Nizar Jamaluddin's Controversial Tweet On Isra Mikraj

Yesterday was the day of the Isra Mikraj, so they say. PAS' Nizar Jamaluddin an ADUN from Perak and the former Menteri Besar of Perak for about a year has made some tweets about Isra and Mikraj that has stirred up some controversy.  Here are his tweets :

In the first tweet Nizar asks if anyone can 'sahkan' or verify the belief that the Prophet made a  

journey to the 'langit ke-7 ke Arash Allah, sidratul muntaha sebanyak 8 kali'?  

This is the belief  that the Prophet travelled on a magical steed called a 'Buraq' to the seven heavens to have an audience with God.  Nizar is now asking if anyone can verify this over 1400 year old belief  ('bolih sesiapa sahkan perkara ni')?  

In the third tweet above Nizar asks "agak berapa halaju kenderaan malaikat yg dinaiki Rasulullah?" 

Obviously Nizar Jamaluddin is quite sceptical about this whole episode. 

There has been a lot of controversy on this subject of the Isra Mikraj for a very long time. I will not share my real thoughts on this issue here for it will stir up even more controversy. 

The story of the Isra Mikraj plays a huge role in the religious theology. It represents the prophet's journey by night, on a magical steed, from Mecca in Arabia to Jerusalem in Palestine. From there he is said to have ascended to the heavens where he had an audience with God. 

It was at this audience with God that the Prophet received the command to pray five times a day. The story has it that the first command was to pray 50 times a day. This was however reduced to five times when the Prophet was induced to plead the case with God.

The place in Jerusalem from which the prophet's magical steed the Buraq stepped off to travel to the seven heavens has now become one of the most sacred sites for Muslims. It is called the Dome of the Rock where also the Masjid Al Aqsa or Al Aqsa Mosque stands. 

This story therefore has very great implications for two very big reasons :

i.  this story of the Prophet's ascent on a magical steed called the Buraq is critical to the practise of the five daily prayers performed by the Muslims. If the prophet did not make this journey to the seven heavens on the magical steed, then how about the rest of the same journey where  the command for the five prayers was also given?

ii. The eight wars of the Crusades between the Christians and the Muslims (which made heroes like Saladin the Great, Balian of France and Richard of England) were all fought for the 'holy city' of Jerusalem. It was fought by both sides on the belief that God was on their respective sides. 

As you all know, today Jerusalem is still the most contentious spot on earth because the Israelis control the area. Today Muslims all over the world want to liberate the Dome of the Rock and the nearby Masjid Al Aqsa from the clutches of the Israelis. 

There are also Jewish zealots all over the world who want to break down the Masjid Al Aqsa and rebuild Solomon's Temple at the site. They say that the Masjid Al Aqsa was built on the old site of the Temple of Solomon.

So this is a very, very contentious piece of real estate, based on stories of magical steeds and night journeys to the seven heavens.

Coming back to Nizar Jamaluddin's scepticism where he asks  'bolih sesiapa sahkan perkara ni'  and his question "agak berapa halaju kenderaan malaikat yg dinaiki Rasulullah?" has implications on both i. and ii. above. 

So I have a question for Nizar Jamaludin : Kalau tak boleh di sahkan perkara ini, macam 

mana   dengan  sembahyang lima waktu dan kempen selamatkan Masjid Al Aqsa ? 

Enta kena jawab ya sheikh.