Is Shab-e-Miraj considered a religious festival in Pakistan?

they say its also celebrated in iran india bangladesh and turkey etc... yup it does seem cultural... the statement might be offensive to some though :|

yes, that is what I am trying to figure out - does it have more of a cultural significance than religious?

@Sumi: Celebration is more of a cultural event, did u see the link vdo I shared? its mentioned there clearly.
@Ali: Truth shud be told : )

@ Zainab: Thank you Zainab. I will check that video soon, inshaAllah. Over years I have seen people offering extra Nawafil, reciting Quran especially for the night of Miraj. Once, I decided to read more on it and I came to read that it is Bidat to do more Ibadat on this night as it only marks a special event, which does not automatically makes it a religious night. Few days back, I again heard some people emphasizing the importance of Ibadat on Shab-e-Miraj and though I personally did nothing extraordinary, it still raised questions in my mind. My intention to ask this question was partly to solve this confusion and partly to make others do some research too instead of blindly following certain traditions.
Thanks again :) Appreciate the effort.

Pleasure ! I had the same question till few years back, you knw when you're born and broughtup in a country like Saudi where there is no chance of bidat, but your values and the "culture" you belong to says something else, this made me comeup with so many questions like this one and then there is an other thing I found out, the difference of Imams, people in Pakistan follow Imam Shafi's teachings and here they follow imam hambal's. Im still studying/searching about it so Im not sure. At times I think we have made our religion so complicated without any reason *sigh*

:) Exactly Zainab. I used to simply follow things, until I reached a stage where I started questioning things and kept asking myself why we do certain things. I see many in Pakistan still considering it a night of worship and I often get to hear: "Something is better than nothing. We are praying to Allah, so there is no wrong in it." Well, I am noone to comment on such statements - it is Allah who knows what is right and wrong. I only want people to start asking themselves questions and find solutions in Quran/Hadith. Traditions should not be confused with religion, thus with what Islam is really all about and what it preaches us.

As for the different Imams. It is only few years back when I was chatting with a Turksih friend of mine that I for the very first time was asked which school of thought I follow. I find it a bit confusing and still have not found any answer to it. I try to keep it simple for now: Quran/Hadith. If questions, read what those school of thoughts have to say and choose the one which makes sense to me. Not easy though. Do share with me if you discover something interesting. :)

glad to see you guys thinking and talking like that... its a rare occurance i tell you.. prepare to be labelled qadiani or wahabi (both are on the opposite ends of a scale though, but people tend to be too stoopid to realise that :P)

Well, shia sunni wahabi is an other whole issue...

@sumi I do the same now, and people in Pakistan actually think I'm not practicing Islam rightly becoz I dun go with these show off sorta activities. Seriously, I think if you do these unnecessary things, you're actually showing off and for me. religion is something that's between you and your God.

Ofcourse nobody has the right to poke others or 'coerce' them, physically or otherwise, into doing something they dont wana do. But 'religion is something that's between you and your God' is big blanket statement, and i cant imagine what its implication could be.i mean, maybe i agree with what you mean, but sometimes the play of words can point in some other direction.

Murtaza, you can write here what you originally posted. Its a valid answer

I was trying something else, but I posted my here, then some where. Again it was at wrong place I think so?

I can see it's significance as it marks a certain journey, but is it specifically mentioned in Quran or any Hadith that this night should be a night of worship? If so, could you please share that passage/Hadith too? I feel that many of us follow certain things because our elders used to do it and do not bother to dig deeper. If it is a night of worhship, it will be a loss to ignore it, but if it is just like any other night, then it is different.

Thank you for your reply!

I guess this would help you! Source: Wikipedia!

The Lailat al Miraj (Arabic: ???? ????????, Lailätu 'l-Mi‘r??), also known as Shab-e-Miraj (Persian: ?? ?????, Šab-e Mi'râj) in Iran, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and Miraç Kandili in Turkish, is the Muslim festival celebrating the Isra and Mi'raj. Some Muslims celebrate this event by offering optional prayers during this night, and in some Muslim countries, by illuminating cities with electric lights and candles. The celebrations around this day tend to focus on children and the young. Children are gathered into a mosque and are told the story of the Isra and Mi'raj. The story focuses on how Muhammad's heart was purified by an archangel (Gabriel) who filled him with knowledge and faith in preparation to enter the seven levels of heaven. After prayer (Salah, where the children can pray with the adults if they wish) food and treats are served.[3][11][12] Esoteric interpretations of Islam emphasise the spiritual significance of Mi'raj, seeing it as a symbol of the soul's journey and the potential of humans to rise above the comforts of material life through prayer, piety and discipline.[4]
The exact date of the Journey is not clear, but is celebrated as though it took place before the Hijra and after Muhammad's visit to the people of Ta’if. It is considered by some to have happened just over a year before the Hijra, on the 27th of Rajab; but this date is not always recognized. This date would correspond to the Julian date of February 26, 621, or, if from the previous year, March 8, 620. In Shi'a Iran for example, Rajab 27 is the day of Muhammad's first calling or Mab'as.
[edit]Qur'an and hadith

