The Future of the Jews in Palestine as Determined by Surah Al-Isrā’ (1/2)

A Struggle Between Two Messages

Allah, the Exalted, says

]  Glory to Him who made His servant travel by night from the sacred place of worship to the furthest place of worship, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs: He alone is the All Hearing, the All Seeing.(1) We also gave Moses the Scripture and made it a guide for the Children of Israel. ‘Entrust yourselves to no one but Me,(2) you descendants of those We carried with Noah: he was truly a thankful servant.’[     

Surah Al-Isra has another divinely designated name: Bani Isra’il (the Children of Israel). It begins with the account of the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. It then highlights the blessings that God placed in Al-Aqsa and its surroundings, before making a direct historical transition from the Islamic message to the mission of Moses, the Prophet of Israel (peace be upon him), and to the Torah with the duties that God had entrusted to the Bani Isra’il (the Children of Israel).

It informed us of two great acts of corruption, accompanied by great arrogance, that would be committed by the Jews. It also revealed to us the condition of the Jews in each of these instances, and it outlined the characteristics of the devout servants of God who would put an end to these two corruptions. The surah placed greater emphasis on the second act of Jewish corruption.

God wants to make us aware of the true nature of our struggle with the Jews: it is a struggle between two messages — the message of truth, represented by the Muslims, and the message of falsehood, represented by the Jews. This struggle begins in the city of Madinah and will conclude in the blessed land.

The Manifestations of Blessing Around Al-Aqsa

Some people may misunderstand the blessing surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque, limiting it only to agricultural prosperity, since it is a land that produces milk and honey. While it is true that this form of blessing exists, it is but one among many blessings and merely one manifestation of the numerous signs of blessing.

It is blessed with a spiritual blessing, for faith has a deep-rooted, authentic, and enduring presence there—both before Abraham (peace be upon him) and after him. It is a land of prophethood and divine messages. Its blessing is spiritual, ancient, contemporary, and future-oriented, for its authentic history is a history of Islam, faith, and devotion to God.

It is blessed with a blessing of struggle, civilization, and movement. Upon it, the history of faith has recorded its critical turning points and great events, and upon it, the history of ignorance has recorded its defeats, setbacks, and demise. Its history is alive, active, and ever-moving, never stagnant. Its years, months, and days bring astonishing surprises, momentous events, and decisive battles, the downfall of states and regimes, and the birth of others. Upon it, the Romans, the Persians, the Crusaders, and the Mongols were crushed; upon it, God will crush the Jews and destroy their entity; upon it, God will slay the deceitful messiah (al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl); and upon it, God will annihilate the hordes of Gog and Magog.

It is blessed with a political blessing, for it is a land of trial and testing. It is a land of exposure and disclosure — the land that unveils traitors, exposes collaborators, and reveals the truth behind banners, slogans, and calls.

The Secret Behind the Connection Between the Two Mosques

Surah Al-Isra establishes a precise connection between the Sacred Mosque in Makkah and Al-Aqsa Mosque. There lies a profound and subtle wisdom behind this linkage, and among the reasons for this connection are:

1.     Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings witnessed the presence of earlier divine messages, including Judaism and Christianity. Their followers were the successors over the people, the trustees of religion and faith, and the inheritors of the blessed land. Meanwhile, the Sacred Mosque witnessed the beginning of the final, universal message and the birth of the Islamic Ummah — the nation of succession, inheritance, and trust. Since this new nation was established around the Sacred Mosque, it must, in order to fulfill its role of succession and trust over humanity, also take possession of what surrounds Al-Aqsa Mosque and inherit it from those who dwell around it.

2.    The surah calls upon Muslims to view Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings with the same reverence, for it is blessed and sacred just as the Sacred Mosque and its surroundings are blessed and sacred.

3.    A warning to Muslims against hostile conspiracies targeting the two mosques, and against the ambitions of disbelieving enemies concerning them. The danger that threatens Al-Aqsa Mosque is the very same danger that threatens the Sacred Mosque. When the Crusaders seized Al-Aqsa and its surroundings and settled there, their eyes, plans, and ambitions soon turned toward the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. Arnat, the Crusader ruler of Karak, launched several attempts to invade the land of Hijaz — attempts that nearly succeeded, had not God destined for this Ummah the leadership of Salah al-Din al-Ayyub

4.    The surah brings glad tidings from God to the oppressed Muslims in Makkah, who were then under persecution and struggle. It promises them relief, victory, and empowerment. That difficult phase they were enduring in Makkah would come to an end, and God would grant them strength to conquer lands, reach the blessed mosque and the sacred land, following in the footsteps of their Messenger (peace be upon him) on the Night of Isra. They would open those lands, establish God’s rule upon them, and rebuild and restore Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Prophet (peace be upon him) thus served as a forerunner to the conquest of Greater Syria, and his Night Journey to Al-Aqsa was a divine foreshadowing of the true future conquest of this land by the Muslims.

