- Existing views on two promises for Bani Israel
- First promise (587 BC Siege of Jerusalem): This was fulfilled with siege and destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar II that resulted into Jewish exile to Babylon.
- Second promise (70 AD Destruction of Jerusalem): The second promise was fulfilled with the Roman conquest of Judea in 70 AD as ordered by Roman emperor Titus.
- A closer look for clues in the Ayats
- Incongruity of classical views with clues in Ayat:
- Future conditional used in Ayats 5 and 7 suggests both promises were to be fulfilled after Surah Israa was revealed to Rasool (SAW).
- Allah (SWT) referred people fulfilling the first promise with honourable association towards Himself in Ayat 5 confirming the piety of that group of people.
- The predicament of bani Israel was to change over a period after the fulfilment of first promise giving them a positive chance (even domination) over the actors of the first promise.
- My view on the promises for bani Israel
- Banu Nadir - Wealthiest of three Jewish tribes, they enjoyed living in secure fortresses (referred in Surah Hashr , Ayat 2) located south of Yathrib. They earned their living through agriculture, money lending, and trade in weapons and jewels, maintaining commercial relations with Arab merchants of Makkah.
- Banu Qurayza -no conclusive evidence of their origin. They were priestly tribe and Ibn Ishaq traces their genealogy to Haroon (AS) and further to Ibrahim (AS). They are said to be 'priestly tribe' among the three.
- Banu Qaynuqa - were living in two fortresses in the south-western part of Yathrib. They owned no land, earned their living through commerce and craftsmanship, including goldsmithery.
- Fulfilment of the first promise
- The Second Promise:
Question: Shaikh Obaid, in the beginning of Surah
Al-Israa it is mentioned that , Allah (SWT) had revealed to people of Bani
Israel in their Book that they would cause corruption ('fasaad') on earth twice. Further Ayats talk
about fulfilment of these two promises.
Could you please share your views on what these promises might be in light
with the Quran and Hadith?
Answer:
Brother Tanweer,
Surah Israa was revealed at Makkah immediately after
famous events of Israa and Mi'raj (Ascension),
an year before Hijrah (622 AD).
Scholars have varied opinions on the meaning of two promises made to
people of Bani Israel. It is not appropriate to label any one opinion as right
or wrong as only Allah (SWT) encompasses all the knowledge. In addition to
existing views, there is a view that I closely relate to - but this doesn't
mean its intention is to allay or override existing established views . Allah
(SWT) only knows the best.
The most commonly
held view by a majority of Muslim exegetes is as below,
While the majority
of the scholars support the view above, some Muslim scholars have suggested
that first promise had occurred already, and that second would take place in
future.
There is also a
view in existence which theorise that the Nazi Holocaust during the world war
II was fulfilment of one of the two promises.
وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فِي
الْكِتَابِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا
كَبِيرًا (4) فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ أُولَاهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا
لَّنَا أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ فَجَاسُوا خِلَالَ الدِّيَارِ ۚ وَكَانَ وَعْدًا
مَّفْعُولًا (5) ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَكُمُ الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَمْدَدْنَاكُم
بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ أَكْثَرَ نَفِيرًا (6) إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ
أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ
الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ
أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيرًا (7)
"And We conveyed to the Children of
Israel in the Scripture that, "You will surely cause corruption on the
earth twice, and you will surely reach [a degree of] great haughtiness.(4) So
when the [time of] promise came for the first of them, We sent against you
servants of Ours - those of great military might, and they probed [even] into
the homes, and it was a promise fulfilled.(5) Then We gave back to you a
return victory over them. And We reinforced you with wealth and sons and made
you more numerous in manpower (6)[And said], "If you do good, you do good
for yourselves; and if you do evil, [you do it] to yourselves." Then when
the final promise came, [We sent your enemies] to sadden your faces and to
enter the temple in Jerusalem, as they entered it the first time, and to
destroy what they had taken over with [total] destruction.(7) "
(QS. Al-Israa: Verse 4-7)
Let us take a look
in to Ayats 4-7 and try to derive some clues and establish the basis to expand
my view on the historicity of the events.
Firstly, it should
be clear that the book referred to in Ayat 4 is Torah. Allah (SWT) had
revealed this to Moosa (AS) who was the only Ulul-azm messenger ('Rasool')
sent towards bani Israel, in fact he was the only 'Rasool' of Allah (SWT) for
them. Further to that the news was given in Torah because it was the most
significant divine book for all prophets of Allah (SWT) who came after Moosa
(AS) up until Eisa (AS). Thus, the people of bani Israel did possess the
advance knowledge of two promises related to them.
