The ICCI was honoured to have Dr Khalid El Awaisi present a full day seminar on the history of Baytal Maqdis from past to present on Saturday February 3rd from 11am - 6pm. He also facilitated a special session for the children of the Nurul Huda Qur'anic School after this for an hour.
Baytal Maqdis is 142,000 square meters, the size of 35 football fields. About 300,000 people can pray there at any one time. Every inch of Masjid Al Aqsa has a story to tell. Every place you make sujood, maybe a prophet made sujood in the same spot or an angel stood, or Maryam (pbuh) walked. Baytal Maqdis is where Prophet Zakariah beseeched Allah (swt) for a son. It is the direction of our first Qibla. For the first fourteen and a half years the Prophet (pbuh) prayed towards Masjid Al Aqsa before it was changed to Masjid Al Haram (the Ka'bah) in Makkah.
When the Prophet (pbuh) undertook the night journey to Masjid Al Aqsa , his life changed completely. Even though he was given the five daily prayers from this journey, it wasn't just a religious or spiritual journey, it was also a political summit of all the prophets, with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) leading them all in prayer. It was where the flag of leadership of humanity was handed over whereby the ummah of Muhammad (pbuh) was given the role of leading humanity.
Umar Ibn Al Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) never left Medina for the conquest of any city, expect for the conquest of Baytul Maqdis. He begged Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), who had vowed never to call the adhan again after the death of the Prophet, to call the Adhan in the place that our blessed prophet ascended to heaven for the night journey. He did, and everyone there cried as they remembered the Prophet (pbuh).
The hearts of the Prophet and his companions were attached to Masjid Al Aqsa. We need to also instill this love in our hearts and in the hearts of our children and the only way to do this is to know its history. To listen to the full seminar, it is in three parts on our facebook page:
He covers:
1) The Importance of al-Aqsa and Bayt al-Maqdis
2) Ancient history of Bayt al-Maqdis and Palestine
3) Early connections with Bayt al-Maqdis: the Makkan period
4) Early connections with Bayt al-Maqdis: the Madinah period
5) The Fath of Bayt al-Maqdis by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab
6) Muslim Rule in Bayt al-Maqdis until the Crusader
7) The Crusade and the Occupation of Bayt al-Maqdis
8) The Liberation of Bayt al-Maqdis
9) The Current Occupation of the Holy Land from 1917
10) The Current conflict and the Future of Bayt al-Maqdis and Palestine
And for those who want more, there is the following by Dr Khalid El Awaisi on youtube: 6 weeks: Bayt al-Maqdis Step by Step
Also please find attached below a pdf of a short book: Masjid Al Aqsa Centrality to the Life of the Muslim
It can also be downloaded from this website: heart of the ummah
~ Amilah
