Welcome to this new series on the history of a land that is beloved in the heart of all Muslims. It is described as blessed and sacred. It is a land that Allah (AWJ) himself has spoken greatly about how important it is and our prophet Muhammad (SAW) has highlighted its virtues and significance. Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, Bayt Al-Maqdis, Al-Quds; these are all terms that we will speak about in a little bit of detail in this series. Allah (SWT) took his prophet Muhammad (SAW) to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and he described it as the land that he has blessed. [“Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless, in order that We might show him some of Our signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things)” Al-Isra: 1] Glorified is the one who took his slave at night, from Al-Masjid Al-Haram at Makkah to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, at Al-Quds, that we have blessed it and the land all around it. Mufassireen have mentioned that blessing the land around it is an indication of how blessed that piece of land itself where Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa actually is. When Musa (AS) was leaving with Bani Isra’il from Egypt and Allah (SAW) had defeated Fir’Awn and his armies, Allah (AWJ) describes this; [“And We made a people, considered weak (and of no account), inheritors of lands in both east and west – lands whereon We sent down Our blessings. The fair promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they had patience and constancy, and We levelled to the ground the great works and fine buildings which Pharaoh and his people erected (with such pride)” Surah Al-A’raf: 137] We made those people custodians who were considered weak, who were exploited. What did we make them custodians of? The east and the west, meaning the regions – the eastern regions and the western regions of the land that we have blessed. Meaning generally and specifically the area of Bayt Al-Maqdis. In describing the favors that Allah (SWT) has bestowed upon the people of Saba, he says [Between them and the Cities on which We had poured our blessings, We had placed Cities in prominent positions and between them We had appointed stages of journey in due proportion: “Travel therein, secure, by night and by day.”] between them and the towns that we had blessed. “The towns that we had blessed” refers to the towns around Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in that region of Al-Quds.
When Ibrahim (AS) was migrating from Mesopotamia from Iraq, the land of the Caledonians, where did Allah (SWT) take him? Allah (SWT) himself says [“But We delivered him and (his nephew) Lut (and directed them) to the land which We have blessed for the nations.”] “We rescued him and Lut (who was the nephew of Ibrahim (AS)) to the land that we have blessed for all of mankind.” Ibrahim (AS) settled very closely to the area of Bayt Al-Maqdis and Lut (AS) settled in a region before that, the area of Sodom (Sudduum) which falls on the border between Jordan and Palestine. While speaking of the favors that he bestowed upon Sulayman (AS) Allah (AWJ) mentions that he gave him control over the winds, and these winds would blow fast and strong to the land that we have blessed, meaning very quickly those winds would take him and bring him back to Bayt Al-Maqdis of which he is responsible for the construction and establishment. In one place the Quran says [“And listen for the Day when the Caller will call out from a place quite near,” Surah Qaf: 41] describing the day of judgement, that the Caller will call out from a place close by; this is when people will be collected from their graves and told to rise, assemble and gather for giving account to Allah (SWT), a caller will call out to them. So this place that is close, Mufassireen have mentioned, refers to the Sakhra, the stone, over which there is now the Dome of the Rock. Israfil (AS) will stand on that rock and call people, that “O people, come, rise and assemble and prepare to stand in front of Allah (SWT)”. This is further explained by a hadith of Ahmad and Abu Dawud in which Maymunah bint Sa’d (RA) asked the prophet (SAW) “Tell us about Bayt Al-Maqdis, what is the significance of it?” The prophet (SAW) said, “This is the land where you will be assembled and this is the land where you will be raised to on the Day of Judgement when you rise from your graves.”
Many ahadith speak of the importance of this masjid and the land around it. For example, the famous hadith of Bukhari that it is only permissible to go to a masjid seeking the special reward, the specific reward granted only in that masjid that such a journey can only be undertaken for 3 masajid – Al-Masjid Al Haram, the Kaaba, and-Al Masjid Al-Aqsa is the third. One narration of Tabrani mentions that praying in Bayt Al-Maqdis, Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa brings the reward of 500 salahs, meaning praying 1 salah there brings the reward of praying 500 salahs. And the prophet (SAW) has instilled the importance of going there in that same hadith of Maymunah bint Sa’d (RA) in the riwayah of Abu Dawud. The prophet (SAW) encouraged the Muslims to go and pray there and he said “if you cannot go there and pray there, then at least send oil to be lit in its lamps and in its lanterns.” When Sulayman (AS) finished the construction of Bayt Al-Maqdis, as is mentioned in the hadith of Tirmidhi, Nasa’I, and others, he made 3 du’as to Allah (SWT); the first was “O Allah, grant me the ability to make decisions, pass verdicts and rulings in line with your laws — In line with what you would want me to decide for your slaves.” The second du’a, “O Allah, grant me such a kingdom that will not be appropriate for anyone after me.” So Allah (SWT) accepted both of these prayers and as the Prophet (SAW) said, “Definitely, he was granted both of these du’as.” Then there was a third du’a – he said, “O Allah, anyone who leaves their house to pray in this masjid and has no other intention but to pray in this masjid, then O Allah, do you forgive his sins just like as if he has emerged from the belly, the womb of his mother – clean and pure and free of sins?” The prophet (SAW) says, “I expect from Allah (SWT) that this du’a of Sulayman (AS) was also granted.”
