What is the significance of Jerusalem to Jews and Muslims?
Jerusalem is perhaps the only city in the world which has drawn the attention of the world community so much, especially among the followers of three major monotheistic religions in the world: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The city being a religious center has generated a lot of political and historical importance; however, its religious position has always been at the root of every controversy.
This controversy revolves around the argument that which of the three religions has the greatest affinity and attachment to the place and who is rightfully entitled to rule over it. As Ibrahim Abu Lughod stated in “Jerusalem – Islamic Perspective II”:
“In all probability one would never be able to gauge the degree of attachment that an individual community feels toward the city, for attachment is psychological and thus highly subjective.”
Significance for Muslims
While Muslims recognize the religious significance of Judaism and Christianity and their affiliation to the place, they stress that this attachment is included in the doctrinal view of the city. Indeed, it’s not only the Muslims in Palestine and neighboring Arab states but Muslims all over the world who have a multifaceted interest in the land of Palestine. Muslims carry a special place for the city in their hearts and has a strong emotional association to it. After Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem is considered the third holiest city in Islam. The roots of its religious significance lie in the fact that it was the first Qibla for Muslims, the place which Muhammad SAW himself and his followers faced to pray, the direction being changed to Mecca a year and a half later.
Muslims also derive their significance of the place from its association with Prophet Muhammad SAW’s accession to heaven, the miraculous nocturnal journey he made from earth to the skies which included a stop in Jerusalem. The Dome of Rock is known to be the site from where Muhammad SAW ascended. The religious significance of the city of Jerusalem was also highlighted during the rules of Umayyad and Abbasid; the first Umayyad caliph Mu’awiyah decided Jerusalem as the capital of caliphate and not Damascus. The successive Muslim rules, up to Mamelukes and Ottomans, considered Jerusalem to be equally significant and the city enjoyed the status equal to that of Mecca and Medina.
Significance to Jews
Jerusalem is a holy city for Judaism. Jews consider its soil and air to be holy and sacred, mentioning the city’s name in prayers. King Solomon made Jerusalem the capital of Judaism by building the Temple there in the 10th Century BC. The Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and exiled most of the Jews from the place. The destruction and building of the Temple and the exile and return of Jews continued for almost 1000 years when Christian Crusaders allowed them to return.
Interestingly, with the increase of Jews in Palestine at the time of Spanish Inquisition, they build Tsfat as its religious capital instead of Jerusalem and for a hundred years, Tsfat played a more prominent role in Jewish history than Jerusalem.
The Jewish heart and mind is eternally connected to Jerusalem and Israel for thousands of years.
“For three thousand years, Jerusalem has been the center of Jewish hope and longing. No other city has played such a dominant role in the history, culture, religion and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of Jewry and Judaism. Throughout centuries of exile, Jerusalem remained alive in the hearts of Jews everywhere as the focal point of Jewish history, the symbol of ancient glory, spiritual fulfillment and modern renewal. This heart and soul of the Jewish people engenders the thought that if you want one simple word to symbolize all of Jewish history, that word would be ‘Jerusalem.’ “.
“Every Jew has a spark in his soul from the light of God above that illuminates his way during difficult times. And when it seems to him that he is lost and that there is no way out, the spark flares and lights his way. This is the little jug of oil that is revealed in time to save the Jew in times of despair and to light up his life in desperate times.”.
“Let the world know that we were granted our right to exist by the God of our fathers at the glimmer of the dawn of human civilization 4,000 years ago. The Jewish people have a historic, eternal and inalienable right to the whole of the land of our forefathers. And for that right, which has been sanctified in Jewish blood from generation to generation, we have paid a price unprecedented in the annals of nations.”.
How many holidays do the Arabs-Muslims celebrate due to historical events in the land of ancient Israel and Jerusalem.
The Jewish people celebrate most of their holidays and fast days in memory of Jerusalem and Israel and the goal and aspiration to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem - where it was before it was destroyed and desecrated by the enemies of the Jews.
Many of the Jewish prayers for thousands of years recite the love of Israel and the Jewish aspirations to return to their ancestral land and bring back its glory and holiness.
YJ Draiman
The Jewish people celebrate most of their holidays and fast days in memory of Jerusalem and Israel and the goal and aspiration to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem - where it was before it was destroyed and desecrated by the enemies of the Jews.
Many of the Jewish prayers for thousands of years recite the love of Israel and the Jewish aspirations to return to their ancestral land and bring back its glory and holiness.
YJ Draiman
P.S.
It is time to re-institute the teaching of the Jewish Bible in all Jewish Schools as was in Israel before 1987.
Many of the Israelis today know nothing about our Jewish Heritage and history, it is due to the termination of studying the bible at all Jewish schools in Israel which was implemented by the than Israeli education minister in 1987.
It is time to re-institute the teaching of the Jewish Bible in all Jewish Schools as was in Israel before 1987.
Many of the Israelis today know nothing about our Jewish Heritage and history, it is due to the termination of studying the bible at all Jewish schools in Israel which was implemented by the than Israeli education minister in 1987.
Before I explain, I would like to note that the word Masjed in Arabic means Mosque. Al Masjed Al Aqsa (The Aqsa Mosque) is mentioned specifically in the Quran. Muslims prayed in the direction of Al Masjed AL Aqsa, Jerusalem, in the early years of Islam; then changed the direction of prayer to Mecca later. In the documented history of Prophet Mohamed, he said that muslim are to pay religious tribute and visits to three Mosques: The one in Mecca (Kaaba), The one in Medina (Mohamed’s Mosque) and Al Masjed Al Aqsa. So the name Al Masjed Al Aqsa and the Mosque itself were known to Muslims and part of Islam long before what the author claims to be during the time of Caliph ‘Abd-al-malik. They were know and part of Islam some 80 – 100 years earlier than the author claims.
Glory to He (God) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless (Yusuf Ali’s translation). „
—[Qur’an 17:1
You will never find any verse referring to Al-Aqsa before this incident. And by the way, it is the islamic scholars who translate this verse to mean Jerusalem. So it was humans, not God who commanded Muslims to consider Jerusalem as an important place. Its a fact that you alluded to when you mentioned
“In the documented history of Prophet Mohamed, he said that muslim are to pay religious tribute and visits to three Mosques: The one in Mecca (Kaaba), The one in Medina (Mohamed’s Mosque) and Al Masjed Al Aqsa. ”
Since this “documented history of the prophet” was written many years after his death by scholars who no doubt were employed by Muslim rulers, definitely they would like to add some details to justify their political masters ventures. Lastly, Jerusalem is only mentioned by name in the Hadiths, the Hadiths are not the word of God and they compiled by people who lived many years after the prophet’s death(100 years to be exact) who did it under political patronage. The term “al-Aqsa” is vague any mosque could be considered the furthest mosque, it was Muslims who purposely impose their own meaning to this word to suit their own political agenda, both today and yesterday.
‘masjid qiblathain’ in saudi is the proof of this event,
A Quranic verse said that ‘ oh prophet, Allah knows your desire to change the qiblah to a holly place as in your mind’
As for Tzfat, that city has been considered one of four holy cities in Judaism, with Hebron Tiberias and Jerusalem, I guess it’s perfectly ok for some religions to have multiple holy cities, but when it’s Jews that’s somehow a detriment. Tzfat was a holy centre since antiquity, being one of the five cities equipped with beacon fires to announce festivals and new moons.