[ARTICLE] Steps we can take to help al-Quds

Madina Archives


Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

[ARTICLE] Steps we can take to help al-Quds
jannah
07/07/01 at 01:35:46
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh,
Dear brothers and sisters in Islam:
       We must know that it is our duty to speak up and protect masjid
al-Aqsa in any way that we can.  It only takes a maximum of 15 mins. to voice
your concern.  I have made everything easy for you, you will find in
this email:

1. a sample letter to send to those in authority (change it a bit
before sending it, please)
2. a link that where you can find important address to send your letter
http://www.soundvision.com/jerusalem/alert.shtml
3. an article about the importance of Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa

Allah will ask us if we used the means available to us to help our
oppress Muslim brethen around thw world.  Please take the time to follow
these steps.  JazakumAllahu khairan.

Wassalam,
Iman
________________________________________________________________
TO:
FROM:
RE: Despicable Israeli Attacks on Palestinian Civilians

       I am writing to demand that you publicly denounce Israel's use of
excessive force against civilians and condemn Likud Party Leader, Ariel
Sharon's entrance into the Holy Aqsa Mosque with thousands of heavily
armed Israelis on Sept. 28th.  I am urging you to demand the withdrawal of
Israeli troops from Palestinian cities and Islamic holy sites.  My
voting Muslim brethren and I will not stand for such continued acts of
injustice against the Palestinians.  I will not allow my tax dollars to be
used in killing civilian demonstrators!
How can the United Stated government support the murder of unarmed
civilians!?  How can the United States government allow such a horrific act
of disrespect to Islam's third most holy mosque!? How can the United
States government just sit back and watch as Israeli soldiers open fire
with powerful bullets on innocent worshippers, who resorted to throwing
stones to defend the Mosque?! They even murdered a 12-year-old harmless
boy, Muhammad Al-Dura and his father!
When this man entered the Aqsa Mosque it was as if Hitler had enter a
synagogue.   Muslims know him very well as the butcher of the 1982 Sabra
and Shatilla massacre in Lebanon, the man who is directly responsible
for the massacre of over 2,700 Palestinians and is behind Israel's 1982
invasion of Lebanon, which claimed as a result of which about 20,000
Palestinians and Lebanese were killed.
If the US governement doesn't intervene to stop these atrocities, they
will be counted as willing participants in this campaign of injustice.
       This issue will greatly impact the next presidential election.

