The Land of Palestine in the Light of the Holy Quran

The land of Palestine is a very blessed and honorable place. This land of Palestine has been the source of heavenly messages and revelations. Many prophets and messengers have come to this land. This has been the land from where the Ascension began and ended. This is the gate of heaven. This is also the land of the Resurrection.

The Blessed Land of Palestine

Allah Almighty has called the land of Palestine a land of goodness and blessings: Jarir Tabari says that goodness and blessings will remain here forever and ever. Allama Shawkani says that the meaning of blessing here is the cultivation and fruits, the yield of which will be very abundant. Other people have called rivers, fruits, prophets, and peacemakers by blessings.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the land about which Allah Almighty said, “We have blessed its surroundings” (Al-Isra’: 1) refers to the land of Syria. In Syriac, “Syriac” means a pure and green land. There is also a saying that the land of Syria was called blessed because it was the abode of the prophets, their Qiblah, and the place of the descent of angels and revelation. It is here that people will be gathered on the Day of Judgment. It is narrated from Hazrat Hasan and Hazrat Qatadah that this blessed land refers to the land of Syria. It is narrated from Zaid bin Aslam that it refers to the villages of the land of Syria. Abdullah bin Shu’zab says that it refers to the land of Palestine.

Related Post: Who Are The Rightful Owners of Palestine?

The land of Palestine is referred to as the blessed land on five occasions in the Holy Quran:

1 –  ’’سُبْحَانَ الَّذِیْ أَسْرٰی بِعَبْدِہٖ لَیْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَی الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَی الَّذِیْ بَارَکْنَا حَوْلَہٗ لِنُرِیَہٗ مِنْ آیَاتِنَا إِنَّہٗ ہُوَ السَّمِیْعُ البَصِیْر‘‘( الإسراء: )

1) (Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, around which We have blessed; that We might show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing).

2- ’’وَأَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِیْنَ کَانُواْ یُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَارِقَ الأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبَہَا الَّتِیْ بَارَکْنَا فِیْہَا وَتَمَّتْ کَلِمَتُ رَبِّکَ الْحُسْنَی عَلَی بَنِیْ إِسْرَائِیْلَ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا کَانَ یَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُہُ وَمَا کَانُواْ یَعْرِشُون‘‘(الأعراف:)

(And those who were considered weak, We made them inherit the east and the west of the land which We had blessed.) (And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they were patient. And we destroyed Pharaoh and his people, all that they had been building up).

3– ’’وَنَجَّیْنَاہُ وَلُوْطًا إِلَی الْأَرْضِ الَّتِیْ بَارَکْنَا فِیْہَا لِلْعَالَمِیْن‘‘ (الأنبیاء: ۷۱)

And We delivered him and Lot to the land which We had blessed for all the worlds.

   4– ’’وَلِسُلَیْمَانَ الرِّیْحَ عَاصِفَۃً تَجْرِیْ بِأَمْرِہِ إِلَی الْأَرْضِ الَّتِیْ بَارَکْنَا فِیْہَا وَکُنَّا بِکُلِّ شَیْئٍ عَالِمِیْنَ‘‘ ( الأنبیاء: ۸۱)

And we subjected to Sulaman the strong wind, which rushed by his command towards the land which We had blessed, and We are fully aware of all things.

5– ’’وَجَعَلْنَا بَیْنَہُمْ وَبَیْنَ الْقُرَی الَّتِیْ بَارَکْنَا فِیْہَا قُرًی ظَاہِرَۃً وَقَدَّرْنَا فِیْہَا السَّیْرَ سِیْرُوا فِیْہَا لَیَالِیَ وَأَیَّاماً آمِنِیْن‘‘( السبا: ۱۸)

And We placed between them and the towns on which We had bestowed blessings, towns that were visible from afar, and We divided the journey between them into stages measured by measure, and We said: “Travel between them in peace, whether by night or by day.”

The Holy Land

The Holy Land refers to the “Pure Land” (the land of purity). Raghib says: Bayt al-Maqdis: That is, it is free from the impurity of polytheism and disbelief. Zajaj says: The Holy Land refers to Damascus, Palestine, and some parts of Jordan. It was narrated from Qatadah that this refers to the country of Syria. Ibn Asakir narrated from Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Land refers to the land from Arish to the Euphrates. The land of Palestine is called the “Holy Land” only in one place in the Holy Quran.

Allah the Almighty says:

’’یَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الأَرْضَ المُقَدَّسَۃَ الَّتِیْ کَتَبَ اللّہُ لَکُمْ وَلاَ تَرْتَدُّوا عَلَی أَدْبَارِکُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِیْن‘‘( المائدۃ: ۲۱)

O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah has ordained for you, and do not turn back on your backs, lest you turn back and be defeated.

The Land of Resurrection

Allah Almighty has also called the land of Palestine “the land of resurrection”, as He Almighty says:

 ’’ہُوَ الَّذِیْ أَخْرَجَ الَّذِیْنَ کَفَرُوا مِنْ أَہْلِ الْکِتَابِ مِن دِیَارِہِمْ لِأَوَّلِ الْحَشْرِ‘‘ (سورۃالحشر:۲) 

(He is the One who drove the disbelievers from among the People of the Book out of their homes at the time of the first gathering.) Here, the meaning of the “first gathering” is the gathering of these Jews in the land of Syria, when the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) exiled the Banu Nadir from the land of Medina.

