For Sidda

Submitted by Haris (Bosnia And Herzegovina), Sep 10, 2006 at 17:12

answering your question:

"But, here's another question to which I've never received a satisfactory answer: Since Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran and did not occupy any special role in Islam long after Mohammed's death, why is it of such significance to the Palestinians today?"

Well, you are wrong we you say that Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran, because at the beginning of Sura 17 you will find:

In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

(17.1) Exalted is He who carried His worshiper (Prophet Muhammad)
to travel in the night from the Sacred Mosque to the Furthest Mosque which
We have blessed around it so that We might show him some of Our signs.
He is the Hearer, the Seer.

or in one another and better translation:

In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allâh) (above all that (evil) they associate with Him) {1} Who took His slave (Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Harâm (at Makkah) to Al-Masjid-al-Aqsâ (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) of Our Ayât (proofs, evidence, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer {2} .

- in explanation from one tafsir, which is a commentary or exegesis of whole or part of the Qur'an:

Glory be to Him - an affirmation of [God's] transcendence - Who carried His servant, Muhammad (s), by night (laylan is in the accusative as an adverbial qualification; isrā' means 'to travel by night'; what is instructive about this mention [of laylan, 'by night'] is that, through its being indefinite, there is an indication of the brevity of its duration) from the Sacred Mosque, that is, Mecca, to the Farthest Mosque, the Holy House [of Jerusalem], so called because of its distance from the former; the environs of which We have blessed, with fruits and rivers, that We might show him some of Our signs, the marvels of Our power. Indeed He is the Hearing, the Seeing, that is to say, the Knower of the Prophet's (s) sayings and deeds.

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