Allah (SWT) said
the two promises would be fulfilled when bani Israel would commit corruption ('fasaad'). 'Fasaad'
has two dimensions to it, one is 'fasaad' in religion ('deen') and other is
'fasaad' in worldly affairs.
Use of Future Conditionals:
Next we look at the choice of words إِذَا جَا where Allah (SWT)
mentioned each promise (First promise in Ayat 5, then second in Ayat 7).
Expression إِذَا جَا is used one more time in the same Surah in Ayat
104, and it is used in the same context as Ayat 7 - we will come back to Ayat
104 later.
In Arabic grammar إذا is used as 'future real conditional' . Often, إذا implies some note of
expectancy, as if the speaker of the sentence is anticipating that the action
will take place. (Comprehensive article on nuances of grammar is here http://tinyurl.com/jsloy6k. ) Below is the list
of all the places this expression is used- as can be seen none of them is used
to refer to the past.
On the other hand, while referring to the past, the Quran employs
expression of إذ. There are many examples of this usage in the
Quran, see below.
Based on above, I am inclined to believe that the two promises were
to be fulfilled 'after' these Ayats were revealed, and not before that. Choice
of words to refer to the past events should most certainly employ إذ , but such is not the case in these Ayats.
Allah's Honourable
Association:
Allah (SWT) honoured the people who fulfilled the first promise
against bani Israel by the use of expression عِبَادًا لَّنَا. If we look into the
Quran, such honourable association with Allah (SWT) is only used for the pious
ones who truly embraced His religion( 'deen').
Worthy to note as well is the fact that Surah Israa itself begins with
honouring Rasool (SAW) as 'his servant' بِعَبْدِهِ. Below are a couple of examples from the
Quran to illustrate the honourable association further.
قَالَ فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ
أَجْمَعِينَ (82) إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ (83)
"[Iblees] said, "By your might, I
will surely mislead them all" (82) "Except, among them, Your chosen
servants."(83)
(QS. Saad: Verse 82-83)
وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ
هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا
"And the servants of the Most Merciful
are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them
[harshly], they say [words of] peace,"
(QS. Al-Furqaan: Verse 63)
'A Chance' Given to bani Israel followed by the
fulfilment of first promise:
In Ayat 6 - we find the majority of English translations say 'Then
we gave back to you a return victory over them'. In my view this is incorrect
translation because الْكَرَّةَ used here means 'a
chance', not the victory. It is difficult to imagine this as victory , when
the rest of Ayat talks about Allah (SWT) giving them 'wealth and sons' and
increasing them in numbers? The Quran equates the 'wealth and children' as
mere worldly decoration ( زِينَةُ) , and even fitnah.
الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ
الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا
وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا
"Wealth and children are [but] adornment
of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for
reward and better for [one's] hope."
(QS. Al-Kahf: Verse 46)
إِنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلَادُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ
ۚ وَاللَّهُ عِندَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
"Your wealth and your children are but a
trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward."
(QS. At-Taghaabun: Verse 15)
Use of ثُمَّ suggests a definite passage of time
between fulfilment of first promise and their positive chance, ascertaining it
would be a gradual change. If the chance quickly followed the fulfilment of
the first promise, then expression would be فرددنا.
So, the more
accurate translation of the initial part of Ayat will be 'Then we gave you a
chance over them'. This implies the
chance was given to bani Israel over the group of people who played role in
fulfilment of the first promise.
So to summarise we
derive following points from the Ayats,
Let us try to
analyse the classical view in the view of findings above,
 |
| Comparison of candidate events with the clues of the Quran |
As shown in the
summary, the classical views held by the majority of scholars do not satisfy
all conditions mentioned in the Ayats. In fact the first classical promise
(587 BC siege) fails on all three aspects. We know for sure that neither the
Assyrians nor the pagan Romans were monotheists, so Allah's honourable
association looks out of place for them.
After spending nearly six decades of exile in Babylon, people of bani
Israel were permitted to return to the holy land by the Persian king Cyrus the
Great in 539 BC. Cyrus's policy of lenience came as a favour to bani Israel
who flourished after the return. They never gained an upper hand on the
Assyrians who exiled them, in fact the Neo-Babylonian empire had fallen by the
time of their emancipation. So the condition of granting positive chance also
fails based on the historical facts.