It is narrated from Zuhri that the first gathering in their worldly life was in the land of Syria. Ibn Zayd said: The meaning of the ‘first gathering’ is the land of Syria. It is narrated in many narrations from Ibn Abbas that he said: Whoever doubts that the land of the resurrection refers to the land of Syria, let him read this verse. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentioned this verse.

Mention of the Land of Palestine without any Adjective

The Holy Quran mentions the land of Palestine without any adjective in many places:

۱– ’’وَقَضَیْنَا إِلٰی بَنِیْ إِسْرَائِیْلَ فِی الْکِتَابِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِیْ الأَرْضِ مَرَّتَیْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا کَبِیْرًا‘‘(الإسراء: ۴)

(And we decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book that you will certainly cause corruption in the land twice and that you will certainly commit a great transgression.) Shawkani has said in his commentary on this verse that the land of Syria and Bayt al-Maqdis are meant here.

۲– ’’وَلَقَدْ کَتَبْنَا فِیْ الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّکْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ یَرِثُہَا عِبَادِیَ الصَّالِحُون‘‘ (الأنبیاء: ۱۰۵)

(And we had written in the Psalms after the advice that the inheritors of the earth will be My righteous servants.)

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Land here is the land of Syria and Palestine. Shawkani also agreed with him. A saying of Majid al-Din Hanbali is that this refers to the land of Jerusalem, which the Muslims of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon them) will inherit.

۳– ’’وَلَقَدْ بَوَّأْنَا بَنِیْ إِسْرَائِیْلَ مُبَوَّأَ صِدْقٍ وَرَزَقْنَاہُمْ مِّنَ الطَّیِّبَاتِ فَمَا اخْتَلَفُوْا حَتّٰی جَائَ ہُمُ الْعِلْمُ إِنَّ رَبَّکَ یَقْضِیْ بَیْْنَہُمْ یَوْمَ الْقِیَامَۃِ فِیْمَا کَانُوْا فِیْہِ یَخْتَلِفُوْنَ‘‘(یونس: ۹۳)

And we settled the Children of Israel in a proper dwelling place, and provided them with good things. Then they did not differ (about the truth) until knowledge came to them. Surely, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that in which they differed.) Here, “Mabwa” refers to the southern region of Syria, Palestine.

Mention of Palestinian areas in the Quran

The Holy Quran also mentions some areas of the land of Palestine:

1- “And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign, and We sheltered them both on a hill that was a secure place and where clean water flowed.” (Al-Mu’minun: 50).  (And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign, and We sheltered them both on a hill that was a secure place and where clean water flowed.)

Ibn Jarir narrated from Murrah Nahzi that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Here, ‘Rabbah’ means ‘Ramlah.”

Ibn Asakir narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): “Rabwah” refers to the region of Palestine. Qatadah, Ka’b, and Abu Al-A’liyyah say: It refers to Bayt Al-Maqdis.

2- “So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place” (Maryam: 22). So she became pregnant and separated from him to a distant place (i.e., the forest). The commentators have explained the meaning of this verse as meaning that Maryam went away while pregnant. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: She went to Wadi Al-Aqsa, and this is Bethlehem. There is a distance of four miles between it and “Ilya”, and “Ilya” is a name for “Bayt Al-Maqdis”.

3- “And listen attentively on the Day when the crier will call from a place near.” (Q: 41)

4- “And when We said, ‘Enter this township and eat from it wherever you wish, freely, and enter the gate, bowing down, and say, ‘We seek Your forgiveness.’” (Al-Baqarah: 58)  (We will forgive you your sins and increase the reward of the doers of good.)

There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the definition of this village. The majority of scholars say that the word “Qaryah” here refers to Jerusalem. It was narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the word “Bab” here refers to the “Bab al-Hatta” of Jerusalem.

5- “Or (have you) considered the case of someone like him who passed by a village when it was lying on its roofs?” (Al-Baqarah: 259) Qurtubi has mentioned that this refers to Jerusalem according to the words of Wahb bin Munbah and Qatadah, etc., when Allah Almighty evacuated them from Jerusalem through Bakht Nasr, who was the governor of Iraq. Shawkani and al-Jamhur also agree with this.

6- “So when Talut set out with the army, he said (to the army): ‘Indeed, Allah is going to test you with a river.’” (Al-Baqarah: 249) Qatadah has mentioned that the river here refers to the river between Jordan and Palestine. Shawkani has narrated from Ibn Abbas that it is the Jordan River. It has also been narrated from Ibn Abbas that it refers to the Palestine River.

7- “Even when I came to the valley of the ant, she said, O you, the ants, enter your dwellings, lest they destroy you, Solomon.  Wajunuduh wahum la Yashurun” (Surat al-Naml: 18) until when they came to the valley of ants, an ant said, “O Ants, you enter your houses (hills) (somewhere) and do not let Sulaiman and his army disturb you while they are not conscious.

Imam Razi says: This ‘Valley of the Ants” refers to the “Valley of Syria”, where ants are abundant, and it is located in the neighborhood of the “Asqalani” valley.

This land, whose sanctity and blessing has been mentioned repeatedly in the Holy Quran, and whose inheritance has been mentioned by the Holy Quran, is considered very sacred and holy by Muslims; but alas, alas, the impure Jews have made their dirty plans to establish their foothold on this holy and pure land and make it the capital of the State of Israel, and efforts are being made to implement the plan. Protests are going on all over the world against it, rallies are being held, Muslims should understand its sanctity and make every possible effort to recover this Holy Land!