MYTH: Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran.
Contrary to the Tanach, the Quran is not a book of stories about historical figures and ancestors. The Quran is mainly concerned with giving guidance to the believers on how they can best achieve salvation. Jerusalem is mentioned in the Holy Koran as is the Prophet Mohammad's night journey to it. Mecca is mentioned only once in the Quran and Medina is only mentioned twice. The Quran does not even mention these cities as being holy, and offers very few names of places. The fact that they are mentioned so few times certainly does not diminish their status in the eyes of all Muslims. Islam is not only comprised of the Quran, but of the Hadith of the Prophet and the Shariah. The Prophet said, "A journey (with the intention of worship) should be taken only to three mosques: The Sacred Mosque in Mecca, my Mosque in Medina, and the Masjid Al Aqsa in Jerusalem." It is a sacred duty for Muslims to visit Jerusalem, its mosque and the sacred areas that surround it. Pilgrims to Mecca and Medina often visit Jerusalem first. Virtually the entire city of Jerusalem is Waqf land (religious endowment). This land cannot be sold nor transferred. The Masjid Al Aqsa has always been a primary seat of learning in Islam, attracting many Muslim scholars who have settled in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is also mentioned countless times in the New Testament (Christian Holy Book) and many other Holy Books (Bahai's etc). If this is supposed to make it any less important to one religion or another, it is a ridiculous assumption. But rights of native Palestinians (Jews, Chritisans, and Muslims) to Jerusalem is not derived of religious texts but by virtue of domicile and living there for hundreds and thousands of years
al-awda.org |
