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Friday Talks |
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Friday Talks |
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63 |
Al-Aqsa Mosque, A historic prospective
Written by Sk. Younis Salih
Translated by: Dr. Faheem Bukhatwa
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All thanks be to Allah. We seek His help and forgiveness. It is Allah we ask to guard us against the evil within our selves, and guard us against the worst of our deeds. This who is guided by Allah will not be misguided. And this who is misguided by Allah will not have a guide. I bare witness that there is no other god but Allah, who has no associates. I also bare witness that Muhammad (PPBU) is his slave and messenger.
Allah says: {O you believers fear Allah His deserving fear. And only die as Muslims} 3-102
Allah also says: {O people fear your God who created you from one soul, and from it He created its soul mate. And from them he transcended many men and women. And fear Allah about whom you shall be questioned and about the kin relations. Surly, Allah is ever the all watcher over you.} 4-1
Allah also says: {O you who believe, fear Allah and always speak appropriately and say the right thing, He will make right your deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His messenger has indeed been a winner of a great victory}
The most truthful words are those in Allah’s book, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (PPBU), and the worst of all matters are the innovated matters, and each innovation is a new addition, and every addition is a misguidance, and each misguidance is in Hellfire.
Dear brothers,
We have a responsibility towards the generations to come not to forget the Alaqsa Mosque and its status for this Muslim nation. The Alaqsa mosque is not a Palestinian matter but it is a matter for the entire Islamic nation. For the history of the Alaqsa Mosque is a history of the prophets starting with Adam (PBU) up all the way to our prophet Muhammad (PPBU); Muhammad whose journey to the heavens started at that holy place. Allah says: {Praise Him who took His slave in his night journey from the Haram Mosque to the Alaqsa Mosque which we blessed all that is round it}.
Dear Muslim brothers,
The issue of the Alaqsa Mosque and the Palestinian issue can not be separated at all from the Islamic issue. It is not just a Palestinian land, or an Arab land, but in fact it is a land for all Muslims. This holy city is a city of peace. The Alaqsa Mosque represents the chain of monotheistic history which Islam was its last link. Jerusalem (or Al-Kuds) was and still is a long story of struggle between good and evil above its land; Ever since it was built by the Kanaanian Arabs 3000 years before Christ. Let us consider the facts of the history because today we see major and dangerous changes through out the media. The Jews are fabricating and falsifying history. They claim that Palestine is their promised land and Muslims have no right to it.
Jerusalem or Al-Kuds has deep roots with prehistoric civilizations. Three thousand years before Christ the Kananian Arab tribe emigrated from the Arab peninsula to the banks of Jordan river. This immigration was due to the drought that hit the Arab peninsula. This land was known then by the Kanan’s Land. The Kanans gave the Jerusalem city its firs name which was: “Or-Salam” which means the City-of-Peace. The Jews took this name and twisted it as they always do with everything and put it in their book the Torah with the name of “Or-Shalom”. Al-Kuds city had other names as well. Omar ebn-Khattab in the declaration he wrote to the people of the city he used the name “Eylyaa”.
In this land prophet Abraham (PPBU) was born. He came calling his people to worship one God and to stop worshipping idols. His people decided to burn him and Allah saved him. Abraham left the land of Kanaan and immigrated to the Asham (Syria). When drought hit the Sham land Abraham immigrated to Egypt. The ruler of Egypt was about to make an attempt on to Sarah the wife of Abraham. Allah saved Abraham and his wife Sarah and they emigrated once again from Egypt to the Kanaan land. Sarah gave Abraham a present of a young lady called Hajer. That’s when Ishmael was born as the son of Abraham and Hajer; and that’s when Sarah became jealous of Hajer. Abraham migrated once again brining Hajer and her son to Mekkah and Sarah was left at the land of Kanaan. Abraham kept on traveling between Sarah and Hajer until he was command by God to build the Haram Mosqu (the Kabba) with his son Ishmael. When the Kabba was built in the city of Mekkah; Abrahm returned to the Kanaan land and he built another mosque for worshipping Allah. This building he built is the holy Alaqsa Mosque.
Ebn-Taymia in his Al-Aqsa Mosque wrote that Abraham started the Alaqsa Mosque as a simple building; but it was Suleiman (PBU) who made it into a great building. Abu-Thur (ÃÈæÇáÐÑ
) was reported saying: “I asked the messenger (PPBU): ”Which mosque was first put on this earth?” He said: {The Haram Mosque (Kabba)}, I said: “Then which mosque followed that?” He said: “The Alaqsa Mosque” I asked how long it was between the two? And answered: “40 years”. I said: “Then which mosque followed that?” He said: “Then pray where ever the time of prayer is becomes due. All earth is a mosque for you”.
