Visiting Aqsa

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English Monograph Series Book No.

WHY SHOULDMUSLIMS VISIT

AL-MASJID

AL-AQSA?


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Glory be to Him Who carried His servantby night from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to

Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa; the environs of whichWe have blessed, that We might show

him some of Our signs. Indeed He is theHearing, the Seeing.

Quran,Al-Isra, :


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BOOKS IN THE SERIES

. The Amman Message

. Forty Hadith on Divine Mercy

. Jihad and the Islamic Law of War

. A Common Word Between Us and You

. Body Count

. The Holy Quran and the Environment

. Address to H. H. Pope Benedict XVI

. Keys to Jerusalem

. Islam, Christianity and the Environment

. The First UN World Interfaith Harmony Week

. Islam and Peace

. Reason and Rationality in the Quran

. The Concept of Faith in Islam

. Warfare in the Quran

. Address to the Jordanian Scholars Association

. On the Israeli Demand for Recognition of a Jewish State

. Why Should Muslims Visit Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa?


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English Monograph Series

17

WHY SHOULDMUSLIMS VISIT

AL-MASJID

AL-AQSA?


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English Monograph Series No.

Why Should Muslims Visit Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa?

: ----

The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought Sa'ed Bino Road, Dabuq

Amman ,

www.rissc.jo/

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any

means, electronic or mechanic, including photocopying or recording or by any information

storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Views expressed in the Essay Series do not necessarily reflect those of or its advisoryboard.

Typeset by Besim Bruncaj

Set in Sabon and Ehrhardt

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan National Library

//


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Contents

|

: --? |

: - - |

. Tunnelling and excavations |

. Ariel Sharon's year strategy to Judaize Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, violate its sanctity and allocate parts of it for Jewishworship |

. Isolating and Judaizing Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa's history andits environs and eradicating the Muslim character of thearea |

. Obstructing the work of the Awqaf and the HashemiteRestoration Projects |

. Intense settler presence and activity and calls for the divi-

sion of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa | . Establishing so-called temple museums and facilities

around Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa |

. Beyond the Magharbeh Gate Pathway: the comprehensiveplan to remove all Islamic relics from the Buraq Plaza (re-ferred to by Israelis as the Wailing Wall Plaza) |

. The Separation Wall and preventing Jerusalemites and the Arabs from reaching Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa |

. Isolation of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa aids in establishing the Jew-ish narrative as truth over the Muslim narrative |


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Hudaybiyah) before both cities witnessed Muslim conquests?The Prophet Muhammad () said:

Whosoever wants to behold a piece of Paradise, let himbehold Bayt Al-Maqdis.

The Prophet () also said:

Whosoever performs Ihram for Hajj or Umrah fromAl-Masjid Al-Aqsa and then proceeds to Al-Masjid Al-

Haram, their past and future sins will be forgiven, or theywill be entered into Paradise.

Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa never stopped, even when Je-rusalem was under the Crusaders. No scholars, including ibnTaymiyyah and Al-Ghazali, ever described these visits as nor-malization with, or surrender to, Crusader rule.

Warding off harm: Those who forbid visiting Jerusalem baseit on the jurisprudential principle that warding off harm takesprecedence over causing benefit. They claim that the harm inthis instance is that visiting Jerusalem is normalization withthe occupation authority. Normalization is a political term thatmeans to establish normal relations with the other. It mustbe asked: Is normalization the true purpose and result of visit-

ing Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa?Not visiting Jerusalem serves those who seek to eradicate the

Holy City's Islamic identity and history and those who aim toisolate the Jerusalemites.

Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is a religious duty for thosewho are able to visit it, particularly for Muslim scholars andintellectuals.

Is visiting someone who is jailed normalization with thejailor? Imagine: a band of usurpers comes and throws yourmother in jail and visiting her can only be done through them,


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Introduction: Why Should Muslims Visit Al-Masjid

Al-Aqsa*?

T on some of the practical, politi-cal and religious reasons why all Muslims, and not onlyPalestinian Muslims, should rally around Al-Haram

Al-Sharif. Muslims should visit Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in order toempower the steadfast and stalwart Jerusalemites who struggleto remain in the Holy City; so that they may know that re-sponsibility for the mosque does not rest only with them, but

with the worlds . billion Muslims who can no longer standto be separated from one of Islams three holiest sites whilethey await a political initiative here or an international orArab or Islamic condemnation there. The halls of the UnitedNations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference havewitnessed countless denunciations and numerous plans for

* Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, Al-Haram Al-Shari and Bayt Al-Maqdis are synonyms (although insome instances Bayt Al-Maqdis also means Jerusalem). Tey reer to the entirety o the holy

Islamic site located in the ar south-eastern corner o the walled Old City o Jerusalem. Tis

site constitutes the entire esplanade including its walls and its environs. Tis includes the

Dome o the Rock Mosque, the Qibali Mosque, the Marwani Mosque, Abraham's Cave, un-

derneath the Dome o the Rock, the Old Aqsa, the Khanthaniyah School, the Buraq Mosque,

the plazas o the esplanade, its gates, hallways, roads, cisterns, aqueducts and aquiers, inner

and outer prayer areas and structures both above and below the holy site. Te environs o the

Mosque include the Magharbeh Gate Pathway and the Buraq Plaza. Above the ground andwithin the walls o the esplanade Al-Haram Al-Shari is about dunums (, m).

Te subterranean and aboveground spaces, their perimeters and environs are an indivisible

part o Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa which is an Islamic waq unutterably holy to . billion Muslims

worldwide.

