The innovation of celebrating the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab on the basis that it is the night of the Mi'raj
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The Shaykh : Now, they also say: The Mi'raj took place in Rajab. The Mi'raj, the Mi'raj of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), where was it? Here, where was it?
The student: To the heavens
The Shaykh : To the heavens. It was in Rajab, and they specify the night as the twenty-seventh of Rajab. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Is celebrating the Mi'raj on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab an innovation or not an innovation?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The night of the twenty-seventh is an innovation
The student: An innovation
The Shaykh : And not an innovation? If you say it is an innovation, we say you are mistaken. If you say it is not an innovation, we say you are mistaken. First: Do you see that giving examples here is not limited to what I am saying? Every act of worship by which a person worships Allah must be weighed by the scale. What is the original rule in acts of worship? Prohibition. It is forbidden for a person to legislate any act of worship except by the permission of Allah, by the legislation of Allah. Stay with us, my brothers. We want to speak with reason and proper conduct with Allah and His Messenger. We do not go ahead of Allah and His Messenger, if Allah wills, until death.
So, let us present the topic. First: Is it established that the night of the Mi'raj is the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab? The one who says no, look for evidence from his student. Yes, here. You have stopped now, heh heh. Well, in any case, Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) claimed consensus that it is in Rabi' al-Awwal and said it is not in Rajab. He claimed the consensus of the historians that it is in Rabi' al-Awwal. But Ibn Hajar responded to him in this and said the claim of consensus is not correct because there is disagreement among them. Some said it is in Rabi' al-Awwal, or in Rabi' al-Thani, or in Ramadan, or in Rajab. But despite that, it has not been established on any night with a sound chain that the soul is reassured by. All the reports coming about it are different; they did not agree on a month or a specific day. And all of them are also broken in chain. And a condition for the validity of a hadith is
The student: The connection of the chain
The Shaykh : The connection of the chain. And this indicates to you that the righteous Salaf did not care about it, and it passed over them as if it were nothing. Because if they had cared about it and known it, it would have been what? Known to them, and the transmission of it would have been mass-transmitted. So, I mean, the Night of Decree has not been established from the historical aspect in Rajab.
The student: The Mi'raj
And what did I say?
The student: The Decree
The Shaykh : Yes, mistake. The night of the Mi'raj. The night of the Mi'raj has not been established from the historical aspect in a specific month. It has not been established. And these are the books of the scholars and historians before us. It has not been established. Even Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned ten opinions about it. And something like this cannot be established without the existence of evidence that specifies it. So, we do not believe that it is the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab. This is from the historical aspect. From the practical, worshipful aspect, let us suppose that it was established on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab, or on the night of the twelfth of Rabi' al-Awwal. Let us suppose that it was established. Do we have the right to legislate in it acts of worship that Allah and His Messenger did not legislate? Absolutely not. We do not have this right. And on this basis, there is no celebration of the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab. I say this to clear my conscience, to reform the Ummah, and to establish the religion. I do not like for my Muslim brothers to worship Allah with what He has not legislated, to tire themselves and waste their money without guidance. And if we have in our hearts the exaltation of Allah and His Messenger, and this is obligatory, then from the exaltation of Allah and His Messenger is that we do not go beyond what Allah and His Messenger have legislated. Is that not so, my brothers? So, there is no need for celebration. And we say that the night of the Mi'raj, as regards the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), is the most noble night. But as regards the Ummah, no. The most noble night as regards the Ummah is the Night of Decree. And this is clear. We said this as an aside to our saying what? That a condition of worship is following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Glory be to Allah, where is Abu Bakr, where is 'Umar, where is 'Uthman, where is 'Ali, where are the caliphs of the Muslims in the early period of the Ummah regarding this night? Where are they regarding this night? Does it mean it was hidden from them and became clear to us? Yes, or are we more obedient to Allah than they were? No, by Allah, neither this nor that. I hope my brothers, the students of knowledge, will clarify that to their peoples and say: My brothers, worship is respected, it comes down from Allah. What came down from Allah we accepted, and what did not come down we rejected.Sahih Muslim 1718b Thus said our Imam (peace and blessings be upon him). Sahih Muslim 1718b
The student: To the heavens
The Shaykh : To the heavens. It was in Rajab, and they specify the night as the twenty-seventh of Rajab. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Is celebrating the Mi'raj on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab an innovation or not an innovation?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The night of the twenty-seventh is an innovation
The student: An innovation
The Shaykh : And not an innovation? If you say it is an innovation, we say you are mistaken. If you say it is not an innovation, we say you are mistaken. First: Do you see that giving examples here is not limited to what I am saying? Every act of worship by which a person worships Allah must be weighed by the scale. What is the original rule in acts of worship? Prohibition. It is forbidden for a person to legislate any act of worship except by the permission of Allah, by the legislation of Allah. Stay with us, my brothers. We want to speak with reason and proper conduct with Allah and His Messenger. We do not go ahead of Allah and His Messenger, if Allah wills, until death.
