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« on: June 08, 2013, 11:29:34 AM »
17:1: Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to al-Masjid al-Aqsa (the farthest mosque, in Jerusalem), whose surroundings We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our signs. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.
This verse is very incisive. This says that Allah arranged the night journey (isra) from the “Al-Masjid-al-Haram” to al-Masjid al-Aqsa (the farthest mosque, in Jerusalem),”. The parenthetical comment of the translator suggest this journey was ONLY from Makah to Jerusalem! Not any longer. Is that the correct understanding? This special mosque that has been described as “Masjid al-aqsa” (farthest mosque/place of sajdah—aqsa is the superlative degree of something being far) would then be the place that “has blessed surroundings”---and Allah, the Most High, wishes to show some of the signs of this blessed surroundings!
Traditionally, this place has been considered to be the now familiar ‘al-aqsa’ mosque of Jerusalem which, the history tells us, was not there at the time of the revelation of the Qur’an—it was ordered to be built in some sixty years later by the caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan but could only be completed in al-Walid bin Abdul Malik’s stint (705 CE). But leaving that part aside, the question is: How is this particular mosque’s surroundings BLESSED in a way Allah wanted to show the Prophet (piuh) some of His special signs there? Where are those special signs in Jerusalem’s mosque? So far we have seen only wars and bloodshed in the history of its surroundigs!
It looks like “the FARTHEST mosque” is not this mosque (al-Aqsa) in Jerusalem that is less than 1,000 miles away from Masjid al-Haram! Allah knows the meaning of the “FARTHEST” and it is certainly not 1000 or so miles.
So if it is not the same al-Aqsa mosque (FARTHEST mosque) in Jerusalem that is worth visiting for Allah’s SPECIAL SIGNS, then WHERE IS IT?
Well, the answer may be in the beginning verses of the Sura Najam—53:13-18. A closer look at these verses identifies the “FARTHEST MOSQUE” being “Sidrat-ul-mutaha” (the LAST/FARTHEST tree the SURROUNDINGS of which are blessed because this place is closest to the “Paradise of Abode”. This is the place that Allah wished to show some of the wonderful SIGNS referred to in the verse 17:1!
Let’s take a closer look at these ayaat to see the reality:
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An-Najm (The Star)
وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَى (53:13)
• 53:13 For indeed he saw him (jibreel) at a second descent,
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An-Najm (The Star)
عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى (53:14)
• 53:14 Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass:
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An-Najm (The Star)
عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَى (53:15)
• 53:15 Near it is the Garden of Abode.
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An-Najm (The Star)
إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى53:16)
(53:16 Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded (in mystery unspeakable!)
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An-Najm (The Star)
مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَى (53:17)
53:17 (His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong!
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An-Najm (The Star)
لَقَدْ رَأَى مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَى (53:1853:18 For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest!
Now we can see the farthest place is indicated by the word "mutaha" (last/final) “in 53:14 and the "blessed nature of God’s signs” that God wanted His servant to see is located in 53:18 in the sequence.
And this is not all: The beginning verses of the Sura Najam (53:1-10) actually reveal a possible solution to yet another mystery---another piece of the puzzle that has been hitherto totally ignored!!! What is it? Perhaps we can talk about it later.
Irfan