Al-Kuds remained since that time worshipping one single God. Al-Kuds remained under the control of the ARab Kanaanies. Abraham remained living in peace, safety and security with the Kannanies.
All that continued until the sons of Jacob (PBU) immigrated to Egypt under the invitation of Prophet Joseph. The children of Israel increased in number while in Egypt until Allah sent his messenger Moses (PBU) in Egypt. He called the children of Israel to worship one single god. They were stubborn; they resisted, challenged and confronted him. Prophet Moses asked the children of Israel to go with him to go to the holy land as Allah has decided. Their famous saying to Prophet Moses: “Go you and your God and fight, we are staying”. The messenger (PPBU) told that Allah punished them by prohibiting them entering the holy land for forty years. They were left lost in Sinai desert for the forty years. Prophet Moses asked Allah to take his soul near the holy land and it was only a stone through away. The messenger (PPBU) kept on saying: “If we were there now I would show you his grave just near or at the fool of the red hill”.
Prophet David took over the city of Al-Kuds. Al-Kuds is where prophet Suleiman was born and it was him who built the Mosque. Centuries passed and the Romans took over the holy land. They knocked down the Al-Kuds and rebuild another city on top of it and called it Eeylyaa. The city remained known with this name until it was taken by the Muslims during the rule of Omar ebn-al-Khattab by the military leader Obeida-ebn-Al-Jarrah. The inhabitants of the city refused to hand in the city’s key. The head of the roman Church (Safr Niyoos) insisted to hand the keys to the head of the state Omar ebn-al-Khattab. Omar did travel to the city in the tremendous procession and entourage of two people. Omar; himself and his assistant riding a donkey. He received the keys and wrote the people of the city the famous promise or Omar declaration to the people of Eeylyaa. Later on Khalifa Abd-Al-Malik ebn-Marwan built the Alaqsa Moswqu and the Dome of the Rock Mosque. The city remained under Muslim and Arab control until the Cuspidors wars. The city fell into the hands of the Crusaders in the year 1099. The Crusaders committed the atrocity of genocide when they slaughtered seventy thousand Muslims inside the grounds of the Mosque. The killing continues until the blood in the city reached the horses knees. Al-Kuds city remained in the hands of the Crusaders for ninety one years. The crosses were erected on all sides of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They prevented prayers from being held at the holy Mosque. This continued until the Islamic nation was blessed with Salah-Ed-Deen. We ask Allah to bless the Muslim nation with another Salah-ed-Deen. He reclaimed the city back from the Crusaders after the battle of Hetteen in the year 1187.
Muslim rulers again fell victim to weakness and worldly life desires and the love to be in charge at any price. They forgot the peak of the Islamic religion: Jihad in the line of Allah. The second crusading campaign started and they took over Al-Kuds again in the year 1228; when the sultan Al-Kamel Al-Aayooby shamefully and disgracefully gave up the city. But it was reclaimed again by Al-Nasser Dawood eleven years later in the year 1239 and remained under Muslim control until the start of the twentieth century. When the Prime-minister of Britain issued what was known as Belfour declaration on 02nd November 1917. Belfour declaration promised the creation of a Jewish National Home land in Palestine. In 1948 the Jews were able to invade the holy land; in fact they took over 78% of the area of all the Palestinian land. That day their Priminister Ben-Goryoun at the United Nations declared to the entire world that the Jewish faith puts a claim to Palestine and the Al-Kuds city. He is quoted saying: “We may not have the right to the land of Palestine from a political or legal points of view; But from a religious view we Palestine is rightfully ours. It is the land that God promised us from the Nile River to the Furat River”. He also said that every Jew must now migrate to the country of Israel or other wise he will be considered as a non-Jew. He was also quoted saying that there is no meaning to country of Israel without the city of Al-Kuds and without the Temple of Solomon, and any where else other than the land of Palestine.
Dear Muslims brothers, Palestine was, is and will always be a Muslim land from historical and religious points of view. Jews have no religious or historical rights to Al-Kuds.
Al-Kuds city and the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque have great importance in our faith, religion and our ideas. It was our first Quibla (location faced by Muslims during a prayer) for prayers. When prayers became compulsory after the night journey to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to the heavens. Al-Aqsa Mosque remained the Quibla for Muslims for over four years until Allah instructed His messenger to change to Mekka after it was cleared of all the idols.
