Almighty Allah for the guidance of mankind, honoured four famous Prophets by revealing to them four Holy Books as under: 1) Taurat to Prophet Musa (Moses): 2) Zaboor (Psalms) To Prophet Dawood (David); 3) Injeel (Evangel) To Prophet Isa (Jesus); 4) Qur’an To Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (S). The commandments of Allah are contained in these books. The first three books were for the earlier times. The Holy Qur’an is the last book of God and is for the guidance of entire mankind till the Day of Judgement. Prophet Dawood eventually became King of his people. He had 19 sons. Each of them hoped to inherit the father’s throne. Allah revealed to Prophet Dawood a few questions and their answers and commanded him to put the questions to each one of his sons. Whosoever answered those questions correctly, would inherit the throne of the father, Prophet Dawood. One day Prophet Dawood called all his sons in the presence of the scholars and the chiefs of the tribes of his kingdom. He then put forward the following questions: 1) which thing is closest (nearest) to man? 2) Which is the farthest thing? 3) Which two things are attached to each other? 4) Which is the most awe-creating thing? 5, which two things remain unchanged? 6) Which two things are always different? 7) Which two things are opposed to each other? 8) What is the action the result of which is good? 9) What is that action the result of which is bad? The sons of Prophet Dawood felt helpless and could not answer any of these questions. Then the youngest of the sons, Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) stood up and gave the following answers: 1. The nearest things to a man is the hereafter (Life and Death – as one may die any moment); 2. The farthest things is the time which has passed away (which is not to come again); 3. The two things that are attached to each other is man’s body with the soul; 4. The most awe-creating is the man’s body (dead) without soul; 5. The two things which remain the same are the sky and the earth; 6. The two things which are different are the day and night; 7. The two things which are opposed to each other are life and death; 8. The action – the end of which is good – is patience and forbearance at the time of anger; 9. The action – the end of which is bad is haste at the time of anger. Prophet Dawood obviously, was very much impressed with these correct answers and appointed Prophet Sulaiman as his successor. Thus it will be seen that it was the supreme knowledge and understanding that made Prophet Sulaiman succeed his father and become the Great King Prophet. Sulaiman (A.S) was the son of Prophet Dawud (A.S), who was from Bani Israil. In the Abrahamic religions, Dawud (A.S) is most well-known for defeating Jalut (Goliath), a giant man who was seemingly unbeatable. The Israelite king at the time, Talut, promised that whoever defeated Jalut could marry his daughter and become king. According to their accounts, Dawud (A.S) defeated the giant with only a slingshot. To this day, this story serves as a reminder that anything is possible with the help of Allah (swt), and His help is sufficient for the believers. ‘So they defeated them by permission of Allah, and David killed Goliath, and Allah gave him kingship and prophethood and taught him from that which He willed. And if it were not for Allah checking some people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted, but Allah is full of bounty to the worlds’ [Qur’an, 2:251]. The Qur’an tells us that Dawud (A.S) was truly blessed by Allah: He was a wise king to his people, and Allah gave him good judgement and knowledge to judge between them. He was also given the holy scripture of the Zabur (Psalms), and Allah made the recitation of it easy for him. When he praised Allah, the birds and mountains would praise their Lord as well. Allah made iron pliable for him, so he became a great craftsman. ′And We certainly gave Dawud bounty from Us. [We said], “O mountains, repeat [Our] praises with him, and the birds [as well]“. And We made pliable for him iron, [commanding], “Make full coats of chain mail, and calculate the links, and work righteousness. Indeed, I am All-Seeing of what you do” [The Noble Qur’an, 34:10-11] Dawud (AS) is also an example to all of humankind to this day. Quran [38:17] says: Be patient over what they say and remember Our servant, David, the possessor of strength; indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back [To Allah ] Prophet Sulaiman (A.S.) not only inherited many great things from his father; Allah gave him even more blessings! For example, he was granted the ability to communicate with jinn, animals and birds, as well as the ability to control the wind. The Qur’an is filled with stories of these miraculous gifts – far too many stories to mention here. Allah