By Sana Iftikhar – Alimah, entrepreneur and homeschooling mom
In UAE in the 1990’s, I remember being given envelopes at school to take home to raise funds for the Palestinian struggle. I vividly remember that the Arabs hung up pictures of Masjid al-Aqsa on their walls, just like we have pictures of Makkah and Madinah on ours, to remind us how much we revere these places.
Little has changed since then for the people of Palestine, except that their Arab brothers have normalized ties with their oppressors. Their Pakistani brethren have long forgotten the story of al-Aqsa due to colonization which also severed our connection with our own languages: Urdu, Persian and Arabic.
Since October 7th, 2023, there has been a revival in the Palestinian debate around the globe. We talk about the injustices of the Israeli regime towards the Palestinians, and about the political situation and our negligence, but what is really missing is the spiritual connection to this sacred land in our hearts.
Salahuddin Al Ayyubi was the second conqueror of Jerusalem after Umar (rta). His love for Palestine did not stem from a shared Arab heritage- he was a Kurd. According to his biographers: “the weight of Masjid al Aqsa on the heart of Salahuddin was heavier than the mountains.”
Significance of Masjid al-Aqsa
When Masjid al-Aqsa was conquered, ransacked and desecrated in an unprecedented way, the Muslim world didn’t even flinch for 50 years. Author Amin Maalouf in his book “The Crusades Though Arab Eyes” documents this era’s historiography of the Muslim world. Salahuddin spent 12 years just writing letters to Muslim leaders around the world to rise for Palestine. But why should al-Aqsa unite the hearts of the Ummah?
Al-Aqsa, means ‘the furthest mosque’ from the viewpoint of Makkah. The Masjid currently stands along with the 22-karat golden Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem- the Hebrew name for ‘city of peace’, but the land has hardly ever seen peaceful days. On the other hand, al-Quds, the Arabic name, signifies holiness and indicates how it has been blessed throughout history.
Zaid Ibn Thabit (rta) reports that the Prophet (sa) said: “How blessed is Al-Sham!” The companions asked: “Why is that?” The messenger (sa) replied: “I see the angels of Allah spreading their wings over Al-Sham.” Ibn Abbas (rta) added: “And the prophets lived therein. There is not a single inch in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) where a prophet has not prayed or an angel not stood.” (Tirmidhi, Ahmad)
The Quran refers to Palestine as ‘Al Ardhil Muqaddissah’ — the land that purifies, so Muslims who pray in al-Quds are purified from sins.
“And We delivered him and Lot, [his brother’s son, by guiding them] to the land which We had blessed for the worlds (i.e. people).” (Al-Anbiya 21:71)
Prophetic History of al-Aqsa: Adam (as) – Isa (as)
The history of this city begins with Adam (as), who laid the foundations for the first House of Worship on Earth. He was followed by other Prophets including Lut (as), Ibrahim (as) and his son Ishaq (as) who rebuilt the blessed sanctuary together. Yaqoub (as) carried their Prophetic legacy but his son Yousuf (as) was carried away to Egypt as narrated in Surah Yusuf in the Quran.
Generations later, Musa (as) guided the believers back to Palestine with a lot of difficulty, their story being narrated across many Surahs in the Quran. Despite his desperation to enter the Holy Land, due to the stubbornness of his nation, he passed away only a stone’s throw away from it.
Musa’s (as) quest was passed down to his servant, Yusha ibn Nun. Imam ibn Jawzi reflected that Ibrahim (as) sanctified Makkah, Rasoolullah ﷺ sanctified Madinah, but Allah took it upon Himself to sanctify al-Quds. Thus, Allah (swt) miraculously stopped the sun from setting for 6 days for Yusha. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “The sun has never stopped for any man besides Yusha when he wanted to conquer Bayt al-Muqaddis.”
Bani Israel, however, persisted in disobeying Allah (swt) so Allah (swt) expelled them from the land, and appointed Taloot (Saul) to conquer al-Quds. From the army of Taloot, Allah (swt) appointed Dawud (as) to defeat Jaloot. He was succeeded by his son, Sulaiman (as) who expanded Masjid al-Aqsa.