Concerned Citizen,
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The Islamic Perspective of Jerusalem
by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi President, Islamic Society of North America
The city of Jerusalem is very sacred to Muslims. It is one of the three
most sacred cities in Islam. Jerusalem is called al-Quds al-Sharif (the
Noble Sacred Place). In order to understand the sacredness of this city
in Islam, one has to understand the faith structure of Islam. There are
three basic principles of faith in Islam:
1. Belief in the oneness of Allah (Tawhid).
2. Belief in the divine guidance through His chosen Prophets and
Messengers (Risalah).
3. Belief in the life after death, divine judgment and heaven and hell
(Akhirah).
It is the second principle of faith in Islam in Islam that is directly
related to our love and devotion to Jerusalem.
Place of Jerusalem in the Islamic Faith
Islam recognizes all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah. The Quran
has mentioned many Prophets by name. Their stories and teachings are told
at varying length throughout the Quran. Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon,
Zechariah, John the Baptist (Yahya) and Jesus - peace be upon them all
- are among the honored Prophets and Messengers of Allah according to
Islam.
Jews and Christians also recognize Prophets David and Solomon as great
kings and patriarchs of ancient Israel.
However, in Islam they are honored as Allah's great Prophets. The Quran
not only narrated their stories, but also restored their honor by
removing some of the charges and allegations that were made against their
characters by earlier communities.
Prophet David (peace be upon him) was accused in the Bible o f
committing adultery (2 Samuel 11 - 12) and Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him)
was accused of idolatry. (1 Kings 11). The Quran absolved them from all
these charges. (28:21 - 25; 38:30). This shows that David and Solomon
(peace be upon them) are more revered and respected in Islam than in
Jewish and Christian traditions.
Since the city of Jerusalem is historically associated with these
Prophets of Allah, it naturally becomes a city sacred to Muslims.
Islam considers itself a continuation of the same spiritual and ethical
movement that began with the earlier Prophets.
Historically and theologically it believes itself to be the true
inheritor of the earlier traditions of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah.
It is for this reason that the Quran called for Palestine - the land
associated with the lives of many of God's Prophets - al-ard
al-Muqaddasah (the Sacred Land; 5:21) and called its surroundings barakna hawlaha
(God's Blessed Precincts; 17:1).
The sacredness of the city of Jerusalem, according to Islam, is in its
historical religious reality. This is the city that witnessed the life
and works of the greatest Prophets and Messengers of Allah. Here the
Divine Grace touched the earth repeatedly. Allah's great Prophets and
Messengers lived and moved in its valleys and its streets. Makkah and
Madinah are blessed cities in Islam because of their association with the
Prophets Abraham, Ishmael and Mohammed. In a similar way Jerusalem is
blessed and important in Islam because of its association with other
Prophets of Allah, namely David, Solomon and Jesus.
Jews and Christians do not recognize Ishmael and Mohammad as God's
Prophets and Messengers, so they do not consider Makkah and Madinah as
sacred cities.
However, Muslims believe in Prophets Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus,
and so they must recognize the sacredness and importance of Jerusalem in
Islam.
Jerusalem in the life of Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings be upon
him)
Due to its theological and religious status, Jerusalem had a very
important place in the life of the Prophet Mohammad himself.
In the year 620 almost one-and-a-half years before his Hijra
(migration) from Makkah to Madinah the famous event of Isra and Miraj (Night
Journey and Ascension) occurred. One night, in a miraculous way, the
Prophet was taken on a momentous journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and then
from there to the heavenly celestial abodes.
The Night Journey was a great miracle that Muslims believe was given to
Prophet Mohammad as an honor and as a confirmation of Makkah's
spiritual link with Jerusalem.
Both of these events took place on the same night. The angel Gabriel
took the Prophet from Makkah to Jerusalem. There it is reported that the
Prophet stood at the Sacred Rock (al-Sakhrah al-Musharrafah), went to
the heavens, returned to Jerusalem and met with many Prophets and
Messengers who were gathered together for him on that occasion and he led
them in prayers.
After these experiences the Prophet was taken back to Makkah. The story
of Isra and Miraj is full of wonderful signs and symbols. Muslim
thinkers, mystics and poets have interpreted it in deep an meaningful ways.
There is, however, one essential point and that is it serves as an
example of every Muslim's deep devotion and spiritual connection with
Jerusalem.
During the Miraj, the Prophet is reported to have received from Allah
the command of five daily prayers (Salah) that all Muslims must perform.
Upon his return to Makkah, the Prophet instituted these prayers. It is
significant to note that he made Jerusalem the direction (al-Qiblah)
which Muslims must face while doing their prayers. Jerusalem is thus
called Ula al-Qiblatain (the First Qiblah).
The Prophet and the early community of Islam worshipped towards the
direction of Jerusalem during their stay in Makkah. After the Hijra
(migration), Muslims in Madinah also continued to pray facing Jerusalem for
almost seventeen months. Then came AllahÕs command to change the
direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Makkah (2:142 - 150).
Muslim commentators of the Quran and historians have explained the
meaning and purpose of this change.
It is a lengthy subject that we cannot discuss in detail here. Suffice
it to say that the change of the Qiblah in no way diminished the status
of Jerusalem in Islam.
The Kaba in Makkah was meant to be the Qiblah from the beginning,
because the Quran said that it was the First House (Awwal Bait 3:96)
established for mankind to worship the One God.
The Kaba, however, was full of idols when the Prophet Mohammad began
