COMPANION
A RENEWED LOVE FOR AL-AQSA By Zahra Beig
Amid the latest tension and war in Palestine, one can’t help but simultaneously feel both so connected and yet too disconnected from the conflict and the suffering of its people. Our as-of-yet unanswered du’as for Al-Aqsa still sit on our lips. Our eyes remained glued to our screens as we read and share updates. What is it about this place, this land, and its people?
Why is it special? Allah talks about Al-Aqsa in the Qur’an saying, “We have blessed (it) from within and We have blessed what is around it”. The Qur’an refers to it as Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasa, “The Holy Land”. Imam ibn Al Jawzi, rahimahullah, says it is called this because when you go and pray in that land, it purifies you of your sins. In this blessed land of the Prophets there is not a single handspan of space that a Prophet did not stand. Every part of it is holy. While Muslims pray to Makkah today, we know Al-Aqsa to be the first Qiblah. By making the Qiblah change during the lifetime of the Prophet, Allah honored in one instance both the land of Al-Aqsa and our Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. SubhanAllah even more sacred than the land itself is the people in that land. Our brothers and sisters in Palestine are more sacred than Al-Aqsa and indeed more sacred than the Ka’aba. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told us that the blood, the property, and the honor of the people is more sacred than the Ka’aba in the Hajj, more sacred than Al-Aqsa.
