In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We shall begin.
We shall begin.
We shall begin.
Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, says:
Regarding Ibrahim,
"And he believed in him,"
[referring to] Lut.
And he said, "Indeed, I am
emigrating to my Lord."
Indeed, He
is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
The meaning is:
"I am emigrating"
from the land of my people
to where I may worship my Lord.
Indeed, He is the Exalted,
the Wise.
Thus, Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
had defined the objective
of his presence in Palestine.
And the Khalil (Friend) of the Most Merciful,
peace be upon him,
had advanced in age,
yet he had no offspring,
despite his intense desire for the continuity
and permanence of realizing
servitude to Allah, the Glorified and Exalted,
in that land.
So he supplicated to his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic,
to grant him [a child] from among the righteous,
to serve as the nucleus
for that monotheistic community.
Allah the Almighty says:
"And We gave him
Isaac and Jacob,
and We placed in his descendants
prophethood
and the Scripture."
And We placed in his descendants
prophethood
and the Scripture.
“And We bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and We established the prophethood and the Scripture among his seed, and We gave him his reward in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he verily is among the righteous.” (29:27)
And indeed,
in the Hereafter,
he is among the righteous.
No prophet came after him
except from his descendants,
and no Scripture was revealed
except to a prophet
from his descendants,
until they were sealed with the Prophet Muhammad,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon them
all.
This is among the greatest
of honors and distinctions:
that the sources of guidance,
mercy, happiness,
and success are found in his descendants,
and through their hands, the guided
became guided,
the believers believed,
and the righteous attained righteousness.
Allah, the Glorified, gathered
in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for Ibrahim,
peace be upon him,
the best of this world and the Hereafter.
He provided him with a righteous wife
of exceptional beauty,
who was Sarah,
as well as abundant provision
and righteous offspring.
These are the sum of goodness
and happiness in this world.
There is a great link
and a firm relationship
between Makkah and Bayt al-Maqdis
during the era of Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
which points to the importance
of both locations and the sanctity
of both places.
For Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
would travel between Makkah and Bayt
al-Maqdis after he left
Hajar and Isma'il in Makkah,
and Sarah in Palestine.
Among the characteristics
and qualities of the ideal society
that was founded by Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, in Bayt al-Maqdis:
Allah the Almighty says:
"And We gave him
Isaac and Jacob
as an additional gift,
and all [of them] We made
righteous."
Meaning, as a favor,
an increase, and a grace.
And from him, after Isma'il,
peace be upon him,
Ibrahim and his two sons were made
righteous, peace be upon them.
Then Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, mentioned
the foundations, elements,
and principles for building
a strong, cohesive society
that aspires to steadfastness,
permanence, and the realization of
servitude.
The Glorified says:
They achieved righteousness
in the Jerusalemite society
through their own selves,
and they were role models for others.
By this, they combined
in that blessed land
knowledge and action,
theory and practice,
teaching and practical example,
and they connected people to Allah,
the Glorified and Exalted,
not to individuals or...
not to individuals or...
not to individuals or...
not to individuals, groups,
or parties.
Allah the Almighty says:
"And We inspired them
to do good deeds."
Meaning, We revealed to them
that they should perform good deeds,
which are righteous actions,
by performing acts of obedience and abandoning
forbidden things. This
indicates that He, the Glorified,
distinguished them with the honor of prophethood,
and that is among the greatest
of blessings upon the Prophet Ibrahim.
The ideal society
in the blessed land
is established upon righteousness,
reform, good role models,
enjoining
the good and forbidding the evil,
guiding people
to the most upright path,
the clearest way,
hastening to perform good deeds,
and achieving the highest degrees
of servitude to Allah, the Glorified,
through the performance of
His greatest right,
as well as the rights of people,
the pillar of zakat.
Allah, the Glorified and
Exalted, has described that elite group
of prophets in Bayt
al-Maqdis with important qualities,
to show us that these
characteristics, whenever they are
realized,
[establish] servitude to Allah, the Glorified
and Exalted, upon the face
of the earth in general,
and in Bayt al-Maqdis in particular.
And our Lord, the Glorified,
does not say—
“And verily we have written in the Scripture, after the Reminder: My righteous slaves will inherit the earth:” (21:105)
after the mention—
that the earth
shall be inherited by My servants,
the righteous.
Some have said
that "the earth" means
the land of Bayt al-Maqdis,
[which] shall be inherited by My righteous servants.
And it is so;
there have always been
righteous servants of Allah there
until the Day of Resurrection.
And Allah the Almighty said regarding the state
and descriptions of His chosen ones
among the prophets in Palestine:
"And remember Our servants,
Ibrahim, Isaac,
and Jacob—those of
strength and vision.
Indeed, We
chose them
for an exclusive quality:
the remembrance of the Home [the Hereafter].
And indeed, they are, to Us,
among the chosen
and the best."
Thus, he realized
servitude to Allah,
the Glorified and Exalted,
which is the highest of stations,
[along with] strength, knowledge, and insight.
For the truth
Whoever lacks the strength to protect it will lose it.
Allah has distinguished them
with a magnificent quality,
by placing the remembrance of the abode
of the Hereafter in their hearts,
making work for it the focus of their time,
and making sincerity
and constant awareness of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
their perpetual attribute.
We have made them a reminder of that abode,
so that those who seek to remember
may be reminded by their states,
and those who seek to learn a lesson may take heed from them,
and they are remembered in the best of ways.
For there is
a consistent relationship
that the Ummah must grasp:
it is linked to that
sacred land and the realization of
servitude to Allah.
Whenever the Ummah raises the banner
of servitude to Allah, the Majestic and Exalted,
and works to achieve it,
it preserves its sacred sites
and does not neglect them.
The foremost places
where the meanings of servitude
should be instilled
are those sacred sites.
Therefore, there must be serious work
to rescue them
and liberate them from the clutches
of the usurpers, in order to attain
the pleasure of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
What an excellent place of prayer!
We are a sun that does not set;
if a caller calls, we respond.
We reclaim the stolen right,
and we grant victory to the beloved Al-Aqsa.
In it, the best of creation prayed;
it is truly an excellent place of prayer.
It is the landing place of the trustworthy revelation,
the place of mission for the messengers,
the qibla for the Muslims,
and the gateway for the conquerors.
In it, the best of creation prayed;
it is truly an excellent place of prayer.