Al-Kuds is the land of the famous night trip of the Messnger (PPBU)
Al-Kuds is never separated from Islam. It is not considered just a Palestinian land, or just an Arab land, but a land for all Muslims. And there is no way it can be returned under Islamic control except when all Muslims hold tight to the way of Allah and return to his religion.
All Thanks be to Allah.
Notes:
The inhabitants of the city of Al-Medina that received and supported the messenger (PPBU) when he immigrated from Mekkah in the very early years of Islam.
Adhan - The call to prayer.
Ansar (or Al-Ansar):
Assalam Alaikum - The Islamic greeting, literately means: Peace be with you. Used when approaching or leaving. When used during approaching it will be like saying: I bring no harm to you . and when said during leaving somebody it will mean: No harm will come to you after I leave.
is a verse of the Koran. It also means a miracle or a sign from God. Aya (or Ayah):
is a mountain outside the city of Mecca that represents the climax of the Hajj worship. All doing Hajj must stay at this location on the same day. Arafa (or Arafah or Arafat):
Badr - The place of the first significant battle between the Muslims and the pagans of the Quraish. It is located in Saudi Arabia.
Caliph - A Muslim ruler. See: (Khalifa)
Dajjal - Antichrist or the False Massiah.
Dawah - The proliferation of Islamic teachings through word and deed.
Deen (Din) - Religion or way of life.
talking to Allah; praising him and asking him for help. Duaa: a prayer in the form of
Fatwa - Legal verdict given based on the Qur'an (Koran) and the Sunnah which are the recorded sayings and deeds of Muhammad.
Ferdose: is the highest level of the all the gardens of Eden or paradise.
Fiqh - Religious law.
Hadeeth: is something reported that the messenger have said. It includes all the speeches and ceremonies he gave. It is usually narrated or told by one of his companions. There is a list of hadeeths approximately 14000 that are reported and checked to be genuine. No more hadeeths are acceptably added to this list.
Hajar - The Black Stone set into the corner of the Ka'aba in Mecca. It is said to be a stone from Heaven.
Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca which takes place in the last month of the Islamic calendar. One of the five pillars of Islam.
Hasana or hasanas: is the reward for a good deed. a hasana is a point or a merit for a good deed.
Hadith - The sayings and not deeds of the prophet Muhammad recorded by his followers. Considered authoritative and perfect.
Hajj: is the worship of pilgrimage.
Hijra (or Hejrah): the event of the immigration of the messenger from Mekkah to Madina. This event marks the start of the Islamic calendar. the Islamic calendar has 12 months based on the lunar cycle, each is 29.5 days. Hijra is also used as a name for the Islamic dating system.
Ibadah - Worship. All the words and deeds with which Allah is pleased. These deeds could be prayer and charity.
Iblis - (Ibleese): On of Satan's names.
Ibn (Ebn): the son of. Used by Arabs as part of an individual's name. Example: Ali whose father is Omar or the son of Omar, would be called: Ali Ibn Omar.
Imam (or Emam)- The leader for a prayer. In the Shiaa sect, an Imam is the individual who has the religious authority.
Iman: belief or faith
Injil (Enjeel) - The Bible. The book inspired to Jesus for the Christians.
Islam - Submission, the religion of all the prophets of Allah culminating in Muhammad.
Jannah - The heavenly garden, Paradise. The place of the faithful in the afterlife.
Jihad: is striving in the line of Allah in many forms. Includes a very wide scope varying from improving oneself to fighting a defensive war in protection of Allah's word. The greatest Jihad is the fight one's self against temptations. It also means "holy war."
Jinn - Supernatural, invisible beings race of beings, below angels. They were made from fire. Like humans, there amongst them are the faithful and the non beleivers and Jinn shall be judged on Judgment Day.
Ka'aba: A cube shaped building in Mecca containing a stone laid there by Abraham and Ishmael. Some say Ka'aba was first built by Adam, and some say by Abraham. It is the holiest place for Muslims. It is where all Muslims face in their daily prayers. Ka'aba also makes a major part of the pilgrimage in a ritual known as Tawaf.
Khalifa: is the Muslim ruler. Head of the Islamic empire. Exact translation: "Successor".
Khutbah - A sermon given in a Mosque, usually on Friday.
Kufr - Denial or Disbelief. A term Muslims use for anyone who denies existence of Allah or the prophecy of Muhammed.
Koran - Also spelled Qur'an. The holy book of Islam revealed to Muhammad by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel. Koran literally means "the recital." It is the final revelation of Allah given to the prophet Muhammad. It consists of 114 surahs (or chapters.)
