for it between the twentieth and the thirtieth nights. It is the most valuable night praised in the Qur’ân. The Qur’ân began to be revealed to Rasűlullah on this night.
2 - ARAFA NIGHT is the night between the Arafa day and the first day of the ’Iyd of Qurbân. It is the night between the ninth and the tenth days of the month of Zil-hijja.
3 - NIGHT OF ’IYD OF FITR is the night between the last day of the blessed month of Ramadân and the first day of the ’Iyd.
4 - NIGHTS OF QURBÂN are the nights following the first, second and third days of the ’Iyd of Qurbân. These three days are called Ayyâm-i nahr.
5 - MAWLID NIGTH is the night between the eleventh and twelfth days of the month of Rabî’ulawwal. It is the birth night of Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa ‘alaihissalâm’, who was sent as the Prophet for people all over the world and who is the last and the highest of all prophets. After Qadr Night, it is the most valuable night. That night, those who become happy because he was born will be forgiven. That night, it brings much thawâb to read, listen to and learn about the wonders and miracles that were seen when Rasűlullah was born. He himself would tell about them, too. That night, the Sahâba would meet together at some place and converse with one another. [See First Fascicle (Hilya-i Sa’âdat) and Second Fascicle (Wahhabis and the Response of the Ahl as-Sunnat)]
6 - BARÂT NIGHT is the fifteenth night of the month of
Sha’bân. That is, it is the night between its fourteenth and fifteenth days. In the eternal past, before creating anything, Allâhu ta’âlâ predestined, decreed all things. Of these, He informs His angels about everything that will happen during one year on this night. On this night the Qur’ân descended on to the Lawhilmahfűz. Rasűlullah ‘sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam’ would worship and pray very much during this night.
7 - MI’RAJ NIGHT is the twenty-seventh night of the month of Rajab. Mi’raj means ladder. It is the night on which Rasűlullah was made to ascend to heavens and was taken to unknown places.
The inhabitants of Mekka would not have îmân. They had been persecuting Muslims very much. They had gone too far and had already begun torturing Muslims. Rasűlullah was very sorry. It was one year before the Hegira, and he was fifty-two years old. Taking Zayd bin Hârisa with him, he went to Tâif. He preached to the inhabitants of Tâif for one month. None would have îmân. They mocked him and tortured him, hooted and jeered at him. The children pelted him with stones. Hopeless, wearied, he was on his way back, his blessed legs wounded. Meanwhile, Zayd’s head had blood all over. During a very hot hour, they sat by the roadside, exhausted. The owners of a vineyard that happened to be there, two rich brothers named Utba and Shayba, who were sons of Rabî’a sent their servant Addâs with a bunch of
grapes for each.
Before eating the grapes Rasűlullah ‘sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam’ said the Basmala. Addâs, a Christian, was surprised to hear this. “I have been here for many years. I have never heard anybody say such a word. What kind of a word is that?” he said.
Rasűlullah asked, “Where are you from?”
Addâs: “I am from Ninawa.”
Rasűlullah: “I see you are from the same place as Hadrat Yűnus ‘alaihissalâm’.”
Addâs: “How do you know Yűnus? No one hereabouts knows him.”
Rasűlullah: “He is my brother. He was a prophet like me.”
Addâs: “The owner of this beautiful face and these sweet words cannot be a liar. I now believe that you are Allah’s Messenger.” So he became a Muslim and added, “O Rasűlallah. I have been serving these cruel people for many years. They have been depriving people of their rights. They have been cheating
others. They have no goodness. They will commit any baseness to get what is worldly and to fulfill their sensuous desires. I hate them. I want to go with you, get honoured with your service, to be the target of the irreverence which the ignorant and the idiots will commit against you and to sacrifice myself to protect your blessed body.”
Rasűlullah smiled: “Stay with your masters for the time being! After a short while, you will hear of my name far and wide. Come to me then,” he stated. Resting for a while, they wiped off the remaining blood that was still on them and walked towards Mekka. It was already dark when they arrived in the city. The few months he spent in Mekka were troublesome. The enemy was everywhere. There was not a place to go. At last he went to the district of Abű Tâlib, where the house of Umm-i Hânî, his uncle’s daughter, was. Umm-i Hânî had not become Muslim yet. “Who is there?” she said.
