Shab-e-Meraj: The Haze of History and the Reality of Worship

Mufti Muhammad Ibrahim Ghaffari 
ibrahimgifari@gmail.com 

Shab-e-Meraj is that radiant chapter of Islamic history in which the distances of earth and sky shrank, and the Beloved of the Almighty ﷺ was granted the honor of proximity, the likes of which are not found in the universe. But alas, regarding the history associated with this great event and some of its attributions, unnecessary certainty has been created among the Ummah, whereas in the eyes of the Muhaddithin and historians, this issue has been controversial from the very beginning.
It cannot be said with complete certainty about the event of Meraj that it was necessarily the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab. Traditions differ from one another in determining the date, day, and month. Some mentioned Rabi-ul-Awwal, some Ramadan, some Shawwal, and some mentioned Rajab. Although the twenty-seventh of Rajab has become more popular at the public level, fame cannot take the place of research.
Similarly, there is no explicit and authentic evidence in the books of Hadith to distinguish this night with specific worship. The narrations that are narrated for this purpose are either weak or not reliable in terms of Sanad and Matn. The Imams of Hadith have commented on these narrations and refrained from making them a Hujjat. However, if a person performs Zikr and worship on this night like ordinary nights, there is no objection to it in the eyes of Sharia, because goodness is goodness at all times, but it is not correct to consider it necessary or special.
The issue of fasting the next day also falls into the same category. It is common knowledge among the public that the fast after Shab-e-Meraj is equal to a thousand fasts, whereas there is no authentic narration in favor of this claim. The scholars have clearly stated that there is no basis for this attribution, and it is merely a public tradition that does not stand when tested on the touchstone of research.
If we turn the pages of history, we come to know that the event of Meraj took place in the tenth year of Prophethood, at that time the age of the Holy Prophet ﷺ was approximately fifty years. Some narrations state it a few months before Hijrat and some three years before, of which the last statement seems more correct. According to the Christian calendar, this great event took place around 621 AD. There is also disagreement in determining the day, although the mention of Saturday is found in some books.
Thus, Shab-e-Meraj teaches us that the beauty of religion is not in emotions, but in research, moderation, and following the Sunnah. When devotion is illuminated by the lamp of knowledge, it does not become Bid'ah, and when worship is done with the support of evidence, it attains the status of acceptance.

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