Abu Darda (rta) narrates from the Prophet ﷺ said: “A prayer in Makkah (Kabah) is worth 100,000 times (in reward), a prayer in my Masjid (Madinah) is worth 1,000 times and a prayer in Al-Aqsa Sanctuary is worth 500 times more rewarded than anywhere else”. (Tabarani, Bayhaqi, Suyuti)
After Sulaiman (as) passed away, Bani Israel reverted to their evil ways. Thus Allah (swt), yet again, sent His punishment upon them and caused the Temple of Solomon to be destroyed in the 6th century B.C by the Babylonians.
Allah (swt) in his Infinite Mercy sent Bani Israel guidance through more prophets and in the year 352 BC they once again reclaimed Jerusalem and established the second temple.
The next 400 years: Ale-Imran (The Family of Imran) and Isa (as)
Surah Ale-Imran mentions the story of the family of Imran, which includes Zakariyya (as). Zakariyya (as) was in Masjid al-Aqsa when he made Dua in his old age to be blessed with a son. Allah (swt) answered his prayer and his aged, barren wife miraculously gave birth to Yahya (as). This is a beautiful example of the Barakah of Masjid al-Aqsa, a place where our beloved Rabb answers our calls and repeatedly performed miracles.
Similarly, in this very Masjid, Maryam (as) had her own dedicated space of worship where Allah (swt) would send miracles for her, such as out-of-season fruit. Here again, her cousin, Yahya (as) delivered his sermons. When Allah (swt) made Maryam (as) miraculously give birth to her son Isa (as), he preached in Masjid al-Aqsa.
But Bani Israel rejected Isa (as) and tried to kill him. They rebelled against all subsequent prophets and killed Yahya (as), so Allah (swt) had the temple destroyed 70 years after Isa (as).
Prophet Muhammad’s (sa) era and beyond
In the year 312 CE, Christians, under the rule of Constantine, expelled all the Jewish people from Jerusalem, forbidding them from returning until the Caliphate (Khilaafat) of Umar ibn Khattab (rta). The Jews were widely persecuted and there were Judeo-Christian wars around the world.
670 years after Isa (as), our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born. In the early days of his Prophet hood, his small group of followers were severely persecuted and he faced rejection from the Makkans and from Taif. As a result, Allah (swt) solaced him with the beautiful journeys of al-Isra wal Mairaj.
Isra was the first part of the journey, when he was taken by angel Jibraeel (as) to Palestine and Masjid al-Aqsa where he led all the previous Prophets in prayer, affirming their common message. The second part of the journey was Mairaj, ascension from the Holy Land of Palestine to the heavens. Scholars say that there seems to be a door or an opening to the heavens above Masjid al-Aqsa, from where the Prophet (sa) embarked on the journey of Mairaj. Isa (as) was also raised to heaven from this very land.
“Exalted is He who took His servant (i.e. prophet Muhamamd sa) by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” (Al-Isra 17:1)
Rasool ullah ﷺ is the only prophet who prayed towards both the Qiblahs, a sign that he is the true and final prophet of mankind. The prophet’s ﷺ journey to Palestine and leading in prayer was a symbolic handover of the duty of guiding mankind from Bani Israel to Bani Ismael. The physical manifestation of this handover followed in the prophet’s (sa) migration from Makkah to Madinah where, after 13 months, the Qibla changed from Jerusalem to the Kabah.
Thereafter, within the next 100 years the world swiftly changed — superpowers collapsed as the Arab Bedouins conquered the world. Finally, Umar (rta) conquered Jerusalem, and entered al-Quds with a bloodless victory. The blessed keys to the city were handed over to him, and by extension, to the Muslims.
Contrary to Jewish propaganda, Al Aqsa was always the inherited legacy of the believing men and women of One God. The Jews were allowed to return to the Jewish quarter under Umar’s (rta) reign, but the control remained in the hands of the Muslims, the followers of the Last Prophet (sa).
“Jerusalem is even more sacred for us than it is to you, for it is the place from which our Prophet ﷺ came on his night journey; as for the land, it is also ours originally” — Salahuddin al-Ayyubbi
(Adapted from lectures and works of Shaykh Omar Suleiman, Shaykh AbdulHakim Murad and Shaykh Sajjad Nomani.)
About author
