From our friends at Common Tables:

 

 

 
Lailat al Miraj – Muslim  

 

 
In the Islamic faith, the holiday Lailat al Miraj (Lailätu ‘l-Mi‘r??), also known as Shab-e-Miraj (Šab-e Mi’râj), commemorates the Prophet Mohammed’s miraculous journey from Mecca to Jerusalem in a single night around the year 621 and his subsequent ascension to heaven. During this journey, the two parts of which are known as Isra and Miraj, it is said that Mohammed met earlier prophets (including Jesus, Moses, and Abraham). Muhammad met Allah (God) and received the command for the five daily prayers, called Salat.  
 
Nature of the Journey: While orthodox sentiment preserves the belief that the journey was a physical one, many Islamic scholars consider it to have been a dream or a vision. There are also some who argue that the journey was a type of metaphor – a revelation for Muhammad in symbolic form for the guidance of the Muslim nation. Many Sufis (Muslim mystics) claim that the story of the journey describes the soul’s leap into mystic knowledge.

In 2009, Lailat al Miraj is on Sunday, July 19th. The holiday is observed on 27 Rajab – which is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. Lailat al Miraj is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar (a lunar calendar); however, the date on the Gregorian calendar (a solar calendar) varies from year to year.
 
Note: In the Muslim calendar, the day begins at the sunset of the previous day. Observing Muslims will celebrate Lailat al Miraj on the sunset of Saturday, the 18th of July.
To read more about this and receive direct alerts of special days and holidays for all faiths, go to www.commontables.org.
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