I have already
mentioned before that only Allah (SWT) has all encompassing knowledge and we
cannot label any view as right or wrong entirely. Likewise, only Allah (SWT)
knows if my view is correct or not. I seek Allah's refuge if I have
misunderstood anything or expressed incorrectly.
In my view, the
first promise for bani Israel was fulfilled during the time of Rasool (SAW)
when Jewish tribes of Madinah were either expelled or brought into the fold of
Muslim rule.
As for the second
promise, I agree with the scholars who have suggested that it would occur in
future, so I believe it has not yet been fulfilled.
We will talk about
the first promise in detail, while we will restrict our discussion to talk
about what the Quran said regarding the second promise - because it is a
future event, no one can exactly predict about the details.
Overview of Jewish Tribes
of Yathrib (Madinah)
Madinah was called
Yathrib before the Hijrah (emigration
of Rasool (SAW) in 622 AD). It was a cluster of scattered villages and
fortresses. The main Arab tribes of Yathrib were 'Banu Aws' and 'Banu Khazraj'
(collectively known as 'Ansaar' after they accepted Islam). They were involved
in a long and bitter historic feud. One of the reasons their representatives
beseeched Rasool (SAW) to migrate to Yathrib was to help establish between
them a peace treaty to end the long era of fighting.
There were three
main Jewish tribes living in Yathrib then,
They
and Banu Qurayza were allied with Banu Aws.
They
and Banu Nadir politically allied with Banu Aws.
They were allied with Banu Khazraj.
 |
| Alliances in Yathrib before 622 AD |
It is commonly
accepted that these three tribes were from bani Israel. There are various
references in the Quran where Allah (SWT) addressed or referred the Jews of
Madinah as bani Israel.
Allah (SWT)
addressed them directly and enjoined them not be the first people to
disbelieve in the Quran. Jews of Madinah are being addressed in Ayat 41 here,
who were the first people of bani Israel to receive Rasool (SAW)'s message
first hand.
يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ
الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ
وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ (40) وَآمِنُوا بِمَا أَنزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا
مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ ۖ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي
ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ (41)
"O Children of Israel, remember My
favour which I have bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant [upon you] that
I will fulfil your covenant [from Me], and be afraid of [only] Me (40) And
believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you,
and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs for a
small price, and fear [only] Me."
(QS. Al-Baqara: Verse 40-41)
Allah (SWT) asked
Rasool (SAW) to enquire with bani Israel on certain matters (with intention to
bring them towards Islam) , implying bani Israel were in Madinah and available
to Rasool (SAW) to pose these questions
directly.
سَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَمْ آتَيْنَاهُم مِّنْ
آيَةٍ بَيِّنَةٍ ۗ وَمَن يُبَدِّلْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُ
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
"Ask the Children of Israel how many a
sign of evidence We have given them. And whoever exchanges the favour of Allah
[for disbelief] after it has come to him - then indeed, Allah is severe in
penalty."
(QS. Al-Baqara: Verse 211)
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ تِسْعَ آيَاتٍ
بَيِّنَاتٍ ۖ فَاسْأَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ فَقَالَ لَهُ
فِرْعَوْنُ إِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يَا مُوسَىٰ مَسْحُورًا
"And We had certainly given Moses nine
evident signs, so ask the Children of Israel [about] when he came to them and
Pharaoh said to him, "Indeed I think, O Moses, that you are affected by
magic.""
(QS. Al-Israa: Verse 101)
To go further,
Allah (SWT) also invited the scholars among bani Israel of Madinah to
recognise the message of the Quran. It helps us to understand that there were
not just ordinary Jews but the learned class who possessed deep religious
knowledge.
أَوَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُمْ آيَةً أَن يَعْلَمَهُ
عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
"And has it not been a sign to them that
it is recognized by the scholars of the Children of Israel?"
(QS. Ash-Shu'araa: Verse 197)
Talking about the
nature of impact the scholars of bani Israel of Madinah could have made - we
turn to a Sahih Hadith from Abu Huraira (Rz).
لَوْ آمَنَ بِي عَشَرَةٌ مِنْ أَحْبَارِ
الْيَهُودِ لَآمَنَ بِي كُلُّ يَهُودِيٍّ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ
Had only ten Jews (amongst their chiefs) believed me, all
the Jews on the face of the earth would have believed me.
