SubhanAllah, I know that Shaykh Yasir spoke about Masjid al-Aqsa last night, and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to liberate it, and to allow us to pray in it while it is liberated. Allahumma ameen.
But I wanted to actually draw your attention to this concept of a holy land. This concept of al-ard al-muqaddasa, because it's very unique when it comes to Palestine. How many of you have been to al-Madinah al-Munawarah?
When you go to Madinah, al-Qadi Ayyad rahimahullah said of the blessing of Madinah, that there is not a single spot in al-Madinah,
no tree except that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam received revelation under it, or prayed under it, or remembered Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and prostrated under it.
How blessed is that? It's the city of the sahaba. They are walking on the footsteps of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and the most blessed generation in the history of the world.
So Madinah, every handspan, a sahabi has set foot, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam has set his foot there.
Ibn Abbas sallallahu alayhi wasallam says about al-Quds, Jerusalem, he says that there is not a single handspan,
except that a Prophet of Allah or an angel has stood there and prostrated or prayed before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
You cannot step in a place in Jerusalem, except that a Nabi of Allah, a Prophet of Allah was once there.
You cannot set your foot in a single place in al-Madinah, except that a companion of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was once there.
Now I want you to think about this blessed land for a moment insha'Allah ta'ala, through the chapters that we have just read.
We read obviously surah al-Isra, in surah al-Isra Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions to us the ascension of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam
to the heavens from al-Aqsa ladhi barakna hawla, al-Masjid al-Aqsa, which we have blessed everything around it.
The ascent of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam from that place to the highest place. Then we get to surah al-Kahf, I want you to see how central Palestine is to everything that you just read.
When did Musa alayhi wasallam meet al-Khadr alayhi wasallam? Al-Khadr or al-Khadr, more commonly actually pronounced al-Khadr in ahadith. When did he meet him?
When did this incident take place, which we started with tonight where he went out to al-Khadr alayhi wasallam and had this lesson of the Qadr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, this incredible lesson about how God decrees. Does anyone know when that happened, at what point in his life?
It happened after Musa alayhi wasallam and his people were unable to enter into Jerusalem, when they were in the wilderness.
And that is actually one of the beautiful blessings of this, is that think if you are in the place of Musa alayhi wasallam, I am forbidden because of these people. I've been forbidden because of these people and the Qadr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and understanding in coming terms with the decree of Allah. The last years of Musa alayhi wasallam would be spent at the borders of Palestine, subhanAllah. The borders of the holy land because of the sins of his people.
And Allah azawajal takes him on this journey to where he learns another layer of the Qadr of Allah, the decree of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم سأل موسى ربه أن يدنيه من الأرض المقدسة رمية بحجر It's one of the most painful ahadith actually when you read it, that Musa alayhi wasallam said, it's in Sahih Muslim.
When Musa was dying he said, Ya Allah, I know I can't get in there because this is an istibdal, there's a new generation that will be able to go in there. But let me be as close as a stone's throw from it.
And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said, if I could show you his grave taht al-kathib al-ahmar, under the red dune. Where they now mark, and Allah knows best, Mount Nebo. Where Musa alayhi wasallam passes away outside of the holy land.
So the end of Surah al-Kahf is Palestine. Is Musa alayhi wasallam being given this lesson of the decree of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, unable to enter into the holy land. And then comes Surah Maryam.
Where does Surah Maryam start? It starts with Zakariya alayhi wasallam inside Masjid al-Aqsa. Calling upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant him a righteous generation.
وَإِنِّي خِفتُ الْمَوَالِ أو خَفَّةُ الْمَوَالِ Both qiraat, that I don't see inheritors of this mission. فَهَبَلِي مِن لَدُنْكَ وَلِيَّ
So grant me a successor that will continue this mission. So you have Zakariya alayhi wasallam now inside of Masjid al-Aqsa calling upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And Allah blesses him with Yahya alayhi wasallam in that holy land. And then Maryam alayhi wasallam's pregnancy starts. And Maryam alayhi wasallam comes with her baby Isa alayhi wasallam.
Where? Right in the courtyard of al-Aqsa. As al-Qurtubi rahimahullah says, she walked holding. فَأَتَتْ بِهِ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُ
She went to her people holding Isa alayhi wasallam in the courtyard of al-Aqsa. And that scene where they circled around her and they started to point fingers at her. And say all those nasty things about her. That's happening there in al-Aqsa.
