Palestine... The Usurped Pearl
Praise be
to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. The final outcome is for the righteous, and there
is no enmity except against the wrongdoers. I bear witness that there is no god
but Allah alone, without partner; to Him belongs all dominion and praise, and
He is over all things powerful.
I bear
witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the gifted mercy, the bestowed
blessing, and the illuminating lamp. O Allah, send Your prayers, peace, and
blessings upon our master Muhammad, his family, his companions, and their
followers.
To
proceed: Our sermon this Friday is about "Palestine and Jerusalem."
It is a poignant and multifaceted subject, for we shall travel back through a
long history whose roots are deeply embedded in the earth. Yet, exploring this
history is unavoidable, especially as the Children of Israel came to the Holy
Land carrying memories of the past, exhuming history for remains that have long
been hidden in the dust.
There is
no alternative but to recall this history; for we—the Arabs—are prone to
forgetting. It is imperative, in order to improve our actions in the present
and to refine our endeavors for the future, that we know our past thoroughly.
The Arab nation's past, deeply entrenched in history, is worthy of study and
reflection; for the experiences of both past and present alike have revealed
that this nation survives only through religion.
Just as
fish require water to survive, and as humans require air to live, the Arab
race, the day it loses its religion, loses its very reasons for existence. It
would become impossible for it to retain any trace or vestige upon the face of
the earth. We must understand the nature of our people, and in addressing this
nature, we must delve into the history of the past.
The Arab Titans and the History of Palestine
The
Children of Israel came to claim: 'We are the rightful owners of Palestine.'
They were indeed its owners once; however, long before they possessed it, this
land belonged to the Arabs. The Arabs were dispersed throughout the south,
center, and north of the Peninsula, and even beyond the north. Yet—as I have
mentioned—they were subjected to a bitter trial so that they might have a
religion to live by. But when they rebelled against this religion, it ravaged
them; their prosperity was reaped, and such divine punishments befell them that
they were disgraced and cast into an abyss from which they shall never rise.
What is
called 'Ur-Shalim' is, in reality, 'Ur-Salim.' The Hebrew language pronounces
the 's' sound as 'sh'; they say 'Moshe,' while it is 'Musa.' 'Ur-Salim' means
the City of Salim or the District of Salim; there was a place for the Arabs!
The Arabs had a presence in Palestine—how? They were the Titans who inhabited
this land, and these Titans were an extension of their brethren in the southern
Arabian Peninsula. In the south of the Peninsula lay the dwellings of Al-Ahqaf,
where the people of 'Ad resided. (whose like has never been made in any
land,) (Al-Fajr:8) And therein lay Sheba and its lush, verdant
gardens, which were inundated by the flood when they fell into disbelief.
Moving from the South to the North, we find
'Thamud' and 'Mada'in Salih,' and the desolation that befell these tribes when
they disbelieved in Allah's Prophet Salih, after their brethren in the South
had disbelieved in Allah's Prophet Hud. We then ascend to find Midian, which
disbelieved in Shu’ayb; we ascend further to find the forces of Al-Mu’tafikah—in
Jordan—which disbelieved in Allah's Prophet Lot; we ascend to find Palestine
and the Titans who inhabited it from the Arab Canaanites; and finally, we ascend
to find the Phoenicians—who are a Semitic generation—an extension of the Arab
race.
These ancient Arabs—Allah brought destruction
upon them. After mentioning the Arab Prophets who sought to elevate the
standard of the Peninsula, to connect it with the Heavens, and to imbue its
civilization with spirituality instead of cruelty, humility instead of
arrogance, justice instead of oppression, and economic equity instead of deceit
and monopoly; when the Arabs refused this, all that they had built was
destroyed. He—the Exalted—said in Surah Hud: (We relate
to you [Muhammad] such accounts of earlier towns: some of them are still
standing; some have been mown down;) (Hud:100)
The Canaanite Arabs were in Palestine, and
they were a people of great might. As I have mentioned, the Arab race is one
characterized by strength in its instincts, resilience in its temperament, and
a vast reach in its talents. If harnessed for good, it ascends with the
processions of Truth to the zenith; but if harnessed for evil, it is overtaken
by its own desires, and Iblis leads it astray to the right and to the left,
whereby it succumbs to regret and commits abominations.
Such is the Arab race; and as Ibn Khaldun—one
of the most precise men in describing the Arab race—observed: they are a race
that is only set right by Prophethood, is established only through religion,
and whose talents are elevated only by the laws of Heaven. For if the Arabs
abandon Prophethood, religion, and the laws of Heaven, they transform into
herds that worship lust and seek wealth, only to squander it right and left, as
an outlet for their desires!