Rasűlullah said, “It is me, Muhammad, your uncle’s son. I have come here as a guest, if you will accept me.”
Umm-i Hânî: “I will gladly sacrifice my life for such a true, trustworthy, honourable and noble guest as you are. But if you had said in advance that you would honour us, I would have prepared something. I have no food to give you now.”
Rasűlullah: “I want nothing to eat and drink. I care for none. A place will suffice where I can worship, entreat my Allah.”
Umm-i Hânî received Rasűlullah, gave him a mat, a bowl and an ewer. It was considered as the most honourable duty among the Arabs to do kindness to a visitor and to protect him against an enemy. Any harm given to a guest in a home would be a grave shame for the host. Umm-i Hânî thought, “He has a lot of enemies in Mekka. There are even those who want to kill him. I will be on the watch for him till morning in order to protect my honour.” Taking her father’s sword, she began to walk around the house.
Rasűlullah was hurt very much during the day. Performing an ablution, he began to entreat his Allah, ask for forgiveness and pray so that people would have îmân and attain to happiness. Being very tired, hungry and aggrieved, he lay down on the mat and soon fell asleep.
At that moment, Allâhu ta’âlâ commanded to Hadrat Jabrâil ‘alaihissalâm’:
“I have afflicted My Beloved Prophet so much. I have hurt his
blessed body, his tender heart so much. But he still entreats Me. He does not think of anything besides Me. Go! Bring Me My Beloved! Show him My Paradise and Hell. Let him see the blessings I have prepared for him and for those who love him. Let him see the torment I have prepared for those who disbelieve him, who hurt him with their words, writings and actions. I will console him. I will cure the wounds of his tender heart.” Within a moment Jabrâil ‘alaihissalâm’ was near Rasűlullah. He found him sound asleep. He did not have the heart to wake him up. He was in a man’s figure. He kissed under his blessed foot. Because he does not have a heart or blood, his cold lips woke Rasűlullah. At once he recognized Jabrâil ‘alaihissalâm’ and, fearing that Allâhu ta’âlâ might have
gotten offended with him, he said, “O my Brother, Jabrâil! Why are you here at such an unusual time? Have I done something wrong, have I offended my Allah? Have you brought bad news for me?”
Jabrâil ‘alaihissalâm’ said, “O You, the Highest of all creatures! O You, the Beloved of the Creator! O You, the Master of Prophets! O You, the Honourable Prophet, the source of goodness and superiorities! Your Allah sends His salâm to you. He bestows upon you the blessing which He has given to no other prophet, to no creature. He invites you to Himself. Please get up. Let us go.” They went to the Ka’ba, where someone came to them, cleaved open his chest, took out his heart and washed it with the water of Zemzem. Then he put it back in its place. Then, riding on a white animal named Burâq brought from Paradise, they went to the Masjid-i Aqsâ in Jerusalem in a moment. Making a hole in the rock with his finger, Jabrâil ‘alaihissalâm’ tied Burâq there. The
souls of some past prophets, in their own figures, were present there. He offered Hadrat Adam, Hadrat Nűh (Noah) and Hadrat Ibrâhîm, respectively, to become the imâm so that they would perform the namâz in jamâ’at. Asking for an excuse and saying that they were defective, they all refused it. Hadrat Jabrâil suggested Rasűlullah. “When you are present, no one can be the imâm,” he said. After the namâz, they went out of the masjid and by some unknown ascent passed the seven layers of heavens in one moment. At each heaven he saw a great Prophet. Jabrâil ‘alaihissalâm’ remained in Sidra, saying, “If I go as farther as a hair’s breadth I will burn and perish.” Sidrat-ul-muntahâ is a tree in the sixth heaven. After seeing Paradise, Hell and innumerable things, Rasűlullah, on a carpet of Paradise named Rafraf, passed the
Kursî, the ’Arsh, the world of souls, and reached the heights
decreed by Allâhu ta’âlâ in an unknown, incomprehensible and unexampled manner. Without place, time, direction and manner, he saw Allâhu ta’âlâ. Without eyes, ears, means and place, he spoke with Allâhu ta’âlâ. Attaining blessings that could be known or comprehended by no creature, he came back to Jerusalem and thence to Umm-i Hânî’s house in the blessed city of Mekka. The place where he had lain down had not become cold yet, nor had the motion of the water in the bowl come to a standstill. Umm-i Hânî, who had been walking about outside, had dozed off, unaware of everything. On his way from Jerusalem to Mekka he met a caravan of Quraish. A camel in the caravan was frightened and fell down.
