Today is holiday, a religious festive day, that celebrates the journey and ascension of the prophet Muhammad.
"Laylat ul Isra and Mi'raj is Arabic for the “Night of the Journey and Ascension”. It is on 27th of Rajab. It is the night when Muhammad was, according to Hadiths, taken to “the furthest mosque” (generally understood to be Jerusalem) on a Buraq (a beast resembling horse with wings; some people consider it a cherub) and ascended to the highest level of the heavens. It is said that he negotiated with God about the number of prayers, which started at fifty a day, but on his way down he met Moses, who asked him to ask for a reduction in the number because the requirement was difficult for Muhammad's people. Muhammad returned to God and several times asked for, and was granted a reduction of five prayers, until the number was reduced to five in total, with the blessing that if they were properly performed, the performers would be credited with fifty prayers instead of five. The event of this Night has also been described in Quran in Part 15 the beginning of Surah Isra."
At the moment we live next door to a mosque and we can clearly hear the call to prayer on the loudspeaker. Adhan is the call to prayer . In fact, mosques are ubiquitous allowing people to go there without having to go too far. We don't understand the words but depending on the muezzin, the person who is reciting, it's rather nice to listen to. Once we heard the son of pak Budhi calling and it felt very serene and peaceful, we liked it very much. Besides the credits earned by going to the five prayers a day, these spiritual pauses give people the opportunity to unwind from the daily busyness and focus. It sounds a very healthy practice and I see it as an antidote to the stress that people suffer from nowadays.
This is what every mosque has on the top of the roof.
As-Salamu Alaykum [Peace be upon you]
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