Madinah - (Medinah): A city in the Arabian peninsula (in the country known now as Saudi Arabia). A city where the messenger had to immigrate to. Then it was called Yathrib.
Masjid - A center for Muslim activity. It is referred to as a mosque.
Masiah - A sin, or a sinful act
Mecca or Makkah: is the holiest city for Muslims. It contains the Ka'aba mosque with the famous black cubical shape. Mecca is the birth place of the messenger (PPBU).
Mosque - A Muslim house of worship.
Muhajir - (Muhajireen) Immigrant, one who leaves his home town due to lack of religious freedom. It was first used to describe early Muslims immigrating from Mecca to Median and Ethiopia.
Muhammad - the final messenger and prophet of God whose message abrogated all previous revelations. He received the Koran through the angel Gabriel over a 23 year period. Born in Mecca and died in Medina at the age of 63. His full name: Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah
Muslim - One who holds faith to the religion of Islam.
Nafilah: a voluntary prayer other than the five obligatory prayers; performed at any time.
Nasara - Christians. Nasrani: A Christian individual. Nasraniah: Christianity.
Ommah: is the Arabic word for a nation. It usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise specified.
Paradise - Another word for heaven. A garden of bliss, fruits, rivers and all forms of pleasures imaginable and imaginable. No suffering, disease or death. Service is provided by angels. All live in it an ever lasting youthful life. Promised by Almighty Allah to all faithful, true Jews, true Christians and True Muslims. Paradise is one of two places every person will go to, either Paradise or Hellfire.
PPBU (P.B.U.H.) : Peace and Prayers Be Upon him. A statement Muslims use any time they mention the name of the messenger or make a reference to him.
Qadar - Fate. Preordainment is the teaching that all things, good and bad, are preordained to occur.
Qadr - (night of Qadr): The night when the first revelation of the Koran took place. Most likely it happened during one of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Or when the Koran was brought down to the nearest heaven in one go, and from there it was brought down in bits and few verses at a time over a period of 23 years. This night is considered the holiest night for Muslims with tremendous advantages.
Qibla - The direction which Muslims turn for daily prayers, towards Mecca.
Quraish - An ancient Arab tribe to which the messenger Muhammad belonged.
Ramadan - The ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is the month of the fast. The holiest month in the Muslim colander.
Salat - Prayers. Generally it covers all forms of worship, but more specifically refers to the Muslim rituals which is performed to worship Allah five times daily.
Shiaa: A sect of Islam that teaches that a religion leader (Imam) should be the political ruler and must be direct descendants of the messenger (PPBU). Therefore, disapproving of all Muslim leaders who ruled After the messenger (PPBU) except Ali, the messenger's grandson.
Shirk - Associating another god with Allah. Or associating anyone or anything with Allah. Or using anyone or anything as a medium to Allah. The opposite of Monotheism or Tawheed.
Siam or Soam- Fasting
Sunni: is a the title of those Muslims who are suppose to be following the life style of the messenger. This differentiates them from the Shiaa of Iran.
Sunna (Sunnah): Is how the Messenger PPBU lived, what he did or said. It includes the way he dressed, ate, drank, prayed, interacted with other people and fought. Basically, sunnah is the life style of the messenger PPBU. It is considered the second source of legislation in Islamic laws and it is considered to be an important reference to be used for concluding arguments and disputes. It is also a title give to the main stream Muslims who make 90% if all Muslims.
Surah - A chapter of the Koran.
Tawaf: part of the pilgrimage (Hajj) ritual. It involves walking round the Ka'aba Mosque in anti-clock wise direction a number of seven circles.
Tauhid - Tawheed - Monotheism, in Islam is the teaching that there is only one God who alone is worthy of worship. The first requirement of becoming a Muslim. It is included in the testimony of faith for new Muslims when declaring that God is one: (No God but Allah)
Taqwah - Proper fear and veneration of Allah. A divine spark that enables the person to understand God.
Taurat: The old Testaments and scriptures of Mosa.
Ummah - the word means: a Nation. Usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise stated.
Umrah - (Amrah): A mini hajj. A Minor form of pilgrimage to Mecca. Unlike Hajj which can only be done on the 12th month of the Islamic year, Umrah can be performed at any time.
Wathoo (wadoo): a washing up ritual done by Muslims before each of the five daily prayers known as ablution.
Zaboor - The Psalms
Zakat - The third pillar of Islam. Alms giving, charity that is given to the poor.
Faheem Bukhatwa, my email
address is : faheemfb@gmail.com