The next morning he went to Ka’ba and related his mi’râj. Hearing this, the disbelievers scoffed at him. “Muhammad’s gone crazy for good,” they said. And the ones who had been thinking of becoming Muslims grave up. Some of them, amused, went to Abű Bakr’s house. They knew he was a clever, experienced and calculating merchant. As soon as he came to the door, they asked him:
“O Abâ Bakr! You went to Jerusalem many times. You must know well. How long does it take to go from Mekka to Jerusalem?”
Hadrat Abű Bakr said, “I know well that it takes more than a month.”
The disbelievers were pleased with this reply and said, “So will a wise and experienced man say.” Laughing, mocking, being happy because Abű Bakr had the same opinion as they did, they said:
“Your master says that he went to and came back from Jerusalem in a night. He is completely mad now,” and showed their sympathy, reverence and trust for Abű Bakr.
Upon hearing the blessed name of Rasűlullah, Abű Bakr ‘radiyallâhu anh’ said, “If he says so I believe him. He for sure went and came back in a moment,” and went back in. The disbelievers were all stupefied. Hanging their heads, they walked away, saying, “How amazing! What a strong sorcerer Muhammad is! He bewitched Abű Bakr.”
Clothing himself immediately, Abű Bakr went to Rasűlullah. In the big crowd he said aloud, “O Rasűlallah! I congratulate you, your blessed mi’râj! Infinite thanks to Allâhu ta’âlâ because He has honoured us with being the servants of such an exalted
prophet as you are. He has blessed us with seeing your shining face, with hearing your sweet words that please hearts and attract souls. O Rasűlallah! Every word you say is true. I believe in you. I am ready to sacrifice my life for you!” These words of Abű Bakr’s bewildered the disbelievers. Being at a loss as to what to say, they dispersed. This strengthened the hearts of a few people with weak îmân who had been doubting. That day Rasűlullah called Abű Bakr “Siddîq.” Being given this name, he was promoted to a higher grade.
All this exasperated the disbelievers. They could not bear the Believers’ strong îmân, their believing right away whatever he said, their gathering around him and protecting him. In order to rout and disgrace Rasűlullah, they attempted to test him.
“O Muhammad ‘alaihissalâm’! You claim to have gone to Jerusalem. Tell us now! How many doors and how many windows does the masjid have?” were some of their questions. As the Prophet answered each, Hadrat Abű Bakr said, “Right, O Rasűlallah! It is true, O Rasűlallah!” But in actual fact, out of his embarrassment, Rasűlullah would not even look at a person in the face. Afterwards, he stated, “I had not looked around in Masjid-i aqsâ. I had not seen what they asked about. At that moment Hadrat Jabrâil brought Masjid-i aqsâ before my eyes. [Like watching television], I saw, counted, and answered their questions at once.” He said that he had seen travellers riding camels on his way and that he hoped, inshâallah, that they would arrive on Wednesday. On Wednesday, just before sunset, the caravan arrived
in Mekka. They said that something had happened like the blowing of the wind and that a camel had fallen down. This situation strengthened the Believers’ îmân but aggravated the disbelievers’ enmity. The book Rűh-ul-bayân, quoting from the book Tafsîr-i Husaynî, and the book Bahr, in the section dealing with imâmat, say, “One who does not believe that Rasűlullah was taken from the city of Mekka to Jerusalem [to Beyt-ul muqaddes] will be a disbeliever. One who does not believe that he was taken to the heavens and to unknown places will be dâl and mubtadi’. ” That is, he will be a heretic.