(Sahih Bukhari Volume 5, Book 58, Hadith Number 277)
Islamic scholars
have an agreement that ten Jews from bani Israel referred to in the Hadith
were as follows,
Banu Nadir
Abu Yasir bin
Akhtab
Hayyi bin Akhtab
Ka'ab bin Ashraf
Rafe bin Ibi Haqeeq
Banu Qaynuqa
Abdullah bin Haneef
Fanhaas bin Zaid
Rafe bin Zaid
Banu Qurayza
Al Zubair bin
Baatiya
Ka'ab bin Aswad
Shamuel bin Zaid
From the Jewish
chiefs (scholars and leaders) , those who accepted Islam were Abdullah bin
Salam bin Al Harith (Banu Qaynuqa) and Abdullah bin Suriyaa ( some scholars
doubt if he became Muslim).
Allah (SWT) had
gathered the cream of bani Israel in Madinah. They possessed the news in their
books that the prophet would come in the region of Hijaaz. What they chose to
do after his arrival is a known history.
Arabian Tribes who became
Jewish
There were many
local Arabian tribes who entered into the fold of Judaism. They were not
originally bani Israel. Notable Arabian tribes who became Jewish were,
Banu Ghassan
Banu Jusham
Banu Aws
Banu Najjar
Banu al-Haris
Banu Sa'ida
Banu Sahlaba
When bani Israel of
Madinah came in direct contact with Rasool (SAW) , they knew he was the true
prophet of Allah (SAW). At the same time, they failed to acknowledge this
because Rasool (SAW) was from the family of prophet Ismail (AS). Secondly, the
emergence of the Muslim unity after many powerful Arabian tribes accepted
Islam may have created a perception amongst the Jews of a serious threat to
their power and influence in the region, and even to their existence in
Madinah. Though , at no point in time the Muslims wanted to threaten the Jews
if they honoured the Charter of Madinah established with them in 622 AD.
Allah (SWT)
referred to this in the Quran
الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ
كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمُ ۘ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا
يُؤْمِنُونَ
"Those to whom We have given the
Scripture recognize it as they recognize their [own] sons. Those who will lose
themselves [in the Hereafter] do not believe."
(QS. Al-An'aam: Verse 20)
Rasool
(SAW) established pacts with various tribes in Madinah, as part of so called
'Charter of Madinah'. Part of the agreement with Jews
was that those who agreed to abide by the treaty, that they would not help
anyone against the Muslims. Be that physically, financially or any other way.
Another important point written in the pact was that if an enemy were to
attack the Muslims they would all come together and protect the Muslims or
vice versa.
From the
historical evidences, we read that the Banu Nadir had friendly relations with
the enemies of the Muslims especially Banu Quraysh. They deliberately handed
over information to the Quraysh, with an intent of killing Muslims. They were
also guilty of having attempted to assassinate
Rasool (SAW). And their open refusal to renew the treaty was seen
therefore tantamount to declaration of war. With these, the only course
left for the Muslims was to treat them as enemies. The siege of the forts was
laid, until they agreed to leave Madinah.
For
a more detailed account of treacheries by Banu Nadir towards Rasool (SAW) and
Muslims, see this excellent paper - http://tinyurl.com/zwp58he
Allah (SWT)
referred to expulsion of Banu Nadir in Surah Hashr. The Muslims were by then
power to reckon with, Islam was no longer a clandestine religion - emergence of hypocrites in Madinah was
indication that the Muslims had reached a level of superiority in their
political and battle skills.
هُوَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ
أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِن دِيَارِهِمْ لِأَوَّلِ الْحَشْرِ ۚ مَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن
يَخْرُجُوا ۖ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُم مَّانِعَتُهُمْ حُصُونُهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ
فَأَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا ۖ وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ
الرُّعْبَ ۚ يُخْرِبُونَ بُيُوتَهُم بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ
"It is He who expelled the ones who
disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first
gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought that their
fortresses would protect them from Allah; but [the decree of] Allah came upon
them from where they had not expected, and He cast terror into their hearts
[so] they destroyed their houses by their [own] hands and the hands of the
believers. So take warning, O people of vision."