In the Name of God,

the Compassionate, the Merciful

Peace and Prayers be Upon the Seal of the Prophets,

Muhammad and his Kin


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supporting the Palestinians. Media archives are inundatedwith photographs and articles that reveal the violations in thevicinity of Al-Haram Al-Sharif and its plazas. The drawers of

Jewish organizations are filled to the brim with reports thatspeak of their accomplishments on the ground and their ambi-tions to establish the planned Third Temple in the place ofone of Islams three holiest sites, counting on the occupationssuccess at isolating the Holy City from its human, spiritual andeconomic dimensions.

This campaign to visit Jerusalem is a means to achieve the

following three goals: . Resisting the Judaization of Al-MasjidAl-Aqsa; . Encouraging the sons and daughters of the MuslimUmmah to exert more effort to save Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa; .Countering the Israeli claim that it allows freedom of worshipand access to holy places in Jerusalem to the followers of thethree Abrahamic religions.

Following are the most important reasons that should

motivate Muslims the world over to visit Al-Masjid Al-Aqsaand to stand by their beleaguered brethren, the Jerusalemites,by saturating Al-Masjid Al-Aqsas halls and plazas with theirpresence and revitalizing the markets and shops of Jerusalemwith worshipers and pilgrims.


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First: Accelerated Violations and Judaization of Al-

Masjid Al-Aqsa

. Tunnelling and excavations: As of the year , there are tunnels that threaten to penetrate the walls of the Al-HaramAl-Sharif. Some have been converted into synagogues withTalmudic names that imply to the visitor that they are part ofthe so-called Jewish temple. The Israeli Antiquities Authority() and the settler organizations continue their clandestinecampaign to eat away at Al-Haram Al-Sharif via more than

excavation sites where the long and interconnected tun-nels are being hollowed and constructed under and aroundAl-Masjid Al-Aqsa. Collectively, these tunnels reach a length ofover , meters. Even worse, since the Israeli occupa-tion has declared that some of these tunnels and excavations,which have been clandestine since , are now complete.These declarations have been made in the media, in touristic

publications and in official reports submitted to scientific con-gregations and to the World Heritage Centre. Further-more, and even more insidious, is the occupations semi-officialadmission that this tunneling has reached the foundations ofAl-Masjid Al-Aqsa, particularly in the south-western cornerof Al-Haram Al-Sharif. The occupation has made it a point topublicize alleged archaeological findings as relics of the first

and second temple periods. This all means that the Islamicarchaeological relics around Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa are allowed tofall into decrepitude until Al-Haram Al-Sharif is left to standalone like some anomalous Muslim museum amidst a forest ofarchaeological remains that all tell a Jewish narrative.

. Ariel Sharons year strategy to Judaize Al-Masjid Al-

Aqsa, violate its sanctity and allocate parts of it for Jewishworship: In spite of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa Uprising (Intifada)and the Arabs boycotting Israel more intensely than any time


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between the period , this strategy has succeededin preventing Palestinian Muslims from reaching Al-MasjidAl-Aqsa. Sharons plan also led to over ,, acts of

assault and aggression against Al-Haram Al-Sharif up until thetime of this writing (). This Judaizing strategy has also ledover thousand settlers and almost million non-Muslimtourists to enter Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa without permission orcoordination with the Muslim Awqaf since the year . Thesettlers continue to support Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkatsambition to have an annual number of million tourists visit-

ing Jerusalem and listening to Jewish tour guides who referto Al-Haram Al-Sharif as the Jewish temple. The JerusalemMunicipality also coordinates with hundreds of Jewish orga-nizations around the world in order to fulfill this goal. Sincethe year , tens of settler organizations, supported by theoccupations official institutions, have established tens of mu-seums as part of the Judaization campaign that aims to build

a Jewish temple in place of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.

Figure : lef: One o many theories locating o the so-called Jewish

temple where the Dome o the Rock stands; centre: an envisaged rec-

reation o the so-called Jewish temple; right: a projected image o the

planned Tird emple, models o which are sold in touristic centres

and shops to gradually create acceptance in peoples minds that theTird emple should be built in place o Al-Haram Al-Shari.


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. Isolating and Judaizing Al-Masjid Al-Aqsas history and itsenvirons and obliterating the Muslim character of the area:Itis becoming increasingly clear that the current year, (), is

witnessing an escalation in the Israeli occupations Judaizingactivities on the ground. It has shifted from planning modeto execution mode while minimizing loss of time as much aspossible. This is due to the occupations conviction that timeis running out under the recent changes in the Arab and Is-lamic worlds due to the Muslim Arab Spring. During ,over , settlers forced their way into Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa to

perform religious rituals. Al-Haram Al-Sharif also witnesseda campaign of heavy Israeli military presence on a daily basisduring that year; in addition to unprecedented levels of pres-sure exerted on Muslims who flock to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa toworship and pray. The occupation authorities also filled Al-Haram Al-Sharif with surveillance cameras to monitor andintimidate each and every Muslim worshipper who enters

Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, while simultaneously depriving around million Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Stripfrom reaching Jerusalem and Al-Haram Al-Sharif. It is worthmentioning here that the report of the Palestinian LiberationOrganizations Negotiations Affairs Department which esti-mates that as of , the occupation authorities have pushedout over , Palestinians from Jerusalem and have razed

over , homes. Moreover, the Separation Wall continues toremove the homes of over thousand Arab inhabitants fromthe perimeters of the Holy City of Jerusalem.

