Quds, Birthplace of Divine Religions (2)
Jan 18, 2018 07:58 UTC
Welcome to the second episode of Quds, Birthplace of Divine Religions. In this episode we talk about the status of al-Quds and other edifices for Muslims.
Donald Trump’s act of recognizing al-Quds or Bayt ul-Moqaddas as the capital of the fake Zionist regime once again put this holy city at the top of world news. In the previous program, we talked about the status of this mosque to Muslims and the ascension of the Prophet of Islam from al-Aqsa Mosque to the heavens. This has been mentioned in the first Ayah of surah Isra:
“Immaculate is He who carried His servant on a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose environs We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-hearing, the All-seeing.”
The great exegete of the holy Quran, Allammeh Tabatabaei says: "The statement of whose environs We have blessed shows that not only Al-Aqsa Mosque is a holy land, but its surroundings are also blessed. This might be a reference to its apparent blessings, because Bayt ul-Moqaddas is a green area with rich trees and flowing waters and beauties. It might also refer to the spiritual blessings of Bayt ul-Moqaddas; because this holy land has always been the center of great divine prophets and the birthplace of monotheism and Godliness. Another point in this spiritual and divine journey is the path of the holy Prophet from the center of Islam Mecca to Bayt ul-Moqaddas, the center of monotheist religions." Sayyid Qutb says: "Isra links all great monotheistic religions from Abraham and Ishmael to the Seal of Prophets (SAWA) and concentrates the holy places of monotheistic religions in one place. The noble Prophet of Islam, with this night journey declares that his mission is the mission of previous prophets and continuation of their path.
Imam Jafer Sadeq (PBUH), the 6th infallible successor of the Prophet of Islam, regarding the Prophet's ascension to the heavens, said: "When God’s Messenger was taken to Bayt ul-Moqaddas during ascension; Gabriel placed him on the mount and they came to Bayt ul-Moqaddas together. Gabriel showed the state of great messengers to the Prophet where he held prayers." In view of the status of this city in Islam, Muslims always view it with respect and it is considered as one of the holy sites in Islam. In the year 15 AH, the Muslim forces, after conquering Syria came to Bayt ul-Moqaddas. They besieged this city for 4 months and faced many problems to take the city without bloodshed. Rulers of Bayt ul-Moqaddas, were desperate of the assistance of Romans. The people of the city were also tired of the incompetent rulers; hence they decided to hand over the city to the Muslim caliph. The Muslims also accepted their condition and informed the second caliph to come to Bayt ul-Moqaddas and take it over. The caliph came to Bayt ul-Moqaddas with the discretion of Imam Ali, and at the meeting with the bishops and religious leaders, he wrote a memorandum and officially took over Bayt ul-Moqaddas and developed it which resembled a ruin in the pre-Islamic era.
The most important religious spot of Bayt ul-Moqaddas is al-Aqsa Mosque located in the eastern angle of the city. This mosque was not in modern form before Islam. The entire holy shrine including Qobbat ul-Sakhra (Dome of Rock) and other places was called al-Aqsa, but today it is applied for a large mosque located south of the shrine. The new construction of al-Aqsa Mosque started in 74 AH. It is 80 meters long and 55 55 meters wide and covers an area of 4400 square meters. French sociologist, Gustave Le Bon, writes in the book of Islam and Arab Civilization: "The al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the most amazing buildings built by man, its beauty is inconceivable." The Dome of Rock is another Islamic work in al- Quds. The ascension to the heavens of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) was performed from this cliff- a place with the length of 17.7 meters and the width of 13.5 meters and the height of 1.5 meters. This building was repaired and completed twice in the years 72 and 78 AH. The Dome of Rock covers 500 square meters of al-Aqsa Mosque. One of the European scientists says: I have seen many works and buildings in India and Europe, but as long as I remember, I haven’t seen a building more beautiful than the Dome of Rock. In addition to these two edifices, there are other cultural and religious edifices such as mosques, schools and religious works in al-Quds that show the magnificent civilization of Muslims in the past centuries. The existence of 36 mosques and tombs of a group of the companions of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), including the grave of Ubada ibn Samet Ansari, the first Muslim judge in al-Quds, Qobbat ul-Salsala cemetery, the Fatemi Hospital, the Salahi Hospital, Qobatt ul-Me'raj , the Synthesis School, the Castle of Bayt ul-Moqaddas, Dar al-Hadith, David's Altar, Salamiya School, Dar ul-Qur'an, Shafa Bath. These and dozens of other historical Islamic works in the city show Muslims' love of their culture during their reign in this holy city.
Bayt ul-Moqaddas (al-Quds) was at the hand of Muslims till the 5th century AH. Mismanagement of some Muslim rulers and infights among Muslims strengthened the situation of the enemies of Islam. In the year 490 AH, the European Crusaders began a massive invasion of Bayt ul-Moqaddas by gathering a large army from all over Europe and occupied the city through massacre of innocent people. Only in the holy shrine and its environs, they killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims. In fact, they launched a bloodbath in one of the holiest spots of planet earth. During the 91 years that Bayt ul-Moqaddas and al-Aqsa Mosque were under the occupation of crusaders, the mosque went to rack and ruin until 583 AH. In this year, Salahuddin Ayyubi moved to al-Quds and liberated the city on Rajab 17, 583 AH. After conquering the city, he read a sermon at al-Aqsa mosque. And after cleaning it he washed it with rosewater, and brought a beautiful pulpit from Syria to the al-Aqsa Mosque.
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