preaching his message to Tawhid (the Oneness and Transcendence of Allah).
A separation had to be made between the people and the pagan worship
that they used to perform at the Kaba. Jerusalem served that purpose very
well by distancing the people from their pagan and idolatrous
associations.
Once monotheism was fully established in the minds and hearts of the
believers and once the Kaba's position with Abraham and with monotheism
was made clear, the way was open to restore the Kaba as the direction of
prayers.
There are many instances of this type of change or abrogation ("naskh")
in Islamic legislation. As one example, visiting graves was forbidden
in the beginning of Mohammad (peace and blessings be upon him)'s
messengership.
Later it was permitted because Muslims had learned the difference
between a grave visit and ancestor worship. At first, the Prophet forbade
his people to write down his words except when he told them that what he
was saying was revelation - the Quran, the Word of Allah.
Later when people learned the difference between the Quran and Hadith
(sayings and deeds of the Prophet), he gave them permission to write
Hadith as well.
It is interesting to note that the Kaba in Makkah was the original
direction of prayers for all the Prophets of Allah.
According to a Hadith, the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad) had been in
Makkah at the place of Kaba since the time of Adam. It was the Prophets
Abraham and Ishmael who built the Kaba under Allah's command and
direction (2:125 - 127).
The city of Jerusalem was established as a religious center for the
Israelite people by the Prophets David and Solomon around the year 900 BC.
This was almost 1,000 years after the time of Prophet Abraham and the
building of the Kaba. Thus one can say that the Kaba had a historical
primacy over Jerusalem.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the Bible says that the early
Israelites in Jerusalem used to turn to the southern direction when
making their most sacred prayers and offerings (Exodus 27:9; 40:24). The
Kaba is in the southern direction of Jerusalem. Thus we can say that the
Kaba was also a Qiblah for the earlier Israelite communities as well.
Jerusalem in the early history of Islam
Jerusalem came under Islamic rule during the reign of the second Caliph
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the year 638.
It was a peaceful conquest. The ruling patriarch of the city, whose
name was Sophronius, offered the keys of the city to the Caliph himself.
Upon entering the blessed city, the Caliph asked about the location of
the mosque of David (al-Masjid al-Aqsa) and the blessed Rock from where
the Prophet went in Miraj.
The site was a desolate place at that time. Romans had destroyed the
so-called Second Temple in the year 70 CE and no non-Christian or
Christian ruler of that city after that ever tried to build any place of
worship there.
According to historians, it was a garbage dump, a dunghill for the
people of Jerusalem. Umar, upon learning this was the site of the Masjid of
Jerusalem and the place from where the Miraj took place, cleaned the
place with his own hands and put his forehead in payer on that ground.
The Masjid al-Aqsa was later built in that area.
In 691 CE the Dome of Rock and a more elaborate mosque were
constructed. Those were, perhaps, the first most expensive and expansive sacred
monuments built in the history of Islam.
Jerusalem was always held in great esteem by Muslims. The Prophet said,
"Journeys should not be taken (with the intention of worship) except to
three mosques: the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, my Mosque in Madinah and
Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem."
On the basis of this Hadith, Muslims always considered it as a
religious deed to visit the city of Jerusalem, its mosque and its sacred and
blessed precincts. Often pilgrims made it a point to visit Jerusalem on
their way to Makkah and Madinah.
Muslim rulers and philanthropists built many hospitals, schools, and
religious centers in and around the city. They purchased land in and
around the city and dedicated it as a Waqf (endowment) for religious
purposes. The whole city is virtually Waqf land that is non-salable and
nontransferable.
Many Muslim scholars also migrated and settled in the city. The Al-Aqsa
Masjid was a great seat of learning. Thousands of pious people and
scholars included provisions in their wills to be buried in Jerusalem.
There are thousands, perhaps millions of Muslims' graves in the city of
Jerusalem.
Muslims also recognized the rights of Christians and Jews who hold the
city dear to their hearts and sacred in their faiths.
Under Islamic rule they were given permission to settle there. When the
Caliph Umar made the treaty with the Christian Patriarch Sophronius it
was agreed, at the request of the Christian patriarch, that "No Jews
will live with them in Aelia (Jerusalem)."
But later, due to Muslim tolerance, this rule was relaxed and Jews were
allowed to come and settle in the city.
After the re-conquest of Jerusalem by Salahuddin in the time of the
Crusades, Jews were again permitted by Muslims to come back and live in
the city. The Crusaders during their 90-year rule (1099 - 1187) had
banned both Jews and Muslims from that city.
Conclusion
The city of Jerusalem is very important to Muslims. Muslims have a
right to this city religiously, historically and legally. I have mentioned
only the religious aspects in this paper. There are three important
points to remember about Islam and the city of Jerusalem:
1. In the whole history of Jerusalem, form the time of Prophet David
until now, the longest rule of this city belonged to Muslims.
2. Muslims maintained the sacredness of this city in the full sense of
the word.
3. Muslims established and practiced the most tolerant multi-religious
and multi-faith character of Jerusalem.
This was a talk presented at the first meeting of American Muslims for
Jerusalem (AMJ) in Washington, DC on April 17, 1999. Sound Vision has
reprinted it with the permission of AMJ.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"O you who believe, respond to Allah and His Messenger when they call
you to that which will give you (true) life..."
[surat al-Anfal]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author.
The rest © Jannah.Org