8 - RAJAB MONTH AND NIGHT OF RAGHÂIB: First Friday night of the month of Rajab is called Night of Raghâib. Every night of Rajab is already valuable. Every Friday night is valuable, too. When these two valuable nights come together, they become all the more valuable. The value of the night of Raghâib is communicated by various hadîths.
Rajab had been valuable since the time of Hadrat Adam. It had been a sin to war in this month. The month had been respected by all ummats. Rajab means majectic, great, honoured, valuable. It is written in the Persian book Anîsulwâ’izîn, “During the time of Hadrat Îsâ, a youngster fell in love with a lovely girl. He was mad with desire to have her. A long time later he managed to get a date. One night they came together in her room and undressed themselves. The youngster was so happy. Right then he saw the new moon through the window. “What month is this?” he asked. When the girl said, “Rajab,” he suddenly pulled himself together and dressed himself. The girl, astonished, asked what was the matter with him. The youngster answered, “I have heard from my
parents that we must not sin in the month of Rajab but must respect this month.” Asking for an excuse, he went home. Allâhu ta’âlâ sent wahy to Îsâ ‘alaihissalâm’ and informed him with what had happened, commanding him, “Visit this youngster and give my salâm to him.” Being pleased with the fact that a great prophet had been sent to him owing to the reverence he had paid to Rajab, the youngster accepted îmân and became a good Believer. On account of Rajab, he attained the honour of îmân.”
9 - MUHARRAM NIGHT: The first night of the month of Muharram is the Muslim’s new year’s night. Muharram is the first month of the Islamic year. The first day of Muharram is the first day of the Muslims’ new year, that is, of the Hijrî year (A.H.). Disbelievers celebrate Christmas on the first night of January, which is their new year’s day. They commit the actions of disbelief commanded by the Christian religion. They worship on that night. And Muslims, too, on their new year’s night and day, congratulate one another by exchanging letters (or by calling one another). They visit one another, give presents to one another. They celebrate the New Year with magazines and newspapers. They send their prayers so that the New Year will be beneficial and prosperous for them and for all Muslims. They
visit their parents and the savants at their homes and get their benedictions. On that day, they put on new dresses as if it were a day of ’Iyd. They give alms to the poor.
10 - ASHÛRA NIGHT: The tenth night of Muharram. Muharram is one of the four months esteemed in the Qur’ân. Ashűra is the most valuable night of the month. Allâhu ta’âlâ has accepted many prayers on Ashűra Day. Acceptance of Hadrat Adam’s repentance; Hadrat Nűh’s (Noah’s) ship’s being rescued
from the Flood, Hadrat Yűnus’ getting out of the fish’s stomach; Hadrat Ibrâhîm’s not burning in Nimrod’s fire; Hadrat Idrîs’ being made to ascend to heavens; Hadrat Ya’qűb’s finding his son Yűsuf and healing of the cataract on his eyes; Hadrat Yűsuf’s getting out of the well; Hadrat Ayyűb’s recovering health; Hadrat Műsâ’s (Moses) passing over the Nile and Pharaoh’s being drowned; Hadrat Îsâ’s birth and his escaping from being killed by Jews and his ascent to heaven alive; all these happened on the Ashűra Day. It is not an act of worship for Muslims to cook (the sweet desert called) ashűra on the tenth of Muharram because Hadrat Nűh (Noah) cooked a sweet called ashűra on board the ship. Hadrat Muhammad and the Sahâba did not do so. It is a bid’at, a sin to think that it
is an act of worship to cook ashűra on that day. It is worship to do what Hadrat Muhammad did and commanded. It will not bring thawâb to do things that are not written in books of the dîn or taught by savants of the dîn. It is sinful. It is sunnat, and worship, to prepare any sweet or to give feasts to acquaintances and alms to the poor on that day. Ibni Âbidîn writes on the two hundred and seventy-sixth page of the fifth volume, “It is a sunnat to put kohl on the eyelashes. But it is harâm to do this only on Ashűra Day.”
