Today is Rajab 27 which is why many celebrated the occasion of the Heavenly Ascension of the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, al-Isra wa l-Miraj. I was asked by a brother to clarify the basis of this night when there is a claim that there is no sound evidence to prove that the Heavenly Ascension took place on this night. The principle of sound evidence does not hold when it comes to historical narratives. Therefore a sound narration is not needed to confirm that the Heavenly Ascension took place on Rajab 27, a weak narration is enough. This principle is known by anyone who knows hadith theory. So when someone says provide an evidence for this practice it does not need to be a sound evidence. The claim that it has to be a sound evidence because worship is performed on this night also doesnt hold because primarily it is a night of celebration and remembrance of the great event. There is no obligatory worship that is claimed for this night. Hence, again the demand for sound evidence does not hold. What is accepted is that there is a disagreement about what the date for the Heavenly Ascension is. Not all scholars agree that it took place on Rajab 27. However, there are prominent imams of the community who hold that it took place on this night. The following are some of the imams: 1. al-Zarkashi 2. al-Damiri in his work on the Life of Animals 3. al-Nawawi in his commentary on Sahih Muslim 4. Ibn Dihya 5. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in his commentary on Bukhari, Fath al-Bari Furthermore Abdul Ghani al-Maqdisi mentions a hadith that states that the Heavenly Ascension took place on Rajab 27 which Ibn Kathir mentions is not sound and a narration is attributed to Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr that mentions that it took place on Rajab 27 which Ibn Rajab mentions is not sound. However, on the principle stated above the fact that these narrations are not sound do not harm. In addition, Zurqani mentions in his commentary on Mawahib Laduniyya that although there is a difference on the date the fact that most Muslims have celebrated the Heavenly Ascension on Rajab 27 gives strength to this particular opinion. Remember the principle that Abdullah ibn Masud stated: Whatever the Muslims view as good is good with Allah. This answer is meant to clarify and not to open an argument. Tolerate all views that have a basis. And Allah knows best.
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 13:20:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015