It was a freezing morning; the temperature had dropped to -17 degrees Celsius. Yet despite the cold, I was eager to meet one of my friends, a Hui Muslim, who lives in the mosque near my apartment. He lives in a small dorm room in the mosque that contains a couple bunk beds and one small side table. As I went inside, he was already waiting for me, and he welcomed my presence with a broad smile. “As-salamu alaykum” (السلام عليكم‎)  has always been our greeting for each other. Sitting down, I initiated our conversation by asking about the life of Muhammad. My friend described Muhammad as the ultimate prophet in the line of all the prophets that came before him, and he explained that Muhammad consummated all Allah’s revelation throughout the history of mankind. What most caught my attention as he spoke, though, was a story that’s well-known in Islamic circles, the Night Journey of Muhammad, called Al-Isra or Mi’raj in Arabic. My friend briefly mentioned Al-Isra from Surah 17:1, but he told me that more details are found in Hadith.

This is the story as he described it: One night in A.D. 621, Muhammad, accompanied by the angel Gabriel, rode on the mythological steed Buraq from Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca to the farthest mosque, Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, where he led other prophets in prayers. After arriving, Muhammad ascended through the seven stages of the heavens. Along the way, he met and spoke with many prophets like Adam, Moses, Joseph, and Jesus. He then traveled through both paradise and hell before traveling back to Mecca in the early dawn of the next day.

According to my friend, the most significant event of the journey was Allah’s command to Muhammad that all Muslims pray to him (Allah) fifty times a day. However, on the journey back, Muhammad was told by Moses that fifty prayer times per day is nearly impossible, so he should ask Allah for a reduction. After several trips back and forth, the number was finally reduced to five times a day, and each time represents tenfold prayers.

My friend told me that Islamic scholars have various explanation of Al-Isra; some say it was just a dream, others take it as both a physical and spiritual journey. As for my friend, he treats it as a true and significant event which reveals to all Muslims their obligation to pray to Allah five times a day. After the flight of Muhammad to Medina in A.D. 622, the practice of praying five times a day, called Salat, became the primary religious duty for all Muslims. It’s said that the first thing Allah will count on Judgment Day is none other than the merit all Muslims accumulate from performing Salat, and any insufficiency in fulfilling the Salat requirement will result in being abandoned and thrown into the lake of fire.

After the discussion with my friend, I feel there is likely more fear in Muslims’ hearts than reverence or love for Allah. No intimate and loving relationship exists; rather, it’s a self-centered motive which drives them to do all they can to gain access to paradise.  Thanks to Jesus that His followers can pray to Him at anytime, anywhere and anyhow. That is grace that comes through Christ Jesus!

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Please pray that Chinese Muslims will realize that practicing Salat is not the way to God but rather believing in the redemption provided by Christ Jesus. Pray that they will understand the difference between praying out of pure love and praying out of pure fear.

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