. Obstructing the work of the Awqaf and the HashemiteRestoration Projects:The Israeli occupation has exhibited un-precedented interference in the Awqaf Authoritys jurisdiction

in Jerusalem. It has prevented it from executing the necessaryHashemite restoration and maintenance projects needed inover sites inside Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including obstruct-


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ing the necessary restoration work needed in the MarwaniMosque, the eastern and southern walls of the compound andrepairing tiles. These obstructions are attempts to subjugate

Al-Haram Al-Sharif to the occupation authoritys laws (theIsraeli Antiquities Authority and the Jerusalem Municipality);as if Al-Haram Al-Sharif were just an ordinary building forwhich they may one day issue a demolition order under thepretext that it is missing a reconstruction or building permit.

. Intense settler presence and activity and calls for the divi-

sion of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa: In tandem with the obstructionof the Awqaf Administrations work, the activities of Jewishorganizations calling for the building of a Jewish temple inplace of part, or all, of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa has seen a signifi-cant increase recently. These organizations see the almost dailyJewish presence in Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and the performanceof Jewish prayers and rituals in the Al-Haram Al-Sharif as a

first step in the execution of the plan to divide Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa between Muslims and Jews; exactly as has been donein Hebron in the Ibrahimi Mosque (referred to by Israelis asthe Cave of the Patriarchs). They also consider this an on theground start to establish a Jewish temple over Al-Haram Al-Sharif. These organizations also gamble on the silence of theMuslim World which has forgotten that the Ibrahimi Mosque

was solely a mosque until early and today has become asynagogue for the most part and no one can stop the settlersor the Israeli army from raising the flag of the occupying stateover the mosque.

. Establishing so-called temple museums and facilitiesaround Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa:The past decade has witnessed the

establishment of tens of museums around Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa,referred to as facilities of the so-called nd and rd Jewishtemples.Museums such as these have been established in


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the Umayyad Palaces south of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, beneaththe Buraq Plaza, at the Sharaf Neighbourhood, the WesternWall Tunnels, Bab Al-Amoud (Solomons Cave), Silwan (AinSilwan), Bab Al-Khalil, Bab Al-Nabi Dawood, the ChristianQuarter, Bab Al-Ghawanmeh, Bab Hittah, the Golden Gate andmany other locations around Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Moreover,new Jewish settlements have been established in the environs

of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa such as the Har Hatzofim settlement inRas Al-Amoud and settlements on the Mount of Olives. TheIsraeli occupation has also Judaized Islamic and Arab sitesand relics under the guise of restoration projects which havechanged inscriptions in the historic Islamic wall of Jerusalem.

. Beyond the Magharbeh Gate Pathway:the comprehensive

plan to remove all Islamic relics from the Buraq Plaza (referredto by Israelis as the Wailing/Western Wall Plaza): Since ,and particularly in , the most controversial issue in the

Figure : New synagogues above and below the ground: right: nearBab Al-Silsilah, the Ohel Yitzhak Synagogue, opened in , has two

above ground floors; through it visitors can go into the Western Wall

unnels where settlers plan to open the largest underground syna-

gogue in the world along the western wall o Al-Haram Al-Shari; lef:

Umayyad palaces that might be transormed into synagogues along the

southern wall o Al-Haram Al-Shari.


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international media regarding Jerusalem has been the plan tofinalize the demolition of the Magharbeh Gate Pathway andreplace it with a bridge that leads into Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. For

the Israelis, the Magharbeh Gate Pathway is a political andreligious tool to keep international observers and the MuslimWorld busy while the work continues on the tunnels in thevicinity of Al-Haram Al-Sharif. The occupation authorities arerushing to turn these tunnels into Jewish-themed parks thatencircle Al-Haram Al-Sharif from all four sides. The year has witnessed the building of settlements and centres that aim

to Judaize Jerusalem. These settlements and centres are in thepreliminary, semi-final and final stages and are being builtunder the guise of touristic and trade centres and facilitateaccess to the Buraq Plaza for Jews and tourists. The BuraqPlaza itself has been undergoing an underground hollowingprocess in an area that is presumed to exceed meters.The process has obliterated all traces of Roman and Muslim

history without any oversight or documentation.

Figure :ar right: Te Old City o Jerusalem beore the destruction o the Maghar-

beh Neighbourhood in . Afer its destruction, the Buraq Plazas dimensions

were expanded rom meters wide and meters high, to meters wide and meters high. Te plan to expand the Buraq Plaza aims to remove the remain-

ing relics o the Magharbeh Neighbourhood and to build a transportation station,

elevators and museums underneath the Buraq Plaza and at the expense o historic

relics, including Muslim relics.


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. The Separation Wall and pre-venting Jerusalemites and the Arabs from reaching Al-Masjid

Al-Aqsa: Jerusalemites and the Arabs expend great efforttrying to be human shields that fillthe vacuum and defend Al-MasjidAl-Aqsa through various projectsthat aim to fill it with worshipersand enhance the Muslim Ummahs

strong bond with their holy site

.Although all these efforts are valu-able and support the HashemiteRestoration and patronage ofAl-Masjid Al-Aqsa, Jerusalemites,the Arabs and the JerusalemAwqaf Administration alone can-

not contend with the Judaizationcampaign and the religious tour-ism from all over the world thatsupport and finance the buildingof synagogues and Talmudicschools in Jerusalem.

