The Night Journey

The idol-worshippers always demanded ridiculous things just to try to prove the Prophet (ﷺ) wrong and make fun of him.

At one point, they challenged him to turn Mount Safa into gold and to push Makkah's mountains away so they could have more land to farm.

So Allah inspired him: "If you want, they will be given extra time.

Or if you want, We can give them what they have demanded.

But if they still deny, they will be totally destroyed like those before them.

" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "I'd rather give them more time.

" So verses 58-59 were revealed.

{Imam Ahmad}

Just like the people of Pharaoh, the idol-worshippers tried to stop the Prophet (ﷺ) and his followers from practicing and inviting others to Islam.

They tried to bribe the Prophet (ﷺ) with wealth and authority.

But when he refused to give up his mission, they started bullying him and his companions.

This is why verses 73-77 were revealed to support the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Muslim community.

{Imam Al-Qurtubi}

Bullying exists in all times and places and unfortunately affects more people than you think.

According to BullyingCanada.

ca, almost half of Canadian parents report having a child who is a victim of bullying.

There have even been cases where someone was bullied while it was live-streamed on social media.

These are the most common forms of bullying:

Generally, bullies use force against others and are not interested in dialogue.

But why would someone bully others?

These are some of the reasons: A bully may be desperate for attention.

They may be jealous of someone who they see as better than themselves.

A bully might have been bullied by others so now they try to take it out on someone else.

Bullies may come from broken families with history of domestic violence and abuse.

Some bullies may have been impacted by the violence they see in games and movies.

A bully may have mental health issues and may not have been taught appropriate ways to manage difficult emotions.

What happens when someone is bullied?

Bullying may lead to: Isolation.

Loss of confidence.

Identity issues.

Not doing well at school.

Depression.

Self-harm.

What needs to be done to stop bullying?

It's important for parents to talk to their children to understand how things are at school.

If you have been bullied, you need to talk to your parents and teachers for support.

Learning self-defence is a good idea and a lifelong skill, for both boys and girls.

Anas ibn Malik (R.

A.

) used to cry every time the victory of Tustur was mentioned.

Tustur was a city in Persia, which the Muslims tried to conquer for one and a half years.

The Muslim army was made up of 30,000 soldiers fighting against 150,000 Persians.

One night after 18 months, a battle broke out and the Muslims were able to win just after sunrise, only to realize that they had missed Fajr salah.

Anas (R.

A.

) started to cry because he missed his Fajr prayer for the first time in his life.

Even though the Muslim army had a strong excuse because they were in the middle of a very difficult battle, Anas (R.

A.

) used to say, "What is the point of winning Tustur but losing Fajr?

"

In his famous book, 'First Things First,' Dr.

Stephen Covey mentions the story of a teacher who once entered the classroom with a jar, rocks, pebbles, and sand.

The students were curious to see what he was up to.

First, he started putting the rocks inside the jar until he couldn't add any more.

He asked the students if the jar was full and everybody said yes.

He then added the pebbles in the spaces between the rocks.

Again, he asked if the jar was full and they said yes.

Finally, he poured the sand inside the jar, which fit through the little gaps between the rocks and the pebbles.

The teacher explained that this is how we should set our priorities in life.

The rocks represent our relationship with Allah, the pebbles represent other important things like family, friends, school, and work, while the sand represents less important

things like screen time.

If you fill up the jar with sand first, there will be no space left for the pebbles or the rocks.

Verse 78 talks about salah, which is a very important act of worship.

The verse lists the times of the 5 daily prayers: The 'time the sun tilts' refers to both Zuhr and 'Asr.

The 'darkness of the night' refers to both Maghrib and 'Isha.

The 'Fajr salah' refers to the early morning prayer, which is witnessed by angels.

We know that Allah created us to worship Him and give Him thanks.

Salah is one of the best ways to do that.

Each prayer only takes a few minutes to perform, and yet many Muslims fail to pray.

What will they say to Allah on Judgment Day?

What excuses do they really have?

It's our responsibility to pray on time and encourage others to do the same.

'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (R.

A.

) said that one day he was walking with the Prophet (ﷺ) when they passed by a group of Jews.

They asked him about the soul, so verse 85 was revealed.

The verse says that no one knows the true nature of the soul except Allah.

{Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim}

The soul is blown into every human being while they are still inside their mother, which causes them to come to life.

When the soul leaves the body, the person dies.

To better understand this concept, think of your body as a phone and your soul as the charge.

Once the battery dies, the phone dies.

No one knows what the soul looks like.

Only Allah knows all the details about it.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Every human being is formed as a human seed inside their mother for 40 days, then develops into something hanging in the womb for

a similar period, then a clot for a similar period, then Allah sends an angel to blow the soul into the baby.

The angel is ordered to write 4 things about that baby: 1.

How long they will live (ajal).

2.

What they will do ('amal).

3.

What they will earn and the resources they will have (rizq).

4.

Whether they will be happy or miserable in the Next Life.

" {Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim}