# The Prophets, the Messiah, and the Promised Land | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Al-Aqsa - Past, Present, and Promise
**Published:** 2024-12-05
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/jbOmn4ZvqY8
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/the-prophets-the-messiah-and-the-promised-land-al-aqsa
**Topics:** History

## Description
There is no place with a history like Palestine. The stories of countless Prophets, peoples, tyrants, and empires have unfolded here. But what are the qualities that make a people truly worthy of the Promised Land?

## Transcript
**[0:00]** Al-Aqsa Series As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Ahlan wa sahlan wa barakatuh. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. Wa salatu wa salamu ala Rasulil Kareem wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een.

**[0:18]** Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alameen. I want to welcome you all back to the third session of this series on Al-Aqsa. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to liberate it and to make us amongst those who liberate it and are amongst those who are chosen to pray within its blessed sanctuary.

**[0:34]** Allahumma ameen. SubhanAllah, I was reflecting just as I was preparing for this lesson that who would have known that in the last session when we spoke about the blessings of Ash-Sham as a whole and what's included in Ash-Sham that we would be seeing unfold in front of us what is unfolding

**[0:53]** right now. And so we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless all of the people of Ash-Sham. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to shower His mercy upon them. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to dissolve all of those that wish them harm. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to guide towards victory all of those who wish them

**[1:11]** well. Allahumma ameen. Tonight's session is going to be a bit longer. We'll see how much we can get through inshaAllah ta'ala. But it's an incredibly important session because we're going to be speaking about the prophets

**[1:26]** and the promised lands. And what I want us to do is not walk away from tonight with a dry history lesson as to how all of these prophets dwelled within this land. But instead to take the qualities that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala emphasizes of those who

**[1:46]** were deserving of the promised lands from the followers of the prophets. May Allah send His peace and blessings upon them all. And before I go through the chronological order and how Jerusalem comes to be through the lives of the prophets of Allah, I want you to just reflect for a moment.

**[2:05]** Who is Israel in the Quran? Who is Israel? Ya'qub alayhis salam. And subhanAllah just think about how remarkable it is that the story of Bani Israel, the children of Israel, literally starts off with the throwing of an innocent child into a well

**[2:26]** where he will presumably die of starvation or be picked up by someone else after which he ends up in the land of Egypt only to become elevated to a king and to absorb authority of that land.

**[2:41]** Think about the irony of that. This is the first story of Bani Israel in the truest sense is the casting of their brother into a well and trying to rid themselves of a brother whom they partly hated because he was from another mother.

**[2:57]** And then I want you to think about this chronology of these three surahs in the Quran. In Surah Al-Isra, Allah takes the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam from the desert of Mecca to Jerusalem after the perseverance of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam

**[3:17]** and a small group of righteous companions. Allah takes our Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam from the desert of Mecca to Jerusalem and that is in part a reward and a relief for a righteous group of people that persevered under the most difficult of circumstances.

**[3:34]** The next surah is what? Surah Al-Kahf. And in Surah Al-Kahf, Musa alayhis salam is wandering in the desert outside of Jerusalem because of the sins of his people. And so you have a Prophet being brought from a desert to Jerusalem.

**[3:53]** You have a Prophet in the next surah being barred from Jerusalem because of the quality of his people. And then in Surah Maryam, Zakariya alayhis salam is making du'a in Al-Aqsa that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bring forth a righteous generation.

**[4:09]** And then Maryam alayhis salam comes bringing her blessed child, baby Isa alayhis salam, to the courtyard of Al-Aqsa and that blessed baby gives the glad tidings in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa of a blessed Prophet to come, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

**[4:28]** Think about how remarkable those three surahs tie in and how the story of Jerusalem is being told to you through the stories of those Prophets. Now I'm going to break this down inshaAllah and I don't want you to focus too much on

**[4:44]** the dates, the times, the exact years. For those of you that are note takers, and I know that Shaykh Abu Hurayrah just gave you a lesson on note taking, but mashaAllah I still see everyone's doing mental note taking. So I don't know if it's just that there's something going on here or that you're just

**[5:00]** enjoying the blessed weather today. But I don't want you to focus on the numbers, I don't want you to focus on the years. InshaAllah ta'ala my plan is to write this all out in a book bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, within a year bi-idhnillahi ta'ala. And I'm saying that to give myself the motivation to finish it on time inshaAllah.

**[5:17]** But I want you to focus on the way that this cycle of victory and viciousness has continued from the earliest moments of traceable history. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,

**[5:32]** Inna Allaha astafa Adama wa Nuhan wa ala Ibrahima wa ala Imrana ala al-alamin That verily Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the family of Ibrahim and the family of Imran upon all of the worlds.

**[5:48]** And all four of them have a centrality in Jerusalem. And so we started off with Adam alayhis salam and his son Sheeth alayhis salam establishing the beginnings of what would be Al-Aqsa forty years after Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.

**[6:05]** The Ark of Nuh lands right at the coast of Ash-Sham, Nuh alayhis salam. And then Al Ibrahim and Al Imran are centered between Jerusalem and of course in the case of Isma'il alayhis salam and Hajar alayhis salam, Mecca.

**[6:21]** But primarily in Jerusalem. And so you recap the very beginning and subhanAllah what's incredible is that when you look at the history of that land, the earliest recorded civilization to inhabit Ash-Sham are the Natufians.

**[6:40]** And the Natufians, and we're talking about ten, fifteen thousand years as you go back, the Natufians were recorded to be a civilization upon tawheed, upon monotheism. Or everything about them indicates that they were a monotheistic people. So even the earliest recorded civilization in Ash-Sham in the Levant is one of tawheed,

**[7:02]** one of monotheism. And so it starts with Adam alayhis salam. And then after that, around the third millennium BC, before Christ, not before COVID, I know there's BC before COVID and AC which is after COVID, before Christ, BC.

**[7:21]** These blessed lands experience a flourishing civilization that leads to this massive construction. And the first that we can record are the Canaanites. The Canaanites. And the Canaanites established the land of Canaan.

**[7:40]** They are Arab by ethnicity, and so if you're going by history, the first recorded inhabitants of the land are indeed Arabs. But of course we go by faith, not by nationality or blood. But if you want to use that as your metric of claim to the land, it's a Canaanite civilization.

**[7:58]** They spoke the most ancient form of Arabic language. They're actually the ones who named the most ancient cities of Palestine. Akka is named by them. Haifa is named by them. Yafa is named by them. And some even record Gaza as being named by the Canaanites in some capacity.

**[8:18]** And so they're the first civilization there to name the cities and to establish themselves. Around 2000 years BC, you have where the story gets specific. And that is with Ibrahim alayhis salam.

**[8:36]** And Ibrahim alayhis salam is fleeing from a Babylonian tyrant named Nimrud. Nimrud establishes the city of Babylon. And subhanAllah, the first to destroy the city of Jerusalem, to destroy Al-Aqsa, will

**[8:53]** be the Babylonians. And Ibrahim alayhis salam is fleeing from Nimrud, this arrogant tyrant, who believes he has control of the heavens and the earth. And subhanAllah, if you think about the aura of invincibility of a tyrant, especially those

**[9:09]** that the war criminals of today display and boast about proudly, look at the language and the rhetoric and attitude of Nimrud in the Qur'an. When he says, ana uhyi wa umit, I give life and I give death. Watch this. He brings an innocent man and he kills him.

**[9:27]** He brings another man and he spares him. He says, see I give life and I give death. The arrogant tyrant who Ibrahim alayhis salam flees from and ends up in Jerusalem. Now subhanAllah, what's really interesting is that do we have anything in the Qur'an

**[9:42]** about the da'wah of Ibrahim alayhis salam to Palestine, to the people of Jerusalem? Do we? You can guess by the way. Just give me some interaction. If you say yes, you need to justify it.

**[9:59]** Bring the evidence. We actually don't. We don't have any recorded history of the da'wah of Ibrahim alayhis salam to the people of that land. The implication is that either they were not hostile to the ways of Ibrahim alayhis salam or that they accepted the ways of Ibrahim alayhis salam or that there was some sort

**[10:19]** of alignment. But there certainly isn't a hostility towards Ibrahim alayhis salam. We see it in Iraq. We see it with the Babylonians. We see it in Egypt obviously. Ibrahim alayhis salam is fleeing Egypt. But we don't see that in Palestine.

**[10:35]** And Ibrahim alayhis salam settles in the land of Palestine. And by the way, subhanAllah, look how Allah blessed this man alayhis salam. SubhanAllah, I'm just leaving the haram and we're talking about the makings of Ibrahim alayhis salam. Not only did Allah give him Isma'il through Hajar and then Ishaq and then after Ishaq,

**[10:52]** Ya'qub, and he's getting to see a flourishing civilization. He had many more children. In fact, we know that he married again after Sarah and he had at least six children alayhis salam who are buried alongside him in Al-Khalil. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to have that place once again and protect the

**[11:10]** sacred land of the regular incursions there in Al-Khalil. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed Ibrahim alayhis salam to settle there and to expand himself within that land. Now there's this curious case if you're reading biblical narration.

**[11:26]** And of course, our approach to the Isra'iliyat as Muslims is we don't affirm them with certainty nor do we deny them with certainty. We take what aligns and can fill in some gaps as enrichment. And if something contradicts, then we immediately understand that this is something that was

**[11:42]** innovated or added later on. But there's an interesting figure named Malki Zadik. In Arabic, if there are any Arab Christian converts, I actually met one very recently. Malki Sadiq, a righteous king would literally be the name of this figure who supposedly

**[12:03]** is in that land prior to Ibrahim alayhis salam. Now biblically, he starts to get assigned almost God-like powers, like a divine figure that exists in that land and that helps Ibrahim alayhis salam or helps solidify the Abrahamic

**[12:21]** way that is there. And I'm not going to get too far into this. But for those of you subhanAllah who want to read about this, Shaykh Safar al-Hawali wrote a very powerful article called Sababu iftiradi ahl al-kitabi shakhsiyati Malki Sadiq.

**[12:37]** So the reason by which this figure was propped up in Judeo-Christian thought. And one of the things that he mentions is that this gives a supposed divine connection to the land prior to Ibrahim alayhis salam.

**[12:54]** And that we don't have any indication of this figure in Islam. He may or may not have existed. Certainly there seems to be some alignment. But the idea of a transcendent human being, someone that has God-like features, a high priest from the heavens, doesn't add up to anything that would align with the aqidah

**[13:15]** of Islam. Generally speaking though, there is tawheed in the land. Ibrahim alayhis salam refines it in the most beautiful of ways. He's not facing hostility in the land of Palestine. Lut alayhis salam is of course facing hostility in the outskirts of Palestine where the modern

**[13:32]** day Dead Sea is, somewhere around that area. Where the people of Lut alayhis salam, the nephew of Ibrahim alayhis salam, has proceeded in his da'wah. Why is this significant to start off with? Because whoever then has the greatest claim to Ibrahim alayhis salam, has the greatest

**[13:50]** claim to all that is truly Ibrahimi, everything that is Abrahamic. And the Quran emphasizes who has the greatest claim to Ibrahim alayhis salam. Allah azza wa jal makes it a point to constantly emphasize allatheena taba'uhu.

**[14:06]** Those who follow him have the greatest claim to him. Those who follow his ways, those who follow him in creed and character, those who embody his way as individuals, as institutions, have the greatest right to Ibrahim alayhis salam.

**[14:21]** He is not someone who is claimed by lineage. He's someone who had a spiritual lineage. And that's how he is claimed. After Ibrahim alayhis salam, you have Ya'qub alayhis salam.

**[14:37]** Approximately 1800 years BC, before Christ. Some of the scholars of tafsir mention that he is the one who names it Bayt al-Maqdis. Names the area Bayt al-Maqdis, and Allah azza wa jal knows best. But he certainly continues upon the way of his father and of his grandfather.

**[14:58]** And if you look at Surat al-Baqarah, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the changing of the qiblah, mentions the turning of the page of the covenant. It is the only story of prophets where you have prophets that are emphasizing to their children ma ta'buduna min ba'di.

**[15:15]** What are you going to worship after me? What are you going to worship after me? The transfer of the covenant of tawheed from generation to generation. It's actually the only prophet whose death is spoken about in the Quran in this way. His last words in this case is Ibrahim alayhis salam to his children, Ya'qub alayhis salam

**[15:34]** to his children. To emphasize the importance of staying upon Islam, of staying upon faith, the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so Ya'qub alayhis salam imparts the spiritual importance and maintains the way of his grandfather

**[15:54]** and the forefather of faith, Ibrahim alayhis salam. Now historically speaking, once you get into Ya'qub and then Yusuf, one of the things that is happening in the background is that these were the years that were considered to be

**[16:10]** the golden years of the Levant in the Bronze Age. The golden years of Ash-Sham in the Bronze Age. And so essentially the Canaanites are persevering in that land. They're prospering in that land.

**[16:25]** And you have a similar ruling structure that eventually spreads between Egypt and Palestine. And historians term this as the rule of the Hyksos. The rule of the Hyksos.

**[16:40]** And that's actually why they mention the ease of travel at that time period between Egypt and Palestine. Because generally speaking, the Hyksos who are the Easterners, right, who are spreading through the land, expanding between the land of Ash-Sham and Egypt, are allowing for the ease

**[16:59]** of travel between the two places. And that is why it is easy for Ya'qub alayhis salam's children to travel between both places and for commerce to exist between those two places. 1700 BC approximately, Yusuf alayhis salam rises to prominence in Egypt.

**[17:20]** And the family migrates from Palestine to Egypt. And this sets the stage for the eventual return of Bani Israel to the land of Palestine. And this is where you now come to about 1250 BC.

**[17:38]** Enter Musa alayhis salam. Musa alayhis salam grows up amongst his people, Bani Israel in Egypt, but now the rule has transitioned to a Fir'aunic rule. Not to get into a tangent, subhanAllah, but one of the most powerful proofs of the Qur'an

**[17:55]** is that the Qur'an accurately does not call the pre-pharaoh rule a Fir'aun. Whereas the Bible makes this mistake. And historians will point to this in i'jaz, the historical accuracy of the Qur'an. So a Fir'aunic rule rises in Egypt.

**[18:12]** Bani Israel has moved now to Egypt. And they are slaves in the land of Egypt. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives them victory over their Pharaoh. And they are right at the gates of Jerusalem.

**[18:27]** And this is where Musa alayhis salam says, Ya qawmi udhkuru ni'mata Allahi alaykum idh ja'ala fikum anbiya'a wa ja'alakum mulukan O my people, remember the favor of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when he placed amongst you prophethood and kingship. And the scholars mention that Musa alayhis salam was speaking about the future, speaking

**[18:47]** about the potential amongst you, that he has not just promised you nubuwwah, that he has taken you from being slaves and taken you to a place of kingship. That you should not remain enslaved mentally. To Fir'aun and his power and his tyranny. You have in you what Allah azza wa jal has placed in your determination.

**[19:07]** Nubuwwah and mulk, prophethood and kingdom. Udkhulu al-arda al-muqaddasata allati kataba Allahu lakum, O my people, enter into the holy land that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has written for you.

**[19:24]** And unfortunately their minds were too small, their hearts were too weak. They had not escaped the spiritual shackles of Fir'aun even though Musa alayhis salam led them out of the physical domination of Fir'aun. And so they said, ya Musa inna fiha qawman jabbarin.

**[19:42]** There are powerful people that are there and we will not enter it, hatta yakhruju minha, until they leave that land. How many people were with Musa alayhis salam? To give you a visual. He had about 600,000 people with him.

**[19:57]** All of them were unwilling to enter into Jerusalem with the exception for two of them that said that they would stand by Musa alayhis salam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala just showed these people the power of destruction of Fir'aun by drowning Fir'aun and his army in the seas.

**[20:21]** He parted the seas to save them from a far more brutal regime. From something far more vicious. But their faith had already gone back. Both in terms of their tawheed, in terms of their monotheism, constructing the golden calf.

**[20:39]** As well as failing to believe in the power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so they refused. And you can imagine how frustrating this was to Musa alayhis salam. What do I have to do for you? The seas were parted for you.

**[20:54]** An army was drowned in front of your eyes. And now you're saying, inna fiha qawman jabbarin. Who is more jabbar, as far as tyrants are concerned, than Fir'aun? But Allah spared you. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved you.

**[21:11]** And so in this case, for 40 years now, they have to wander in the desert. And this is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions. When Musa alayhis salam says, la amliku illa nafsi wa akhi.

**[21:28]** I cannot control anyone but me and my brother. It is me and my brother and then the fata, the young man that is with him. I have no control over these people. Fafruk baynana wa bayna al-qawmi al-fasiqin. Separate me from an evil people. By the way, in that is an ishara once again, a sign once again.

**[21:46]** You don't claim Moses on the basis of lineage. It's a spiritual lineage, righteousness. He said, separate me from these people. I am no longer of them. They are no longer of me. I want nothing to do with these people. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala answered by making it muharramatan alayhim arba'ina sanah.

**[22:06]** Forbidden for 40 years. And this is what's known as sunnatul istibdal. The sunnah of replacing a people that are unworthy with a people that are worthy. Allahumma ista'milna wa la tastabdilna. Oh Allah, use us, do not replace us. Because what we see happening in Jerusalem right now,

**[22:23]** we know what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has written in the future. But the question we have to ask ourselves, and I want you to keep asking yourself as you go through the qualities, are we worthy of this land? Are we worthy of this victory from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

**[22:39]** And the scholars of tafsir mention that all of the people of Moses alayhis salam were elderly at this point. The youngest one amongst them was 20. And the reason why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave it 40 years

**[22:54]** is that this would be enough of a time for a purge to happen. For a new generation to grow amongst them that may be worthy of what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has written for them. So for 40 years, they are in the desert.

**[23:12]** No one knows who they are. They have no contact with the outside world. And that's why the ayat in Surah Al-Baqarah come. La yaqtulu ba'duhum ba'dan Not to kill amongst yourselves the rules of how they should behave with each other.

**[23:28]** As they reside now in the deserts. And Musa alayhis salam as we mentioned earlier, is himself prevented from that victory. Or from seeing that entrance, that mighty entrance in the land. Not because of any wickedness on his part.

**[23:45]** But only a physical barrier between him and Jerusalem. Fasa'ala Allaha an yudniyahu min al-ardi al-muqaddasati ramyata bi-hajar So he asked Allah to bring him the distance of a stone's throw away from Jerusalem. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed him that.

**[24:00]** And he is buried tahta al-kathib al-ahmar under a red dune very close to the gates of Jerusalem. Now this is where the story starts to heat up. 1200 BC. In Surah Al-Kahf Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the story of Musa alayhis salam and Al-Khadir alayhis salam.

**[24:19]** And then he starts to tie stories together. When did the story of Musa alayhis salam and Al-Khadir alayhis salam happen? It happened during that time of Exodus. During that time of wandering in the desert.

**[24:35]** Which makes it that much more profound because the story of Musa alayhis salam and Al-Khadir alayhis salam is a story of qadr. Why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people? And the workings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala of his ajab, of his divine decree.

**[24:51]** And the greatest thing on the concern of Musa alayhis salam as far as the things that are happening is the forbiddance. Of even the righteous from entering into Jerusalem because of the actions of the wicked. But Allah has a divine scheme.

**[25:06]** Allah mentions in Surah Al-Kahf the fata of Musa alayhis salam. The young man that was with Musa alayhis salam. Who was that young man? Have I already lost you all?

**[25:21]** What time is it? I'm going to try to test how long I can go with you all. Once I see you wear out all together I'm going to cut the lesson. We'll continue next week inshaAllah. Who is the fata with Musa alayhis salam? Who is the young man with him? Yusha' ibn Nun.

**[25:36]** The prophet Joshua alayhis salam. SubhanAllah just like how when the prophet (ﷺ) stood on Safa. It was the young Ali (رضي الله عنه). That said Ya Rasulullah I will support you.

**[25:51]** Even if everyone else turns their backs on you. Yusha' ibn Nun was a believing young man. The young man who looked around and said what's wrong with you people? Of course we'll support a Nabi of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah azza wa jal rewarded him by including him amongst the anbiya.

**[26:11]** And so he was inducted into the legion of prophets with Musa and Harun. And now Yusha' ibn Nun. The righteous fata. And this is where the lessons start to pour in. What stopped the people of Musa alayhis salam from entering into Jerusalem.

**[26:31]** Was their lack of faith. And that lack of faith translated into cowardice. They had no courage because of da'f al-yaqin. Because of the weakness of their certainty.

**[26:46]** So cowardice had overcome them. And that is the most severe form of hypocrisy in that regard. Allah tells you to go forth and you don't believe in the power of Allah. And that's why you don't go forth. That's the worst type of holding back. See different people hold back for different reasons.

**[27:03]** But to hold back from a place of disbelief is the worst form of holding back. That I don't believe that Allah gives victory. And if you don't believe that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives Yu'izzu man yasha' wa yudhillu man yasha'

**[27:18]** That Allah azza wa jal gives honor to whom he wants and he debases whom he wants. Then that's the worst form of holding back. That's the people of Musa alayhis salam. Let's go to what the Prophet (ﷺ) told us about. Yusha' ibn Nun alayhis salam. And this is in Sahih al-Bukhari.

**[27:34]** Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrates that the Prophet (ﷺ) said ghaza nabiyun min al-anbiya' fa qala li qawmihi That a prophet from amongst his prophets went forth in battle and he said to his people Pause here. Ibn Hajar rahimahullah narrates that this is

**[27:50]** If you piece the prophets stories together. This is Yusha' ibn Nun. ghaza nabiyun min al-anbiya' here is Yusha' ibn Nun Entering into Jerusalem. Now leading the children. The worthy children. In that sunnah of istibdal. That have been switched out towards Jerusalem.

**[28:06]** But look at what he says to his people. This was the announcement. Of Yusha' to the people. He said to them. la yatba'ni rajulun malaka budu'a imra'atin wa huwa yuridu an yabni biha

**[28:21]** wa lamma yabni biha He said. Let not. Someone. Who has just gotten married. And wishes to consummate his marriage. But has not yet done so.

**[28:37]** Follow me. Why? It starts to make sense when you follow the rest of the hadith. He said. And do not. wa la ahadun bana buyutan wa lam yarfa' suqufaha

**[28:54]** And not let anyone. Follow me. Who is building a house but has not yet put the roof on his house. wa la rajulun ishtara ghanaman aw khalifatin wa huwa yantadhiru wiladaha

**[29:10]** He said. And let not anyone follow me. Who has bought a sheep. Or some pregnant. She-camels. And he is expecting them to produce young. Very interesting.

**[29:25]** He said. If you're one of these people. Stay back. Why? Because the second type of da'f al-yaqin. Of certainty here. Is someone who is too attached to this world. Nothing that was mentioned here. Is inherently haram.

**[29:40]** But I want people who go forth. And aren't being held back by. Still being tied to this world. I want people that have. People that have overcome the distraction of this world. See there are people that believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And believe in his power. But they're distracted by the allure of this world.

**[29:56]** And Yusha' ibn Nun is saying that if you're still stuck. In the middle of these things. Then. I can't have you with me. I need people that are singularly focused on the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala right now.

**[30:12]** Incredible. SubhanAllah. And so he went forth. The prophet (ﷺ). Fa ghaza fa dana min al-qaryah. That he came close. And then as he approached the time. He approached it at salat al-asr.

**[30:27]** Aw qariban min thalik. Or close to salat al-asr. He approached this town. And it is presumably Jerusalem. At the time of asr. And just as he looked up at the sun as it was setting.

**[30:42]** Qala lish-shams. Innaki ma'murah. Wa ana ma'mur. You oh sun are commanded by Allah. And I too am commanded by Allah. Allahumma ihbisha alayna fa hubisat hatta fataha Allahu alayh.

**[30:59]** Oh Allah. Hold it back. Hold back the sun. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala held back the sun. Until Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala granted him victory on his hands. And he is the man that the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned that the sun has never stopped.

**[31:17]** For a man. Besides Yusha' ibn Nun as he was to conquer. Bayt al-Maqdis. Allah held it back for six days. Until he completed the mission. By the way subhanAllah I always wonder. And this is of the mysteries that Allah azza wa jal leaves in the Quran.

**[31:33]** Perhaps so that you don't become obsessed with the details. After Musa found Al-Khadir. What happened to Yusha'? What happened to the fata? And it's in the same spirit. Of that they will say khamsah. They will say there are five or six or seven.

**[31:49]** These details belong to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But certainly what Musa alayhis salam gained of an understanding of the qadr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And divine nature would have been transplanted back into the fata of Yusha' ibn Nun alayhis salam.

**[32:04]** Who understands Allah commands. Allah decrees. We go forth. And so the qualities are not just to believe in the power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. To develop tawakkul.

**[32:19]** To develop the trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But also the quality of not being distracted by the allure of this world. As you pursue the eternity of Jannah. We also know from the messenger of Allah (ﷺ). That none of those who worshipped the baqarah.

**[32:34]** Who worshipped the calf. Were amongst those who Allah azza wa jal allowed to enter Jerusalem with Yusha' ibn Nun. That this was a different generation. A smaller generation of righteous people. The children of some of those who disobeyed. Which shows you the possibility of redemption in the children of those who disobeyed.

**[32:53]** But Allah azza wa jal granted them victory. And as Imam At-Tabari rahimahullah and others narrate. That Yusha' ibn Nun died at the age of 127. After defeating seven tribes. And he's believed to be buried in As-Salt in Jordan today.

**[33:10]** Story should be over now right? But it's always the same cycle. Allah grants the righteous generation victory. And then they disobey Allah again. Allah sends them Hizqil, Ilyas, Uzayr.

**[33:25]** Prophet after prophet after prophet. To remind them to come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But wickedness overcomes them again. And in their prosperity they develop spiritual poverty. And they move away from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Then Allah sends Samuel.

**[33:41]** The prophet Samuel alayhis salam. And Samuel is asked by Bani Isra'il who have now been run out once again. Despised once again. Diminished once again. Send us a king that we can fight behind and reclaim our glory.

**[33:59]** And Allah sends Talut. Talut alayhis salam. Talut comes forth chosen by Samuel because of his righteousness. And the same people reject him. Because he's not from the elite tribes.

**[34:18]** Nor is he elite in wealth. Does this sound familiar? Think about Quraysh when they saw the prophet (ﷺ). Or Banu Quraydhah and Qaynuqa' and Nadhir in Madinah when they saw the prophet (ﷺ). Like him? Now the prophet (ﷺ) was from the most noble of lineage.

**[34:34]** But why not us? And he's not rich. He doesn't have the glory of a king. The embellishments of a king. He's different. Talut was poor. And he was from the descendants of Binyamin alayhis salam.

**[34:50]** SubhanAllah the irony of how it just travels. Yusuf and Binyamin from a different mother. And so they were put to the side. He's from Binyamin. But Allah describes him as bastatan fil ilmi wal jism. That Allah gave him tremendous knowledge and tremendous strength.

**[35:07]** And if you want victory you follow a man of faith, a man of knowledge, a man of strength that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has chosen. And Allah azza wa jal even gave an ayah. Just as he gave an ayah to the prophet (ﷺ). Ayah to the prophet (ﷺ).

**[35:22]** And that ayah was al-tabut. The tabut was a casket of sorts that had some of the belongings of Musa alayhis salam and Harun alayhis salam. And they used to keep them for barakah, for blessing. And the enemies who had now spread through the land under Jalut, Goliath.

**[35:41]** The Philistines who by the way have nothing to do with Palestine and the Arabs. But Goliath spreads corruption through the land, employs a very pharaonic way of dealing with Bani Israel. Yudhabbihu abna'ahum wa yastahyuna nisa'ahum.

**[35:58]** Once again killing children, wreaking corruption, beating them back into their corners. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala restores the tabut back to Talut. In a divine fashion. And so the angels bring the tabut from the seizure of Jalut to Talut.

**[36:16]** From Goliath to Saul to Talut. And that is a sign of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's blessing. And it's a sign that Allah will send the mala'ikah, will send the angels to give you victory. Allah azza wa jal will propel you to victory so long as you remain upon that way.

**[36:31]** Talut goes forward. Some of the narrations of tafsir mention about 30,000 men. The army of Jalut, of Goliath, is anywhere from a quarter million to a half a million. Significantly larger army and mighty in strength, huge in size, fully equipped with all of the military equipment that was necessary at the time.

**[36:54]** And Talut goes forth with divine providence. And it was here that Allah azza wa jal sends another test. The test of sincerity. And sincerity shows in attrition.

**[37:09]** Think about this, like go back to Musa alayhis salam's people who were not worthy. And then Yusha' alayhis salam saying like I can't have you if you're still being pulled. And now the greatest test of sincerity and courage and yaqin and certainty is attrition.

**[37:27]** Which is what? That after a long journey, striving in the desert, they arrive at the Jordan River. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that Talut says to them, Allah is testing you with this river.

**[37:44]** Do not drink from this river. That's the test, the test of attrition. What made the sahaba so special in battle was that they always had that extra push of iman that the other side could not push. Understand, that always allowed them to propel forward at the very end.

**[38:05]** That attrition, that resilience that Allah describes, that the Prophet (ﷺ) describes, the people of Gaza today, the Ta'ifah al-Mansurah today, the saved group today. That they push to the end. And so you're thirsty. And the lesson is, don't drink from the water because that's the order.

**[38:24]** Why? Don't ask why. Follow the rules. Follow the command. And unfortunately, sharibu minhu illa qalilan minhum Almost all of them drank from the river.

**[38:39]** And so how many graduated from that test? Of anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000 men. How many of them graduated? Anyone know? Alhamdulillah, you're either learning or you're asleep then.

**[38:56]** It's actually a hadith which shows you subhanAllah the divine transfer here. Al-Bara' (رضي الله عنه) says, haddathani as-habu Muhammadin (ﷺ) mimman shahida Badran That the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) who witnessed Badr said to me,

**[39:12]** annahum kanu 'iddata as-habi Taluta allatheena jazaw ma'ahu an-nahar That they were the same number as the army of Talut that passed the test of the river.

**[39:28]** And that is of course in this case, bid'ata 'ashara wa thalatha mi'ah That 310 and some, and we know that the people of Badr were 313 approximately. The Sahaba in Badr, the best of this ummah were the people of Badr.

**[39:47]** And they were 313. And the Sahaba are saying that we are the same number as the best that were purified, that got to march forth towards Jerusalem. I read that hadith and it blew my mind.

**[40:04]** It really did, subhanAllah, when you think about it. Like how the divine promise keeps on coming back over and over and over again. Talut would rather 313 sincere people than 30,000 men whose hearts cannot be trusted.

**[40:23]** Because that's where victory comes. And remember when Jibril alayhis salam says, what do you say about As-habu Badr, Ahlu Badr, the people of Badr amongst you, the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) said, khiyaruna They're the best of us. And Jibril alayhis salam said, and they're the best of the angels. And here 313 men were the only men that were worthy.

**[40:42]** From the army of Talut. And he continues and he says, ma jawaza ma'ahu an-nahra illa mu'min That no one passed the river with Talut except for a true believer. And no one stood with the Prophet (ﷺ) in Badr except for a true believer.

**[41:00]** There were no hypocrites amongst the people of Badr. Allah subhanAllah gave them a decisive victory. And of the most righteous of those that followed. You know, there is a scene in Badr before the battle.

**[41:19]** The two Mu'adhs tapping on the shoulder of the senior companions. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. And they're saying, which one of those Abu Jahl? We're ready to go fight him. Come on, man. These are the people that were little kids.

**[41:37]** That show up on the day of Badr and say, we're ready. And that beg their parents to go out and to be alongside the Prophet (ﷺ). A young man arises from the army of Talut. And he's a young man from Bethlehem.

**[41:54]** And he has righteous parents. Who is this young man? Dawud alayhis salam. The father of Dawud alayhis salam Permits the rest of the kids to go. But he doesn't want Dawud to go. Dawud insists on going forth and joining the army of Talut.

**[42:13]** He joins the army of Talut. And he is the one who rises to the occasion. He is the one whom Allah subhanAllah grants victory over Jalut, over Goliath. And as he defeats the army of Goliath.

**[42:31]** Allah subhanAllah allows Dawud alayhis salam to capture Jerusalem. And to make it the capital of his kingdom. And a hub of ibadah, of worship and spirituality.

**[42:46]** And true connection with Allah subhanAllah. Dawud alayhis salam who exemplifies just rule. Who exemplifies al-adl. Who exemplifies not being deceived by who your parents are. Or what tribe you come from.

**[43:02]** Dawud alayhis salam who encompasses all of the desired qualities of man. Yet is not held back by the usual desires of man. And I want you to think about this. If you took the way the Prophet (ﷺ) praised Dawud alayhis salam and his qualities.

**[43:22]** SubhanAllah that could be an entire book in and of itself. That could be a risalah in and of itself. When Adam alayhis salam saw his children. Before we were even here and he saw lights coming from this young man.

**[43:39]** He said, who is that? How much nur he has. And Adam alayhis salam even gave him decades of his own life. Said this young man needs to live more. 60 years is not enough for him. Give him 40 of my life, let him live 100 years.

**[43:55]** Because Dawud alayhis salam is a man of salah. The Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned khayru al-qiyam. The best of qiyam is the qiyam of Dawud alayhis salam. You know that concept of the last third of the night. Dawud alayhis salam used to pray in the last third of the night. The best of fasting is the fasting of Dawud alayhis salam.

**[44:13]** How much did Dawud used to fast? How much did he used to fast? Every other day. Imagine the state of the heart of a person who fasts every other day. By the way, the first person I ever met in my life who actually does siyam Dawud is someone who is a convert to Islam.

**[44:32]** Who regularly has done it. A sister that converted to Islam has been upon it for years. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala preserve her and keep her steadfast upon it. Blew my mind. Imagine the state of the heart of a person that fasts every other day. So his qiyam, his siyam, his shukr, his gratitude that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala praises in the Qur'an.