. Isolation of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa aids in establishing theJewish narrative as truth over the Muslim narrative:Most ofthe people who have visited Jerusalem since are non-Muslims who listen only to the Jewish narrative about Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem. Some observers believe thatthis isolation of the Holy City and the dissemination of theJewish narrative about Jerusalem and the history of Al-Masjid

Al-Aqsa pose more of a threat to Al-Haram Al-Sharif thandemolishing one of its walls or having a room or window orgate confiscated. This is because the narrative says that all ofJerusalem is a Jewish city, and that the entirety of Al-Haram

Figure : top: the tunnels that sur-

round Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and eat

away at its edges. bottom: Te Sepa-

ration Wall that isolates Jerusalem.


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Al-Sharif is a Jewish temple and is in fact Solomons Temple.What is even worse is that some tourist guides and proponentsof the Jewish narrative tell tourists and foreign researchers that

the Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab built Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa inconsultation with Jews who lived in Jerusalem, and that thePact of Omar, which forbids Jews from entering Jerusalem,was actually the work of Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusa-lem and not Omar ibn Al-Khattab. Moreover, they also claimthat the architecture and ornamentation of the Noble Domeof the Rock is in fact Jewish. Some Jewish guides and authors

do not shy away from rewriting history when they claim thatSalaheddine Al-Ayyoubi was failed by the Arabs and Muslimsand was championed by the Jews to remove the Crusadersfrom Jerusalem and allow Jews to re-enter the Holy City.

The assault on the Muslim history of Jerusalem runs so deepthat some Jews even claim that some Umayyad and MamlukCaliphs granted the Jews leave to place oil in the lamps of Al-

Masjid Al-Aqsa and to perform religious rituals at Al-HaramAl-Sharifs western and eastern walls. Some Jewish historiansclaim that the stones of the Old Aqsa Mosque, the MarwaniMosque, the Buraq Mosque and the plazas of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa are actually the stones of the so-called second temple.Anyone wishing to hear such tales need only visit one of thetens of educational museums in the Old City where visitors

can play with scale models that allow them to recreate a purelyJewish Temple Mount by removing any and all Islamicbuildings from the surface of the compound and replacingthem with models of the planned third temple.

Some extreme organizations that are dedicated to destroy-ing Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and replacing it with a Jewish templealso select pictures of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa from the late Otto-

man secular Turanian period that show the compound withweeds growing untended. They claim that Al-Masjid Al-Aqsawas neglected before Jews began to compete with Muslims


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over it in the early twenties of the last century. They also pushpictures showing children from the Old City playing footballin the compound; as if to imply that Arabs do not appreciate

the holiness of Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Tour guides inevitably asktourists: Do you believe that all dunums of the compoundcan be a mosque when Jerusalem has never been the capital ofa single Muslim state in history? They also ask: Have youever seen Islamic architecture anywhere in the Muslim Worldwhere a mosque has been built with huge Roman stones over meters long and two meters high, weighing tons? Is-

lam calls for economy and austerity; what we see here are thestones of elaborate castles or an extravagant temple! The tourguide then naturally concludes that: This is incontrovertibleevidence that these stones are the stones of the Jewish Templebuilt by King Herod who had a Jewish mother and a Nabateanfather and lived in the age of the Romans!

Some Jewish writers and historians like Professor Morde-

chai Kedar continue to falsify Islamic history by saying thatAl-Masjid Al-Aqsa that is mentioned in the Holy Quran isin Khaybar in the Arab Peninsula and not in Jerusalem. Theyclaim that the proof for this is that Jerusalem is mentionedonly once in the Holy Quran while it is mentioned over times in the Bible. These historians impertinence does noteven stop at Jesus Christ (); for it is in the New Testa-

ment that Jerusalem is mentioned over times and not theOld Testament (in which it is not mentioned even once). Thisdialectic is a kind of trickery that is used against Christians towhom the Holy Bible is a single unit made up of both the Oldand New Testaments. It is worth mentioning here that Jewsdo not believe in the Bible or that Jesus Christ (), whomthey crucified, was a Prophet. Furthermore, these historians

completely ignore the fact that an entire chapter (surah) of theHoly Quran was revealed about Jerusalem and its environswhich God Himself blessed.


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The Israeli process of monopolizing the narrative aboutJerusalem to the world is so pervasive that some Muslims inEurope and America have become convinced of it. They have

fallen for the campaign that says that the rebuilding of theso-called Jewish temple in place of Al-Haram Al-Sharif will befollowed by the return of the Messiah which will bring on theRapture.


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Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa:

Between Religious Duty and Normalization

. Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa as described in the Holy Quranand the Sunnah:God says in the Holy Quran:

Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by night fromthe Sacred Mosque to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa; the envi-

rons of which We have blessed, that We might show himsome of Our signs. Indeed He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

(Al-Isra: :)

And God says:

In houses [whose status] God has allowed to be raised,and wherein His Name is remembered, therein [they]

make glorifications to Him in the mornings and the eve-

nings (Al-Nur, :)

In the verse from Al-Nur, houses means mosques, includ-ing Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Al-Hasan bin Abu Al-Hasan said:What is meant here is the Mosque of Jerusalem (Bayt Al-Maqdis) and God Almighty called it buyutan (houses).Scholars have studied many Quranic verses that do not men-

tion Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa by name but the Tafsirs of the HolyQuran and books on the fadail of the Holy Quran mentionthat the mosque meant in many of these verses is Al-MasjidAl-Aqsa. In a Hadith narrated upon the authority of Anasibn Malik (May Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger ofAllah () said:

I mounted the Buraq that was sent to me until I arrivedat Bayt Al-Maqdis. I tied the Buraq to the ring that theProphets use and I entered the Mosque. I prayed two


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rakahs and then I ascended to the heavens above. (Nar-rated by Muslim).

In a Hadith narrated upon the authority of Sufyan, onthe authority of Al-Zuhri, on the authority of Said, on theauthority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with themall), the Prophet Muhammad () said: Do not set out forpilgrimage except to three mosques; Al-Masjid Al-Haram [inMecca], Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem] and my Mosque [inMadinah]. (Narrated by Bukhari, and Muslim, ).

In a Hadith narrated upon the authority of Dhumrah binRabeeah, on the authority of Uthman bin Ataa, on the au-thority of Abu Umran, on the authority of Thi Al-Asabe Al-Tamimi Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them all) whoasked the Prophet (): If we are tested to live after yourdeath, where do you command us to situate? The Prophet() said: Bayt Al-Maqdis, perhaps you will have offspring

who will commit themselves to that mosque and visit it.(Narrated by Imam Ahmad and Al-Tabarani).

In a Hadith narrated upon the authority of Abu Al-Dardaa,the Prophet Muhammad () said:

A prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram [in Mecca] is worth prayers elsewhere, and a prayer in my Mosque [in Madi-

nah] is worth , prayers elsewhere, and a prayer inAl-Masjid Al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem] is worth prayerselsewhere(it is related in some Hadiths as ,prayers).

It is narrated upon the authority of Maymuna bint Sad also known as Maymuna bint Saeed that she asked theProphet Muhammad (): O Messenger of God, inform

us about Bayt Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). The Prophet ()said: It is the land of gathering, you must visit it for prayer; aprayer in it is worth a thousand prayers elsewhere. She further


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asked: And if one cannot visit it? The Prophet said: Thengift it with oil to light its lamps; it will be as if you have visitedit. Indeed if one cannot visit it, one must send oil to light it.

In another narration of the Prophets () Hadith narratedon the authority of Maymuna, the Prophet said: You mustvisit it for prayer. She further asked: What if the Romansare in it? The Prophet () said: If you cannot, then giftit with oil to light its lamps. In another narration of theHadith, Maymonah said that the Prophet ) said: Visitthe Mosque and pray in it. She then asked: O Messenger of

Allah, how do we do so if the Romans are there? He replied:If you cannot do so, then send oil to light its lamps.

It is narrated upon the authority of Anas bin Malek that theProphet () said:

He who visits Bayt Al-Maqdis for the sake of Allah willbe granted by the Almighty the reward of a thousand

martyrs. And he who visits a scholar has the same rewardas visiting Bayt Al-Maqdis. And he who visits Bayt Al-Maqdis for the sake of Allah will be kept from hellfire bythe Almighty.

Abu Dhar narrated that: We were discussing before theMessenger of God which is better, the Mosque of the Prophet

or Bayt Al-Maqdis? The Messenger of God () then said:

One prayer in my mosque is better than four prayers; itis a good place for prayer. Soon there will be a time whenif a man has a tiny spot of land from which he can seeBayt Al-Maqdis, that will be better for him than the wholeworld.

Ibn Umamah Al-Bahili narrated that the Prophet ()said:


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A group of my Ummah will remain righteous, invincibleto their enemies, unharmed by those who are against themuntil doomsday. The Prophet () was then asked:

And where are those people? The Prophet () said:In Bayt Al-Maqdis and itsenvirons.

The Prophet () also said: Whosoever wants to behold apiece of Paradise, let him behold Jerusalem (Bayt Al-Maqdis).

It is narrated on the authority of Um Salamah, wife of theProphet () that she heard the Prophet say:

Whosoever performs Ihram for Hajj or Umrah from Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem] and then proceeds to Al-Masjid Al-Haram [in Mecca], their past and future sinswill be forgiven, or they will be entered into Paradise.

Abdullah ibn Omar said: Bayt Al-Maqdis was built and

inhabited by prophets; each and every inch has been prostratedupon by a prophet or an angel.

. Al-Israa wal Miraaj (The Prophet Muhammads NocturnalJourney):We mentioned the Prophet Muhammads miracu-lous night journey as it is explained in the Holy Quran andthe Sunnah. It was during this event that the Prophet ()

prayed with all the prophets as Imam and this was a symbolof his receiving prophethood. The Prophet Muhammad thenascended to the heavens and reached Sidrat Al-Muntaha (thelote-tree of the utmost boundary); a place not even the Arch-angel Gabriel was able to reach.

. The Treaty (or Sulh) of Hudaybiyah in order to reach Mecca:

Ibn Ishaq narrates in his biography of the Prophet ():

... The Prophet ()set out with those who were with


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him of the emigrants (muhajirun), the helpers (ansar)andthose Arabs who followed him. He performed IhramforUmrah so that people would be assured that he had not

come for war; only to visit the Inviolable House and toglorify its sanctity.

Hence we see in both the Holy Quran, and the ProphetMuhammads Sunnah that visiting Mecca has no exceptionsor caveats. We see this in the instance of the Prophet Muham-mad () visiting Mecca (under the Treaty of Hudaybiyah)

when it was under the idolaters and when the Kabah wassurrounded by idols. Indeed the Prophet () circumambu-lated the Kabah and went back and forth between Al-Safa andAl-Marwah out of love and longing for the Inviolable House inMecca and in the hope that it would one day be free.

