The Esoteric Explanation of Chapter Al-Isra
‘Aqimis Salata lidulooki shams illa ghasaqil lail wa quran al fajri inna quran al fajri kaana mash’hooda’.
Establish Salat
‘Aqimis Salata’ means ‘establish Salat’.
‘Lidulooki shams’ - when the sun is about to set.
This is about evening time when the sun sets.
It is called Maghreb time.
‘Establish Salat’
‘Lidulooki shams’
‘When the sun is about to set’.
‘Illa ghasaqil lail’
‘Until the darkness of night’.
So the point to note here is that we are being commanded to establish Salat.
Now the duration for the Salat is what is important here.
The duration is ‘lidulooki shams’
we have to begin when the sun is about to set
and then the word ‘illa’ is used.
‘Illa’ means ‘until that time’.
From what time until what time must you establish Salat?
‘Lidulooki shams’ - when the sun is about to set is the starting point.
‘Illa ghasaqil lail’.
How long must you establish Salat?
‘Until the darkness of night’.
Now, what do the religious clergymen say?
They think it is about two types of Salat.
They think ‘when the sun is about to set’ refers to the Maghreb prayers
and ‘ghasaqil lail’ means ‘until the darkness of night’ so that must refer to the Isha prayers.
But what concerns me is the use of the word ‘Illa’.
This is what concerns me.
Now, first, we are being commanded to establish Salat
and the duration for that Salat is ‘lidulooki shams illa ghasaqil lail’
which means ‘from when the sun is about to set until the darkness of night’.
‘Aqimis Salata’ - ‘Establish Salat’.
There is no mention of the Isha prayers here.
And then the verse states ‘wa quran al fajri’.
When it is about reading the Qur’an, it would be ‘yatlul’ or ‘yatlul al Qur’an.
But there is no mention of ‘reading’ here.
‘Wa quran al fajri’.
The word ‘fajr’ means ‘subah sadiq’ in Urdu and ‘dawn’ in English.
What is the difference between dawn and morning?
Morning is when the sun has already risen
but the light we see before the sun rises, when the darkness of the night lifts and the sun has not yet risen
it’s quite a beautiful vision.
So the time before sunrise is called ‘fajr’ in the Arabic language.
Fajr is not just a prayer.
The Fajr prayer is called so because of this time before sunrise.
‘Wa quran al fajri’.
Now, the Qur’an is a book.
So this is a noun, not a verb.
So what do you think it means? ‘Wa quran al fajri’.
There is a stanza in a ghazal, ‘The fortunate ones are those who are in your proximity.’
Sometimes some phrases can be used metaphorically.
For instance, in the ghazal, he says, ‘Meeting me, and you’re meeting me’.
If it’s just ‘meeting me’, it doesn’t really have any meaning.
‘Meeting me, and you’re meeting me. You are not easily obtainable.’
In a similar way, it says here ‘wa quran al fajri’.
‘And it should be read at dawn’.
Actually, this is the glorification of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
‘Wa quran al fajri’.
‘And it should be read at dawn’.
You can read anything.
But Muslims don’t understand this, they think if the word ‘quran’ is used it can only mean the Holy Qur’an.
However, the word ‘quran’ in the Arabic language means ‘to read something’
and this is where the word ‘qari (orator)’ comes from.
‘Qirat’ means ‘recitation’.
‘Qari’ means ‘orator’ and ‘qirat’ means ‘the thing being recited’
and ‘quran’ means ‘something that is recited’.
Now, you will not really enjoy reading the Bible or the Torah
but this is one of the beautiful things about the Qur’an is that when you recite it,
you feel a certain enchantment, a spiritual ecstasy.
Of course, the Bible is also God’s word and so is the Torah.
However, God has made the Qur’an special so that it should be recited and it is beautiful and enchanting.
Especially when you are alone in the jungle or the mountains.
In 1986 or 1987, I went to Baluchistan with Nadeem.
The shrine of Bilawal Shah Noorani is located there.
It is a mountainous region.
That’s where the place called Lahoot Lamakan is located.
It is a very strange place.
It is a place full of secrets and mysteries.
It’s quite a mystical place.
There is a cave there and in that cave is a camel carved of stone.
It is said that she is Ali’s camel.
So that’s where we went and this was 34 years ago.
It was a jungle full of mountains and nothing else.
Made up of two hard wood stems with a matted sheet, it’s like a makeshift mosque
and that’s where we were laying down.
It was very late in the night, around 2:30- 3:00 AM
when suddenly we hear the sound of the recitation of the Qur’an coming from the mountains.
It was the most beautiful sound.
I stood up and went in search of the source of the sound.
I kept walking in the direction of the sound but it seemed like it was moving with me.
I ended up very far but I couldn’t find the source of the sound.
But it is absolutely enchanting, especially when an Enlightened Heart is reciting the Qur’an.
So here God is actually praising Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)
when he says ‘wa quran al fajri’
‘And it should be read at dawn’.
And then God said, ‘Inna quran al fajri kaana mash’hooda’.
‘Verily! The one that is read at dawn is witnessed by the ones who witness’.
So these are some words of praise for Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
And then God also said,
‘When you worship at night to get closer to your Lord, God takes you to the Station of Mehmood’.
This verse from God is for Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) not for human beings.