A Visit to the Holy al-Quds al-Sharif that is Full of Spirituality (February 04, 2012)

A Visit to the al-Quds al-Sharif that is Full of Spirituality

The second mosque of the earth, the first qibla of Muslims and the third holy mosque in virtue, the starting point of the Ascension of the Prophet (PBUH), the Al- Aqsa Mosque, where the Prophet (PBUH) led prayers as an imam, is the home of the sacred places of the heavenly religions and in which tens of thousands of prophets have been buried It was our chance to visit the Holy al-Quds, which was under the rule of Muslims for 12 centuries, the last four centuries were under Ottoman administration.

We spent four days full of spirituality.

After a two-hour flight from Istanbul, we landed at Tel Aviv Airport with a 160-person Tour Organization with 23 distinguished ASDER members. We reached the holy Quds after an hour-long land trip. We prayed our Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa mosque, also known as Haram Al-Sharif, it has the Dome of the Rock, surrounded by walls and an area of one hundred and forty thousand square meters, which can be reached from 17 different gates, the Qibla Mosque, with a capacity of 5000 people, the entire open area of the Mervan Mosque, despite of heavy rain, it was full of people.

On our first and second day, we visited the sites in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa mosque, which are considered sacred to the Muslims, Christians, and Jews; on the third day, the tombs of the Prophets and their holy places in the cities of Jericho, Hebron, and Bethlehem; on the fourth day, before returning by plane, we visited Jaffa to see the traces of the Ottoman in the city.

It was a late visit for me. If I had not been encouraged and had not received an offer, who knows how late I would have been. I am grateful to those who caused it.

This visit had two aspects for me. The first is the spiritual aspect that fills our hearts, and the second is political aspect which reminds us of our responsibility towards Muslims.

Al-Quds Al-Sharif is a holy city for as long as human history.

In the projection the Dome of the Rock covered with gold in the octagonal shape, in the sculpted solid rock that gives the mosque its name, praying in the sacred place, which was the starting point of the Ascension of the Prophet, was named as The Foundation Stone because it stands in space one meter above the ground ( was later filled); During this worship, when we have in mind that through this door opening to the divine throne, our Prophet (PBUH) reached the presence of our God, the Angelic descended on the earth through this door, when people died, their souls rose to the sky from this door, and the worship in these places is 500 times more virtuous than the prayers in others excluding the Kaaba and Masjid an-Nabawi. Human beings break away from worldly objects and taking on an ethereal pattern.

Running around to the Al-Aqsa mosque, performing these prayers with the same excitement, together with the congregation, in the morning and nighttime during our busy tour trips gives our soul and body a unique peace and pleasure.

This visit should be a blessing from God.

The visit of each of the Al-Buraq Wall (the Wall of the Wailing among the Jews) located in the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, tied Al-Buraq who brought him from Makkah Al-Mukarramah to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Night of the Miraj And the mosque of our master Omar, which was built later in the place on which Umar prayed, located above the Church of the Holy Sepulcher adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, after he came to Jerusalem in order to receive the city immediately after its conquest And the mausoleums of the prophet companions, Salman al-Farisi and Rabia al-Adawiya, may God be pleased with them, and the mausoleum of David, peace be upon him, in the Mount of Olives, the place which Christians consider to be the place where our Master Jesus, peace be upon him, rose to heaven forty days after the crucifixion incident, which gives one a view of both the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Noble Jerusalem from the top ; The grave of Moses, peace be upon him, which is located near the city of Jericho, which is located an hour north of Jerusalem, and the Islamic College, which is located next to the mausoleum and the Lot lake (the Dead Sea) four hundred meters below the sea level over the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah where the people of Lot, peace be upon him, were demolished, lived. The tombs of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, peace be upon them, are located at Abraham Campus College in Hebron, 50 minutes south of Jerusalem, and the sanctuary of the Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, situated in the town of Helhlul, carries the wave of spirituality to the stage of writing.

While wandering around our visiting places, Christians and Jews rush to their places of worship following their beliefs in their religious clothes; Christians are in the magnificent Resurrection Church, in the church where our Virgin Mary and her parents are in glory, and the church which is known as the birthplace of Jesus Christ; Seeing the Jews worshiping in the mausoleums of David and the Wailing Wall following their beliefs and dread, I wish these people were Muslims with this faith and then one understands better the interest of Christians and Jews in Jerusalem, which is also said to be the place where the trial equilibrium will be established on the Day of Judgment.

I want to conclude my feelings and thoughts about the spiritual aspect of the visit, with the belief that being unable to visit this holy city and places will create a spiritual deficiency for Muslims.

Sad Jerusalem and the Oppressed Palestinians:

The first spiritual bond established between Islam and Jerusalem was being the first qibla of Muslims, was strengthened by the Prophet (PBUH) Isra incident and this holy City In the time of Omar; in 636, the Muslims conquered it.

The city that came under Seljuk rule in 1071,

Occupied by the Crusaders in 1099, after 88 years of crusading domination,

It was taken back by Saladin AL AYOUBI in 1187,

Between 1233:1244 after being under French rule for 11 years, recaptured under the control of the Ayyubids.

Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

After the Mongol invasion in 1243,

Taken by the Mamluks in 1259,

In 1517, with the conquest of Egypt by Yavuz Sultan Selim, it entered the Ottoman Administration with Palestine.

After 400 years of Ottoman rule,

On December 9, 1917, it was captured by the British, who established a mandate in Palestine, made Jerusalem the capital of Palestine; The British withdraw from Palestine in 1948 after Israel founded its occupied State.

From this date, Arab-Israeli conflicts started;

Israel, which invaded all of Palestine in the 1967 War, is now dominating Al Quds Al-Sharif and Al-Aqsa mosque.