As for Omar ibn Al-Khattabs position in regards to theTreaty of Hudaybiyah, ibn Hisham relates the following ac-

count from Ibn Ishaq:

When all was ready and nothing but the writing remained,Omar ibn Al-Khattab asked Abu Bakr: O Abu Bakr, is henot the Prophet of God? Abu Bakr replied: Indeed heis. Omar asked: Are we not Muslims? Abu Bakr re-plied: Indeed we are. Omar asked: Are they not idola-

tors? Abut Bakr replied: Indeed they are. Omar asked:Then why should we surrender in a matter relating toour faith and bear the brunt of humiliation? Abu Bakrsaid: Omar! Do not overstep! I bear witness that he isthe Prophet of God! Omar said: And I bear witness thathe is the Prophet of God. Then the Prophet () cameand Omar asked him: Are you not the Prophet of God?

The Prophet replied: Indeed I am. Omar asked: Arewe not Muslims? The Prophet replied: Indeed we are.Omar asked: Are they not idolators? The Prophet re-


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plied: Indeed they are. Omar asked: Then why shouldwe surrender in a matter relating to our faith and bear thebrunt of humiliation? The Prophet replied: I am Allahs

slave and messenger and I will not disobey Him and Hewill not lead me astray. It was later related that Omarsaid: From that day till this I offer charity and I fast andpray to rid myself of the blame I acquired speaking thus.

. The Conquest of Jerusalem: The Caliph Omar entered Je-rusalem while it was under the Byzantines and none of the

Companions objected to this.. Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa under Crusader rule:In Volume of A History of the Crusades, Steven Runciman relates thatin :

It was with relief that Frederick turned aside from his

work to visit the Moslem shrines. The Sultan had tactfullyordered the Muezzin at al-Aqsa not to make the call toprayer while the Christian sovereign was in the city. ButFrederick protested. The Moslems must not change theircustoms because of him. Besides, he said he had cometo Jerusalem in order to hear the Muezzins call throughthe night. As he entered the holy area of the Haram as-

Sharif he noticed a Christian cleric following behind. Heat once himself rudely ejected him, and gave orders thatany Christian priest that crossed its threshold withoutpermission from the Moslems should be put to death.

Thus, it is clear that visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa neverwitnessed a period of interruption even while it was under

the rule of the Crusaders. No one described these visits asnormalization or surrender to Crusader rule.It is for certainthat some visits to Jerusalem by Muslim scholars took place


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Third: Opinions of Contemporary

Muslim Scholars and Officials Regarding

Visiting Jerusalem While it is Under Occupation

. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas:On th February,, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called upon allMuslims to flock to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and support it andrevitalize it by filling it with worshipers and pilgrims.

. Palestinian Minister of Awqaf Mahmoud Al-Habash:TheMinister has stated that visiting Jerusalem is a religious dutyand a political necessity for both Muslims and Christians. Hefurther stated that visiting the Holy City while it is under oc-cupation is in the same vein as the Prophet Muhammad ()visiting Al-Masjid Al-Haram after the Treaty of Hudaybiyahwhile it was under the rule of the idolators.

. Head of the Hashemite Restoration Committee EngineerRaef Najem:The Head of the Hashemite Restoration Com-mittee said that everyone who enters Jerusalem will need anIsraeli visa; but those who enter Jerusalem intend to offermaterial and moral support to the Arab Jerusalemites throughtrade and paying for lodging etc., not to mention praying

at Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and perhaps offering assistance to theimpoverished families in the Holy City. Engineer Najem reiter-ated that deeds are judged by intention and cited the Hadith:Actions are defined by their intentions (Sahih Bukhari).

. Head of the Jerusalem File in the P.L.O. Ahmad Qurei:Qurei said:

Our brethren in Jerusalem are happy that the Mufti ofEgypt visited Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. I say to everyone who


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sees the visit under Israeli occupation as normalizationthat Jerusalem will not be liberated by boycotting it andits chains will not be broken by turning our backs on it.

In a statement to the Egyptian Ahram newspaper Qurei addedthat simplifying the issue of Jerusalem to a question of whetheror not it should be visited, or whether or not ones passportshould be stamped with an Israeli visa or fretting that visitingJerusalem is an act of normalization are all matters that do notserve the greater good of the Holy City.

. Head of the International Centre for Jerusalem Dr. HasanKhater: Dr. Khater said that the fatwa (edict) prohibiting visit-ing Jerusalem has served the occupation and facilitated manyof its projects and plans and has indeed harmed Jerusalemgreatly.

. Statement issued by of the Balkans scholars on visitingthe Holy City of Jerusalem:

The undersigned scholars and muftis see no reason whysuch visits should not take place. Indeed they see thatsuch visits cause benefit to the Muslim Ummah in termsof rallying around Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and supporting the

Palestinian cause and keeping it alive in the hearts andminds of the youth of the Ummah; particularly in theface of accelerated Zionist efforts to obliterate the Islamicidentity of Jerusalem and Judaize the Holy City. The un-dersigned also approve and celebrate the establishmentof the Integral Chair for the Study of Imam Al-GhazalisWork which was established in Jerusalem at Al-Masjid Al-

Aqsa under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah ibn Al-Hussein. This waqf will lend Islamic scholarly andspiritual support to the steadfast protectors of Jerusalem.Issued in Sarajevo on the nd of April, .


