Masjid al-Aqsa has a rich history. It is intimately linked with
Prophetic history, not of one but numerous prophets. It was first built by the
Prophet Abraham (pbuh) years after he built the Ka‘aba with his first son
Ishmael (pbuh). Muslims have always been its true custodians despite illegal
Zionist encroachments.
Glorified by He [God] who transported His servant [Muhammad
(pbuh)] by night from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings He
has blessed, so that We may show him of Our [God’s] signs… (Al-Qur’an: 17:01).
Masjid al-Aqsa holds immense significance in Islamic religious
tradition as well as history. It is known as the first qibla of Muslims—the
direction toward which Muslims face to offer their salat (prayer) —as well as
the third holiest site in Islam. It is built on the site where the noble Messenger
(pbuh) led all the earlier Prophets in prayer when he was transported by night
from Masjid al-Haram (in Makkah) before his miraj (ascension to Heaven) to the
point referred to in the Qur’an as Sidrat al-Muntaha (53:10-16).
In contemporary history, it has become a contested place because
the Zionists claim it is built on the site where their first and second temples
originally existed. A great deal of myth is interwoven into this narrative
despite the fact that the temple was destroyed repeatedly by invading forces.
The Babylonian king Bakhtnasr (Nebuchadnezzer) attacked Jerusalem in 587 BC and
destroyed the temple (Beyetel). The Israelites were enslaved and suffered
greatly for more than 70 years.
There were several phases of rebuilding and destruction of the
temple the last being the Romans’ destruction of it in 70 CE. No trace of the
temple has ever existed. While the some hard-core Zionists are currently trying
to encroach on the Haram al-Sharif (the noble Sanctuary) and are even demanding
the right to worship there, Rabbinical law prohibits Jews from setting foot on
the Temple Mount for fear of desecrating the “holy of Holies” in Jewish
religious tradition. There is in fact a board erected near the Haram al-Sharif
that houses both the Masjid al-Aqsa as well as Dome of the Rock and numerous
madrassas (religious schools) and other smaller structures, prohibiting Jewish
trespassing of the Haram al-Sharif.
Let us first consider who built Masjid al-Aqsa: was it the
father-and-son Prophets Dawud (David pbuh)and Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon pbuh),
as claimed by the Zionists, or built even earlier? We know from the Qur’an
(2:127-128) that the father and son Prophets, Ibrahim and Ishmael (pbuh) built
the Ka‘aba in conformity with the command of God. The Ka‘aba in Makkah is the
first House of worship for God on earth. Prophet Abraham (pbuh) had settled his
first son Ishmael (pbuh) and his mother, Hajar (pbuh) there, again according to
the command of God.
Prophet Abraham (pbuh), however, did not live in Makkah; he lived
in Palestine in the place that takes its name from him: al-Khalil (Hebron). Is
it conceivable that Prophet Abraham (pbuh) would build a place of worship in
Makkah but not have a place of worship in Jerusalem that is right next to
Hebron? As the Patriarch of all the Prophets of God, Abraham (pbuh) also built
a place of worship in Jerusalem. This came to be known as Beteyel (meaning the
House of God in Hebrew).
When Ibrahim’s (pbuh) second son Is’haq (Isaac) was born and grew
up in Hebron, he would go to worship in Beteyel. Interestingly, Is’haq (pbuh)
who was also a noble Prophet of God, also prayed in the Ka‘aba in Makkah and
performed the Hajj pilgrimage there together with his father (Abraham (pbuh)
and brother (Ishmael (pbuh), again according to the commands of God. It was
Abraham (pbuh) that named Beteyel as Masjid al-Aqsa—the farthest mosque—in
deference to the Ka ‘aba, from which it was located far away to the northwest.
Yaqub (pbuh), known in the Bible as Jacob who was the son of Is’haq
(pbuh), was also a noble Prophet who opened Beteyel as a place of worship for
all those that accepted the One true God, God. Naturally in the land of
Palestine many other tribes resided. The land takes its name from the
Philistines, the people that lived there. Among the other tribes were the
Moabites and Hittites. The latter tribe was the one to which the mother of
Solomon belonged. It needs recalling that Abraham (pbuh) was born in Ur
(present-day Iraq) and was forced into exile because of the oppression and
persecution he faced at the hands of the tyrant Nimrood. After a long journey,
Abraham (pbuh) finally settled in al-Khalil (Palestine).