So, let us present the topic. First: Is it established that the night of the Mi'raj is the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab? The one who says no, look for evidence from his student. Yes, here. You have stopped now, heh heh. Well, in any case, Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) claimed consensus that it is in Rabi' al-Awwal and said it is not in Rajab. He claimed the consensus of the historians that it is in Rabi' al-Awwal. But Ibn Hajar responded to him in this and said the claim of consensus is not correct because there is disagreement among them. Some said it is in Rabi' al-Awwal, or in Rabi' al-Thani, or in Ramadan, or in Rajab. But despite that, it has not been established on any night with a sound chain that the soul is reassured by. All the reports coming about it are different; they did not agree on a month or a specific day. And all of them are also broken in chain. And a condition for the validity of a hadith is
The student: The connection of the chain
The Shaykh : The connection of the chain. And this indicates to you that the righteous Salaf did not care about it, and it passed over them as if it were nothing. Because if they had cared about it and known it, it would have been what? Known to them, and the transmission of it would have been mass-transmitted. So, I mean, the Night of Decree has not been established from the historical aspect in Rajab.
The student: The Mi'raj
And what did I say?
The student: The Decree
The Shaykh : Yes, mistake. The night of the Mi'raj. The night of the Mi'raj has not been established from the historical aspect in a specific month. It has not been established. And these are the books of the scholars and historians before us. It has not been established. Even Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned ten opinions about it. And something like this cannot be established without the existence of evidence that specifies it. So, we do not believe that it is the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab. This is from the historical aspect. From the practical, worshipful aspect, let us suppose that it was established on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab, or on the night of the twelfth of Rabi' al-Awwal. Let us suppose that it was established. Do we have the right to legislate in it acts of worship that Allah and His Messenger did not legislate? Absolutely not. We do not have this right. And on this basis, there is no celebration of the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab. I say this to clear my conscience, to reform the Ummah, and to establish the religion. I do not like for my Muslim brothers to worship Allah with what He has not legislated, to tire themselves and waste their money without guidance. And if we have in our hearts the exaltation of Allah and His Messenger, and this is obligatory, then from the exaltation of Allah and His Messenger is that we do not go beyond what Allah and His Messenger have legislated. Is that not so, my brothers? So, there is no need for celebration. And we say that the night of the Mi'raj, as regards the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), is the most noble night. But as regards the Ummah, no. The most noble night as regards the Ummah is the Night of Decree. And this is clear. We said this as an aside to our saying what? That a condition of worship is following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Glory be to Allah, where is Abu Bakr, where is 'Umar, where is 'Uthman, where is 'Ali, where are the caliphs of the Muslims in the early period of the Ummah regarding this night? Where are they regarding this night? Does it mean it was hidden from them and became clear to us? Yes, or are we more obedient to Allah than they were? No, by Allah, neither this nor that. I hope my brothers, the students of knowledge, will clarify that to their peoples and say: My brothers, worship is respected, it comes down from Allah. What came down from Allah we accepted, and what did not come down we rejected.