The Two Corruptions of Israelites

He, the Exalted, said:

] We declared to the Children of Israel in the Scripture, ‘Twice you will spread corruption in the land and become highly arrogant.’(4) When the first of these warnings was fulfilled, We sent against you servants of Ours with great force, and they ravaged your homes. That warning was fulfilled,(5) but then We allowed you to prevail against your enemy. We increased your wealth and offspring and made you more numerous––(6) whether you do good or evil it is to your own souls––and when the second warning was fulfilled [We sent them] to shame your faces and enter the place of worship as they did the first time, and utterly destroy whatever fell into their power.(7) Your Lord may yet have mercy on you, but if you do the same again, so shall We: We have made Hell a prison for those who defy [Our warning]. [ ] Al-Isra[

And Allah, the Most High, said at the end of the surah concerning the second corruption:

] After his death, We told the Children of Israel, ‘Live in the land, and when the promise of the Hereafter is fulfilled, We shall bring you to the assembly of all people.’[   ] Al-Isra:104 [

Scholars have differed in their interpretation of the two acts of corruption, yet none of the earlier explanations fully align with the events mentioned in the verses. Therefore, it becomes necessary to reconsider the understanding of the texts and the course of history. The Jews indeed rose to power in ancient times and committed many acts of corruption; however, given the connection in the noble verses between Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jewish history, we affirm that the two acts of corruption are related to the Muslims after the mission of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Their First Corruption in Madinah:
The Jews came to Yathrib fleeing the Roman and Greek persecution poured upon them in the Levant. The Arabs were impressed by the wealth, knowledge, and culture the Jews possessed. The Jews, in turn, excelled in manipulating the Arabs — spreading discord among them, draining their resources, and subjugating them. They used to foretell the imminent coming of a prophet and warned the Arabs that they would follow him and slay them alongside him. Yet when Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent, they turned out to be his fiercest enemies, conspiring to kill him and fighting against him alongside the pagan Arab tribes.

(When the first of these warnings was fulfilled …) — The word “idhā” (when) refers to a future event, meaning that its fulfillment would occur after the revelation of the Makkan verses of Al-Isra. Consequently, the devout servants of God mentioned would also appear afterward.

(We sent against you…) — The use of the term “We sent” is deliberate and significant. God raised the Companions from nothingness, for the Arabs in the pre-Islamic era held no status or power. The word also conveys that the coming of these devout servants was unexpected. Yet God brought forth the Companions, and they eradicated the corruption of the Jews, inheriting not only the limited power the Jews possessed in Madinah, but also the great powers of Persia and Rome in the wider world.

(“Servants of Ours”) — This phrase applies only to the Companions, for God Himself called them “servants” and attributed them to Himself with the phrase “of Ours.” The term ‘ibād (servants) cannot apply to the disbelievers of old, such as Nebuchadnezzar and others whom historians claim were the ones to eradicate the two corruptions. There is a clear distinction in the Qur’an between the words ‘ibād and ‘abīd, for there are no exact synonyms in the Qur’anic vocabulary.

The word ‘abīd (slaves) appears five times in the Qur’an, always in reference to disbelievers, most often in the expression: “And your Lord is never unjust to the slaves” (Fussilat: 46) — meaning that God judges the disbelievers with perfect justice.

By contrast, the word ‘ibād (servants) is mentioned ninety-five times, more than ninety of which refer to the believers. The elongated vowel ā in ‘ibād conveys honor and dignity — qualities that belong to the Muslim.

(“Men of great might”) — The strength and might of the Companions in confronting the Jews manifested in two dimensions:

• The material aspect: their fierce combat against the Jews, evidenced by their siege of Banu Qaynuqa‘, Banu Nadir, the execution of Banu Qurayza, their battles at Khaybar, and ultimately expelling the Jews from it.
• The moral aspect: their defiance of the Jews and their humiliation of them, witnessed in the stances of Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, Ubadah ibn al-Samit, Abdullah ibn Rawahah, and others.

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