1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,720 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,400 We are a sun that never sets. 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,400 If the caller calls, we answer. 4 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,800 We shall restore the truth, whole and intact. 5 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,000 We shall grant victory to the beloved Al-Aqsa. 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,199 Within it, the best of creation prayed. 7 00:00:20,199 --> 00:00:24,199 It is indeed a blessed place of prayer. 8 00:00:24,199 --> 00:00:28,230 A blessed place of prayer. 9 00:00:28,230 --> 00:00:35,240 What is the second mosque established on earth? 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:40,320 To answer this question, 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,320 let us pause and reflect upon this magnificent hadith. 12 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:49,320 From the hadith of the noble Companion Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, may Allah be pleased with him, 13 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,320 who said: I asked, "O Messenger of Allah, 14 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,320 which mosque was the first to be established on earth?" 15 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,320 He replied, "The Sacred Mosque (Al-Masjid al-Haram)." 16 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,380 I asked, "And then which?" 17 00:01:02,380 --> 00:01:05,379 He replied, "The Al-Aqsa Mosque." 18 00:01:05,379 --> 00:01:09,379 I asked, "How much time was between them?" 19 00:01:09,379 --> 00:01:12,379 He replied, "Forty years." 20 00:01:12,379 --> 00:01:16,379 Then, wherever prayer overtakes you after that, pray, 21 00:01:16,379 --> 00:01:18,379 for the merit lies in it. 22 00:01:18,379 --> 00:01:23,019 The hadith explicitly states that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque 23 00:01:23,019 --> 00:01:27,019 is the second mosque established to realize servitude 24 00:01:27,019 --> 00:01:30,019 to Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, on earth. 25 00:01:30,019 --> 00:01:35,180 And that the city of Jerusalem is the second city to know monotheism 26 00:01:35,180 --> 00:01:38,180 after Makkah, may Allah honor it. 27 00:01:38,180 --> 00:01:42,180 Thus begins the bond of faith and the religious attachment, 28 00:01:42,180 --> 00:01:47,180 and the doctrinal connection to that spot since the beginning of time. 29 00:01:47,180 --> 00:01:49,310 As is well known, 30 00:01:49,310 --> 00:01:54,310 the first house founded on earth to realize worship and devotion 31 00:01:54,310 --> 00:01:56,310 is the Sacred Mosque. 32 00:01:56,310 --> 00:01:59,310 As the Almighty said: 33 00:02:15,409 --> 00:02:18,080 They worship their Lord within it, 34 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:20,080 so their sins are forgiven, 35 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,080 their lapses are overlooked, 36 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:26,080 and they attain through it acts of obedience and closeness, 37 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,080 by which they gain the pleasure of their Lord, 38 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,080 the attainment of His reward, and salvation from His punishment. 39 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,240 That is why He called it "blessed," 40 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:42,240 meaning it contains abundant blessings in both religious and worldly benefits. 41 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,750 The verse and the hadith 42 00:02:44,750 --> 00:02:48,750 both point to an important historical reality 43 00:02:48,750 --> 00:02:50,750 and a depth of meaning, 44 00:02:50,750 --> 00:02:54,750 through the words of our Lord, Glorified and Exalted be He, 45 00:02:55,750 --> 00:02:57,750 "first" in the verse, 46 00:02:57,750 --> 00:03:00,750 and the question using "first" in the hadith, 47 00:03:00,750 --> 00:03:06,750 to denote a temporal beginning in terms of absolute primacy, 48 00:03:06,750 --> 00:03:11,750 and a spatial one in terms of foundation, designation, and the selection of the site. 49 00:03:11,750 --> 00:03:17,849 Herein lies the importance of these two spots and the interconnection of the two mosques. 50 00:03:17,849 --> 00:03:19,909 The meaning of "established" (wudi'a) 51 00:03:19,909 --> 00:03:21,909 is founded, fixed, and set. 52 00:03:21,909 --> 00:03:24,909 From this, a place is called a "mawdi'" (location). 53 00:03:24,909 --> 00:03:28,909 The root of "wad'" (placing) is the setting down, the opposite of lifting. 54 00:03:28,909 --> 00:03:32,909 Since something lifted is far from reach, 55 00:03:32,909 --> 00:03:36,909 that which is "placed" (mawdu') is close and accessible. 56 00:03:36,909 --> 00:03:42,909 Thus, "placing" is used to signify proximity for the seeker and preparation for benefit. 57 00:03:42,909 --> 00:03:46,169 The words of our Lord, Glorified and Exalted be He, 58 00:03:46,169 --> 00:03:50,169 and the words of our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, "established," 59 00:03:50,169 --> 00:03:54,169 contain a more precise indication than the word "built." 60 00:03:54,169 --> 00:03:58,169 It is a profound indication of their exclusivity for worship, 61 00:03:58,169 --> 00:04:03,169 the designation of the site, and the attention, honor, and reverence given to it, 62 00:04:03,169 --> 00:04:07,169 as well as its religious status, sacredness, and blessing, 63 00:04:07,169 --> 00:04:10,169 and the attachment of people's hearts to it. 64 00:04:10,169 --> 00:04:12,780 It is commonly known among people 65 00:04:12,780 --> 00:04:17,779 that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was the first to build the Sacred Mosque, 66 00:04:17,779 --> 00:04:23,779 and that Ya'qub or Sulayman, peace be upon them, was the first to build Al-Aqsa Mosque. 