Israel's Global Unpopularity

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 In the Al Quds Today page now.

Sulayman continued: Travelling by Wind

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This post will cover one of the special blessings given to Sulayman (as).

Sulayman (as) made dua to Allah to give him a kingdom like none given to any other before him.  Allah accepted the dua of Sulayman (as) and one of the blessings granted to him was a unique and amazing quality to possess.  The Quran mentions this special ability in several places:

 He turned to Us and prayed: ‘Lord forgive me! Grant me such power as no one after me will have- You are the Most Generous Provider.’  So We gave him power over the wind, which at his request ran gently wherever he willed (Surah Sad: 35- 36)

  

We harnessed the stormy wind for Solomon, so that it sped by his command to the land We had blessed- We have knowledge of all things (Surah Al-Anbiya’: 81)

And [We subjected] the wind for Solomon. Its outward journey took a month, and its return journey likewise... (Surah Saba’: 12)

Sulayman (as) travelled in unique style throughout the Holy Land as Allah gave him the power to travel via the wind.  Allah gave his prophet Sulayman (as) control over the wind as far as the distance of a month so he travelled on the wind throughout his kingdom as he pleased.  It is said that Sulayman (as) took a rug and had it reinforced with wood, using this rug to travel in the wind wherever he liked and at whatever speed, due to this gift given to him by Allah.

I have not given the full translation of the last ayah I quoted in this post (Surah Saba', verse 12) as the verse covers some of the other blessings given to Sulayman (as).  InshaAllah future posts will cover these.

Mus'ad Abu Mu'attaq

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Children of Al Quds page now.

Children of Al Quds Page

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Children of Al Quds page added to the blog.
I think this page could be the breaking of my heart :(.
Allahul musta'aan.

Israeli Settlers chop down 220 Olive Trees from Palestinian Farm

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

It seems these settlers have taken heart from the US' stance on the latest UN resolution on illegal Israeli settlements.  Not only content to steal his property, the armed assailants also assaulted the Palestinian farm owner's wife.  In Al Quds Today now.

Sulayman (Solomon)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Sulayman (as) was the son of prophet Dawood (as).  He became the king and prophet of Banu Isra'il after his father.  Allah says in the Quran:

"Solomon succeeded David. He said, ‘People, we have been taught the speech of birds, and we have been given a share of everything: this is a clearly a great favour.’ " (Surah An-Naml: 16)

Like his father, Allah blessed Sulayman (as) with special favours not given to anyone else before him.  As well as these, Sulayman (as) enjoyed the same ability to understand the speech of birds and even other animals which was given to his father Dawood (as).  One incident mentioned in Quran relating to an ant refers to this blessing:

"Solomon’s hosts of jinn, men, and birds were marshalled in ordered ranks before him, and when they came to the Valley of the Ants, one ant said, ‘Ants! Go into your homes, in case Solomon and his hosts unwittingly crush you.’  Solomon smiled broadly at her words and said, ‘Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me and my parents, and to do good deeds that please You; admit me by Your grace into the ranks of Your righteous servants.’ " (Surah An-Naml: 17- 19)

The next post will inshaAllah cover some of the unique blessings given to Sulayman (as) by Allah S.W.T.

US vetoes UN resolution on Israeli settlements

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Nearly half a million Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are held to be illegal under international law.

The UN's latest draft resolution on the issue of Israeli settlement building has been vetoed by the US, despite all other members of the Security Council voting in favour.  Read about it in the Al Quds Today page.

Gaza- The World's Largest Prison

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

SubhanAllah, the plight of more than a million depicted in an animation one minute long...in audio/video now.

Gaza Children bear Scars of War

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Video report on the impact of Israel's actions on the children of Gaza.  In the audio/video page now.

Dawood continued: The Brothers in the Masjid

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This post will cover the incident I referred to at the end of my last post on Dawood (as).  The incident occured when Dawood (as) was in Masjid Al Aqsa.  ***However, it is important to note that when I refer to Masjid Al Aqsa in this post I am not referring to the black domed masjid we refer to as 'Al Aqsa' today (shown above); that building did not exist in the time of Dawood (as)***.  Instead the term is used to signify the equivalent place of worship in the time of Dawood (as).

In Quran Allah refers to the blessing of wisdom which He granted His prophet Dawood (as).  It was important for Dawood (as) to have sound and decisive judgement as king of Banu Isra'il so he could arbitrate fairly in their disputes.  On one occasion Allah sent some angels to test the judgement of Dawood (as).  The story of this test is told in Surah Sad:

“Have you heard the story of the two litigants who climbed into his private quarters?  When they reached David, he took fright, but they said, ‘Do not be afraid. We are two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other: judge between us fairly- do not be unjust- and guide us to the right path.  This is my brother. He had ninety-nine ewes and I just the one, and he said, “Let me take charge of her”, and overpowered me with his words.’” (Surah Sad: 21- 23)

Dawood (as) had his own chamber in Masjid Al Aqsa where he retreated to make remembrance of Allah in private.  On one occasion he was surpised by the sudden appearance of two men, who were actually angels sent by Allah to test Dawood (as).  When one 'brother' complained about the other taking his single ewe, Dawood (as) passed his judgement:

“David said, ‘He has done you wrong by demanding to add your ewe to his flock. Many partners treat each other unfairly. Those who sincerely believe and do good deeds do not do this, but these are very few.’ [Then] David realized that We had been testing him, so he asked his Lord for forgiveness, fell down on his knees, and repented: We forgave him [his misdeed]. His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to.” (Surah Sad: 24- 25)

As soon as Dawood (as) judged in favour of the brother whose ewe had been taken both of the men disappeared and it was then that Dawood (as) knew it had been a test from Allah.   Dawood (as) realised that as the arbitrator of the dispute he should have listened to both sides of the story before passing judgement.  His repentance to Allah was not only accepted, but Allah also honoured Dawood (as) in the next verse by confirming that Allah had given him authority in the land:

 “‘David, We have given you mastery over the land. Judge fairly between people. Do not follow your desires, lest they divert you from God’s path: those who wander from His path will have a painful torment because they ignore the Day of Reckoning.’ ” (Surah Sad: 26)

This incident reveals the sanctity of Al Quds by giving an example of a prophet who had a private chamber in Masjid Al Aqsa dedicated to the worship of Allah.  May Allah give the believing men and woman the tawfeeq to follow in this sunnah, aameen.