IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST BENEFICENT THE MOST MERCIFUL
All praises belong to Allah, we praise Him, we seek his assistance, his guidance and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Him from the evils of our soul and the evils of our bad conduct. Whoever Allah has guided is the one that is indeed guided and nobody can lead such astray.
And whoever is led astray, then for such, there is no helper/protector that can guide him. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner or associate.
I testify also that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) is His slave and Messenger. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be on him, his household and all his companions.
Thereafter…I enjoin you and myself with the fear of Allah: “…So fear Allah, O you of understanding, that you may be successful.” (Al-Maaidah: 100).
Believing brothers! Our discussion today is about the issue of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque I tandem with our discussion about the Al-Israa wal-Mi’iraaj (the Night Journey and Ascension). It is not possible for us to remember the Al-Israa wal-Miiraaj while forgetting the land of the Journey and the takeoff point of the Ascension. We cannot forget the Al-Aqsa Mosque that Allah has blessed his vicinity.
We cannot forget the link the Qur’aan made between the two great mosques: the Sacred Mosque in Makkah and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.This is seen in the Words of Allah, Glorified and Exalted He is:
“Exalted is He who took His Servant [Prophet Muhammad] by night from al-Masjid al-Harām to al-Masjid al-Aqsā, whose surroundings We have blessed…” (Al-Israai:1).
Servants of Allah! This connection is not for nothing, rather it is a connection borne out of Divine Wisdom. It reminds Muslims everywhere and in every epoch to connect everything between the two mosques. So whoever is unconcerned with the Al-Aqsa Mosque is likely to be unconcerned with the Masjidil Haraam. Both are great blessed mosques that we make journeys to.
Al-Aqsa Mosque has become captive in the hands of the Zionists, and it has become mandatory for the Ummah, the Ummah of Al-Qur’aan, who reads suratu Al-Israa, and that remembers the Al-Israa wal-Miiraaj to work together in solidarity and cooperatively to liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Servants of Allah! Know that since the filthy feet of the Jews were set in the blessed land of Palestine, their treacherous eyes has been cast on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, wondering when it would cease to exist on the land and from the map of Palestine. And since the Jews grabbed the blessed land of Islaam (in) Palestine, their filthy hands has been extending to the structure of this blessed Mosque, by every possible means, in order to demolish it: by storming it, digging, making tunnels, constricting worshipers, burning it with fire as it happened in 1969CE, bulldozing its surroundings, building settlements in place of Muslims’ homes, and other acts of terrorism that the news media broadcast about day and night.
Dear believing brothers! The danger is in the disposition of the Jews towards Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds (Jerusalem) in their changing the narrative and falsifying of the issue of Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds (Jerusalem), presenting it as a Jewish religious issue, and not an issue of occupation and theft of other people’s homelands. They invented, for this purpose, the lie of “The Temple of Solomon”, by which they claimed that under the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the temple, and that it (the tempe) is a Jewish place of worship, and so they made the demolition of Al-Aqsa a religious duty on themselves, and so excavations and diggings have been going on under and around Al-Aqsa Mosque for decades, thinking that they would find the alleged temple, and using that as a pretext to demolish Al-Aqsa. Meanwhile it has been established by archaeologists from the Jews themselves, from Europe and from America who participated in the excavations and tunnels under the Sacred Mosque in Quds that there is no trace of the temple.
Then they try to change the issue of Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem from a global Islamic issue that concerns all that believe in Allah, all over the world, to a Palestinian issue with reduced boundaries and objectives. Behold! Indeed, the issue of Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa is a Palestinian issue as a whole, it is the issue of all Muslims, and it is not acceptable that the Ummah put this issue behind them, beyond their ears, or be neglectful about it, or think about anything else, it is indeed their foremost issue.
The Aqsa Mosque is the first of the two Qiblahs. It is realted in the two Saheehs on the authority of Al-Baraa-a ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: “We prayed with the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) facing the Baytul Maqdis (Jerusalem) for a period of sixteen or seventeen months, then it was changed towards facing the Qiblah (in Makkah).
And Allah destined that the Aqsa Mosque, would be pathway of our noble Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), and He made that truth to live forever in the Glorious Qur’an. The meaning and implication of this on the land is that: our Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) visited the mosque, entered it and worshiped Allah in it by praying two rak’ahs. And our Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) has legislated rulings of the Shari’ah concerning the Al-Aqsa Mosque, so he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Journeys/trips are not undertaken except to three mossques: Masjid al-Haram (in Makkah), the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)’s Mosque (in Madeenah), and Al-Aqsa Mosque (in Al-Quds)”. (Bukhaariy and Ahmad).