**[44:56]** He was worthy because of that. And here is something very important too. That if you open a version of the Bible today and you read about King David, he's not that person.

**[45:14]** He's a person who's deceitful at times. He's a person who sends out his general to go out and die in battle because he finds the wife of that general desirable as he catches her bathing so that he can steal her from him.

**[45:29]** He is denigrated with the worst of qualities. Look at the way that he's praised by the Prophet (ﷺ). Look at the qualities that have been assigned to him. And yes, we believe wholeheartedly that these are not the original scriptures and texts about Dawud alayhis salam. That these were assigned to him.

**[45:44]** That these were placed on him. Because if you can make a person of that lowliness of quality still capable of that highness of victory, then our lowly qualities should not stop us from victory. They're not disqualifying qualities anymore.

**[46:02]** And that is a significant departure that we have with the narrative around Dawud alayhis salam and other prophets as well. So he's the opposite of that. So Dawud alayhis salam again exemplifies the qualities that were necessary to be granted that gift.

**[46:20]** Praised by the Prophet (ﷺ). He ruled for about 30 decades. And then Sulayman alayhis salam rises and Sulayman alayhis salam becomes king. This is around now 933 BC to 972 BC.

**[46:39]** And this is the culmination of the political power and the kingdom of Bani Isra'il. He builds masajid. And when we say masajid, we mean places of worship. All over the earth. Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنه) mentions over 40 of them.

**[46:56]** And he particularly invests in Al-Aqsa. In a place of worship in the holy land. Knowing the blessing and virtue of that land. And he makes du'a at that time as we said. That no one will come to this masjid.

**[47:11]** wa alla ya'tiya hadha al-masjida ahadun la yuridu illa as-salata fihi illa kharaja min dhunubihi ka yawmi waladathu ummuhu That no one will come to this place only to pray except that they will leave this place. Like the day that their mother gave birth to them.

**[47:26]** After Sulayman alayhis salam, we now come to the year 587 BC. And this is a name that I don't expect any of you to remember. Nabakut Nazar. You all remembered it?

**[47:41]** But this is who many of the mufassirin mentioned in the Quran. wa man adhlamu mimman mana'a masajida Allahi an yudhkara fiha ismuhu wa sa'a fi kharabiha The first person we know to destroy, to actually destroy the remnants of worship in Al-Aqsa.

**[47:57]** And so this is the first destruction by the Babylonians. And the Babylonians would ransack much of the land around Ash-Sham until they specifically honed in on Palestine. They besieged Quds twice.

**[48:12]** One time in 597 BC, another time in 589 BC, and then finally in 586 BC. He raids and kicks out the entire population and destroys all of the remnants of Bani Israel in that population.

**[48:29]** He depopulates it almost entirely. So anything of Sulayman, anything of Bani Israel at that time is expelled. Now here's the thing, even in Jewish tradition, this is attributed to the deterioration of faith and manners and character of Bani Israel.

**[48:47]** That wickedness bears defeat. Righteousness bears victory. Wickedness bears defeat. And so now Jerusalem is under the rule of the Babylonians.

**[49:02]** It's at this time, to show you the movement of the world, we're about a thousand years before the Prophet (ﷺ), that you start to see the first appearance of what would become Banu Qaynuqa', Banu Quraydhah, and Banu Nadhir in the area of Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, in the area of Yathrib.

**[49:22]** Anticipating where the direction of light will come. So it's actually at this point when the Babylonians expel and depopulate Jerusalem from Bani Israel, that some of them start to make their way and head to that land. The year 537, Cyrus, the Persian king, conquers Babylon, and he allows for the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

**[49:47]** And they begin to rebuild in the area of Al-Aqsa, to rebuild the temple. So this is 537 BC. 516, Darius the Great completes the temple. And so under Persian rule, the second temple is complete.

**[50:05]** The second temple is complete. And this is going to last up until we now have Alexander the Great in the year 332 approximately BC conquering Jerusalem. So you go from Babylonian to Persian to Greek.

**[50:21]** And when the Greeks enter, then in this case, the region is influenced by all sorts of Hellenistic practices, all sorts of Greek culture. And so the temple is there, 352, as it was rebuilt.

**[50:36]** The temple is there, and it's going to stand, but you start to see Greek influence coming under Alexander the Great. 164 BC, the Hasmonean dynasty establishes rule.

**[50:51]** I'm going to fast forward to Isa, coming to Jesus, peace be upon him. 63 BC, Pompey the Great takes Jerusalem, and he's a Roman general. So the Romans, who had established now dominance around Ash-Sham, around Syria, in the year 64, are able to conquer Jerusalem.

**[51:10]** 63 BC. 47 BC, Julius Caesar conquers Alexandria and then defeats Pompey in 45 BC. And then under Julius Caesar, Judaism is officially recognized as a legal religion under Roman rule.

**[51:31]** Under Roman rule. And so they start to practice an allowance of Judaism to exist under Roman rule, but of course with Roman conditions. Julius Caesar is murdered in the year 43 BC. We're getting closer to Isa, peace be upon him.

**[51:47]** The Roman Civil War starts. Herod the Great is designated as the king of the Jews by the Roman Senate. And so the Roman Empire installs Herod the Great, who is technically from Bani Israel, to rule under the provisions of the Romans.

**[52:08]** So it's Judea as a client kingdom. Not a fully independent kingdom, but a kingdom that exists under a kingdom. And so everyone knows that while Herod is on the throne in Jerusalem, that the power behind the throne is the Roman occupation.

**[52:26]** And Herod the Great will crush any type of opposition. He was a brutal ruler. He didn't allow any type of revolution, any type of revolt. And so people feared the iron fist of Herod. But during that time, what he did to the area of Jerusalem was he turned it into a tourist destination.

**[52:48]** I'll let your imagination make parallels to the times as they come. He turned it into a tourist destination. He established a bazaar in the area of the holy place. Roman artifacts, Roman influence starts to show up even in the area of the temple.

**[53:07]** And so while architecturally Jerusalem never looks more beautiful, the spirit is completely gone. And this is now where you have what the Romans practice, which was called syncretism,

**[53:22]** where they accepted religious beliefs and philosophical teachings, as long as they were tempered by the greater Roman political power and the greater Roman doctrine. So what's happening to Bani Israel?

**[53:39]** You guys have 15 more minutes left in here? The weather is nice. The righteous amongst Bani Israel are a shrinking breed, shrinking group. Bani Israel though, many of them are still sick of the political humiliation of the Romans.

**[53:59]** They can't stand living under the grip of the Roman Empire. So they don't want victory for Allah. They want victory for political dominance. We want to overthrow the Roman system for political dominance.

**[54:14]** And so the wait now is on for Al-Masih. And Al-Masih, the Messiah is Al-Masih ibn Dawud. I always chuckle when I see bin Dawud, like in the Haramayn. The wait is for Al-Masih, the son of David, meaning someone from the lineage of Dawud alayhis salam.

**[54:34]** And the word Messiah means anointed, chosen. And if you look at the early Jewish teachings, you'll find that they believed in Al-Masih in the same way that we think of a mujaddid, that every 100 years Allah sends a reviver, that uplifts them out of their political humiliation,

**[54:50]** that revives their state of affairs, that brings them back to a position of power. And so here in this case, Orthodox Jews, till today by the way, they hold it as one of the 13 principles of faith. Reformed Jews actually don't believe in a Messiah at all.

**[55:07]** So similar to, I guess, Qur'aniyun, those that say we only believe in the Qur'an, and if it's not in the Qur'an, it's not real. Reformed Jews will point to the fact that the Messiah, or this concept of a Messiah that has this type of specification,

**[55:25]** is not explicit enough, or the messianic concept is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah in the first five books, therefore they don't accept it. Who is this person? A great military leader, a king that other leaders will look to for guidance,

**[55:42]** that will bring people back to the worship of one God. A person that will descend from Dawud alayhis salam. Weapons of war will be destroyed. By the way, I'm quoting straight from the Bible as it exists today. These are all traits of the Messiah, Al-Masih ibn Dawud.

**[55:58]** And they were so desperate for a Masih to bring them out of political humiliation, and restore the temple, and give them the promised land, without any type of religious consideration, that they even assigned the Persian king Cyrus as a Messiah.

**[56:13]** They called him a Masih too. Even though he's absolutely not within the corpus of what would fit the category. And if you read the Psalm 137, verse 8 and 9, O Babylon, you will be destroyed.

**[56:28]** Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us. Blessed is the one who grabs your babies and smashes them against the stone. There's a vindictive nature of overthrow, of getting back to a place of victory.

