Often referred to as the Blessed Land and what the Jews refer to as Jerusalem, this city has throughout history been one of the most contended places on earth. It holds significance to all humanity and has been a focal point of man's relationship with Allah (swt) from the earliest of times and will remain so until the end of time.

The Land of Revelation and Prophethood

Allah (swt) makes numerous references to the land of Al-Sham (modern day Syria, Jordan and Palestine) and Bait Al-Maqdis (Al-Quds) in the Noble Qur'an, mentioning it as the land which He (swt) has blessed:

“Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant (Muhammad) for a journey by night (Isra) from the Sacred Mosque (Ka'ba) to the Farthest Mosque (Al-Aqsa) whose precincts We did bless.” [Al-Isra: 1]

It is to this land that Allah (swt) sent many of His Prophets and Messengers and where many of the Qisas (stories) mentioned in the Qur'an took place. The Angels used to descend there with the revelation and with it the Rusools (prophets) carried their Da'wa (call) and many of them were buried in this land. Isa (as), Dawud (as) and Sulayman (as) where born, raised and conducted their da'wa in this land. Ibrahim (as) and Lut (as) migrated to this land, Allah (swt) says:

"We said, O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim! Then they planned against him: but We made them the greater loser. But We delivered him and (his nephew) Lut (and directed them) to the land which We have blessed for the 'Alamin (mankind).” [Al-Anbiya: 69-71]

Abu Dawud quoted Abdullah Ibn Umar as saying, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say, ‘There will be Hijra (migration) after Hijra. The best of the inhabitants of the Earth will live in the place where Ibrahim made Hijra and the evil will remain elsewhere on Earth.’”

It is the land to which Allah (swt) delivered Musa (as) and his people from the tyranny of Fir'aun (Pharaoh). It is where Ibrahim (as), Ishaq (as), Ya'qub (as), Yusuf (as) and Musa (as) were buried. During the night of Al-Isra and Mi'raj, it is where Muhammad (saw) prayed with the other prophets as their Imam in Masjid Al-Aqsa, as related to us by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal on the authority of Ibn Abbas.

In brief, Muhammad (saw) described the sanctity of this land, as Al-Tirmidhi narrates in his Sahih on the authority of Zaid Ibn Thabit Al-Ansari that: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah say, ‘How blessed is Al-Sham! How blessed is Al-Sham!’ “And how is that, Oh Messenger of Allah?” People asked him. ‘Those angels of Allah have spread their wings over Al-Sham’, he answered.' 'The Prophets built Bait Al-Maqdis (Al Quds),' Ibn Abbas added. 'And the Prophets lived in it, and there is not an inch in Bait Al-Maqdis where a Prophet has not prayed or and Angel has not stood.'

The Land of Isra and Mir'aj

Muhammad (saw) travelled by night to Bait Al-Maqdis (Al-Quds) from Makkah and ascended from there to the seventh heaven. Masjid Al-Aqsa is the place where his Isra (night journey) ended and his Mi'raj (ascent to heaven) began. As Allah (swt) states:

"Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant (Muhammad) for a journey by night (Isra) from the Sacred Mosque (Ka'ba) to the Farthest Mosque (Al-Aqsa) whose precincts We did bless.” [Al-Isra: 1]

During the Mi'raj (ascension) the Prophet (saw) saw Jibril (as) in his original form, “For indeed he saw him at a second descent, near the Lote-tree of the utmost boundary. Near it is the Garden of Abode. Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded with what shrouds. (His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong! For truly did he see, of the signs of his Lord, the Greatest!” [An-Najm: 13-18]

The Isra and Mi'raj are of the most important events in the Seerah of Muhammad (saw). It occurred during the latter part of the Makkan period in the month of Rajab, which we have just passed. It was due to this incident that many people became murtad (apostate) and left Islam and it was through this incident that Abu Bakr (ra) gained his title of As-Siddiq, 'the one who affirms the truth.’

Masjid Al-Aqsa is regarded as the third most sacred place on Earth to the Muslims and is one of the three Masjids that it is recommended to visit. Both Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim in their books of Sahih narrated Abu Huraira (ra) saying that Allah's Messenger (saw) said: ‘Set out deliberately on a journey only to three masjid's; this masjid of mine (in Madinah), the Sacred Masjid (in Makkah), and Masjid Al-Aqsa.’ In another tradition he described the virtue of living near Masjid Al-Aqsa and praying in it. Al-Tabarani and Al-Bazzar quoted Abu al-Darda as saying that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: 'A prayer in the Sacred Masjid is worth 100,000 prayers, a prayer in my Masjid is worth a thousand prayers, and a prayer in Masjid Al-Aqsa is worth five hundred prayers.'

