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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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What an excellent place of prayer.

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How was Al-Aqsa during the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him?

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The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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It occupied a significant space and a vast area in the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

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Due to its theological status and its legal and spiritual dimensions.

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Even if we had no other motivation to care about the cause of Al-Aqsa,

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other than to emulate and follow our Prophet, peace be upon him, in this regard,

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it would be sufficient as a catalyst, a motivation, and a justification.

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How could it be otherwise, when our Lord, glory be to Him and Exalted be He, says:

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“Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example for him who looketh unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembereth Allah much.” (33:21)

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"An excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day,

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and who remembers Allah often."

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Ibn Kathir says in his Tafsir:

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This noble verse is a major foundation for emulating the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

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in his words, his actions, and his states.

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For although the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was spent between Makkah and Madinah,

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his heart, his gaze, and his inner being were directed toward the Levant (al-Sham).

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Toward Jerusalem, in a clear indication and a significant sign of the importance of that land,

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due to its blessing, sanctity, and divine selection.

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Whoever contemplates the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in relation to the Holy Land,

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will find a great concern, a remarkable attachment, and a profound connection.

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So much so that this blessed land became

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an inseparable part of his Seerah, his life, his stances, his miracles, his reports, and his inner consciousness.

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Indeed, the beginning of the mission of the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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was closely and firmly linked to that Holy Land.

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As in the hadith of Irbad Ibn Sariyah, may Allah be pleased with him,

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who said that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

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"I will tell you the beginning of my affair:

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I am the prayer of Ibrahim and the glad tidings of ‘Isa (Jesus),

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and the vision of my mother, which she saw when she gave birth to me,

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when a light emerged from her that illuminated the palaces of the Levant for her."

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Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, says:

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"Specifying the Levant for the appearance of his light

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is an indication of the establishment and stability of his religion in the lands of the Levant."

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And this is why the Levant will be, at the end of time,

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a stronghold for Islam and its people.

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And it is there that ‘Isa Ibn Maryam will descend,

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when he descends in Damascus at the white eastern minaret.

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The Prophet, peace be upon him, detailed the virtues, events,

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and minute matters related to the blessed land,

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up until the end of the world.

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He gave glad tidings of its conquest,

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and mentioned the miracle of Yusuf (Joseph),

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as in the story of the old woman of the Children of Israel,

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and what happened with Musa (Moses) at the time of his death,

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and his knowledge of the location of his grave.

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He recounted the miracle of Yusha‘ (Joshua) during the conquest of Jerusalem,

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and what the Prophet, peace be upon him, reported regarding the worship of Dawud (David), peace be upon him,

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and Sulayman’s (Solomon’s) construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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He even mentioned the minute details of the descent of ‘Isa, peace be upon him,

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at the white minaret east of Damascus,

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until he catches the Dajjal (Antichrist) in Palestine,

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and kills him in the city of Lod.

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To solidify this relationship,

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and to anchor this connection in the most difficult and darkest of circumstances,

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the Prophet, peace be upon him, while in Makkah before the Hijrah,

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would pray toward Jerusalem while the Ka‘bah was before him.

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For Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said:

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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, used to pray

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while in Makkah toward Jerusalem, with the Ka‘bah before him.

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And after he migrated to Madinah, for sixteen months,

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then he was turned toward the Ka‘bah.

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To understand the status of Al-Aqsa in the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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he prepared the largest Islamic army at that time,

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three thousand fighters for the Battle of Mu’tah,

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in the eighth year of the Hijrah.

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Then he himself, peace be upon him, participated in the expedition of Tabuk,

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in the ninth year of the Hijrah,

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on the borders of the Arabian Peninsula facing the Levant.

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And because of the importance of that good, blessed land,

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the final military dispatch of the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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was the dispatch of Usamah Ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him,

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as he prepared a large army in Safar,

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in the eleventh year of the Hijrah,

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to expel the Romans from the land of Palestine.

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Even if there were nothing but the journey and miracle of the Isra’ and Mi‘raj,

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and the dazzling signs and great events that occurred therein,

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and the gathering of all the prophets there for prayer,

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following our Prophet, peace be upon him,

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that would be sufficient to grant this land honor, status, and greatness.

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How could it be otherwise, when the Prophet, peace be upon him, said of it:

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"And what an excellent place of prayer."

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Imagine and bring to mind the status of a place

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that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said about:

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"And what an excellent place of prayer."

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So how must it be in his inner consciousness and his life?

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An excellent place of prayer.

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The destination of the conquerors.

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In it, the best of creation prayed.

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It is indeed an excellent place of prayer.