Prophetic history takes many turns and it is no different with the
Prophets from the lineage of Abraham (pbuh). Prophet Joseph (pbuh) [Joseph] was
greatly loved by his father Yaqub (pbuh). This created huge jealousy among his
step-brothers who plotted to kill him but finally decided to thrown him a well.
He was rescued from the well and sold into slavery ending in Egypt
where the ruler employed him. The ruler’s wife had a crush on him because
Joseph (pbuh) was a very handsome young man but God protected him from
committing sin and despite being innocent, he ended up in prison where he spent
many years. When he was finally released, the king appointed him to the
important post of the kingdom’s treasury and he became the de facto ruler of
Egypt. The story of Joseph (pbuh) is narrated in exquisite detail in the noble
Qur’an in the surah by the same name (Surah Yusuf).
Once Joseph (pbuh) had attained power in Egypt, he invited his
family—father, mothers and brothers—to live with him in Egypt. They readily
accepted the offer as narrated in the chapter on Genesis 46 in the Torah. No
one from Yaqub’s (pbuh) family was left to take care of Beteyel/Masjid al-Aqsa.
Thus, he gave charge of the masjid to the local inhabitants, the Palestinians.
The children of Yaqub (pbuh), referred to as Bani Israel in the noble Qur’an
lived in Egypt for more than 400 years. There was never a hint that they should
return to Palestine to reclaim ownership/custodianship of Masjid al-Aqsa.
Many generations later, the Bani Israel were taken as slaves by
the pharaohs and it was not until God raised Moses (pbuh) [Moses] among them
that he led them out of slavery and across the Red Sea into the Sinai
Peninsula. When God ordered them to enter Palestine, they refused, incurring
God’s wrath to wander in the desert for 40 years. During this time, Moses
(pbuh) died and God raised another Prophet, David (pbuh) who was a soldier in
the army of Saul. Because of his courage, David (pbuh) was made king and
entered Palestine to establish his kingdom there.
It was Solomon who rebuilt the temple (Masjid al-Aqsa) with the
support and help of the indigenous people, principally the Palestinians. The
father-son rule, however, lasted a total of 73 years. Thereafter, his sons
divided the kingdom and power once again slipped from their hands. A chain of
Prophets emerged among their progeny but the Bani Israel (Children of Israel)
were always argumentative and refused to abide by the teachings of the
Prophets. The Qur’an narrates that they killed many of their prophets among
them Zakariya (pbuh) as well as his son Yahya – John the Baptist (pbuh).
As mentioned earlier, the Babylonian king Bakhtnasr
(Nebuchadnezzer) laid siege to Jerusalem and took over the city and Palestine
in 587 BC. He destroyed the temple/Masjid al-Aqsa and enslaved all the people.
This story is narrated in detail in the Bible in Kings 2 Chapters 24 and 25.
The Torah also says that the Israelites were enslaved in both the Nile (Egypt)
and in the Euphrates (by the Babylonians).
The Persian King Cyrus the Great rescued the Bani Israel after
seventy years of slavery in Babylon. He also permitted them to return to
Palestine from where the Babylonians had driven them out. The Persian Empire
faced a rival in the Roman Empire and constant battles occurred between them.
In the year 70 CE, the Romans captured Jerusalem and destroyed the temple one
more time. Barely 65 years later in what is referred to as the Bar Kokhba
revolt, the Romans massacred the Bani Israel (Children of Israel) and even dug
out the foundations of the temple in the year 135 CE. By now, the Romans had
accepted Christianity as their religion and their enmity toward the Jews
intensified as killers of Prophet Isa (Jesus - pbuh).
The Romans, however, faced a constant threat from the Persians and
in the year 614 CE, the latter took control of Jerusalem from the Romans. In
Makkah where the noble Messenger (pbuh) had started his mission of propagating
Islam, the polytheists made fun of Muslims because the fire-worshipping Zoroastrians
had vanquished the Christian Romans. The Qur’an narrates this in the opening
verses of Surah al-Rum in which God says that not only the Romans but Muslims
too would be victorious within a period of less than 10 years.
Given the plight of Muslims at the time—their numbers were small
and they faced great persecution—the Makkah polytheist made great fun of the
Qur’anic verses but God’s Word came true—as it was bound to—within the
stipulated timeframe and not only the Romans defeated their Persian rivals but
the Muslims also triumphed over their Makkah foes in the Battle of Badr.