The event of Isra and Mi'raj are referred to briefly in the Qur'an. For greater detail, they have been discussed in supplemental traditions to the Qur'an, known as hadith literature. Within the Qur'an itself, there are two verses in chapter 17, which has been named after the Isra, and is called "Chapter Isra" or "Sura Al-Isra". There is also some information in Sura An-Najm, which some scholars say is related to the Isra and Mi'raj.[13]
Of the supplemental writings, hadith, two of the best known are by Anas ibn Malik, who would have been a young boy at the time of Muhammad's journey.
[edit]Qur'an
Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).
—Qur'an, Sura 17 (Al-Isra) ayah 1[2]
Behold! We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about: We granted the vision which We showed thee, but as a trial for men,- as also the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur'an: We put terror (and warning) into them, but it only increases their inordinate transgression!
—Qur'an, Sura 17 (Al-Isra) ayah 60[14]
For indeed he saw him at a second descent,
Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass:
Near it is the Garden of Abode.
Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded (in mystery unspeakable!)
(His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong!
For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest!
—Qur'an, Sura 53 An-Najm, ayat 13-18[13]
[edit]Hadith
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah:
That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "When the people of Quraish did not believe me (i.e. the story of my Night Journey),
I stood up in Al-Hijr and Allah displayed Jerusalem in front of me, and I began describing it to them while I was looking at it."
—Collected by Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226[15

Ok I read all of it, as Sumi said, I couldn't find references that recommend it to be a night of worship or prove it through Sunnah

will do some more research and will get back to you guys for sure!

It's mentioned on Quran but We don't really find any hadith where its mentioned that its a night of worship, I live in Saudi and if it was, they shud do special prayers in mosques. it's not a night of worship like we have the last Ashara'h of Ramadan, not it's an Islamic festival like Eid, it's a night where a special event took place. See --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52P6exky9CE&feature=related

like i have said in my post, it has esoteric significance... which means, by making this statement, i know what it is..

Really, patakha? But why would one celebrate it? I lack to understand it :( I mean, some suggest me to do more ibadaat and I in turn ask them whether they could provide me with a Hadith which suggests me to.
Well neighbour, as for patakha - national day here is soon, come here and you can play with those patakhas. :)

i was a little kid back then.. and you know how fireworks go at this time of the year.. and you must also be aware how much kids like fireworks!
hehe.. i did wonder for a while what did you mean by national day.. then it hit me that you mean the 14th of august. I aint fond of patakhas anymore :P
i am looking forward to a satisfying answer too coz in my limited knowledge so far, it has esoteric significance. if its by some other reason anything else, i'd like to know..
btw meraj was before hijrah and after the taif episode... we dont even know the exact year for sure let alone the exact date.. so i guess for a start, this should be a good indication of where we are heading with this 'festival'

btw.. we as humans normally tend to be judgmental. let me give you a similar scenario..
is it wrong for a kid to term the choti eid as the siwaiian festival or the bari eid as the goatie festival (something which i also did)... kids tend to relate things in their world.. and thats my rationale. :)

PS: bari eid is also called bakr eid by the adults

:) i also meant CH-national day. thanks Ali!
p.s. just so that you know, I did not give you (-1) :P

o yeah! and hence the neighbor :)
i still get confused.. Confoederatio Helvetica.. cant they just simply say SZ or somefin.. O why O why do they still TRY to stick to latin.. even the modern scientists have given up coining greek and latin terms. :/
how long have you been in Swiss land.

Well, a -1 is from me...!!

XD

@Ali Iqbal Mate This was Shab e Mairaaj! There's no tradition of blowing patakhas in this vary night! The one you're referring to is Shab e Baraat!

o yeah! thanks for the reminder.. but as kids, we didnt care, nobody knew the difference.. we used to live in the residential area of the CMH in muzaffarabad.. and almost every non adult there at that time was a kid of my age +-1 year..