Mufti Ibrahim Şerif issues message on the Holy Miraj Night

Mufti İbrahim Şerif's Miraj Kandil message is as follows:

"Dear Muslim Turkish Brothers and Sisters!

The night that connects Tuesday 6 February 2024 to Wednesday is Miraj Night. Miraj is one of the important miracles of our Prophet. It took place about a year and a half before the Hijrah. In the dictionary; Miraj, which means "means of ascension" and "going up", is a sublime journey of our Prophet (PBUH) to the supreme authorities.

On the Night of Miraj, the Prophet (PBUH) responded to the divine invitation and was taken up with Djebrail (a.s.) first to Masjid al-Aqsa, then to the heavens and to the sublime station called "Sidret al-Muntaḥa", and the secrets of the angelic world were shown to him. The beginning of this journey is explained in the Holy Qur'an as follows: "Exalted is Allah, the Exalted, Who took His servant from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa, around which We made it blessed, so that We might show him some of Our signs one night. He is indeed the Hearing, the Seeing." (Isra, 17/1)

Since the miracle of Miraj is a miracle, we should not look at it with our limited and narrow measurements, but with the eyes of faith and heart as a saving of divine power. As with the miracles of other Prophets, the Miraj event is a source of inspiration that opens the horizons of mankind. Miracles cannot be explained by reason, they can only be believed in. We, too, say, "If he said it, it is true," as Prophet Abu Bakr said, and we believe in what our Prophet told us without any doubt.

The five daily prayers were made obligatory on the night of miraj and are a divine gift bestowed upon the Prophet's ummah. Prayer is the first commandment of our religion, the pillar of religion, the light of our eyes, as the Prophet said. It is one of the most endearing of deeds to Allah. As a matter of fact, Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an about the importance of prayer as follows. "Read what has been revealed to you from the Book and perform the prayer properly. For prayer restrains man from immorality and evil. The remembrance of Allah is surely the greatest worship. Allah knows what you do." (Ankebut, 29/45)

The Night of Miraj is an opportunity for believers to access divine mercy and to worship, pray and make supplications with the consciousness of servitude. For this reason, let us make prayers and supplications for the peace of ourselves, our minority and the Islamic World by regretting our mistakes and sins. Let us give importance to the five daily prayers and other acts of worship, which are Allah Almighty's Miraj gift to us. Let us not forget that prayer is a spiritual connection between us and our Lord and a kind of miraj.

Dear Kinsmen!

As the Mufti's Office, we are working and striving for a more enthusiastic observance of the Qandil nights as a community with the programmes we organise in our "Komotini Bağlar Mahallesi, Susurköy, Satıköy, Işıklar, Uysallı, Kurcalı and Kartunça mosques".

I pray to Allah Almighty that this blessed night will be instrumental for the unity and solidarity, peace and tranquility of the Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and the Islamic World and I congratulate you all on Miraç Night."