It is also pertinent to note that when Muslims migrated from
Makkah to Madinah, for the first 17 months, they faced toward Masjid al-Aqsa in
their prayer. It was during dhuhr salat (the mid-day prayer) in the second year
of the hijrah that God’s revelation about the change of qibla (direction of
prayer) from Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem to Masjid al-Haram in Makkah came.
This is narrated in the Quran (2:142-43). The mosque in Madinah where the
Prophet (pbuh) was leading the Muslims in salat is today called Masjid
Qiblatain (Masjid of the two qiblas).
Jerusalem, however, came into Muslim possession only during the
Khilafah of Umar (ra) in the year 638 CE. The Christian Patriarch, Sophronius
had insisted that he would hand over the keys of Jerusalem only to the ruler of
Muslims. The second Khalifah Umar was on a campaign in the Golan Heights and
when word reached him, he hurried to Jerusalem to take possession of the keys without
causing any bloodshed in the city.
When he entered the city, Umar located the place where the noble
Messenger (pbuh) had led all the Prophets in prayer before his ascension of
Heaven on his mi‘raj. After cleansing the place thoroughly, he led the Muslims
in prayer and a makeshift mosque was erected there. This simple structure later
developed into what is called Masjid al-Aqsa today and has been in Muslim
possession ever since.
There is also another more impressive structure that emerged on
the Haram al-Sharif. This is called the Dome of the Rock and has a huge gold
dome. The Ummayyad ruler Abdul Malik built this about 50 years later over the
rock where the Heavenly stead, the Buraq was tethered when the Prophet (pbuh)
led the other Prophets in prayer. After mounting the Buraq that started to
ascend, the rock followed. The Angel Gabriel asked the noble Messenger (pbuh)
to order the rock from rising.
The noble Messenger (pbuh) put his foot on the rock ordering it to
stop. To this day, there is a footprint on the rock and it remains suspended
except for very thin metal rods underneath it. This is the place where the Dome
of the Rock Mosque exists.
The Muslims lost Masjid al-Aqsa and Jerusalem to the Crusaders in
the year 1099 CE. Muslim rulers surrounding Palestine had become corrupt, much
like the rulers today and had lost the will to defend Islam or Muslims. It was
not until another 88 years before Salahuddin Ayyubi (Saladin) liberated Masjid
al-Aqsa and Jerusalem from the clutches of the Crusaders.
Unfortunately the decline in Muslim rule and corruption in their
ranks has led to the loss of Masjid al-Aqsa one more time. It occurred in
several phases. When the Ottoman Empire was defeated and dismembered, the
British colonialists took control of Palestine and in typical colonial style
started to disburse Muslim lands to others. The Europeans had never tolerated
the Jews in their midst; the frequent pogroms against them being a constant
reminder of the intolerance of the Europeans. In 1918, when Britain occupied
Palestine, they conspired to hand it over to the Jews—actually the Zionists —
as a permanent homeland totally ignoring the rights of the indigenous
Palestinian people. At the time the Zionist state was created in Palestine in
1948, more than 60 percent of Palestinian land was handed over to the Zionists.
The rest was grabbed by the Zionists in 1967 together with East Jerusalem that
houses the Masjid al-Aqsa as well as the Dome of the Rock.
That is where the situation stands today: Masjid al-Aqsa, indeed
the entire Haram al-Sharif is under Zionist occupation and threat of
destruction. Even while Muslims throughout their history provided sanctuary to
the Jewish people after they suffered persecution elsewhere, the Zionists have
turned out to be the worst kinds of oppressors in history. They act with
impunity and are extremely hostile toward the indigenous Palestinian people.
Heavily armed, they shoot at the slightest pretext and have no regard for
Palestinian life.
The corrupt Muslim rulers are totally subservient to the
imperialists and Zionists. Reposing hope in them to rescue the Muslims is a
waste of time. It would require a figure like Salahuddin Ayyubi to rise among
the Muslims to liberate Masjid al-Aqsa and Palestine from another group of
Crusaders, this time of the Zionist variety.
Until then, Muslims can pray and prepare for that day. A good
starting point would be to become better informed about their history that seems
to have been largely forgotten.
