The Muslims follow their national traditions carefully. Religious holidays are worshipped. The Islamic festivals are full of praying and humility. People who want to watch the celebrations must follow the Muslim calendar. What traditions are followed during the day? When is Isra and Mi’raj in 2018?
The backgrounds of the festival
The date goes back to the 7th century. There is a legend about the journey to Jerusalem, made by the Prophet Muhammad. The Night Journey is the 2nd name of the holiday. Isra stands for the trip to Jerusalem. The 2nd part (Mi’raj) means the ascent into heaven. The legend says it took place in 621. The Quran describes the ascending.
It is thought that the Prophet travelled with Angel Gibril. He gave Muhammad a steed. It was winged. The trip led to the furthest mosque. It’s a belief that that place was situated in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.
Mi’raj as an Arabian word has a meaning “ladder”. According to the Quran, Muhammad and Gibril went to heaven. They ascended the 7 realms. There is a legend that Muhammad met in the heaven several prophets. He communicated and had a praying with them. Muhammad with the winged steed reached a holy tree which was on the 7th level. Gibril couldn’t enter that level. The paradise was reached. The ascending helped the Prophet to speak to Allah.
That night the man was taken not only to heaven’s levels but also to hell. He was proposed a lot of instructions concerning the praying. Allah said Muhammad to pray fifty times every day. These obligations were very difficult to succeed, so Moses gave an advice to ask Allah to lessen the ammount of praying.
Thus, the obligation was reduced after several Muhammad’s requests. At first it was ordered to pray 40 times. The last decision concerns five prays a day. It is obligatory for a Muslim to read the Quran or pray five times a day.
If a man want to visit Muslim countries and pray with the local inhabitants, it is better to ask people in the Internet “When is Isra and Mi’raj in 2018, calendar Islamic?”
The celebrating traditions
The significance of Isra and Mi’raj is not doubtful. But many scientists have debates about the meaning of the day. One group of scholars accept the physical kind of journey, others think it was a spiritual existence of Muhammad.
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The traditions of the day are various depending on the family, community and country. It is a usual thing to decorate houses with lights and candles. People usually prepare festive dinner and make candies. There is a tradition to feast each other with sweets and other festive food. In some communities there is a common festive dinner. One of the main traditions is children’s participation in the festival. The youth is explained the importance of the Muhammad’s journey to the heaven.
Isra and Mi’raj is a holy festival in Muslim countries and communities. Though, the day is not public in the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia. Instead of great celebrations throughout the country, the Muslim communities hold the public meetings with praying and reading the Quran.
In Muslim countries people decorate the night streets with illuminations. Worshippers gather in the evening and pray together all night long.
When is Isra and Mi’raj 2018? The date is not strict. It is always the 27th day of Rajab. What is the day according to the familiar Gregorian calendar? It is on 24, April in 2018. It’is considered to be the day when the angel Gibril took Muhammad to heaven. The place is not recognized obviously, though it’s considered to be the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Worshippers pretend to think that it was a place from which Muhammad started that holy journey. That place is situated in Jerusalem and is thought to be one of the holiest places in the Islamic faith.
This day people pass each other the pieces of knowledge and faith. In the mosques there are many sermons on the night and day. It is a tradition to celebrate Isra and Mi’raj for 2 days. Some worshippers prefer to stay at home and pray alone. People try to integrate in faith through reading Quran and other books; others listen to tapes and visit mosques.
Main facts that should be known
If you want to know something special about the holiday, you should study the next things:
- The Islamic calendar is a special kind. The days do not begin at midnight. It begins when the sun rises. So the usual calendar may be shifted for a day.
- It is said that the Prophet Muhammad was proposed to take one of two cups, with milk or wine. He chose a cup with milk. Gibril praised him and said that Muhammad’s nation won’t go astray. That was the right choice.
- If you write a request in the Internet “What day Isra and Mi’raj in 2018?”, you will get the answer “on Monday”. It will be on April, 24.
- Heaven has 7 levels according to the accepted faith. Gibril took the Prophet to gate-keepers on everry heaven level. They proposed the visitors before entering to name themselves.
- The tradition says there was the God’s house on heaven. Its name was “Al-bait-al-Mamur”. Gibril informed Muhammad about 70 thousand angels praying in that house every day.
- As to the Quran at first the quantity of prays was fifty. But after the Moses’ suasion the man begged Allah to lessen the daily praying. The decisive quantity of everyday praying was five. So, it is obligatory for each Muslim to pray five times daily.
- The legend says the holy tree (“Sidrat al-Muntana”) had 4 rivers. Two rivers flow to the Earth in a form of the Euphrates and the Nile. Another two rivers flow into heaven.
So, if a person wants to visit the Islamic countries during the holiday, he should go there on April, 13. It will be an answer on the question “What is the date of Isra and Mi’raj 2018?”