Shab-e-Meraj 2027

Also called and spelled: Laylat al-Isra wal-Mi'raj, the Night Journey and Ascension, Shab e Meraj, Shab-e-Miraj, Shabe Meraj, Lailatul Miraj, Isra Miraj, 27 Rajab.

Shab-e-Meraj is the night Muslims remember the Isra and Mi'raj: the Prophet Muhammad's (ﷺ) journey by night from Makkah to Jerusalem, and his ascent from there through the seven heavens. The five daily prayers were given on this journey. In Pakistan, India and Bangladesh it is observed on the night before the 27th of Rajab, one of the four sacred months.

What happened that night

The journey has two parts. The Isra is the night journey from Masjid al-Haram in Makkah to Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. The Mi'raj is the ascent from Jerusalem through the seven heavens to Sidrat al-Muntaha, the Lote Tree at the farthest boundary.

In the Quran

Two passages describe the journey. Surah al-Isra opens with the night journey:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ

"Glory be to the One who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." (17:1)

Surah an-Najm (53:13-18) describes the ascent: the Prophet saw Jibril in his true form "by the Lote Tree of the farthest boundary, near which is the Garden of Refuge", and "he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord".

The journey, step by step

The detailed account comes from Sahih al-Bukhari (3207, 3887) and Sahih Muslim (162), narrated by Anas ibn Malik and Malik ibn Sa'sa'ah.

1. At the Kaaba. Jibril opened the Prophet's chest, washed his heart with Zamzam water and filled it with faith and wisdom.
2. The Buraq. He was brought the Buraq, a white mount whose every stride reached as far as its eye could see, and rode it to Jerusalem.
3. Masjid al-Aqsa. There he led the earlier prophets in prayer (Sahih Muslim 172). He was offered a cup of milk and a cup of wine and chose the milk; Jibril told him he had chosen the natural way, the fitrah.
4. The seven heavens. At each heaven he was welcomed by a prophet: Adam in the first, Isa and Yahya in the second, Yusuf in the third, Idris in the fourth, Harun in the fifth, Musa in the sixth and Ibrahim in the seventh, leaning against al-Bayt al-Ma'mur, which 70,000 angels enter every day.
5. Sidrat al-Muntaha. He was taken to the Lote Tree, covered in colours he could not describe, and Allah made 50 prayers a day obligatory.
6. Fifty become five. On the way down, Musa urged him to ask for less, saying his people would not manage fifty. He went back several times until five remained, and Allah said the five carry the reward of fifty.

Three gifts he brought back

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) was given three things that night (Sahih Muslim 173):

• The five daily prayers. Salah is the only pillar given directly above the heavens rather than through revelation on earth.
• The closing verses of Surah al-Baqarah (2:285-286), the verses many recite before sleep.
• A promise of forgiveness of major sins for those of his ummah who do not associate anything with Allah.

Body and soul, and the test it brought

Most scholars hold that the journey happened in body and soul while the Prophet was awake. Surah al-Isra calls him "His servant" ('abd), a word for the whole person, and the Quraysh mocked the claim as impossible, which they would not have done over a dream. When they challenged Abu Bakr, he said that if the Prophet said it, it was true. From that day he was known as as-Siddiq, the one who affirms the truth.

The journey came in what is remembered as the Year of Sorrow, after the deaths of Khadijah and Abu Talib and the Prophet's rejection at Ta'if. Many Muslims take comfort from that timing: the greatest honour came after the hardest year.

Did it really happen on 27 Rajab?

The 27th of Rajab is the date most widely observed in South Asia, Turkey and much of the Muslim world. The early sources, though, do not fix the date. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani recorded more than ten opinions in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, ranging over several months, most placing the journey between one and three years before the Hijrah. Scholars therefore say the night can be remembered, but no worship should be treated as bound to that exact date.

How Shab-e-Meraj is observed in Pakistan and India

• Talks in the mosque. Imams retell the story of the journey after Isha, often with naats in praise of the Prophet (ﷺ).
• Nafl prayer and Quran. Many people pray nafl and read Surah al-Isra or Surah an-Najm.
• Fasting on 27 Rajab. Some people fast the next day. There is no authentic hadith for a fast on this particular date; fasting in Rajab in general is allowed, since it is a sacred month.
• Lights and gatherings. Some mosques are lit up. Scholars of every school caution against fixed prayers with set rak'ah counts and promised rewards that circulate online for this night, because their reports are not authentic.

Five ways to mark the night

1. Fix your salah. The night is remembered for the gift of prayer, so make a plan to pray all five on time, starting with Fajr the next morning.
2. Read the passages. Surah al-Isra 17:1 and Surah an-Najm 53:1-18, with a translation.
3. Tell the story to your children. The journey, the prophets in each heaven and how fifty prayers became five is a story children remember.
4. Recite the end of al-Baqarah before you sleep, one of the gifts of the night.
5. Pray for al-Aqsa and the people of Jerusalem, where the journey turned upward.

Rajab opens the season that leads to Ramadan. Shab-e-Barat comes in the middle of Sha'ban, and the Ramadan countdown shows how many days are left after that.

Shab-e-Meraj 2027 date by country

The Gregorian date of Shab-e-Meraj depends on whether a country follows its own moon sighting or the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia.

Shab-e-Meraj dates for the next five years

Like every Islamic date, Shab-e-Meraj comes about 11 days earlier each Gregorian year. Dates are the night the observance begins (the evening before 27 Rajab), expected by the calendar and confirmed by moon sighting.