Virtues of Al-Aqsa

Maryam Yasmin

Quranic verses:

"Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from the Sacred Mosque [in Makka] to the farthest mosque [Al-Aqsa] whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing." This verse refers to the Night Journey (Isra and Mi'raj) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Makka to Jerusalem and then his ascension through the heavens. [17:1]

"We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], towards the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces towards it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do." [2:144]

“And We delivered him and Lut to the land which We had blessed for the worlds.” [21:71]

“O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allaah has assigned to you and do not turn back [from fighting in Allaah’s cause] and [thus] become losers.” [5:21]

“And when the promise of your next transgression comes to be fulfilled, they will disgrace you utterly and enter the masjid as they entered it the first time, and utterly destroy whatever they come upon." [17:7]

“And We delivered him Ibrahim (as) and Lut (as) to the land which We had blessed for the worlds" [21:71]

“And We made the son of Maryam (as) and his mother a sign and sheltered them with a lofty place of lasting restfulness and unsullied springs." [23:50]

Hadith:

The Prophet ﷺ said, ’When Sulaiman bin Dawud [as] finished building Bait al-Maqdis, he asked Allah for three things: judgement that was in harmony with His judgement, a dominion that no one would have after him, and that no one should come to this masjid, intending only to pray in it, except that he would emerge free of sins, like the day his mother gave birth to him’. Then the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘As for (the first) two (supplications), they were granted, and I hope that the third was also granted’. [Ibn Majah]

Sayyiduna Anas (ra) reported, ‘No one remains of those who prayed facing both Qiblahs (al-Quds and Makkah) except me’. [Sahih Bukhari]

The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘When the Quraish disbelieved me (about the miraculous Night Journey), I stood up in al-Hijr and Allah displayed Bait al-Maqdis before me, and I started to inform them about its signs while looking at it’. [Sahih Bukhari]

The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The chosen land of Allah is Shaam and in it are His chosen people and servants. A group from my nation will certainly enter Paradise without any reckoning or punishment’. [Tabarani]

The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘When the people of Shaam become corrupt, then there is no good in it for you…’ [Tirmidhi]

Sayyidah Maymunah (ra) reported: She said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell us about the Sacred House in Jerusalem.” The Prophetﷺ, said, “It is the land of the gathering and the Resurrection. Go there and pray, for one prayer in it is like a thousand prayers elsewhere.” She said, “What if I cannot endure travel to there?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Let one send a gift of oil to light its lamps, for whoever does so is as if he has gone there.” (Sharh Mushkil al-Āthār)

Sayyiduna Anas (ra) reported: The Prophet ﷺ used to pray towards the Sacred House in Jerusalem, then it was revealed to him, “We have certainly seen you turning your face to the heaven. We will surely turn you to a direction of prayer that will please you. Turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque,” (2:144) (Muslim).

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Do not undertake a religious journey but to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque in Makka, the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah, and the Furthest Mosque in Jerusalem.” (Bukhari and Muslim).

Sayyiduna Abu Dhar (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "You will not leave any land without having been in it, nor will you stay in any land without leaving it. Fear Allah in the Levant (Greater Syria), for it is the chosen land of Allah. To it, He sends His best servants." (Musnad Ahmad)

Sayyiduna Ibn 'Umar (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "O Allah! Bless our Sham (Syria) and our Yemen." The people said, "Our Najd as well." The Prophet ﷺ again said, "O Allah! Bless our Sham and Yemen." The people said again, "Our Najd as well." On that, the Prophet ﷺ said: "There will appear earthquakes and afflictions, and from there will come out the side of the head (i.e., horns) of Satan." (Sahih Bukhari)

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Blessed is Sham (Greater Syria)." The people said, "Why is that?" He ﷺ said, "Because the angels of the Merciful have spread their wings over it." (Sunan Ibn Majah)

The Prophet ﷺ prayed facing Bait-ul Maqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months but he wished that his Qibla would be the Ka`ba (at Makkah). (Sahih Bukhari)

Sayyidah Umm Salamah (ra), reported that she heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Whoever enters into Ihram, for Hajj or ‘Umrah from Al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) to Al-Masjidul Haram (in Makkah), then all of his previous and future sins will be forgiven” or “Paradise will become obligatory for him.” (Sunan Abu Dawud)