It is bid’at to mourn and lament because Hadrat Husain ‘radiyallâhu anh’ was martyred on that day. It is sinful. Mourning on Ashűra Day is a custom of the Shî’îs. They mourn for Hadrat Husain. Because he was Hadrat Alî’s son, they praise him adoringly. But we the Ahl as-sunnat love him very much because he was Rasűlullah’s grandson. There is no mourning in Islam. Muslims do not mourn only on Ashűra Day. But they always become sad whenever they remember the tragedy of Kerbelâ. They grieve deeply. They weep bitterly. If there were mourning in Islam, we would have done it not on Ashűra Day but on the day when Rasűlullah’s blessed feet bled all over in Tâif, or when his blessed tooth was broken and his blessed face bled at Uhűd or when he passed away.
Of the ten nights mentioned above, the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth nights are called Qandîl nights.
Besides the ten nights mentioned above, the other nights of ’Iyd of fitr, first ten nights of the month of Zil-hijja, first ten nights of Muharram, every Friday night and every Monday night are sacred. Hadrat Sharnblâlî writes the virtues of the nights in detail in his book Imdâd-ul-fattâh.
The following hadîths are written in various books:
1 - The gates of [Allah’s] Compassion are opened on four nights. Prayers or istighfârs done on these nights will not be refused. The first nights of the ’Iyd of Fitr and Qurbân, the fifteenth night of Sha’bân [Barât] and Arafa Night. [Qadr Night having been mentioned in many hadîths, it must have been deemed unnecessary to mention it here.]
2 - Among acts of worship, Allâhu ta’âlâ likes better the ones done within the first ten days of Zil-hijja. A day’s fast during these days will be given the thawâb of a year’s [supererogatory] fast. The namâz performed during their nights is like the namâz performed on Qadr Night. Perform very much tasbîh, tahlîl and takbîr on these days!
3 - If a Muslim fasts on Tarwiya Day and does not say anything sinful, Allâhu ta’âlâ will put him into Paradise certainly.
[Tarwiya is the eighth of Zil-hijja, previous to Arafa Day].
4 - Respect Arafa Day! For, Arafa is a day esteemed by Allâhu ta’âlâ.
5 - Those who worship on Arafa Night will be set free from Hell.
6 - Two years’ sins of those who fast on Arafa Day will be forgiven. The past one year’s sins and the next one year’s sins.
[Arafa is the ninth day of Zil-hijja, other days are not called Arafa.]
7 - He who says the Ikhlâs a thousand times on Arafa Day will be forgiven all his sins and his every prayer will be accepted. He must say all of them with the Basmala.
8 - Rajab is the month of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He who shows honour to the month of Rajab and who respects it will be blessed by Allâhu ta’âlâ in this world and the next.
As it is written in the Arabic book Futűhulghayb by Hadrat Abdulqâdir-i Geylânî and on the two hundred and seventy-fourth page of its Persian explanation by Abdulhaq Dahlawî, Hadrat Ali quotes the following hadîth:
Rasűlullah stated, “If a person has not performed his fard namâz, his performing nâfila namâz is like [the case of] a pregnant woman who has completed pregnancy. On the day when she is about to deliever the child, she has a miscarriage. Since her child has perished, the woman cannot be said to be pregnant. Nor can she be called a mother. So is this person. Unless he makes his prayers of fard namâz, Allâhu ta’âlâ will not accept his supererogatory prayers.” Abdulhaq Dahlawî, a great savant, an
expert of hadîths, says “This hadîth informs that those who perform the sunnat and nâfila prayers instead of performing their omitted prayers of fard namâz are wasting time. For, any prayer which is not fard or wâjib is called nâfila. Those nâfila prayers performed together with the ones that are fard are called muakkad sunnat namâz. Those that are not prescribed to be performed together with the fard ones are called zawâid sunnat.