also calls Sulaiman (A.S) ‘Awwab’, which literally means one who repeatedly turns back. This refers to those who constantly repent to Allah, and is one of the most beloved qualities to Him, which he rewards highly: And to Dawud We gave Sulaiman. How excellent a servant! Indeed, he was ever turning back [to Allah, in repentance]. [Mention] when, in the afternoon, poised horses were displayed before him. And he (Sulaiman) said, “Indeed, I gave preference to the love of good things (i.e. looking at horses) instead of the remembrance of my Lord, until (the sun) isappeared into the veil (of night). Bring them (the horses) back to me”. Then he began to pass his hand over their legs and their necks. He (Sulaiman) said, “My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, you are the Bestower“’. [The Noble Qur’an, 38: 31-35] Sulaiman (A.S), aaccording to Tafsir ibn Kathir, was watching well-trained horses of an excellent breed one afternoon and, caught up in admiring them, he missed the time for praying ’Asr. He felt remorse for admiring the good things of this dunya to the point where he forgot to pray and missed out on remembering Allah. So Prophet Sulaiman (A.S) ordered the horses to be brought back to him and, according to Ibn Abbas (ra), he began patting the horses heads and legs, before giving them up for the sake of Allah [Tafsir ibn Kathir]. He then asked Allah for forgiveness and also asked for Allah’s favour. The above story gives us hope for two reasons:-
Firstly, even Sulaiman (A.S), a wise king and a prophet who was repeatedly blessed by Allah, asked for Allah’s forgiveness and constantly repented to Allah. Seeking mercy and forgiveness is an act of worship which is beloved to Allah. In fact, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘By the One in whose hand is my soul, if you did not sin, Allah would replace you with people who would sin, and they would seek forgiveness from Allah and He would forgive them’ (Muslim). Even if we are not confident in other good deeds – for example, praying at night or giving charity – we should at least strive to ask for mercy and forgiveness, especially in Ramadan! Secondly, after asking for mercy, Sulaiman (A.S) asked for Allah’s blessings and favour. Prophet Sulaiman (A.S.)was recorded to have made the following supplication: “My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, you are the Bestower (35)” (Surah Sad Ayah 35). The aim of any Prophet is not to concern oneself with the material and worldly life. Prophet Sulaiman (A.S.) does not ask for a kingdom unlike any other just for power-seeking sake. This is made clear by noticing how he begins the du’a. In his heart and mind, he begins with purifying his soul, asking for forgiveness. His concern is not of this dunya but begins with the Akhirah.
Muslims were commanded to turn towards this mosque in Jerusalem for prayer, before the Kaabah in Makkah was declared as the qiblah (the direction to which Muslim pray). Muslims have a mutual claim to the Holy Land with the Christians and Jewish people that is not exclusionary. They reject the Zionist claim that Palestine belongs to the Children of Israel, as they forfeited that right when they rejected Jesus as the rightful Messiah.
Furthermore, Allah (S.W.T.) knows His prophet, He knows Sulaiman (A.S.) was free from all selfish desires and wanted these resources to spread goodness in His cause. Moreover, Allah (S.W.T.) placed the entire shayateen (the rebellious and evil jinns) under his control. With this power, he could command them as builders and divers, fetching the rarest of resources from the depths of the sea to constructing the largest building for his kingdom. Quran says, “Then We subjugated the wind for him that blew smoothly on his command to wherever he wished, and (We subjugated to him) the devils (among Jinns), all builders and divers, and many others held in chains. This is Our gift. So, do favor (to someone) or withhold (it), with no (requirement to give) account” (Surah Sad, ayat 36-39). Prophet Dawud (A.S) and Sulaiman (A.S) lived in the sacred city of Jerusalem, which is home to the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa, the second-oldest Masjid on earth: On the authority of Abu Dharr (RA) who said, ’I said, “O Messenger of Allah, which Masjid was built first?” He said, “The Sacred Masjid (al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah)”. I said, “And then which one?” He said, “And then the Furthest Masjid (al-Masjid al-Aqsa in al-Quds)“. I said, “What was the period between them?” He said, “Forty (years)“. He then said, “Wherever the time for the prayer comes upon you, then pray, for the earth is a place of prostration (masjid) for you” (Bukhari). According to Imam al-Baghawi, the Ka’bah was first built by angels, around 2,000 years before Adam (A.S) was sent to earth. Later, Adam (A.S) was ordered to lay the foundations of the Ka’bah once more. Since Masjid Al-Aqsa was built only 40 years after the Ka’bah, it is safe to assume that it has existed since the earliest years of humankind. However, at the time of Dawud (A.S) and Sulaiman (A.S), Masjid Al-Aqsa had fallen into ruin. Just as Ibrahim (A.S) had been commanded to rebuild the Ka’bah, Dawud (A.S) was given the noble task of rebuilding Masjid Al-Aqsa. Sadly, he passed away before he could finish it, and Sulaiman (A.S) inherited this duty. As mentioned before, Hazrat Sulaiman (A.S) ruled over people, jinn and animals – so he had a great deal of support in rebuilding Masjid Al-Aqsa! However, he worried that his time in this world was coming to an end. As they worked, he made a special du’a to Allah: Subhan Allah, although Sulaiman (A.S) passed away while rebuilding the Masjid, Allah still answered his du’a, by ensuring the rebuilding work didn’t stop! Hazrat Sulaiman (A.S) passed away as he was leaning on his walking stick, watching his workers. Miraculously, he continued to stand even after his soul left his body – believing that their king was watching them, the workers continued their task, until Masjid Al-Aqsa had been rebuilt. At this point, he fell to the ground – a group of ants had eaten through his walking stick, and it no longer supported him. Because of this miracle, thousands of people from around the world can visit Masjid Al-Aqsa every year. They can see its beautiful olive trees, pray in its blessed rooms and visit its historic graveyard. And every time someone travels to Masjid Al-Aqsa to pray there, Allah answers the du’a of Prophet Sulaiman (A.S), forgiving all of their sins. The main lesson we can gather from this story of hope is the beauty and power of du’a. Hazrat Sulaiman (A.S) asked Allah for three things, none of which were small. Allah granted all him all three. To this day, all Abrahamic faiths know Hazrat Sulaiman (A.S) to be a wise judge of the people he ruled over. He truly did have judgment in line with the Divine Judgement. To this day, no one has ever had a worldly kingdom comparable to his, for he even commanded the wind and the animals! The literal meaning of the words Masjid Al-Aqsa is the “Farthest Precinct of Worship”. In hadith literature, it is also known by a few other names. It is known as “Al-Quds” meaning “the place of Virtues & Significance of Al-Aqsa purity”. It is also known as “Bait Al-Maqdis” which means “The House of the Holy” and as “Bait Al Muqaddas” which means “The unified House”. In the Holy Quran it is also known as “Al-Ardal Muqaddasah” meaning “The Holy Land” (Surah Al-Maeda (5), Ayah 21) the Masjid Al-Aqsa is the only Masjid mentioned by name, in the Holy Quran. To this day, anyone who visits Al-Aqsa is, Insha Allah, granted complete forgiveness, to the point where they are as pure as the day they were born – a status mostly associated with people who perform Hajj to the Ka’bah. The blessed Masjid al-Aqsa has been referred to in the Quran and hadith, as a land which Allah (swt) placed special blessings upon. Islam considers Al-Aqsa Mosque as one of the earliest and the most noteworthy places of worship of God. Glorified be He Who took His servant (Muhammad) for a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque (at Makkah) to the Al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him some of Our signs. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. (Quran 17:1) Masjid Al-Aqsa is the only place on Earth where all the Messengers and Prophets (peace be upon them all) gathered and prayed behind the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him, his family and companions). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) led prayers of 1,24000 Prophets in Al-Aqsa during The Night Journey (al-Isra’). Abu Darda’ relates that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “A prayer in Makkah is worth 100,000 times; a prayer in my Masjid (in Madinah) is worth 1,000 times; and a prayer in Masjid al-Aqsa is worth 500 times more than anywhere else” (Al-Tabarani, al-Bayhaqi and al-Suyuti). Muslims were commanded to turn towards this mosque in Jerusalem for prayer, before the Kaabah in Makkah was declared as the qiblah (the direction to which Muslim pray). Muslims have a mutual claim to the Holy Land with the Christians and Jewish people that is not exclusionary. They reject the Zionist claim that Palestine belongs to the Children of Israel, as they forfeited that right when they rejected Jesus as the rightful Messiah. May Allah guide us towards peace …. Aameen!
( The authors write regularly on Islamic topics exclusively for the opinion pages of “Kashmir Horizon”. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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