(QS. Al-Hashr: Verse 2)
It corroborates with the Ayat of Surah Israa , in fact same word دِيَارis used to refer to their abode in Madinah. Allah
(SWT) referred to their exile as 'first Hashr' (أَوَّلِ الْحَشْر ). With this we can derive that their migration to Ash-shaam
(Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, North Arabia and Jordan of today) was first of
such migrations of bani Israel that would continue until the fulfilment of the
final promise. There are Hadiths where Rasool (SAW) said the land of gathering
('Mahshar') will be Ash-shaam. Allah (SWT) predicted their migration in Surah
Israa, Ayat 104. It is little surprise that what began with migration of bani
Israel of Madinah to Ash-shaam continues to this very day.
وَقُلْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
اسْكُنُوا الْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا
"And We said after Pharaoh to the
Children of Israel, "Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise
of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering.""
(QS. Al-Israa: Verse 104)
The accounts of
Banu Qurayza and Banu Qaynuqa are filled with the same treachery - breaking of
peace treaty, helping the enemies against the Muslims , inciting hatred
towards the Muslims and attempting to cause harm to Rasool (SAW). Eventually
it resulted into the demise of Banu Qurayza as per judgement of Sa'ad bin
Muadh (RZ). And Banu Qaynuqa were exiled as well.
 |
So in conclusion, I
believe that the first promise for bani Israel was fulfilled in the time of
Rasool (SAW) with their exile from Madinah. Honourable association towards
Allah (SWT) himself mentioned in the Ayat 4 perfectly suits for Rasool (SAW)
and the Muslims who stood fast with him.
We have looked into
Ayat 6 in detail before. The chance given to bani Israel was over the Arab
Muslims in the land of Palestine . With the coordinated efforts of the Zionist
movement , since late 19th century Israel has managed to subjugate the Muslim
populace in Palestine, usurping nearly all of their land. Since their
declaration of independence in 1948 and war in 1967, this dominance over Arab
Muslims has but increased exponentially. From the Ayat, we learned that this
upper hand will be achieved over a long course of time. Palestine was more or
less under the Muslim rule since 632 AD until 1948. This perfectly meets the
criterion of time gap predicted in the Ayat.
With this
conclusion, let us compare various events in the light of the Quran.
I agree with the
scholars who have suggested that the second promise is yet to be fulfilled. We
can only look into Ayat 7 and try to understand what it says, but will never
be able to predict exact events that are yet unseen.
إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ
وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا
وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ
وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيرًا
"[And said], "If you do good, you
do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, [you do it] to yourselves."
Then when the final promise came, [We sent your enemies] to sadden your faces
and to enter the temple in Jerusalem, as they entered it the first time, and
to destroy what they had taken over with [total] destruction."
(QS. Al-Israa: Verse 7)
Ayat starts with
the 'sunnah' of Allah (SWT) - 'If you do good, you do good for yourselves, and
if you do evil, it's to yourselves'. This principle of Allah (SWT) applies to
all at all the times. But given the fact that this has found place in the
Quran where the second promise is mentioned, I see this as not only a reminder
to the Muslims to return to the true path of Allah (SWT) , but also a hint
that there will come a time when the Muslims will eventually regain the
supreme level of faith, enabling them to fulfil the second promise.
Allah (SWT)
referred to this promise as 'the final promise' - this is the same promise
also mentioned in Surah Al-Baqara 104.
وَقُلْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
اسْكُنُوا الْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا
"And We said after Pharaoh to the
Children of Israel, "Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise
of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering.""
(QS. Al-Israa: Verse 104)
The second promise
will sadden their faces and to witness the Muslims entering into the Masjid.
Faces are the reflection of our wellbeing. What is being said here is that
when all the power and influence will be taken away from them, it would cause
them immense grief and the sadness of faces will reveal the sense of loss. It
is obvious the masjid mentioned here is Masjid Al-Asqa in Jerusalem. Allah
(SWT) said they will enter the masjid like they did first time. When did the
Muslims enter Masjid Al-Aqsa for the
very first time? It was during the time of Umar (RZ) in 632 AD when Jerusalem
was conquered. But Allah (SWT) could have said -'they would enter like they
did before', but that would create an ambiguity as to which entry it was
-because the second entry into Masjid Al-Aqsa was by Salah Uddin Ayyubi (RH)
in 1187 AD. Worthy to note here that both these entries were done after ending
the control of Christians in Palestine-
the entry though will be done by finishing the control of the Jews.
And finally, the
Ayat seems to predict that the second promise will conclude with total
annihilation of the state that was built on lies and oppression. They would
never rise again and that will be the end of their mischief in the land of
Palestine.