**[56:44]** Before Isa alayhis salam Al-Masih, Isa alayhis salam Al-Masih ibn Maryam, you have two famous claimants to being the Messiah, to bring Bani Israel back to their place of power. First you have Judas Maccabeus.

**[57:00]** It was about 160 BC, but he's mentioned because he's very successful before he's killed. He purifies the Temple of Jerusalem. He is someone who frees Bani Israel from foreign domination.

**[57:16]** He ushers in a temporary period of dominance, and that is actually when Hanukkah is celebrated every year, referring to his victory to free them from foreign dominance. And then you have Simon of Perea, who to me subhanAllah is really a fascinating figure.

**[57:33]** There was a National Geographic documentary called The First Jesus, and it's about Simon of Perea, because he's right at the same time of Isa alayhis salam. In fact, he's believed to have launched his revolt the same time that Jesus was born, the same year that Isa alayhis salam was born.

**[57:51]** And he was a slave of Herod the Great, but he rebelled, and he managed to burn down multiple palaces. He burnt down the palace in Jericho. He managed to outsmart Herod in many ways, and conquer much of his palaces,

**[58:08]** much of his territory, and many of Bani Israel believe that he was the one. This is our Messiah. This is Al-Masih ibn Dawud, Simon. But then he was caught, and he was beheaded. And so now we're waiting, we're waiting, we're waiting. And we come to the family of Imran.

**[58:25]** Bani Israel at this point had largely become corrupted. There was corruption amongst them, cheating, wickedness, and that's compounded by the humiliation, the degradation of their political situation that seems to justify the evil amongst themselves.

**[58:43]** We are treated this way, and so we treat each other this way also. And amongst them you have the shining family of Ali Imran, who Allah has chosen. Imran, a leader, an imam, and then Zakariya alayhis salam, and Allah takes us to those moments in Al-Masjid al-Aqsa.

**[59:05]** And how does this work? The wife of Imran gets pregnant. She asks Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bear children. She gets pregnant. Inni nadhartu laka ma fi batni muharraran I have dedicated what is in my tummy.

**[59:20]** I have dedicated what is in my stomach, freed from the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, freed from all responsibilities. The hope was that this was the prophet, that this was going to be one that would revive the ways of Bani Israel, bring them back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is all happening around Jerusalem now.

**[59:36]** And she gives birth, and of course, it is Maryam alayhis salam, a girl. Rabbi inni wada'tuha untha I gave birth to a girl. wa laysa adh-dhakaru kal-untha wa inni sammaytuha Maryam A girl is not like a boy, but I have named her Maryam.

**[59:55]** By the way, how many of you are named Maryam in the crowd? Do we have Maryams? This is strange. I don't think I've ever been in a Muslim gathering this large and not seen a single Maryam. Wow. I'm going to assume that there are many other shy Maryams.

**[1:00:10]** Alright, I promise I wasn't going to make you stand up or do any fundraising. But when she says, I have named her Maryam, there is something there that shows that there is an insistence that this is a special child. There is a protest being registered behind that name.

**[1:00:25]** The name Maryam, if translated, means Amatullah, the female servant of Allah. Amah, mari, rabbi, amatu rabbi The female slave of my Lord, if you trace its roots.

**[1:00:43]** And I'm not going to get too far into that right now. Why is that so profound? Because Aisha (رضي الله عنها) mentions that Bani Israel had prohibited their women from worshipping in the masjid. And so when she intended a boy that she would dedicate to the masjid, and it was a girl,

**[1:01:03]** wa inni sammaytuha Maryam I will fulfill my promise, my intention with this child. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, la tamna'u ima'a Allahi Do not prohibit the Amatullahs, the female servants of Allah, from the houses of Allah, from masajid Allah.

**[1:01:20]** And so, subhanAllah, that spirit is encompassed here. And Zakariya alayhis salam builds for her a mihrab, kaffalaha Zakariya The husband of her aunt takes her, builds a mihrab for her in the masjid.

**[1:01:35]** And Zakariya was a najjar, was a carpenter as the Prophet (ﷺ) said in the hadith in Bukhari. She worships in her own mihrab, in her own place. And mihrab means yuharib nafsah A place of harb, a place where you wage war against your soul, against yourself. Exerting herself in ibadah in a corner in Masjid Al-Aqsa, away from the political affairs or from even the religious circles of Bani Israel.

**[1:01:58]** As she stays in her place, growing up in the worship of Allah. Zakariya alayhis salam is looking around and wondering where is the continuation of the promise of Bani Israel, of the promise of goodness and faith amongst our people in this land. And then Zakariya alayhis salam, kullama dakhala alayha Zakariya al-mihraba wajada indaha rizqan Zakariya alayhis salam, whenever Zakariya entered the mihrab, he found a provision.

**[1:02:19]** Zakariya starts seeing fruits and vegetables out of season popping up always in the mihrab of Maryam alayhis salam. Anna laki hadha Where is this coming from? Huwa min indi Allahi inna Allaha yarzuqu man yasha'u bi ghayri hisab This is from Allah.

**[1:02:34]** Allah provides what He wills, to whom He wills, when He wills. Hunalika da'a Zakariya rabbahu Here is when He wills. Zakariya takes to the corner of Masjid Al-Aqsa. And imagine that man making du'a, a 90 year old man.

**[1:02:49]** Qala rabbi inni wahana al-adhmu minni wa ishta'ala ar-ra'su shayban wa lam akun bi du'a'ika rabbi shaqiyyan O my Lord, my hair is bursting with gray, my bones have withered on the inside,

**[1:03:04]** but I've never given up in my du'a on you because you've never let me down in my du'a. wa inni khiftu al-mawaliya min wara'i wa kanati imra'ati aqiran I'm looking around, I don't see anybody. I don't see the transition.

**[1:03:19]** I don't see the succession of righteousness. Forget about the political corruption, what about the religious corruption, what's gonna happen to us? Fa hab li And my wife is barren. So give me a child. Yarithuni wa yarithu min ali Ya'quba wa ij'alhu rabbi radiyyan Who will inherit me and inherit from the family of Ya'qub,

**[1:03:38]** Isra'il alayhis salam Israel, everything of good that came, all the knowledge, all the wisdom. Let it be in this child and let it be pleasing to you. And let him be pleasing to you. Allah azza wa jal grants him Yahya alayhis salam.

**[1:03:54]** Yahya alayhis salam is born. And Maryam alayhis salam, little did she know that suddenly she would be pregnant too. And she goes to makan qasiyyan, a hidden place to deliver.

**[1:04:10]** Now SubhanAllah Maryam alayhis salam would leave Al-Aqsa only at the time, as Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنه) mentions, where she would not be in the masjid during that time of the month, but she would still remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makan sharqiyyan towards the east, because she would go towards the sun outside and she would remember Allah and still be in a state of dhikr.

**[1:04:28]** Jibril alayhis salam pops up, gives her the news of Isa alayhis salam. She hides out in Bethlehem about 9 miles out in Bethlehem where Dawud alayhis salam once came. And she waits for what will happen to her.

**[1:04:47]** Isa is born. And she came to the courtyard of Al-Aqsa. Imagine the scene. Imam Al-Qurtubi rahimahullah gives you a deep visual. Maryam alayhis salam comes after missing for so long, holding her child.

**[1:05:04]** And she wasn't allowed to speak, because Allah azza wa jal prohibited her from speaking. Holding her child, and the rabbis of Bani Israel come out to her. And they start to point fingers at her and mock her.

**[1:05:20]** And she sits in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa holding her child. wa alaffu min hawliha. min hawliha, they gathered around her. And the baby is breastfeeding from her. wa jalasat ala al-ard. And she's there sitting on the ground as they start to insult her and demean her and to mock her.

**[1:05:37]** And in that place, when they say, how could you do this? She points to the baby. And the baby leaves the breast of his mother. And starts to speak. Inni abdu Allahi atani al-kitaba wa ja'alani nabiyyan.

**[1:05:54]** By the way, this wasn't a baby that just said, Baba, Mama. No, the baby gives a khutbah. I mean, subhanAllah, how profound. This was spoken in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa. And he gives the glad tidings of a prophet alayhis salam to come after him.

**[1:06:14]** That speech that Isa gave is implanted on the dome of the rock today. It's written in the calligraphy of the dome of the rock today that he gave in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa. Maryam alayhis salam, this is where you start to read in history and it becomes a little bit cloudy.

**[1:06:29]** The massacre of the innocents perhaps, where Herod sees a dream that he interprets as an overthrow of his kingdom. And it's believed that Maryam flees to Egypt because of the massacre of the innocents. And then comes back from Misr eventually to Palestine. Once again, an Egypt and Palestine connection.