The Land of the First Qiblah

The direction of the first Qiblah to which Muhammad (saw) and the Muslims used to pray towards was Bait Al-Maqdis (Al Quds), and this continued for some sixteen or seventeen months until Allah (swt) revealed that the direction of prayer should change towards the Ka'ba. This occurred during the month of Sha'ban or possibly Rajab - in the second year Hijri - after the establishment of the Islamic State in Madinah. Allah (swt) says:

"Verily, We have seen the turning of your face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a Qiblah that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of Masjid Al-Haram. And wheresoever you people are, turn your face in that direction…" [Al-Bakarah: 144]

The Land Opened Without Fighting

It was in the time of Umar ibn Al-Khatab (ra), the second Khalifah of the Muslims, that the land of Al-Sham and Al-Quds was opened to Islam. The remarkable thing about the opening of Al-Quds is that no fighting occurred. Umar (ra) was welcomed to the city by the Christians and because it was opened to Islam without fighting it is considered as Ushri land and is taxed and treated differently than the lands which are opened by fighting.

The Land of Steadfastness and Jihad

There are many ahadith of Muhammad (saw) to the effect that a person who lives in Bait Al-Maqdis is like the one who struggles or is garrisoned there for Allah's (swt) cause. These include:

Mu'adh Ibn Jabal (ra) quoted the Prophet (saw) as saying: ‘O Mu'adh! Allah the Almighty will enable you to conquer Al-Sham, after my death, from Al-Arish to the Euphrates. Their men and women will be garrisoned until the Day of Judgement. Whoever from amongst you chooses one of the coasts of Al-Sham or Bait Al-Maqdis (Al-Quds) is in Jihad until the Day of Judgement.’

Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad that Abu Umama Al-Bahili quoted the Prophet (saw) as saying: ‘A group from my Ummah are still knowledgeable about the truth, they are vanquishing their enemy and those who disagree with them cannot harm them until Allah Almighty's command comes to them. They are thus.’ ‘Oh Messenger of Allah’, he was asked, ‘Where are they?’ ‘In and around Bait Al-Maqdis’, the Prophet replied.

Indeed, throughout the history of Islam and in the recent weeks we have seen the truth of these words spoken by Muhammad (saw). The current occupation of the whole of Palestine, and not only the West Bank or Gaza, should not in the least make us feel defeated, for the Crusaders occupied Al-Sham for far longer than the Israelis and committed even more savagery and oppression. But in the end Allah (swt) raised a sincere leader from amongst the believers, and the name of Salah Uddin Al-Ayubi will remain famed throughout history as the one who liberated Palestine.

The Land of Promise

Allah (swt) has promised His servants who believe in Him and do good deeds that he will defeat their enemies, He will establish them firmly and will appoint them to rule Bait Al-Maqdis. In connection to this in the Qur'an Al-Karim Allah (swt) mentions:

“And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book, indeed you would do mischief in the land twice and you will become tyrants and extremely arrogant! So, when the promise came for the first of the two, We sent against you slaves of Ours given to terrible warfare. They entered the very innermost part of your homes. And it was a promise (completely) fulfilled. Then we gave you a return of victory over them. And we helped you with wealth and children and made you more numerous in man-power. (And We said): “If you do good, you do good for your own selves, and if you do evil (you do it) against yourselves.” Then, when the second promise came to pass, (We permitted your enemies) to disgrace your faces and to enter the masjid (of Al-Quds) as they had entered it before, and to destroy with utter destruction all that fell in their hands.” [Al-Isra: 4-7]

"And We said thereafter (after Musa) to the Children of Israel, dwell securely in the land (of promise): but when the last promise came to pass, We gathered you together in a mingled crowd.” [Al-Isra: 107]

"Shame is pitched over them (like a tent) wherever they are found, except when under a covenant (of protection) from Allah, and from men; they draw on themselves the wrath of Allah. And pitched over them is (the tent) of destitution. This is because they rejected the signs of Allah, and slew the prophets in defiance of right; this is because they rebelled and transgressed beyond bounds.” [Al-Imran: 112]

"And (remember) when your Lord declared that He would certainly keep sending against them, till the Day of Resurrection, those who would afflict them with a humiliating torment…And We have broken them up into various groups on earth…"
[Al-A'raf: 167-168]

