WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.720 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:24.329 --> 00:00:27.329 What an excellent place of prayer. 00:00:28.329 --> 00:00:35.780 Is Palestine the cause of the Palestinians alone? 00:00:35.780 --> 00:00:42.600 The answer to this question is almost 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:48.600 one of the greatest fruits of these pauses and reflections on the excellence of this place of prayer. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:50.920 Due to the weakening of religious allegiance 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:54.920 and the bond of faith and creed to that cause, 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:58.920 and the misleading, directed media machine 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:05.299 designed to reduce that cause and strip it of its true content, 00:01:05.299 --> 00:01:10.299 we must first establish a very important truth: 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:13.299 that speaking about the Al-Aqsa Mosque 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:16.299 is speaking about the city of Jerusalem, 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:20.299 and speaking about Palestine—all of Palestine— 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:23.299 which is the heart of the Levant (Bilad al-Sham), 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:26.299 that blessed and sanctified land. 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:29.299 It is impossible to separate all these parts 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:33.530 through artificial labels and geography. 00:01:33.530 --> 00:01:35.530 At the beginning of the conflict, 00:01:35.530 --> 00:01:38.530 the cause in the hearts of most Muslims 00:01:38.530 --> 00:01:41.659 was an Islamic cause. 00:01:41.659 --> 00:01:45.659 Then, after the spreading of rumors, lies, and fabrications, 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:47.659 and the weakening of religious motivation, 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:50.659 the culture of nationalism prevailed, 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:54.659 until it became an exclusively Arab cause 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:56.659 for a period of time. 00:01:56.659 --> 00:01:58.750 Then, little by little, 00:01:58.750 --> 00:02:00.750 the circle narrowed, 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:03.750 and the cause was reduced more and more, 00:02:03.750 --> 00:02:06.750 until it became the cause of the frontline states, 00:02:06.750 --> 00:02:09.750 then a Palestinian cause 00:02:09.750 --> 00:02:12.750 concerning only the Palestinians themselves. 00:02:13.389 --> 00:02:17.389 The great truth and the supreme cause 00:02:17.389 --> 00:02:21.389 that should be firmly rooted in the minds, hearts, 00:02:21.389 --> 00:02:23.389 and even the thinking of Muslims, 00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:26.389 and which should not be taken lightly, 00:02:26.389 --> 00:02:30.389 or neglected and forgotten under any circumstances— 00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:35.389 and every Muslim must review their own self, behavior, approach, 00:02:35.389 --> 00:02:38.389 creed, and actions toward it— 00:02:38.389 --> 00:02:43.389 is that the cause of this good, sanctified, and blessed land 00:02:43.389 --> 00:02:46.389 is the cause of an entire Ummah, 00:02:46.389 --> 00:02:50.389 from the time Allah created humanity on the face of the earth 00:02:50.389 --> 00:02:52.389 until the Day of Judgment, 00:02:52.389 --> 00:02:55.389 because it is closely linked 00:02:55.389 --> 00:02:58.389 to revelation and the message of monotheism (Tawhid) 00:02:58.389 --> 00:03:01.389 at the beginning, middle, and end of time. 00:03:01.389 --> 00:03:05.620 If we say that the cause of Palestine is Arab 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:07.620 and not Islamic, 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:11.620 then we exclude from the circle of responsibility and conflict 00:03:11.620 --> 00:03:16.620 more than 1.3 billion non-Arab Muslims. 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:21.650 And if it is reduced to being only the cause of the Palestinians, 00:03:21.650 --> 00:03:24.650 as is rumored in some media institutions, 00:03:24.650 --> 00:03:27.650 whether intentionally or unintentionally, 00:03:27.650 --> 00:03:32.650 it will be limited to a number not exceeding fifteen million, 00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:36.650 and thus we slaughter the cause with our own hands. 00:03:36.650 --> 00:03:38.650 This is what the enemies strive for, 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:42.680 and they exert strenuous efforts to achieve it. 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:49.680 Hence, the enemies worked to spread rumors, lies, and fabrications regarding that cause 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.680 to shake confidence in the hearts. 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:57.680 One such lie is that the Palestinians sold their land to the Jews, 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:00.680 and this is a great slander, unfortunately, 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.680 which most nations believed, 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:09.680 and it reflected negatively on people's concern and responsibility toward Al-Aqsa. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:14.810 For if someone sold their land, would they live in camps of misery and diaspora, 00:04:14.810 --> 00:04:17.810 in a wretched state and hardship of life? 00:04:18.810 --> 00:04:24.810 Would someone who sold their land demand it back after the sale, even now? 00:04:24.810 --> 00:04:30.899 Would someone who sold their land insist on returning to it no matter the cost? 00:04:30.899 --> 00:04:38.899 Furthermore, have you ever heard that the Jews produced an official document in any international forum 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:44.899 and said, "This proves we bought the land, so do not claim it"? 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:47.899 That has not happened and never will. 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:52.160 Why should this cause not be the cause of an Ummah? 00:04:52.160 --> 00:05:02.160 We have mentioned throughout our past reflections many truths, virtues, and great events on the soil of this land. 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:06.350 It is the first Qibla and the second mosque established, 00:05:06.350 --> 00:05:11.350 and the third of the mosques to which journeys are undertaken. 00:05:11.350 --> 00:05:15.350 It is one of four mosques that the Dajjal (Antichrist) will not enter. 00:05:15.350 --> 00:05:20.350 It is the place of migration for the Prophets, their abode, and the site of their graves, 00:05:20.350 --> 00:05:23.350 among many other qualities. 00:05:23.350 --> 00:05:26.670 If this land had no other merit 00:05:26.670 --> 00:05:30.670 than being the place of the Night Journey (Isra') of our beloved, peace be upon him, 00:05:30.670 --> 00:05:33.670 and his Ascension (Mi'raj) to the heavens, 00:05:33.670 --> 00:05:37.670 it would suffice for it to be the cause of every Muslim man and woman, 00:05:37.670 --> 00:05:43.670 regardless of their colors, races, nationalities, or languages. 00:05:43.670 --> 00:05:50.800 Otherwise, why did the wife of 'Imran vow what was in her womb to be dedicated to the service of the Holy House (Jerusalem)? 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.800 Because it is the cause of an Ummah. 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:59.800 And why did Musa, peace be upon him, pray to be buried at the edges of the Holy Land 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.800 when he was not able to enter it? 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:05.930 Because it is the cause of an Ummah. 00:06:05.930 --> 00:06:11.930 Why did 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, come himself to receive the keys to Jerusalem, 00:06:11.930 --> 00:06:14.930 even though he ruled from Egypt to the Indus? 00:06:14.930 --> 00:06:21.930 It is said that more than a thousand provinces, villages, and cities were conquered during his reign, 00:06:21.930 --> 00:06:26.930 yet he did not personally receive the keys to any of them except Jerusalem, 00:06:26.930 --> 00:06:30.930 in a sign of the importance and sanctity of that spot, 00:06:30.930 --> 00:06:33.930 and that it is the property of the Muslims. 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:36.930 Then 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, made it an endowment (waqf), 00:06:36.930 --> 00:06:41.930 so no one has the right to concede even an inch of it. 00:06:41.930 --> 00:06:46.120 And if the cause of Palestine were not the cause of an Ummah, 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:53.120 then who drove the commander Nur al-Din Mahmud Zengi, from the Turkish Seljuks, 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:58.120 after the great slaughter and violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa occurred, 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:03.120 to the point that people thought Jerusalem would never return to the Muslims? 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:09.120 He rolled up his sleeves, spread monotheism and the Sunnah, 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:14.120 suppressed innovation, brought scholars close, united the small states, 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:18.120 spread justice, and gave the oppressed their rights. 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:24.120 He increased endowments and took upon himself the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:31.310 Abu Shamah al-Maqdisi mentioned in his book *Al-Rawdatayn fi Akhbar al-Dawlatayn* 00:07:31.310 --> 00:07:37.310 that a group of scholars came to Nur al-Din one day 00:07:37.310 --> 00:07:44.310 and said, "We have come to narrate to you, with a continuous chain of transmission to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:07:44.310 --> 00:07:47.310 a hadith that is sequential (musalsal), 00:07:47.310 --> 00:07:52.310 which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said while smiling, 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:55.410 so we smile as we narrate it to you." 00:07:55.410 --> 00:08:00.410 Nur al-Din turned to them, with grief crushing his heart, and said, 00:08:00.410 --> 00:08:06.410 "How can I smile while the Al-Aqsa Mosque is shackled in the chains of humiliation and disgrace, 00:08:06.410 --> 00:08:09.410 under the hooves of the enemies' horses?" 00:08:09.410 --> 00:08:12.699 Then he was followed by his student, Salah al-Din, 00:08:12.699 --> 00:08:17.699 who was the fruit of Nur al-Din Zengi—may Allah have mercy on them both. 00:08:17.699 --> 00:08:21.730 Salah al-Din was of Kurdish origin from Armenia, 00:08:21.730 --> 00:08:29.860 and he liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders in the year 583 AH. 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:35.860 Thus, this cause remains the cause of an entire Ummah, 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:41.860 and the struggle over its land is a struggle between truth and falsehood until the Day of Judgment. 