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “A man’s prayer in his house is equal (in reward) to one prayer; his prayer in the mosque of the tribes is equal to twenty-five prayers; his prayer in the mosque in which Friday prayer is offered is equal to five hundred prayers; his prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque is equal to fifty thousand prayers; his prayer in my mosque is equal to fifty thousand prayers; and his prayer in the Sacred Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Haram) is equal to one hundred thousand prayers.” (Sunan Ibn Majah)

Sayyiduna Zaid Ibn Thabit (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “How blessed is Al-Sham”! The Companions (ra) asked, “Why is that”? The Prophet ﷺ replied, “I see the Angels of Allah spreading their wings over Al-Sham”. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (ra) added, “And the Prophets lived therein. There is not a single inch in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) where a Prophet has not prayed, or an Angel not stood. (Tirmidhi and Ahmad)

Sayyiduna Anas (ra) repoprted that the Prophetﷺ said, “I was brought the Buraq, a tall white beast, bigger than a donkey, smaller than a mule. It could place his hooves at the farthest boundary of his gaze. I mounted it until I arrived at Bayt Al-Maqdis. I tied it at the ring where the Prophets tied it before (i.e. Buraq Wall or the Western). I entered Masjid Al-Aqsa Sanctuary and prayed 2 rak’ah there… (Muslim)

Sayyiduna Mujamma Ibn Al-Harith (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Ibn Maryam (Jesus) will kill Al-Dajjal (the Anti-Christ) at the door of Ludd (a town in Palestine). (Tirmidhi and Ahmad)

The Prophet ﷺ said regarding Al-Dajjal: “He will stay in the land forty days; he will enter every place on earth except the Ka’bah, the Prophet’s Masjid, Al-Aqsa Sanctuary and Mount Sinai”. (Ahmad)

Sayyidah Maymunah Bint Sa’d (ra) reported that she asked the Prophet ﷺ,” O Messenger of Allah, give us a pronouncement about Al-Quds (Jerusalem)”. The Prophet ﷺ replied, “It is the land where they will be raised (Al-Hashr) and gathered (Al-Mahshar)”. (Ahmad and Tabarani)

The Prophet ﷺ said regarding the inhabitants of the blessed land, “They and their wives, children and slaves (male and female) are in ribat (guardians, literally a fort) in the cause of Allah”. (Tabarani)

Umamah Al-Bahili (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “A group of my Ummah will remain on truth, they will vanquish their enemy and those who disagree with them will not be able to harm them until Allah commands”. “Where are these people”? The Companions (ra) asked. The Prophet ﷺ said, “In and around Al-Quds (Jerusalem). (Ahmad)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “A group of my Ummah will not cease to fight at the gates of Damascus and at the gates of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and its surroundings. The betrayal or desertion of whoever deserts them will not harm them in the least. They will remain victorious, standing for the truth, until the Final Hour rises”. (Tabarani)

Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Umar (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, There will be migration upon migration. The best of the inhabitants of earth will reside where Prophet Ibrahim (as) migrated (Jerusalem)”. (Abu Dawud)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: Musa (as) requested Allah to let him die close to the Sacred Land (near Masjid Al-Aqsa) so much so that he would be at a distance of a stone’s throw form it”. The Prophet ﷺ then said, “If I were there, I would show you his grave below the red sand hill on the side of the road”. (Bukhari)

Sayyiduna Abu Umama (ra) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Prophethood descended upon me in three places: Makkah, Madinah and Al-Sham. Once it is brought out from any of them, it shall never return to it”. (Abu Dawud) In another narration it stated, “The Quran was revealed in three places – Makkah, Madinah and Al-Sham”. (Tabarani) Ibn Kathir, the great scholar of Islam, said, “Al-Sham here means Bayt Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). (Abu Dawud and Tabarani)

The Prophet ﷺ said, “The heartland of the believers is ash-Shaam.” (Ahmad)

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Behold, indeed the heart of the abode of the believers is Ash-Sham. And good is attached to the forelocks of the horse until the Day of Qiyamah.” (Tabarani and Ahmad)

The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘How blessed is Ash-Sham! How blessed is Ash-Sham!’. “And how is that, Oh Messenger of Allah?” People asked him. ‘Those angels of Allah have spread their wings over Ash-Sham’, he answered.’ ‘The Prophets built Bait Al-Maqdis (Al-Quds),’ (Tirmidhi)

The Prophet ﷺ said, “…And the place of safety for the believers is Ash-Sham.” (An-Nasa’i)

Maryam Yasmin.

University graduate and Alimiyyah Student of Shaykh Faizulhaq Abdulaziz حفظه الله