**[1:06:46]** Now what's happening in the da'wah of Bani Israel and around the Holy Land and the promised Messiah and everything that's to come? The first one to lead is Yahya alayhis salam. Isa alayhis salam follows the da'wah of Yahya alayhis salam.

**[1:07:01]** And Yahya alayhis salam, Allah azza wa jal gave him wisdom and authority at a young age. He was a perfect young man. An incredible scholar. They had never seen a scholar of the Torah like Yahya alayhis salam.

**[1:07:17]** And he had no love for this dunya. He was uncompromisable because of his integrity and his attachment to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He was full of haya, so he couldn't be tempted. Full of modesty, he couldn't be tempted. He didn't care for the wealth of this world. He had no cruelty in him, so he showed love to his parents and he used to share his food even with the animals because of the incredible mercy that Allah put in Yahya alayhis salam.

**[1:07:41]** And Isa alayhis salam follows in the da'wah of Yahya alayhis salam initially, who was older than him. And Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنه) narrates that they had a conversation with each other. And Isa said to Yahya, make du'a for me. And Yahya said to Isa, you make du'a for me. You're better than me.

**[1:07:57]** You're better than me. Fa qala Isa bal anta al-afdal. Rather you are better. Because Allah made du'a for you. Da'a Allahu laka wa da'awtu li nafsi. Allah made du'a for you and I made du'a for myself. What did he mean by that?

**[1:08:12]** When Yahya was born, wa salamun alayhi yawma wulida wa yawma yamutu wa yawma yub'athu hayyan. Allah azza wa jal said peace be on to him the day he was born, the day that he shall die and the day he will be raised up. Isa alayhis salam said about himself from the cradle. wa as-salamu alayya yawma wulidtu wa yawma amutu wa yawma ub'athu hayyan.

**[1:08:31]** Peace be on to me. So Isa said you're better than me. In reality, Isa is better than Yahya. But Yahya made du'a for Isa. And this is where Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنه) mentions that the Christians took this as a place of the baptism, which is the area of Ghawr in Jordan today.

**[1:08:49]** But what does it say about Yahya? Yahya is a man who avoided the area of Al-Aqsa. He avoided the temple as it was known. He was known as the preacher in the wilderness. And he openly condemned Bani Israel for their corrupt practices. And so he gained prominence for his ability to grasp the scripture.

**[1:09:08]** But he wasn't liked or favored by the actual religious class of Bani Israel. Because he was calling them out on their corruption. And so he preaches from the wilderness. And the Prophet (ﷺ) now gives us another visual from the inside of Masjid Al-Aqsa.

**[1:09:24]** Hadith in al-Bukhari from Al-Harith Al-Ash'ari. Qala (ﷺ) inna Allaha amara Yahya ibn Zakariya bi khamsi kalimat That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded Yahya to speak five commandments. So he was to command them.

**[1:09:41]** wa ya'mura Bani Isra'il Command them. wa ya'mura Bani Isra'il And he was to command Bani Israel. wa ya'malu biha For them to act upon it as well. wa innahu kada an yubti'a biha But he was hesitant just seeing the viciousness of Bani Israel.

**[1:09:58]** And how corrupt they had become. So Yahya was becoming hesitant. So Isa alayhis salam said inna Allaha amaraka bi khamsi kalimat Allah azza wa jal commanded you with five things to speak and to command Bani Israel with. And if you don't do it

**[1:10:14]** I will. If you are hesitant to speak to them Isa alayhis salam is the man who flips tables in the temple. In Al-Aqsa. I will do it. Yahya alayhis salam said akhsha in sabaqtani biha

**[1:10:30]** an yukhsafa bi aw u'adhdhab aw u'adhdhab That I am afraid That if you do it The earth will swallow me And I will be crushed as a result of that. So I can't do that.

**[1:10:46]** fa jama'a an-nasa fi al-bayti al-maqdis So he gathered the people in Bayt al-Maqdis. Fa qala (ﷺ) fa imtala'a al-masjidu wa qa'ada ala ash-shuraf That the masjid filled up. Imagine the scene of Al-Aqsa.

**[1:11:01]** The masjid filled. People sat even on their windowsills. They sat on their balconies. They wanted to hear what Yahya alayhis salam was going to say. And suddenly Isa alayhis salam standing next to Yahya alayhis salam And he stands up and he says inna Allaha amarani bi khamsi kalimat

**[1:11:18]** Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commanded me with five things that I must do. And He commanded you with these five things that you must do. And the hadith is long but it mentions as-salah wa as-siyam wa as-sadaqah wa adh-dhikr And it mentions to strive in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[1:11:33]** So it's similar to the five pillars of Islam. Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah mentions that the closer that the shari'ah got to the shari'ah of Muhammad (ﷺ) The closer it was in its final manifestation. And so the five kalimah, the five commandments of Yahya alayhis salam

**[1:11:50]** Are similar to the five commandments of Muhammad (ﷺ). I'm going to go to the end here inshaAllah ta'ala. Yahya was given at some point the bishara, the glad tidings That his brother Isa alayhis salam was not just another prophet But he was a rasul, he was a messenger

**[1:12:08]** That was to have a new revelation and he was Al-Masih. He was the awaited messiah. So Yahya identifies Isa as Al-Masih. Now the dynamics change politically as well.

**[1:12:24]** A few days after he identifies him, Yahya alayhis salam is murdered. And he's murdered because of his integrity. You see, Herod had three children And they divided the empire of the land of Palestine amongst themselves.

**[1:12:41]** One of them was Antipas. And Antipas wanted to marry his niece, the wife of Philip. Her name was Salome. Her name was Salome. So he wanted to marry his niece Salome and he needed a fatwa.

**[1:12:57]** Because it was against the law, it was against the scripture. And if Yahya says it's okay, The people trust Yahya. Which shows you, subhanAllah, that if a person maintains integrity, Even if they don't have the power of the throne,

**[1:13:12]** Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will grant them honor and the people will listen to their opinion Instead of the opinion of those who have the power of the throne behind them. So they needed to convince Yahya to say that this was allowed in the Torah. That there was an exception that allowed this. So they sent Salome to tempt Yahya alayhis salam.

**[1:13:31]** And it didn't work. Yahya alayhis salam had no interest whatsoever. He said this is incest and it is haram. So when she couldn't seduce Yahya, She was so offended that she seduced Antipas

**[1:13:49]** And said bring me his head for what he has done. I presented myself. She was a beautiful woman. There's a reason why her incest was being pursued by her creepy uncle. Right? It's not working and she was offended that she couldn't get Yahya alayhis salam to budge.

**[1:14:07]** So now she wanted revenge. Bring me his head. And so Yahya alayhis salam was beheaded. By the way, subhanAllah, that is one of the wisdoms of Allah naming him Yahya. Because a shaheed never dies. wa la tahsabanna allatheena qutilu fi sabili Allahi amwatan bal ahya'

**[1:14:26]** Don't say of those who were killed in the way of Allah that they are dead. Rather they are alive. Yahya means a person who forever lives. Yahya. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was giving the glad tidings of shahada before he was even born. But Yahya alayhis salam was beheaded.

**[1:14:42]** Isa alayhis salam was sitting in Masjid Al-Aqsa at the age of 30. As Mujahid rahimahullah says, Jibril alayhis salam fills Al-Aqsa with his light as Isa alayhis salam sits in Al-Aqsa, saddened over what just happened to the one who preceded him in prophethood,

**[1:14:59]** his righteous brother Yahya alayhis salam. And Jibril alayhis salam says to him, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands you, for you to now go out and to deliver the message. And he delivered to him the Injil.

**[1:15:20]** That Isa alayhis salam stood up and he said, Oh Bani Israel, worship your Lord, my Lord, and your Lord. And he was given the Injil. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that this took place on the 18th night of Ramadan. The Injil was revealed on the 18th night of Ramadan. So what happens?

**[1:15:37]** The Masih is here. The Prophet is here. Now we have someone, right? Yahya identified him. We know who he is. The problem is, is that their hearts were not ready to accept him for who he was.

**[1:15:52]** Ibn Hazm rahimahullah said that Bani Israel was the most wicked at its end. They once killed 40 anbiya in one hour. And so if you look at the end of Bani Israel, it became the habit to go from takdheeb to qatl, from denying a prophet to killing a prophet.

**[1:16:08]** So they killed Isaiah, they killed Jeremiah, they sawed Zakariya alayhis salam into two. And they beheaded Yahya alayhis salam. And so it became their habit to pursue their prophets and to actually kill them now, not just to deny them, but to murder them.

