Policy of Peace in Islam

If the condition of visiting this sacred place should be that only that person or group could visit Jerusalem who enjoys its political dominance there, this place then will be turned into a battlefield instead of being a place of peaceful worship. As political power can be wielded, only by one religious group at a time, the rest two religious groups who would not be enjoying political power will wage an ongoing war against the religious group in power. In this way this place will become a centre of clash and confrontation for eternity. As a result not even the group in power will have the opportunity to perform its worship peacefully. So far as the question of Islam is concerned, two indirect references are available in the Qur’an and Hadith regarding Jerusalem. Chapter Al-Isra describes the ascension of the Prophet in these words: ‘Glory be to Him who made His Servant go by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque whose precincts We have blessed, that We might show him (some) of Our Signs (17:1). The traditions tell us that prior to the emigration in 622 (Early period of the year 622) the Prophet Muhammad experienced an extraordinary journey which is called Mi‘raj (Ascension) in the history of Islam. In this journey through God’s unseen arrangement the Prophet reached Jerusalem from Makkah. Here at the holy site he performed a prayer in congregation alongwith all the Prophets at the site of al-Masjid al-Aqsa (al-Bayt al-Maqdis). Another indirect reference to Jerusalem is found in a hadith recorded in all the seven authentic books of Hadith with minor differences in wording. According to this tradition there are only three mosques for which it is lawful in Islam to undertake a journey for saying prayer — al-Masjid al-Haram, al-Masjid an-Nabawi and al-Masjid al-Aqsa. Certain traditions have used the word Masjid Ilia for al-Masjid al-Aqsa, that is, the Mosque at Palestine. Another tradition tells us that the reward for praying in these three mosques is far more than praying in other mosques. On the one hand this special status is accorded to Jerusalem’s Aqsa mosque that worship in it is considered far more superior to any other mosques except for that of Makkah and Madinah. On the other hand, we learn from the Qur’an that in no part of the world political power can always be wielded by the same nation or group. It goes on changing from time to time between different communities. According to Qur’an: ‘We bring these days to men by turns’ (3:140).