When Musa (AS) was taking his people from Egypt and they were about to enter this sacred land, he encouraged them saying [“O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.” Surah Al-Mai’idah: 1] Enter the sacred land – the sanctified land – it means that land that is blessed and pure, so much so that after the incidents that occurred from that point onwards and Bani Isra’il did not comply, when the time of death approached for Musa (AS) one of his last wishes was that “O Allah, if I cannot reach Bayt Al-Maqdis, at least put me at a stone’s throw from Bayt Al-Maqdis.” So Allah (SWT) accepted this du’a, allowed him to come close to it, and the prophet (SAW) said, as is in the hadith of Sahih Al-Bukhari, that “If I were there right now I would show you his grave right off of the path just below the red sand dunes.” In the other hadith of Bukhari the prophet (SAW) tells a Sahaba “You can count 6 things that will occur as the signs of the Day of Judgement.” The first was, he said, “I am going to pass away – I am going to leave this world, and Bayt Al-Maqdis will be conquered.”
Now, there is so much in our religious texts that conveys to us the importance and significance of this blessed piece of land; how could it be that a Muslim spends their life without having an understanding of the significance of this place and without having their hearts attached to this place, developing a connection of love and attachment, a bond to this place? In reality, creating a bond between ourselves and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is to create a bond with a great portion of the events and incidents highlighted in the Qur’an. The prophets (AS) that are mentioned in the Qur’an; their nations and what transpired in their nations; many of the stories in the Qur’an are very closely intertwined with Bayt Al-Maqdis, Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds. In this series, InshaAllah, we will look at the history of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa through the light of how the Qur’an has mentioned it, the stories that revolve around it or somehow lead to it, and the Anbiya (AS) who are mentioned as having a major role there. Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is the land of the prophets (AS) and it is the land that Allah (SWT) took our prophet Muhammad (SAW) to specifically to visit it. It is the land of the Sahaba (RA), the land of khair, the land of divine revelation, and it is a land that we should gain great familiarity with. So, as we go through some of these details in this series, I hope that it will spark not only an interest and intrigue, but it will increase our faith, it will increase our bond and attachment, and it will enable us to see this land, not just from a perspective of what has transpired there and what is transpiring there from a political perspective, but also from a historical perspective.
Before going into the details, I would like to mention just a few things about designating what Bayt Al-Maqdis, Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds actually means. So, Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is not just a specific structure, rather, this is the entire walled compound which is of a rectangular shape. It is quite large; people have estimated that it is about 144 thousand metres squared. It is a nice large patch of land, it is walled, and within it are the various masajid – Al-Masjid Al-Qibli, or Al-Jami’ Al-Qibli – these are structures within Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. The Dome of the Rock is also a part of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. It, by itself, is not Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, nor is the masjid where the men pray, which is to the south of that. The entire area is Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and there are some two hundred or so monumental places and special places within this compound. This is Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. Now the term Bayt Al-Maqdis and Al-Quds. Bayt Al-Maqdis also originally refers to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, as I have just laid out, but Bayt Al-Maqdis and Al-Quds are also used to refer to the original city of Jerusalem. The walled city of Jerusalem, which surrounds Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, this is also referred to Al-Quds and Bayt Al-Maqdis, and from a broader perspective, the land around Jerusalem. Palestine and Sham in general are also referred to as Al-Quds and Bayt Al-Maqdis. So that area of Sham which surrounds Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is also considered in the sacred land and that is why it is also referred to as Al-Quds. In that verse where Musa (AS) was telling his people “Let’s go now, enter into the sacred land.” It was not just referring to the compound where Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is, but rather it was referring to that entire patch of land in general. When Ibrahim (AS) was going there, Allah (SWT) said it was not specifically for that parcel of land on which Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa exists today, but rather all of the area around it, so when we say Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa it refers to the walled compound that contains the primary masjid and the secondary masajid that are there and it includes the Dome of the Rock and other things around it. Al-Quds usually refers to the city of Jerusalem, but it sometimes refers to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, and it sometimes refers to the land, the area, the towns, and the settlements surrounding Jerusalem. I hope and pray that this series will be not just informative, but beneficial for us and a source of increasing our knowledge, our practice and our love.