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. Al-Habib Ali Al-Jifris statement regarding his visit to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa:

In accordance with the Prophet Muhammads Hadith:Do not set out for pilgrimage except to three mosques;Al-Masjid Al-Haram [in Mecca], Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa [inJerusalem] and my Mosque [in Madinah], and due tolonging for the first Qiblah (direction of prayer) and theplace where the Prophet () experienced his miracu-lous Isra, and in response to the Mufti of Jerusalem and

Palestine Sheikh Muhammad Husseins invitation to allMuslims to visit Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and rally around itand protect its cause and support the steadfast Jerusalem-ites who stand in the face of Zionist violations and plansto Judaize Jerusalem and obliterate its Islamic and Arabidentity, I have consulted with distinguished scholars ofthe Ummah and asked the Almighty for guidance whether

or not to set out for pilgrimage to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. Mybreast was expanded at the prospect and the pilgrimagewas facilitated on Wednesday, the th of April, . Iask the Almighty for a speedy liberation of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, our beleaguered holy sites and the land of belovedPalestine; and I ask the Almighty to awaken our Ummahfrom its slumber and to ease the burdens of all Muslims

....

. Mufti of Syria Sheikh Muhammad Saeed Ramadan Al-Buti(in a Friday sermon on th April, ):

Muslims visited Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa while it was under

the rule of the Crusaders and they never considered theirpilgrimage to be recognition of the Crusaders or their as-sumed rights. Indeed those Muslims saw their visits toAl-Masjid Al-Aqsa as a challenge to the Crusaders pres-


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ence and a continuation and a renewal of their covenantwith the Almighty to repel that aggression ... It is by GodsGrace that I searched and found no Imam in history and

no Companion of the Prophet () who severed ties orstopped visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa while Jerusalem wasunder the Romans.

. Egyptian Minister of Awqaf Dr. Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq(Asharq Alawsat Newspaper, th August, ):

Jerusalem is primarily an Islamic issue and concerns .billion Muslims the world over. We have sublimated it anddealt with it incorrectly as a Palestinian issue. The invita-tion to visit Jerusalem stems from concern to emphasizethe rights of Muslims in Jerusalem and the necessity ofopposing the Judaization of Jerusalem. It is not, as some

have suggested, free normalization.

. The late Sheikh of the Azhar His Eminence Sheikh Mu-hammad Saeed Al-Tantawi (Asharq Alawsat Newspaper, thJanuary, ):

Our creed demands that we maintain contact and com-munion with our brethren the Arabs of Palestine and Je-rusalem and to nourish ourselves spiritually through con-nection to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and support of the steadfastJerusalemites. We must also maintain our rights in theseholy sites and not leave the matter only to the steadfastPalestinians.


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Fourth: Visiting Jerusalem: Between Causing Benefit

and Warding off Harm

Warding off harm:Those who forbid visiting Jerusalem base iton the jurisprudential principle that warding off harm takesprecedence over causing benefit. They claim that the harm inthis instance is that visiting Jerusalem is normalization withthe occupation authority. Normalization is a political term thatmeans to establish normal relations with the occupier. Itmust be asked: Is normalization the true purpose and result

of visiting Jerusalem? Thus, any such statements forbiddingthe visiting of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa are political and should notbe given a religious dimension that does nothing but harmMuslims; indeed these statements cause harm. The call not tovisit Jerusalem serves those who seek to strip the Holy City ofits Islamic history and who wish to isolate the Jerusalemitesfrom their Arab and Islamic identity; it is a free service to Ju-

daization plans and false narratives about Al-Masjid Al-Aqsanever being the central issue for Muslims after God changedthe Qiblah (direction of prayer) from Jerusalem to Mecca.

Causing benefit: Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is first: a religiousduty; second: a way of cementing our connection to our holysites and third: a way of keeping us aware of the plots to destroy

and remove our holy sites from existence. Visiting Jerusalemis also a way of supporting the steadfast Jerusalemites as theywithstand the harm they face at the hands of the occupation;and a way for them to know that they are not alone in thestruggle to maintain the Holy Citys authentic identity.

Visiting Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is a duty for anyone who is able:

Visiting the Holy City is a religious duty for anyone who isable, particularly Muslim scholars and intellectuals. This isto ensure that there will never be a gap between them and


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the Holy City and its inhabitants that allows plots to JudaizeJerusalem to come to fruition. Communing with the steadfastscholars in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa helps support them and allevi-

ate the significant challenges and difficulties that they face.

Is visiting someone who is jailed normalization with the jailor?Imagine: a band of usurpers comes and throws your motherin jail and dictates that visiting her can only be done throughthem, the aggressors; does this mean that visiting your motherand offering her food, water and moral support is normaliza-

tion with the jailor? Should you deprive her of your visit oryourself from the blessing you gain by visiting her? Where isthe benefit and where is the harm?

What does it mean to leave the right to reconstruct, maintainand defend Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa to Israeli identification cardholders? Why do the fatwas issued by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi

and other Muslim scholars allow only Jerusalemites and the Arabs (i.e. those upon whom Israeli citizenship was im-posed under occupation) to visit the Holy City and Al-MasjidAl-Aqsa? What about the worlds . billion Muslims who allhave a connection to Jerusalem and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa?