قَالَ إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ آتَانِي الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيَّ And that discourse where Isa alayhi wasallam speaks for the first time. إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ آتَانِي الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيَّ
Do you know dear brothers and sisters on the dome of the rock. And yes, because some people like to get very smart. And they say that's not Masjid al-Aqsa. The dome of the rock is part of al-Aqsa. Al-Qubbat al-Sakhra is part of the area of al-Aqsa by the way.
It is all al-Aqsa. On that dome of the rock, the calligraphy that is there is from Surah Maryam. Can you imagine where Isa alayhi wasalam once spoke those words.
And those words are plastered now on the dome of the rock. And Isa alayhi wasalam will one day return to this earth and go to that very same spot where he first spoke those words.
And then Yahya alayhi wasalam is martyred. And Isa alayhi wasalam receives the news that he has been upgraded from a nabi to a rasul.
From a prophet to a messenger as well at the age of 30 years old while sitting in Masjid al-Aqsa. Because he now inherits the next phase of his da'wah. It's there in al-Aqsa as well.
And then comes the story of Ibrahim alayhi wasalam. And guess what, when Ibrahim alayhi wasalam was expelled, where did he go? وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَالَمِينَ
We granted refuge to Ibrahim alayhi wasalam and to Lut alayhi wasalam. From their people, from their tyrants and from, in the case of Lut alayhi wasalam, from his destroyed people. To what land were they granted refuge?
It's there. Once again, it's back at that same place. Where did Yaqub alayhi wasalam cry his eyes out waiting for Yusuf alayhi wasalam to return to him? That place. Where is Ibrahim alayhi wasalam buried? That place.
It's all in that place. That is truly a holy land. And so much of the Qur'an is situated in that place.
And the reason why I bring this up is because if you're reading this part of the Qur'an, and you're seeing the attacks on Al-Aqsa, and it is not moving something inside of you, there is a problem.
With all of the things that are happening right now in the geopolitics, and this pathetic attempt at Abraham Accords, and whatever they use the name of Ibrahim alayhi wasalam for,
all of these actors in the region that are disenfranchising those people, as a Muslim, you don't accept that. This is Qur'an to you. This is Qur'an to you.
You can't be reading the Qur'an and ignoring the place where all of these scenes of the Qur'an are happening, and pretending it doesn't exist. So I'm saying it's an issue of iman. It's an issue of faith for you to be connected to this place.
And it's the one place that Allah azawajal will refer to in this particular way, and the people are blessed, not because they're Palestinian. No. Because they're murabitun. Because they're holding it down.
Even when the ummah abandons them. Even when these state actors turn their backs on them. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says, They stay on the truth.
They are a thorn in the sides of their enemies. They are not deterred by those who betray them. Who are they?
The people of Al-Quds, the people of Jerusalem, and the people surrounding them. Now I want to end with this, because you might say, mashallah, takbir, allahu akbar, we got to be connected now, right?
Here's the problem with that. And I'm going to say this because I want to interrogate ourselves a little bit. And I know, mashallah, we have a lot of people that care about the Palestinian cause. Palestine will not be liberated on the hands of wicked people.
Nor will it come through the disobedience of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's not going to come through festivals, or types of acts that are displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
or on the hands of people that do not actually honor their covenant with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Musa alayhi salam, his people were prevented from it for that reason. Salahuddin and his people entered into it.
When they honored Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's covenant. Interrogate yourself. Let's interrogate ourselves. Yes, while we do everything we can. Even boycotting the dates of the occupier. Where is our righteousness?
Where is our connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? And I end with those words of Abu Darda'a radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, when he called Salman al-Falisi radiyallahu anhu, and he said, هَلُمَّ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الْمُقَدِّسَةِ Come on and retire with me in Jerusalem.
Mashallah, they've spread Islam throughout the world. Abu Darda'a writes a letter to Salman from Jerusalem and says, Come on over and retire with me in this land. And Salman radiyallahu anhu says, إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لَا تُقَدِّسُ أَحَدًا
No, no, it's holy land. But the land doesn't make you holy. إِنَّمَا يُقَدِّسُ الْإِنسَانُ عَمَلُهُ What makes you holy are your deeds. What makes me holy are my deeds.
Not the land. The land is holy. You're not holy by virtue of being in that land. You're holy by virtue of your deeds. And it is only people that are holy by virtue of their deeds
that will enter into the holy land bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. May Allah make us amongst those people. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala liberate al-Aqsa in our lifetime. And be with our brothers and sisters that are standing firm in the face of
one of the most disgusting tyrants that we have ever seen in our lifetime. May Allah azawajal allow us to see their liberation soon. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllahu khayr. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