00:08:41.860 --> 00:08:44.919 He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, says: 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:49.919 "A group of my Ummah will continue to fight for the truth, 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.919 prevailing over those who oppose them, 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:56.919 until the last of them fights the Dajjal." 00:08:56.919 --> 00:09:02.210 And what made the Emir Mawdud from the Turkish Seljuks, 00:09:02.210 --> 00:09:05.210 the Emir of Mosul after its usurpation, 00:09:05.210 --> 00:09:08.210 begin by leading the army, 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:11.210 recapturing some cities in the Levant, 00:09:11.210 --> 00:09:15.210 and forming an alliance with the Emir of Damascus, Toghtekin? 00:09:15.210 --> 00:09:18.210 He was among the first to wage jihad against the Crusaders 00:09:18.210 --> 00:09:21.210 before the emergence of 'Imad al-Din Zengi 00:09:21.210 --> 00:09:24.210 and his son Nur al-Din—may Allah have mercy on them. 00:09:24.210 --> 00:09:27.299 When he returned with the Emir of Damascus 00:09:27.299 --> 00:09:31.299 to rest in the year 507 AH, 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:35.299 and after performing the Friday prayer in the Umayyad Mosque, 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:40.299 one of the Batiniyyah (sectarians) came and stabbed him four times. 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:43.299 He was fasting and did not break his fast, 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:47.299 saying, "I will not meet Allah except while fasting." 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:53.299 The Frankish king sent a message to the Emir of Damascus saying, 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:57.299 "A nation that killed its leader on the day of its festival, 00:09:57.299 --> 00:09:59.299 in the house of its object of worship, 00:09:59.299 --> 00:10:02.299 deserves for Allah to annihilate it." 00:10:02.299 --> 00:10:06.500 Then you know the stance of the Ottoman Sultan, 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:09.500 'Abd al-Hamid II—may Allah have mercy on him— 00:10:09.500 --> 00:10:14.500 when they pressured him to hand over part of Palestine to the Jews, 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:19.500 and he lost his empire and the Ottoman State 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:24.500 because of his heroic stance to preserve Palestine. 00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:29.590 Then what made the commander 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam—may Allah have mercy on him— 00:10:29.590 --> 00:10:31.590 from the Syrian coast, 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:35.590 defend Palestine and fight for its sake, 00:10:35.590 --> 00:10:38.590 except that it is the cause of an Ummah? 00:10:38.590 --> 00:10:41.850 The enemies of Islam 00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:45.850 and the enemies of this cause, from the Jews and those who allied with them, have realized 00:10:45.850 --> 00:10:50.850 that when Muslims feel the reality of this cause, 00:10:50.850 --> 00:10:52.850 and that it is the cause of an Ummah, 00:10:52.850 --> 00:10:55.850 then they will be defeated, 00:10:55.850 --> 00:10:58.850 and the Muslims will overcome them. 00:10:58.850 --> 00:11:01.009 Golda Meir, 00:11:01.009 --> 00:11:04.009 the Prime Minister of the Zionist entity, says: 00:11:04.009 --> 00:11:07.039 "We do not fear the Muslims 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:10.039 except when they pray the Fajr prayer in the mosque 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:12.039 as they pray the Friday prayer." 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:17.259 Our enemies know that the struggle over the land of Palestine 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:20.259 is the struggle of an entire Ummah, 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:23.259 not nationalism, nor regionalism, 00:11:23.259 --> 00:11:26.259 nor factionalism, nor partisanship. 00:11:26.259 --> 00:11:29.360 At a time when we have denied and turned away 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:32.360 from the simplest means of support and honor, 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:36.360 in an age of development, technology, and innovation, 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:39.360 whenever we achieve that, 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:43.360 and plant in our souls the reality of the struggle, 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.360 we will disturb the sleep of the occupiers. 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:50.360 For just as the usurpers have strategies, 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:54.389 the liberators also have strategies. 00:11:54.389 --> 00:11:57.389 The first of them is the reality of feeling responsibility, 00:11:57.389 --> 00:11:59.389 carrying the burden, 00:11:59.389 --> 00:12:03.389 and awakening the resolve in all situations and circumstances, 00:12:03.389 --> 00:12:07.389 because the soundness of the end comes from the soundness of the beginning. 00:12:07.389 --> 00:12:10.389 What an excellent place of prayer, 00:12:37.389 --> 00:12:39.389 for the Muslims, 00:12:39.389 --> 00:12:42.389 the place of the conquerors, 00:12:42.389 --> 00:12:45.389 in it is the best of creation, peace be upon him. 00:12:45.389 --> 00:12:49.389 It is an excellent place of prayer.