The city of Jerusalem is very sacred to Muslims. It is one of the three most sacred cities in Islam. Jerusalem is called al-Quds al-Sharif (the Noble Sacred Place). Islam recognizes all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah. The Quran has mentioned many Prophets by name. Their stories and teachings are told at varying length throughout the Quran. Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Zechariah, John the Baptist (Yahya) and Jesus – peace be upon them all – are among the honored Prophets and Messengers of Allah according to Islam.
Jews and Christians also recognize Prophets David and Solomon as great kings and patriarchs of ancient Israel.
However, in Islam they are honored as Allah’s great Prophets. The Quran not only narrated their stories, but also restored their honor by removing some of the charges and allegations that were made against their characters by earlier communities.
Prophet David (peace be upon him) was accused in the Bible o f committing adultery (2 Samuel 11 – 12) and Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) was accused of idolatry. (1 Kings 11). The Quran absolved them from all these charges. (28:21 – 25; 38:30). This shows that David and Solomon (peace be upon them) are more revered and respected in Islam than in Jewish and Christian traditions. Since the city of Jerusalem is historically associated with these Prophets of Allah, it naturally becomes a city sacred to Muslims.
Islam considers itself a continuation of the same spiritual and ethical movement that began with the earlier Prophets.
Historically and theologically it believes itself to be the true inheritor of the earlier traditions of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah. It is for this reason that the Quran called for Palestine – the land associated with the lives of many of God’s Prophets – al-ard al-Muqaddasah (the Sacred Land; 5:21) and called its surroundings barakna hawlaha (God’s Blessed Precincts; 17:1).
The sacredness of the city of Jerusalem, according to Islam, is in its historical religious reality. This is the city that witnessed the life and works of the greatest Prophets and Messengers of Allah. Here the Divine Grace touched the earth repeatedly. Allah’s great Prophets and Messengers lived and moved in its valleys and its streets. Makkah and Madinah are blessed cities in Islam because of their association with the Prophets Abraham, Ishmael and Mohammed. In a similar way Jerusalem is blessed and important in Islam because of its association with other Prophets of Allah, namely David, Solomon and Jesus.
Jews and Christians do not recognize Ishmael and Mohammad as God’s Prophets and Messengers, so they do not consider Makkah and Madinah as sacred cities.
However, Muslims believe in Prophets Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus, and so they must recognize the sacredness and importance of Jerusalem in Islam.
Due to its theological and religious status, Jerusalem had a very important place in the life of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) himself.
In the year 620 almost one-and-a-half years before his Hijra (migration) from Makkah to Madinah the famous event of Isra and Miraj (Night Journey and Ascension) occurred. One night, in a miraculous way, the Prophet was taken on a momentous journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and then from there to the heavenly celestial abodes.
The Night Journey was a great miracle that Muslims believe was given to Prophet Mohammad as an honor and as a confirmation of Makkah’s spiritual link with Jerusalem.
Both of these events took place on the same night. The angel Gabriel took the Prophet from Makkah to Jerusalem. There it is reported that the Prophet stood at the Sacred Rock (al-Sakhrah al-Musharrafah), went to the heavens, returned to Jerusalem and met with many Prophets and Messengers who were gathered together for him on that occasion and he led them in prayers.
After these experiences the Prophet was taken back to Makkah. The story of Isra and Miraj is full of wonderful signs and symbols. Muslim thinkers, mystics and poets have interpreted it in deep an meaningful ways. There is, however, one essential point and that is it serves as an example of every Muslim’s deep devotion and spiritual connection with Jerusalem.
During the Miraj, the Prophet is reported to have received from Allah the command of five daily prayers (Salah) that all Muslims must perform. Upon his return to Makkah, the Prophet instituted these prayers. It is significant to note that he made Jerusalem the direction (al-Qiblah) which Muslims must face while doing their prayers. Jerusalem is thus called Ula al-Qiblatain (the First Qiblah).
The Prophet and the early community of Islam worshipped towards the direction of Jerusalem during their stay in Makkah. After the Hijra (migration), Muslims in Madinah also continued to pray facing Jerusalem for almost seventeen months. Then came Allah?s command to change the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Makkah (2:142 – 150).
Suffice it to say that the change of the Qiblah in no way diminished the status of Jerusalem in Islam.
The Kaba in Makkah was meant to be the Qiblah from the beginning, because the Quran said that it was the First House (Awwal Bait 3:96) established for mankind to worship the One God.
The Kaba, however, was full of idols when the Prophet Mohammad began preaching his message to Tawhid (the Oneness and Transcendence of Allah).
A separation had to be made between the people and the pagan worship that they used to perform at the Kaba. Jerusalem served that purpose very well by distancing the people from their pagan and idolatrous associations.
Once monotheism was fully established in the minds and hearts of the believers and once the Kaba’s position with Abraham and with monotheism was made clear, the way was open to restore the Kaba as the direction of prayers.
There are many instances of this type of change or abrogation (“naskh”) in Islamic legislation. As one example, visiting graves was forbidden in the beginning of Mohammad (peace and blessings be upon him)’s messengership.
Later it was permitted because Muslims had learned the difference between a grave visit and ancestor worship. At first, the Prophet forbade his people to write down his words except when he told them that what he was saying was revelation – the Quran, the Word of Allah.
Later when people learned the difference between the Quran and Hadith (sayings and deeds of the Prophet), he gave them permission to write Hadith as well. It is interesting to note that the Kaaba in Makkah was the original direction of prayers for all the Prophets of Allah.
According to a Hadith, the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad) had been in Makkah at the place of Kaba since the time of Adam. It was the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael who built the Kaba under Allah’s command and direction (2:125 – 127).
The city of Jerusalem was established as a religious center for the Israelite people by the Prophets David and Solomon around the year 900 BC.
