MI'RACIYYE:

The term Miraj refers to the Prophet’s ascension to the presence of Allah traveling from the Masjid-i Haram to the Masjid-i Aksa in the 9th year of his apostleship on the 27th night of the month of Rajab. For this reason, the night journey of Rajab 27th is celebrated as the Miraj holiday throughout the Islamic world.

The Miraciyye or Miracname sings about the wondrous miracle belonging to one of the extraordinary events in human history. These poems were penned by both Persians and Turks, but the musical form belongs only to the Ottomans.

When Miraciyye is mentioned in the Turkish religious music field, one thinks of the Miraciyye written in the mesnevi style by Galata Mevlevi sheik, Kutbunnayi Osman Dede (d. 1729), a composer/flute player who wrote both the composition and lyrics. The Miraciyye, written by Osman Dede in the segah, mustear, dugah, neva, saba, huseyni, and nisapur modes, was composed in seven divisions, each called a hane. The 4th hane written in the neva mode was forgotten around the end of the 19th century. The musical notes of this work have come down to us, and the lyrics of four of the five tevsi recited between the divisions were written by Sheik Mehmet Nasuhi (d. 1718) in Arabic. The only poem written in Persian is recited before the huseyni hane and the words belong to Rumi. There are no poems before the mustear and nisabur divisions.

The Miraciyye of Kutbunnayi Osman Dede was read for three nights in a row –before, after and on the night of the Miraj holy day- usually in mosques, Mevlevi lodges and other dervish lodges. The beginning of the Surat Bani Israil was read after the ritual prayer; after Surat Al-Fatiha two chanters would mount two connected podiums and recite the work together. Dervishes sitting below the podiums would repeat “sallu aleyh” at the end of every line at the beginning; “minna’es-salat” at the end of each line of the huseyni division and “ikbel ya mucib” in the last division. Also, dervishes would recite tevsi belonging to the particular division at the beginning of that division and they would offer milk to the listeners. The reason for this is the Prophet chose milk to drink during his Night Journey.