Let us imagine that out every , Muslims, Muslimjoins Sheikh Raed Salahs project to perform pilgrimage to Je-

rusalem and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.This project transports Arabsfrom Northern Palestine to Jerusalem and Al-Masjid Al-Aqsadaily and opens up to them the markets, alleys and hotels ofJerusalem. What is important is that where it is possible, theydo not deal with the occupation authority; rather, trade andbusiness dealings are done with Palestinians in accordancewith what the Almighty says in the Holy Quran:

So keep your duty to Allah as best ye can, and listen,and obey, and spend; that is better for your souls. And


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whoso is saved from his own greed, such are the success-ful. (Al-Taghabun, :)

And in accordance with the Prophet Muhammads Had-ith: Actions are defined by their intentions. (Narrated byBukhari).

Indeed we must look upon these visits as good portents andtidings that precede help from God and present victory. Godsays in the Holy Quran:

It may be that your Lord will have mercy upon you, butif you revert, We [too] will revert; and We have madeHell a dungeon for the disbelievers (Al-Isra: :)


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Endnotes

It is possible to visit tens of museums and synagogues

that depict Al-Haram Al-Sharif as an Islamic relic thatmust be removed and replaced by a Jewish temple. Re-searchers can refer to the website of the Temple Institute(www.templeinstitute.org) or the Herodian Quarter Museumor indeed any site that is dedicated to the study of reconstruct-ing the Jewish temple such as: www.templemount.org (seewww.templemount.org/tuviatemple.pdf).

These projects include the Bayareq Project, which trans-ports worshipers to and from Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa; the Projectto Revitalize the Centres of Learning in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa; theProject to Feed the Fasting in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa; the campaignto close the mosques in Jerusalem on Friday except for Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and other projects that aim to come to the aid

of one of Islams three holiest sites.

Al-Thalabi: Al-Kashf wal Bayan, :; Al-Baghwi:Maalimul Tanzeel, :; Al-Tubrusi, Majmaul Bayan fi TafsirAl-Quran, :; ibn al-Jawzi: Zadul Maseer fi Ilm Al-Tafsir,:; Al-Khazen: Lubab Al-Taweel, :; Al-Suyuti: TafsirAl-Dur Al-Manthur fil Tafsir bil-Mathur, :; ibn Tamim Al-

Maqdisi: Mutheer Al-Gharam, .

Ibn Atiyyah: Al-Muharrer Al-Wajeez fi Tafsir Al-KitabAl-Azeez, :.

See: ibn Tamim Al-Maqdisi: Mutheer Al-Gharam, p.-.

Sahih Muslim, Kitab Al-Hajj: bab la tushaddul rihal illaila thalathat masajid, no. ; Sunan Al-Nisai, Kitab Al-Ma-


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sajid: bab ma tushaddul rihal ilayhi min masajid, :; Sunanibn Majah, Kitab Iqamatul Salat: bab ma jaa fil salat fi MasjidBayt Al-Maqdis, Hadith no. , ; Al-Bayhaqi, Majma

Al-Zawaid, :-; Al-Fazari, Baith Al-Nufoos ila Ziyarat Al-Quds Al-Mahroos (manuscript in Al-Khalidiyah Library), ;ibn Tamim Al-Maqdisi, Mutheer Al-Gharam, ; Al-Minhaji,Ithaf Al-Akhsa bi Fadail Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, :.

Al-Bayhaqi: Majma Al-Zawaid, :; Al-Fazari, BaithAl-Nufoos ila Ziyarat Al-Quds Al-Mahroos (manuscript in

Al-Khalidiyah Library), ; ibn Tamim Al-Maqdisi, MutheerAl-Gharam, .

Ibn Tamim Al-Maqdisi, Mutheer Al-Gharam, .

Sunan ibn Majah, Kitab Iqamat al-Salat, bab ma jaa filsalat fi masjid bayt al-Maqdis, Hadith no. , Al-Bayhaqi:

Majma Al-Zawaid, :, Al-Farazi:Baith Al-Nufoos ila Zi-yarat Al-Quds Al-Mahroos (manuscript in Al-Khalidiyah Li-brary) , , ibn Tamim Al-Maqdisi, Mutheer Al-Gharam, ,, .

Al-Minhaji, Ithaf Al-Akhsa bi Fadail Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, :.

Al-Fazari, Baith Al-Nufoos ila Ziyarat Al-Quds Al-Mahroos (manuscript in Al-Khalidiyah Library), , ibn TamimAl-Maqdisi, Mutheer Al-Gharam, , Al-Minhaji, Ithaf Al-Akhsa bi Fadail Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, :.

Al-Haythami, Majma al-Zaqaid, :, Ibn Tamim Al-

Maqdisi, Mutheer Al-Gharam, -, Al-Minhaji, IthafAl-Akhsa bi Fadail Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, :.


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Ibn Hisham, The Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad().

Runciman, Steven, A History of the Crusades, Vol.III, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades, CambridgeUniversity Press, , p. .

Abu Bakr bin Al-Arabi: Shawahid al-Jullah, ; IbnTamim Al-Maqdisi, Mutheer Al-Gharam, .

Abu Bakr bin Al-Arabi: Shawahid al-Jullah, .

Al-Ansab, :, (Muqadimat al-Muhaqaq), Ibn

Asakir: Tareekh Madinat Dimashq, :, Ibn Tamim Al-Maqdisi: Muteer Al-Gharam, , Luay Al-Bawaah, Dawral-Ulama al-Muslimin fi Muqawamat al-Ghazw al-Firanji(al-Salibi), p. .

A Muslim Iconoclast (Ibn Taymiyyeh): on the Meritsof Jerusalem and Palestine, by Charles D. Matthews, Journal

of the American Oriental Society, Vol. (), p. -.


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Visiting Aqsa

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