It is a mosque in which the reward for prayers are multiplied in several folds, and this only happens in only mosques of special virtue. On the authority of Abu Dardaa (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Salaat offered in the Masjidil Haraam is equivalent to 100,000 salaat, salaat offered in my mosque (in Madeenah) is equivalent to 1000 salaat, while salaat in the Baytil Maqdis is equivalent to 500 salaat” (Al-Bazaar and At-Tabaraaniy).
Our Obligation Towards this Issue
Servants of Allah! If every Jew in the world considers Israel, the upholding of Israel, and the victory of Israel as his foremost cause, and he spends to the extent that he spends on that issue, if this is the concern of Jews around the world, then what is the matter with us Muslims?
The Muslim is always having a role in new making… and it is not negative. Therefore, it is incumbent on us Muslims to bear the burden of the issue of Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa by showing interest in it and following its affairs, and then raising awareness by talking about it, and spreading the correct position on the issue, because action does not come until after understanding.
Constant striving to put the issue in the front burner and a permanent centre of concern: The most that the enemy hopes for is that the matter of Al-Quds will die in the thoughts of Muslims, believing that if it remains the focus of attention, someone that will conquer it will someday come along.
Similarly, committing everything we have in our power to serve the cause: If we someone blessed with eloquence in speaking or writing, we should commit it to convey the idea to everyone who would hear it, and if we are one blessed with money, we should employ it in the service of this cause.
Working to train the desired victorious generation that will restore the sanctity of the Maqdis and purify Al-Aqsa from the filth of the Jews (at the least), as the Jews did whence their children used to say to one another: ‘Goodbye, Al-Quds!’.
And we must reject the normalization (of relations) that is being established by some Arab countries, with all power and voiding its treacherous attempts, boycotting the enemy, and boycotting its economic products. Allah Ta’alah said: “O you who believe, do not take my enemy and your enemy as guardians” (Al-Mumtahanah:1).
All of the above is a preparation for the coming crucial hour, that will eventually come, which is the confrontation. So every Muslim must prepare himself to be on the first list of the eager soldiers in the places of martyrs.
Liberating Al-Quds is like a strategic goal, how will it be actualized?!
I say all these and I seek forgiveness from Allah, the Almighty, for myself and you. So seek His forgiveness and repent unto Him, He is the oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
SECOND SERMON
All praises are due to Allah, and I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner or associate. I testify also that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) is His slave and Messenger. His Lord sent him as mercy to the worlds. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be on him, his household and all his companions and those who follow their guidance till the day of judgement.
Dear Servants of Allah, of the blessings of Allah on His slaves is that He made for them seasons of blessings, in which they increase their deeds and get closer to their Creator, and the deeds have honour due to the honour of the period.
Among these seasons is the month of Shaaban, which is to start in a day or two days’ time, It is the one in which the Prophet, (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to increase in acts of worship at the degree which he did not increase in other months. Narrated Aisha, (Allah be pleased with her), she said: “I did not see him fasting more in any other month than that of Sha’ban…” (Bukhari)
The reason for that is that Sha’baan is a month that people neglect. Hence the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) activated worship therein, and this shows the virtue of worship at the time of people’s inattention.
Among the reasons also is that deeds are raised to Allah in this month; So he, (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) liked that his good deeds are raised in the month. Imam Ahmad narrated from hadith of Usama Ibn Zayd that he asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh): He said:
“I have not seen you fast in other months what you fast in Sha’abaan” He said: ‘That (Sha’abaan) is a month between Rajab and Ramadan forgotten by people, it is a month where deeds are presented before the lord of the worlds (the exalted) and I love that my deeds are present while I am fasting”
One of the matters that helps in religious activities in Ramadan is the striving in the month of Shaaban. It is like planting that the trunk gets stronger until the month of harvest, which is the month of Ramadan, the Muslim reap what was sown. Ibn Rajab said:
“The fasting in Shaaban is like a drill for Ramadan fasting, lest he enters the fast of Ramadan with hardship and difficulty, but he may practice fasting and get used to it, and found sweetness of fasting and joy by fasting Shaaban before it and he commences the fasting of Ramadan with strength and vigor. Thus when Shaaban is been made as a preface to Ramadan with what has been prescribed including, fasting, reading the Quran, to get preparedness to receive Ramadan, and the souls exercise with that to obey The Merciful Lord”
This is our talk and thus, invoke peace and blessings of Allah upon your Prophet, as Allah has commanded you. Invoking peace and blessings upon him on Friday is recommended with acceptance and manifold rewards. Then beseech your Lord to envelope our country – Nigeria – with safety and security, and to keep all bad and evil from it. He Allah is the possessor of success, and He is the Best of the Lord and the best of the protector.
▪︎ BEING THE FOURTH SERMON FOR THE MONTH OF RAJAB DATED 28TH RAJAB 1442 AH (12TH MARCH, 2021 CE)