9 - He who embellishes
[respects] the first Friday night of Rajab will not be tormented by Allâhu ta’âlâ in his grave. Allahu ta’âlâ will accept his prayers. Only, there are seven people whom He will not forgive and whose prayers He will not accept: he who takes and gives interest; he who abhors Muslims; the child who torments and disobeys his parents; the woman who disobeys her husband though he is a Muslim and obeys the Sharî’at; he who sings and plays music as a profession; he who commits homosexuality or fornication; he who does not perform namâz five times a day. Unless they give up and repent for these sins and ask for Allah’s forgiveness, their prayers will not be accepted. Any command incompatible with the Sharî’at must not be obeyed or done whether
it is given by one’s parents, by a woman’s husband or by anybody else. But it is still necessary to speak mildly to one’s parents and not to hurt them. If one’s parents are disbelievers one must bring them back from a church or tavern, even by carrying them on one’s back if necessary. But one does not have to take them to such places.
Ibni Âbidîn writes on the two hundred and sixty-ninth page of the fifth volume, “It is tahrîmî makrűh to call one’s parents, and also for a wife to call her husband, by their names, and is a grave sin. One must call them by going near them and by using words of reverence and respect. One must not call them loudly from a distance.”
10 - Jabrâil
‘alaihissalâm’ came to me and said, “Get up, perform namâz and pray! Tonight is the fifteenth night of Sha’bân.” Allâhu ta’âlâ forgives those who respect this night. Only, He does not forgive polytheists, sorcerers, witches, misers, those who have alcoholic drinks, those who take interest and those who commit fornication.
11 - Know that Barât Night is an opportunity, a great fortune! For, it is a certain night. It is the fifteenth night of Sha’bân. Qadr Night is very great, but it is not known for certain which night it is. Worship very much on this night. Or else you will repent on the Judgement Day!
Upon hearing that a lot of thawâb will be given for doing a certain thing at a certain place and time, if a person does it with this thought in order to get thawâb, Allâhu ta’âlâ will give him the thawâb even if the information were not true. But it has to be something not prohibited by the Sharî’at. To get the thawâb of supererogatory worships, it is a condition not to have any defect in one’s îmân and in one’s fard worships, to repent for one’s sins and to entreat Allâhu ta’âlâ for forgiveness, and to intend to do them as worship.
1 - Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: "A person whom Allâhu ta'âlâ loves very much is one who learns his religion and teaches it to others. Learn your religion from the mouths of Islamic scholars!"
A person who cannot find a true scholar must learn by reading books written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunna, and try hard to spread these books. A Müslim who has 'ilm (knowledge), 'amal (practising what one knows; obeying Islam's commandments and prohibitions), and ikhlâs (doing everything only to please Allâhu ta'âlâ) is called an Islamic scholar. A person who represents himself as an Islamic scholar though he lacks any one of these qualifications is called an 'evil religious scholar', or an 'impostor'. The Islamic scholar will guide you to causes which in turn will open the gates to happiness; he is the protector of faith. The impostor will mislead you into such causes as will make you end up in perdition; he is the Satan's accomplice.[1] (There is a certain) prayer (called) Istighfâr (which), whenever you say, (recite or read) it, will make you attain causes which will shield you against afflictions and troubles.
2 - The
Nejât-ul-musallî
was written in Turkish in the year 1217 (A.H.) by Ahmed Ţevki Efendi, and was printed
in Ýstanbul in 1305. Ýt consists of a hundred and ninety-seven (197) pages. Ýt is stated as follows on its final
page: Ibni Jezerî, (751 [1350 A.D.], Damascus - 833 [1429], Shîrâz,) states as follows in his
book Hisn ul-hasîn:
A hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows:
"If an invalid person says Lâ ilâha illâ anta
subhânaka innî kuntu min-az-zâlimîn,' forty times, he will die as a martyr
(if his predetermined
life-span is over). If he recovers, all his sins
will be pardoned."
This prayer is the eighty-seventh âyat-i- kerîma of Anbiyâ sűra. Please see the final
parts of the thirteenth and the fifteenth chapters of the current book!
---------------------------------
[1] Knowledge that is acquired not for the purpose of practising it with ikhlâs, will not be beneficial. Please see the 366th and 367th pages of the first volume of Hadîqa, and also the 36th and the 40th and the 59th letters in the first volume of Maktűbât. (The English versions of these letters exist in the 16th and the 25th and the 28th chapters, respectively, of the second fascicle of Endless Bliss).