67 00:04:23,779 --> 00:04:27,779 Scholars have held various opinions in determining this, 68 00:04:27,779 --> 00:04:32,779 but one who reflects on the verse and the hadith, along with historical perspective, 69 00:04:32,779 --> 00:04:36,779 finds that the closest and most likely opinion 70 00:04:36,779 --> 00:04:39,779 is that the Sacred Mosque and Al-Aqsa Mosque 71 00:04:39,779 --> 00:04:44,779 were built—founded, initiated, and their foundations laid— 72 00:04:44,779 --> 00:04:47,779 in the time of Adam, peace be upon him. 73 00:04:47,779 --> 00:04:53,000 It is transmitted that Adam, peace be upon him, built the Sacred Mosque, 74 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 and then, forty years later, 75 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000 Al-Aqsa Mosque was built. 76 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,000 That is, in his time, 77 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,000 and it is possible it was done by his children, 78 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,000 as they spread out after him. 79 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,160 Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 80 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,160 "The indication is to the first construction 81 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,160 and the laying of the foundations of the two mosques. 82 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,160 Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was not the first to build the Ka'bah, 83 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:23,160 nor was Sulayman, peace be upon him, the first to build Bayt al-Maqdis. 84 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:28,160 There were many prophets, righteous people, and builders. 85 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:31,220 Allah knows best who began it. 86 00:05:31,220 --> 00:05:35,220 We have narrated that the first to build the Ka'bah was Adam, 87 00:05:35,220 --> 00:05:38,220 then his children spread across the earth, 88 00:05:38,220 --> 00:05:43,290 so it is possible that some of them established Bayt al-Maqdis." 89 00:05:43,290 --> 00:05:46,290 Al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned something similar. 90 00:05:46,290 --> 00:05:50,290 Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, favored the view 91 00:05:50,290 --> 00:05:53,290 that the building of Al-Aqsa Mosque was in the era of Adam, 92 00:05:53,290 --> 00:05:57,290 just as the Sacred Mosque was built in his era. 93 00:05:57,290 --> 00:05:58,290 He says, 94 00:05:58,290 --> 00:06:01,290 and Al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him, said the same, 95 00:06:01,290 --> 00:06:07,290 that the hadith does not indicate that Ibrahim and Sulayman, peace be upon them, 96 00:06:07,290 --> 00:06:09,290 when they built the two mosques, 97 00:06:09,290 --> 00:06:12,290 were the ones who initiated their establishment. 98 00:06:12,290 --> 00:06:16,290 Rather, that was a renewal of what others had founded before them. 99 00:06:16,290 --> 00:06:22,800 The elite of humanity, the prophets and the righteous, realized the importance of Al-Aqsa, 100 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,800 so they took turns building, raising, and renewing it. 101 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,860 Ibrahim, peace be upon him, renewed it, 102 00:06:30,860 --> 00:06:35,860 and when he grew old, Ya'qub, peace be upon him, renewed it, 103 00:06:35,860 --> 00:06:40,860 just as Sulayman, peace be upon him, raised its structure and built it. 104 00:06:40,860 --> 00:06:43,860 Its maintenance continued from generation to generation 105 00:06:43,860 --> 00:06:47,019 until this very day. 106 00:06:47,019 --> 00:06:52,019 For a long time, the Jews have tried to erase these historical facts 107 00:06:52,019 --> 00:06:57,019 and suggest that the beginning of the relationship of Al-Aqsa Mosque on earth 108 00:06:57,019 --> 00:07:00,019 was since Sulayman, peace be upon him, 109 00:07:00,019 --> 00:07:05,019 in order to discard more than two thousand years of its ancient history. 110 00:07:05,019 --> 00:07:07,019 But that is far from their reach. 111 00:07:07,019 --> 00:07:11,019 Just as the sun cannot be covered by a sieve, 112 00:07:11,019 --> 00:07:14,019 their lies, forgery, and distortion 113 00:07:14,019 --> 00:07:19,019 will only deceive the weak-minded and the sick-hearted. 114 00:07:19,019 --> 00:07:22,019 Our sanctities will remain standing tall, 115 00:07:22,019 --> 00:07:28,019 and they will be recovered tomorrow or the day after, by the will of Allah. 116 00:07:28,019 --> 00:07:30,019 A blessed place of prayer. 117 00:07:30,019 --> 00:07:34,019 We are a sun that never sets. 118 00:07:34,019 --> 00:07:37,019 If the caller calls, we answer. 119 00:07:37,019 --> 00:07:40,019 We shall restore the truth, whole and intact. 120 00:07:40,019 --> 00:07:43,019 We shall grant victory to the beloved Al-Aqsa. 121 00:07:43,019 --> 00:07:47,019 Within it, the best of creation prayed. 122 00:07:47,019 --> 00:07:50,019 It is indeed a blessed place of prayer. 123 00:07:50,019 --> 00:07:53,019 The landing place of the Trustworthy Revelation. 124 00:07:53,019 --> 00:07:56,019 The sending place of the Messengers. 125 00:07:56,019 --> 00:07:59,019 The Qibla for the Muslims. 126 00:07:59,019 --> 00:08:03,019 The destination of the conquerors. 127 00:08:03,019 --> 00:08:06,019 Within it, the best of creation prayed. 128 00:08:06,019 --> 00:08:09,019 It is indeed a blessed place of prayer. 129 00:08:09,019 --> 00:08:13,019 It is indeed a blessed place of prayer.