Arabs without religion are peoples who devour
one another. Over a single she-camel, the War of Basus persisted for forty
years; and over horses competing in a race—Dahis and al-Ghabra—wars raged for
decades. It is a race that destroys its present and its future unless anchored
by religion, shielded by the verses of Revelation, and unless its instincts are
bridled by celestial guidance!
Prophetic Leadership and the Transformation of the Nation
Then the Final Prophethood arrived to
transform the Arabs into a different people altogether. Their history moved
forward; however, before we discuss the history of the Arabs after Allah
honored them with Islam, we wish to speak of the history of others—the history
of the Jews. For this people—the cousins of the Arabs—are a stiff-necked
people, manifestly harsh, and profoundly stubborn. When the curses of the
Pharaohs befell them, and they cried out to Moses (peace be upon him), saying: (and they replied, ‘We were being persecuted long before you came to us, and
since then too.’ He said, ‘Your Lord may well destroy your enemy and make you
successors to the land to see how you behave.’) (Al-A'raf:129)
It will come to pass on the day your chains
are broken, and the day you possess your freedom.' This is a statement
saturated with the man’s pessimism toward them; for he knew that the day they
possessed power, they would be viler than the Pharaohs! Eventually, the
Children of Israel gained power after a long and arduous struggle. Moses
attempted, through the logic of faith, to march them toward Palestine while the
Arab Titans inhabited it; however, cowardice overcame them. (They said, ‘Moses, there is a fearsome people in this land.
We will not go there until they leave. If they leave, then we will enter.)
(Al-Ma'idah:22)
If they depart from it, [even] dogs shall
enter it! What dignity is there for you on the day you enter Palestine when not
a single Arab remains within it?’ Thus, Moses... (He said, ‘Lord, I have authority over no one except myself and
my brother: judge between the two of us and these disobedient people. (25) God said, ‘The land is forbidden to them
for forty years: they will wander the earth aimlessly. Do not grieve over those
who disobey. (26)) (Al-Ma'idah)
They wandered in Sinai for forty years until
the cowardly and frail generations perished, and another generation emerged,
led by the Prophet of Allah, 'Joshua.' They entered Palestine, vanquished the
Titans, and established a state for themselves. Only a limited period had
passed before the veneer of religiosity began to shrivel, their base nature
began to surface, and evil instincts overflowed. Thus, the Jews spread
corruption on earth, shed blood, and filled the reaches of their state with
oppression. So, what did Allah do to them? He gave 'Nebuchadnezzar' power over
them; he crushed their state, demolished their Temple, and drove tens of
thousands of young Jewish men as captives before him to 'Babylon.' In the
Babylonian prison, they were made to taste the harshest of torments.
Then Allah pardoned them and facilitated for
them a ruler who returned them to their land once again. But did they return to
mend their ways, to act justly, and to reform? No! Their ill-natured traits
quickly resurfaced. Before long, the Romans pounced upon them, and the Roman
commander 'Titus' ordered the destruction of the Temple; thus, the Temple was
demolished once more. It became evident that after several centuries, the
Israelites were ill-suited for sovereignty; that the instrument of power in their
hands turned them into a catalyst for evil, causing their reckless fingers to
unleash volleys of destruction and corruption upon the world's inhabitants,
until no one escaped their affliction. They attempted to kill Jesus (peace be
upon him) but failed, and they attempted to kill Muhammad (peace and blessings
be upon him) but failed, even if they had succeeded in killing other prophets: (We took a pledge from the Children of Israel, and sent
messengers to them. Whenever a messenger brought them anything they did not
like, they accused some of lying and put others to death) (Al-Ma'idah:70)
However, Allah—Mighty and Sublime—had
prepared a different future for humanity. The leadership of Revelation was
transferred from the Children of Israel to the Children of Ishmael; the
language of Revelation was shifted from Hebrew to Arabic; and the capital of
Revelation was moved from Jerusalem to Makkah and Madinah. The nurturing of the
world was undertaken by a different race, raised by Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him) with a new upbringing. The Eternal Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) poured from his loftiness, the radiance of his soul, the
elevation of his conscience, and the steadfastness of his piety into those
Arabs, transforming them into a new creation. Thus, they emerged into the world
as if they were angels! Pre-Islamic tyranny was transformed into radiance,
guidance, and sacrifice in the cause of Allah.
You may also like:
Jewish Past and Present Notion of Peace
From Children of Israel to Muslims: The Shift of Divine Leadership (1 - 2)
