Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque holds a significant place for Muslims. It is the first Qibla (direction of prayer), the third of the two Holy Mosques, and the second mosque built in Islam after the Sacred Mosque in Mecca. It is the destination of the Night Journey of our noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the starting point of his Ascension to the heavens. It is religiously recommended to travel to it under normal circumstances, as narrated in Abu Huraira’s Sahih hadith (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Do not set out on a journey except for three Mosques i.e. Al-Masjid-AI-Haram, the Mosque of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) , and the Mosque of Al-Aqsa, (Mosque of Jerusalem).” (Sahih Al-Bukhari (1189), and Sahih Muslim (1397))
For decades, the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been under Zionist occupation, subjected to Judaization, and both temporal and spatial division. It faces extensive desecration campaigns, especially during the blessed month of Ramadan. This situation gives a specific legal ruling to traveling to it that aligns with these new circumstances.
Every year during Ramadan, Zionist gangs, led by rabbis, engage in their particular Torah rituals to rally their followers behind them as their religious authority. They carry out various forms of aggression against Muslims in the courtyards and squares of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. The guardians of the mosque face humiliation and assaults that no Muslim would accept for their fellow Muslim, especially against the women. In previous Ramadans, these attacks have escalated year after year, leading up to the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle. In the current Ramadan of 1445 AH, the Zionists have declared that they will close the doors of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Therefore, traveling to Al-Aqsa Mosque is a religious duty upon every Muslim capable of going there, whether from outside or inside Palestine, with an even greater obligation for those within Palestine. This is to confront and prevent these aggressions. It is one of the duties of Muslims to protect their holy sites, defend them, and avert any harm from them, whether current or potential, immediate or future. This includes the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this religious obligation applies to institutions, governments, and individuals alike.
The religious duty to support Muslims in Al-Quds and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is backed by numerous texts from the Quran and Sunnah. When considering the special status of the place due to its sanctities, the religious ruling of obligation becomes clear, emphasized, and imperative. Thus, traveling to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to protect it from aggressions and prevent its desecration, especially today, is one of the most obligatory duties for the people of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and those closest to them, in that order. And Allah knows best.
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