"And slacken not following up the enemy: If you are suffering hardships they are suffering similar hardships; but you have hope from Allah, while they have nothing..." [An-Nisa:104]

"Be not weary and faint hearted, crying for peace, when you should be uppermost, for Allah is with you, and will never put you in loss for your (good) actions.” [Muhammad:35]

"Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that of a surety, He will grant them succession (to the present rulers) in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and He will establish in authority their religion which He has chosen for them. And He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace…" [An-Nur: 55]

The Head of the Future Khilafah

As we live in these dark days for the Muslim Ummah, we should take hope in the promise of Allah (swt) and we could link this promise to the return of the Khilafah in this most fought over of lands by mentioning some of the sayings of the Prophet (saw):

Imam Ahmad narrated Ma'qal Ibn Yasar as saying the Prophet had stated: ‘Tyranny will not be long in appearing after I am gone. Whatever tyranny appears, a like amount of justice will go, until people are born under tyranny who have never known anything else. Then Allah will bring justice, and whatever justice comes, a like amount of tyranny will go, until people are born under justice who have never known anything else.’

Imam Ahmad quoted al-Nu'man Ibn Bashir as saying that the Prophet had stated: ‘Prophethood will last with you for as long as Allah wants it to last. Then He will end it if He wishes to end it. Then there will be a rightly guided succession (Khilafah) according to the method of Prophethood and things will be as Allah wishes them to be. Then it will end if He wishes it to end it. Then there will be a voracious kingdom and things will be as Allah wishes them to be. Then He will end it if He wishes to end it. Then there will be a forceful kingdom, and things will be as Allah wishes them to be. Then He will end it if He wishes to end it. Then there will be a Khilafah according to the method of Prophethood.’ Then he fell silent.

Ibn Asakir quoted Yunus Ibn Maysara Ibn Halbas as saying that the Prophet (saw) had stated: ‘This matter (the Khilafah) will be after me in Madinah, then in Al-Sham, then in Jazira, then in Iraq, then in Madinah, then in Al-Quds (Bait Al-Maqdis). If it is in Al-Quds, its home country is there and if any people expel it, it will not return there forever.’

Imam Ahmad, Al-Hakim and Abu Dawud quoted Abdullah Ibn Al-Abadi who heard from Abdullah Ibn Hawwala Al-Azdi that: The Prophet put his hand on my head, and then said: ‘Ibn Hawwala, if you see that the Khilafah has taken its abode in the blessed land, then the earthquake, the tribulations and the great events are at hand, and the Last Hour on that day will be closer to people than my hand is to your head.’

Ibn Sa'd quoted Abd Al-Rahman Ibn Abi Umayra al-Mazni, ‘There will be an oath (bai'ah) of allegiance according to guidance in Bait Al-Maqdis (Al-Quds).’

The Land Where All Mankind Will Be Gathered

Various ahadith have referred to Bait Al-Maqdis as the land where all mankind will be resurrected on the Day of Gathering to stand before Allah (swt). Among them is:

Imam Ahmad in his Musnad quoted Maymuna daughter of Sa'd, a servant of the Messenger of Allah (saw), as having said: ‘Oh Prophet, give us a pronouncement about Bait Al-Maqdis.’ ‘The land where they will be raised and gathered’, he answered.

Allah (swt) says: “And listen for the Day when the Caller will call out from a place quite near.” [Qaf: 41]

Some of the Mufassireen (commentators) have said that the near-by place from which Israfil (as) will blow his trumpet is the rock in Bait Al-Maqdis (Al-Quds).

To conclude, as Muslims we should realise the significance of this place to Islam and hold it dear to our hearts. We should work against the treachery of those who want to give away this sacred land for a meagre price or surrender it to our enemy after spilling much of our blood. We should realise the real obstacles to the fulfilment of the promise of Allah (swt) are those treacherous cowards who pass themselves as our leaders, who like to meet in fancy conferences and blow hot empty words while the soldiers lay in their barracks. Meanwhile the children of this Ummah meet the bullets, rockets and tanks with stones and their chests. Our path is to be those workers of good deeds unto which Allah (swt) has promised victory and we should take all these evidences as an inspiration in our struggle and spread them amongst the Muslims to keep their vision intact and their hopes alive. And we pray to Allah (swt) that soon He will allow us to make His word reign the highest.
 
Source: Khilafah Magazine