The State of Palestine is also totally under the rule of Israel.

It is not recognized internationally as an independent state.

It has no land, sea, or air contact with the outside world.

The Israel Army and security forces monitor the entrances and exits available at the Palestinian settlements’ units.

Palestinian settlements turned into cantons, are cut off from each other, surrounded by thick and high walls, contradicting being kept under control and totally passivated.

In the Palestinian Territory, intercity highways controlled with high steel watchtowers mounted at intersections and crucial points, armed with cameras and electronic devices. In these towers, soldiers are awaiting watch.

Again, in the periphery of the Palestinian Territories, new “Jewish Settlements” have been built as modern sites, surrounded by high wire fences, and at the same time serving as bases for security forces.

The entrance and exit of the Palestinian Settlement Areas, and the entrance and exit to the holy places, such as Al- Aqsa mosque and tomb of the patriarchs, are controlled by the Israeli Soldiers' and Security Forces' guard booths and outposts.

Young Palestinians are not permitted to routinely conduct five daily prayers in the Al-Aqsa mosque, cameras spot those who do not follow the ban, and a two-month ban on accessing the Al-Aqsa mosque becomes implemented. Al-Aqsa mosque, whose maintenance and repair are at the mercy of Israel, is a sad and abandoned temple.

Under the pretext of searching for the ruins and the place of the Temple of Solomon, the bottom of Al- Aqsa mosque is carved out the opening corridors, which will be the cause for the temple to collapse, and the most valuable concern of Muslims, with Al-Quds, is tried to be severed.

Palestinians residing in the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, and the temple mount and tomb of the patriarchs will not be admitted to these places again if they leave these places without permission.

In Al Quds Al-Sharif, Palestinian homes around Al-Aqsa mosque, the pressure is exerted to sell to Israelis, the owners of these properties forced to live on the border of hunger, opportunities to start a business or work are restricted, and they are pressured to find a job outside of Jerusalem, the residence paper of those who have worked out of Jerusalem for more than two years will cancel.

Palestinian houses around the Al-Aqsa mosque that need repairs are not given a repair license and left for demolition and those who have repairs without permission given heavy penalties.

A complete Israeli occupation prevails in the Palestinian territories, and the Palestinians living like in an open prison.

The oppressed Palestinians are living in their land as strangers, abandoned and innocent.

Since witnessing this scene on-site and experiencing it one-on-one, the responsibility that we feel on our shoulders for these people and the holy places here has grown even further.

Muslim Nations should reach out to these poor children of Islam and these sad Shrines as soon as possible.

What can be done urgently:

Every Muslim with financial means should visit Al-Quds Al-Sharif and Palestine and see everything in its place.

Therefore, tour organizers should get benefit from organizations. At the Israeli customs and checkpoints, there are no difficulties for those who come as tourists. There is no problem beyond the controls required by security. Our guarantor, saying that in Israel, "the Turkish Association" of eighty thousand members were welcomed with flowers by President and his delegation at Tel Aviv airport. Travel is risk-free, and there is no need to worry about security.

Muslim countries should fulfill the material needs of the Palestinians.

All needs of both the Gaza Region and the autonomous Palestinian Territory should be determined annually by the budget technique, in terms of current public expenditures and investment payments; The determined amount of need should be collected in a fund to be formed and met continuously and regularly by the Muslim countries. Thus, it must prevent Palestine from needing the imperialist countries that use Israel as a tool and stop them from selling their homes and leaving them to Palestine, and the psychological balance between the parties must be achieved by developing the economic and social conditions.

Palestine must be recognized as an independent country.

In this way, by maintaining relations with the outside world from the air, land, and sea, the climate should be primed for political support against the occupation.

Long Term Requires:

The organizations that we will list below are indispensable not only to Palestine but also to the Islamic world. Maybe we will look at it with imagination today. But the mission of the dream is a mature project, widespread recognition and debate after the project, and practice after the discourse. I hope our dreams and wishes will be implemented as soon as possible.

If there is a "Parliamentary Assembly” in which the Muslim nations, are treated equally, and this Assembly works on an ongoing basis,

If the "Executive Committee” should be formed and named by this Assembly, if this executive committee tried to solve the problems of Islamic Countries within the framework of the decisions of the Parliamentary Assembly,

The annual budgets of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Executive Committee are financed by its member states.

With the arrangement of the Executive Committee, if the Ministers of Muslim Countries in every field could meet periodically, discuss the common issues of Muslim Nations, and determine mutual policies in each ministry field, especially if common foreign policy principles could be determined and implemented,

If "Muslim Countries Court of Justice” could be established, which would operate under the rules of international laws and found political solutions for the problems both between the forming countries and between other countries and member countries,

If a "Defense and Defense Industry Cooperation” organization can be organized between member countries,

If a "Rapid Intervention Force” could be formed with the participation of the member countries, which the "Executive Committee" could direct and manage, and this military power could be used where necessary, for example, against Israel in the Palestinian territories,

"Human Rights Court” under the control of "Parliamentary Assembly" to prevent human rights violations of member countries;

If a "Criminal Court” could be established and made functional, which could judge the rulers for crimes they would commit against the ruled,

If a permanent army could be formed for Palestine in the Palestinian territories and friendly member territories with the contributions of the member states, if "Economic Cooperation” and "Aid Funds” could be established for member countries,

An atmosphere of peace and tranquility in the world can be created first among Islamic countries and then in the whole world.

he main point that will minimize the problems in the Islamic countries together with Palestine is that it should be our shared concern to understand the formations that can make the Islamic Union a possibility as soon as possible. February 4, 2012