This was almost 1,000 years after the time of Prophet Abraham and the building of the Kaba. Thus one can say that the Kaba had a historical primacy over Jerusalem.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the Bible says that the early Israelites in Jerusalem used to turn to the southern direction when making their most sacred prayers and offerings (Exodus 27:9; 40:24). The Kaba is in the southern direction of Jerusalem. Thus we can say that the Kaba was also a Qiblah for the earlier Israelite communities as well.
Jerusalem was always held in great esteem by Muslims. The Prophet said, “Journeys should not be taken (with the intention of worship) except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, my Mosque in Madinah and Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.”
On the basis of this Hadith, Muslims always considered it as a religious deed to visit the city of Jerusalem, its mosque and its sacred and blessed precincts. Often pilgrims made it a point to visit Jerusalem on their way to Makkah and Madinah.
Muslim rulers and philanthropists built many hospitals, schools, and religious centers in and around the city. They purchased land in and around the city and dedicated it as a Waqf (endowment) for religious purposes. The whole city is virtually Waqf land that is non-salable and nontransferable.
Many Muslim scholars also migrated and settled in the city. The Al-Aqsa Masjid was a great seat of learning. Thousands of pious people and scholars included provisions in their wills to be buried in Jerusalem. There are thousands, perhaps millions of Muslims’ graves in the city of Jerusalem.
Dr.. Muzammil H. Siddiqi is the former President of Islamic Society of North America
Malaysia to launch world’s first digital framework for Islamic economy in 2018
Malaysia, home of the world’s largest Islamic finance industry, is taking the idea of creating a comprehensive Islamic economy a step further and announced it will launch a debut “Islamic Digital Economy Framework” by March next year as a growth backbone for its entire halal industry.
The idea of the framework is to provide a digital platform for cooperation in areas such funding and financing of Islamic business endeavours, halal and Shariah compliance, Islamic digital economy regulations and, generally, the incubation of halal business operations, Including Islamic banking and finance. The framework is designed to attract investors and venture capital to fund halal businesses and to conduct their transactions and investments in compliance with Shariah laws and regulations. The initiative is new in the sense that Malaysia currently has only formulated a framework for conventional startup funding and venture capital deals.
The driving force behind the Islamic digital initiative is the Malaysian Digital Economy Corp, or MDEC, a government-backed entity which is seeking to create a growth ecosystem for the Islamic economy in Malaysia in accordance with the government’s national strategy to tap the potential of both the Islamic and the digital economy. MDEC is cooperating with Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (the government’s Department of Islamic Development) and Hall Amanie Sdn Bhd, an independent Shariah advisory firm, to set up the framework.
“The development of a strong Islamic digital economy in Malaysia will give the country a global competitive advantage,” Norhizam Abdul Kadir, vice president of Growth Ecosystem Development at MDEC, told media at the presentation of the framework in Kuala Lumpur on December 19.
He added that Malaysia strives for becoming the most relevant regional and global Islamic digital marketplace, given its already large and solid halal economy backed by a strong Islamic finance industry. The framework also aims at attracting startups from all over the world to come to Malaysia and find a fertile ecosystem to develop solutions for the halal industry out of Malaysia to serve the global market.
According to Kadir, the implementation of the Islamic Digital Economy Framework will help increase the GDP share of Malaysia’s digital economy to 20% by 2020 from currently 18.2%. The framework will be supported by Malaysia’s central bank Bank Negara Malaysia, the Securities Commissions of Malaysia and several other government agencies. This should bring confidence for Islamic entrepreneurs and startups in terms of ensuring that the funds they are raising come from Shariah-compliant sources and investors and not from conventional ones, and that venture capitalists are in fact committed to support the halal economy.
An important point is that halal certification will be part of the framework as an element to ensure Shariah compliance and authenticity of halal products and services, which can comprise all segments of the Islamic economy, including Islamic finance, halal food, halal tourism, halal pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, halal clothing and fashion, halal media and recreation, Islamic economy education, Islamic art and design, as well as completely new concepts such as smart mosques and ritual cyberspaces for Muslims.
According to MDEC’s Kadir, three venture capital firms have already registered interest to partake in the framework and look for opportunities to support innovative ideas. The firms are Kuala Lumpur-based Captii Ventures, a multi-stage venture capital investor in online marketplaces, media and digital enterprises across Southeast Asia; Singapore-based Quest Ventures, which invests in Internet-related technology startups, as well as Jakarta-based Ethis Ventures, which invests in and supports Islamic crowd funding platforms.
Analysts, naturally, see huge opportunities in the Islamic digital economy. According to research from Thomson Reuters, Muslim consumers worldwide are expected to contribute $277bn to the global digital economy by 2020 through channels such as websites and mobile platforms, including for online banking, investment advisory, banking and wealth management products, online shopping, media and entertainment, online skills training, travel booking, ride-hailing and other segments of the sharing economy.
Consultancy Deloitte, in a study on the potential of the
Islamic digital economy, also stated that with over 1.7bn Muslims around the world, an Islamic economy that is expected to reach $4tn by 2020, as well as technology readiness for potentially 30% to 40% of the Muslim population, there is great potential for the emerging digital Islamic economy. The study added that Islamic finance, Islamic media, halal travel, halal fashion and halal food would stand out as the most attractive industry verticals within the Islamic digital services world and would have the greatest online market potential.
In Islamic finance, micro-financing, co-investment platforms and online investment advisory are currently amongst the most prevalent services, whereas there are still large gaps in online incubation funds and start-up financing, including Islamic crowd funding, the study found, a void that Malaysia’s new Islamic Digital Economy Framework is designed to quickly and sustainably fill for its own economy and give a good example for other governments in Muslim jurisdictions seeking innovative inputs for their economies.
