Introduction
Praise be to Allah. Jerusalem has never at any time been merely a matter of borders or a struggle for influence; rather, it was – and still is – a creedal and civilisational cause that touches the very core of the identity of the Islamic Ummah, and is closely connected to its relationship with its Lord, to its method of understanding Allah’s laws (sunan), and to its place in the course of history. It is a grave methodological error to reduce the cause of Jerusalem to its political or humanitarian dimension alone, while neglecting its Shar’i dimension, through which it is understood and through which it is recovered.
Reading Islamic history, the texts of the Shari’ah and contemporary reality leads to a clear conclusion: that the road to Jerusalem is not reduced to bare force, but begins with correcting awareness, reviving faith, and restoring the conditions of empowerment.
Jerusalem in the Islamic Creedal Conception
The mention of Jerusalem in Islamic consciousness is tied to the noblest Qur’anic context, the context of the Night Journey and the Ascension. Allah the Exalted says:
﴿Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.﴾ (al-Isra’ 17:1).
The verse is an explicit text in:
— Affirming the sanctity of the place.
— The comprehensiveness of the blessing in al-Masjid al-Aqsa and what surrounds it.
— Linking al-Aqsa with the Sacred Mosque in Makkah in a devotional, creedal context.
It is also established in the two Sahihs from Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, which mosque was set up on earth first? He said: “Al-Masjid al-Haram.” I said: Then which? He said: “Al-Masjid al-Aqsa.” I said: How long was there between them? He said: “Forty years” (al-Bukhari, no. 3366; Muslim, no. 520).
This hadith confirms that al-Aqsa is part of the first structure of monotheism on earth, not an incidental phenomenon or a historical appendage.
Al-Masjid al-Aqsa… the Obscured Concept
Among the most dangerous forms of contemporary falsification is reducing al-Masjid al-Aqsa to the prayer hall alone, whereas the people of knowledge are agreed that al-Masjid al-Aqsa is everything enclosed by the wall, in its complete area.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Al-Masjid al-Aqsa is a name for the whole mosque that Sulayman, upon him be peace, built” (Majmu’ al-Fatawa, 27/11).
This definition is not an abstract juristic question; rather, it has a direct effect on:
— Understanding the attacks that are taking place.
— Assessing the extent of the violation.
— Confronting attempts at spatial and temporal division.
Jerusalem and the Laws of Alternation and Empowerment
The history of Jerusalem has never been separate from Allah’s laws in nations: just as it was opened when the Ummah was upright, it was lost when the Ummah was negligent. Allah the Exalted says:
﴿Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that – then those are the defiantly disobedient. 55 And establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger – that you may receive mercy. 56 Never think that the disbelievers are causing failure [to Allah] upon the earth. Their refuge will be the Fire – and how wretched the destination.﴾ (al-Nur 24:55–57).
Empowerment is therefore:
— A conditional promise.
— Not realised with creedal defect.
— And not attained with injustice, division and dependency.
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, entered Jerusalem as a conqueror, not a raider, on the day he entered it humbly, realising the meaning of justice; and Jerusalem was on that day a house of safety, not a house of revenge. This bears witness that conquest is the fruit of values, not merely of swords.
Dismantling the Zionist Illusion
The Zionist project – in its essence – is a settler-colonial project of replacement, which employed religion politically and relied on Western power, not on an established historical right.
More than one Western researcher has himself borne witness to this, and the practical reality of the occupation reveals:
— A systematic obscuring of Islamic history.
— The Judaisation of geography.
— An attempt to break awareness before breaking the will.
Yet the most dangerous thing facing the cause today is not the enemy’s power alone, but the erosion of awareness within the Ummah, and the turning of Jerusalem into a seasonal emotional file rather than a continuous central cause.
The True Road to Jerusalem
The recovery of Jerusalem does not begin at the borders but in the hearts, and it is not built by weapons alone, but through:
— Correcting belief and linking the cause to faith.
— Reviving knowledge and awareness of the history of Jerusalem and its standing.
— Reforming the condition of the Ummah in its relationship with Allah, in its unity and in its justice.
— Liberating concepts from media and historical falsification.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Allah supports the just state even if it is disbelieving, and does not support the unjust state even if it is Muslim” (Majmu’ al-Fatawa, 28/63).
So how can victory be hoped for with injustice, heedlessness, dependency and abandonment of the obligations?
Conclusion
Jerusalem is a true mirror of the condition of the Ummah: when it is sound, the Ummah’s affair is sound, and when it is weak, its weakness bears witness against the Ummah. The issue is not only that we love Jerusalem, but that we be an Ummah that deserves it.
The road to Jerusalem is long, but it is clear and free of ambiguity: the road of faith, awareness, action, patience, and certainty in Allah’s promise.
﴿And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know.﴾ (Yusuf 12:21).