**[1:16:27]** Isa alayhis salam comes and he's not liked. You have some classes that exist from Bani Israel. You have those that are known as the Sadducees. And they are the temple folks. They're attached to the temple. They are the tax collectors. They confiscate the money of the people.

**[1:16:47]** They're of the most elite of classes. And the irony of them is they don't even believe in the akhirah. They don't even believe in the hereafter. But they believe the temple is for them. These are the people that Isa alayhis salam flipped the tables on for their hypocrisy. Using the remnants of a place that was built by Sulayman alayhis salam who had the kingdom of the world and was untainted by it.

**[1:17:08]** To steal from the people and to abuse the people. Then you have the Pharisees who were supposed to be the continuation of Bani Israel, strict to the law. They believe in following the command. But Isa alayhis salam sees corruption in that class as well.

**[1:17:24]** Silent in the face of transgression. He sees hypocrisy. He sees harshness. Now by the way, Bani Israel always has wicked and righteous ones. Always. They have the most wicked of the wicked and they have the most righteous of the righteous.

**[1:17:39]** They are, the righteous amongst them, the largest group in Jannah after the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ). We don't class the whole of Bani Israel as being written off. But this class now is a wicked one. And so Isa is throwing the tables in the temple.

**[1:17:56]** Isa is saying to the hypocrites who preach the law, ya 'ulama'a as-su' ja'altumu ad-dunya fawqa ru'usikum wa al-akhirata tahta aqdamikum qawlukum shifa'un wa 'amalukum da'un Evil, corrupt scholars.

**[1:18:11]** You have put the life of this world above your heads and you have put the akhirah, the hereafter, under your feet. You speak words of medicine, but your actions are disease. So they hate him too. So is he a zealot? Which were the Bani Israel members that were actively rebelling against the Roman Empire

**[1:18:30]** and taking up arms against them. Isa doesn't fit anybody's category. He criticizes Bani Israel and he criticizes the Roman occupation. He hates the occupation, he hates the state of Bani Israel. So he's becoming wildly unpopular with everybody except for the righteous,

**[1:18:45]** which is a small group of hawariyun. And because of that, they turn on him because they wanted a messiah for power, not piety. And so they plot to get him killed by the Romans. The Romans and their client kingdom of Bani Israel, seek to kill him.

**[1:19:06]** And Allah would not give them that last drop of blood. SubhanAllah, one of my teachers, he commented on this and it was very profound. You know, when they talk about the last laugh, Bani Israel who became so accustomed to putting the blade to the necks of the prophets,

**[1:19:23]** Allah would not let them put the blade to the last prophet. And it's similar to when Ya'juj and Ma'juj, when they've killed so many on earth, they will throw an arrow up to the sky to say, qatalna man fi al-ard We killed those on the earth,

**[1:19:40]** let's kill the one in the heavens too. And Allah would drop some blood on them when they throw their arrows to the heaven just to mock them. But they didn't kill Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And in the case of Bani Israel, they didn't kill Isa alayhis salam, Rather Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala raised Isa alayhis salam to him.

**[1:20:00]** And the Masih will come back. And the promised land remains. For those who are deserving. I'll just give you a quick rundown. 70 years after Christ, Titus destroys the second temple.

**[1:20:20]** The Roman forces destroy the second temple and they exile the Jewish population. They loot the treasures once again of the temple. And subhanAllah, man 'ada li waliyyan fa qad adhantahu bil-harb Whoever harms a wali of mine, then I wage war on them.

**[1:20:35]** I mean, so those that harmed their prophets, look what happened to them. Salome, who demanded the head of Yahya alayhis salam was swallowed in the earth. She was one of those who Allah did khasf of. And the fortunes turned once again.

**[1:20:52]** The year 130, the city of Aelia is rebuilt, a Roman city. But it forbids a Jewish and a Christian presence. That same area becomes a place where you now have a temple to Jupiter and Venus.

**[1:21:08]** Similar to how idols were brought into the Ka'bah. A holy place becomes a place of shirk, a place of outright paganism. And worshipping the Roman gods. The year 251, the Roman emperor Decius kills Alexander. This is the time of As-hab al-Kahf by the way.

**[1:21:24]** When As-hab al-Kahf went into hiding, this is believed to be the time around 251. 315, Constantine turns it into a Christian city. But Christianity in the conception of Constantine.

**[1:21:39]** So Roman Christianity is brought back. And there is widespread confusion now because the practice of Musa alayhis salam, the true followers of Moses. The practice of the true followers of Jesus peace be upon him is lost. And there is this new twisted manifestation of worship that takes place here.

**[1:22:00]** Constantine puts a ban on those who were Jews. Because Constantine separates a new religion here. From those who followed Moses but not Jesus. And he puts a ban on Jews but he allows once a year for them to wail at the wall.

**[1:22:18]** And so you start to see that. Afterwards, the mother of Constantine destroys some of the pagan temples that are built in that area. The year 610, the prophet (ﷺ) receives revelation.

**[1:22:35]** And that was the same year that there was a revolt against Heraclius. And I'll just take you to this last scene and you can go home and think about it. And I promise you tonight will be the longest session we have of all these ten sessions. So I apologize. It takes a long time to cover all the prophets of Allah, right? In this regard.

**[1:22:51]** But now that you've thought about who are the people that are worthy. I want you to imagine the year 638 in Jerusalem. When Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) enters into the city.

**[1:23:07]** If you're a true follower of Christ, a true follower of Moses. And you're looking at the demeanor, the righteousness, the piety of Umar (رضي الله عنه) entering in. Abu Ubaydah al-Jarrah (رضي الله عنه) on one side.

**[1:23:23]** Al-Abbas, walid an-nabi (ﷺ), the uncle of the prophet (ﷺ). Riding his camel, so noble they thought that he was the khalifah. Because of the haybah, the awe. When you looked at these people entering, did you have any doubt that these are the people that Allah wrote for?

**[1:23:40]** Those are the qualities. A man so humble that he comes in with his slave, a slave on the camel. While his clothes are covered in dirt. Because they took turns, the servants and the khalifah.

**[1:23:56]** And Umar (رضي الله عنه) refused to ride as he entered into the city. And as he enters in with righteousness. Nahnu qawmun a'azzana Allahu bil-Islam. wa in ibtaghayna al-izzata li ghayrihi adhallana Allah.

**[1:24:11]** We are a people that Allah gave victory and honor to through Islam. And if we seek it through anything else, Allah humiliates us. That's the story of Jerusalem. And there is no place where it was more fitting for Umar (رضي الله عنه) to say those words. The ditching of materialism, the ditching of greed, the ditching of oppression was necessary to seek the true honor from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[1:24:33]** And to be made worthy of victory. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be worthy. May Allah allow us to be spiritual descendants of all of these noble prophets and noble people. That were once worthy.

**[1:24:48]** And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be spiritual descendants of the greatest of all. Khayru khalqi Allahi Muhammad (ﷺ). And to write us amongst the worthy. Allahumma ameen. Jazakumullahu khayran. Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

## Other Episodes in "Al-Aqsa - Past, Present, and Promise"
- [When Will Palestine Be Free? Signs of the Day of Judgment | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/when-will-palestine-be-free-signs-of-day-of-judgment-al-aqsa.md)
- [Zionism 1,000 Years In the Making | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/zionism-one-thousand-year-in-the-making-al-aqsa.md)
- [Salahuddin: The Legend Who Liberated Jerusalem | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/salahuddin-the-legend-who-liberated-jerusalem-al-aqsa.md)
- [Roman Emperor Who Almost Became Muslim & Conquest of Jerusalem | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/roman-emperor-who-almost-became-muslim-and-conquest-of-jerusalem-alaqsa.md)
- [Isra and Miraj: The Greatest Journey Through the Heavens | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/isra-and-miraj-the-greatest-journey-through-the-heavens-al-aqsa.md)
- [Isra wal Miraj, Surah Rum, and the Year of Grief | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/isra-wal-miraj-surah-rum-and-year-of-grief-al-aqsa.md)
- [Syria, the Umayyad Mosque, and the Messiah’s Return | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/syria-umayyad-mosque-messiah-return-al-aqsa.md)
- [The Switch of the Qiblah: Story of Masjid Qiblatayn | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/switch-of-the-qiblah-story-of-masjid-qiblatayn-al-aqsa.md)
- [The Blessed Land of Al-Sham: Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/the-blessed-land-of-al-sham-palestine-lebanon-syria-jordan-al-aqsa.md)
- [Why is Quds (Jerusalem) So Special? | Al-Aqsa: Past, Present, and Promise](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/al-aqsa-past-present-and-promise/why-is-quds-jerusalem-so-special-al-aqsa-series.md)