Eight days after the conquest of Jerusalem, on the 4th of Sha’ban 583 AH, the first Jumu’ah salah in over 100 years was held in Masjid al-Aqsa. The khutbah was delivered by Qadi Muhiy ad-Deen ibn az-Zaki. The following is the khutbah translated into English:
“So the people that committed wrong were eliminated. And praise to Allah , Lord of the worlds.” (Qur’an 6:45)
Praise be to Allah Who has humiliated polytheism by His might, Who controls all affairs by His decree, Who perpetuates blessings by means of gratitude, Who punishes the disbelievers from directions they perceive not, Who decrees the alternation of days by His justice, grants the best end to the pious by His grace, grants shade to His slaves and causes His religion to prevail over all others. “He is the Irresistible, above His slaves.” (Qur’an 6:18). Who cannot be resisted, the Prevailer over his creation Who cannot be disputed; the One Who decrees what He wills and cannot be questioned; the One Who rules as He wants and cannot be resisted. I praise him for causing His slaves to be victorious and to prevail, for granting honor to His close friends and supporting those who support His cause, for purifying His sacred house from the filth of polytheism. I praise Him inwardly and outwardly.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship other than Allah alone, with no partner or associate, the One, the Self-Suficient Master, Whom all creatures need. “He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none equal or comparable unto Him” (Qur’an 112:2-4). This is the testimony of one whose heart has been purified by tawheed and is content with Him as his Lord. I bear witness that Muhammad is his slave and messenger, the dispeller of doubt, the defeater of polytheism, the toppler of falsehood, who was taken on the Night Journey from al-Masjid al-Haram to this, al-Masjid al-Aqsa, and was taken up thence to the highest heaven, to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary.
“Near it is the Garden of Refuge -When there covered the Lote Tree that which covered [it]. The sight [of the Prophet] did not swerve, nor did it transgress [its limit].” (Qur’an 53: 15-17)
May Allah send blessings and peace upon him and upon his successor as-Siddeeq, the first one to believe, and upon the Commander of the Faithful, Umar bin al-Khattab, the first one to remove from this house the symbol of the cross, and upon the Commander of the Faithful Uthman ibn Affan, Dhun-Noorayn and the collector of the Qur’an, and upon the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib, the destroyer of polytheism and breaker of idols, and upon his family and Companions and those who follow them in truth.
O people, receive glad tidings of the pleasure of Allah, which is the ultimate goal and highest status because of which Allah has brought about at your hands: the regaining of this lost land from that misguided nation, which has been restored to Islam, where it belongs, after it was transgressed against by the polytheists for nearly one hundred years; the purification of this house which Allah has ordered to be raised “in them His name is remembered” (Qur’an 24:36); the removal of polytheism form it after having been dominated by it and its becoming deeply entrenched. Now it is built on a solid foundation of tawheed and piety, for it is based on piety.
It is the home of your father Ibrahim, the place of Mi’raj of your Prophet Muhammad, your qibla towards which you used to pray at the beginning of Islam. It is the homeland of the prophets, the focal point of the friends of Allah, the refuge of the messengers, the place where revelation came down, the place to which commands and prohibitions were sent down. It is in the land of resurrection and gathering. It is in the holy land which Allah has mentioned in his clear Book. It is the mosque in which the Messenger of Allah led the highest-ranking angels in prayer; it is the land to which Allah sent His slave and Messenger, His Word which He bestowed upon Maryam and a Spirit from him, Isa whom He honored with the office of Allah’s Messenger and prophet who never departed from a position of servitude to Allah.
Allah says “Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah ” (Qur’an 4: 172) and “They have certainly disbelieved who say that Allah is Christ, the son of Mary.” Qur’an 5:17
It is the first of the two qiblas, the second of the two mosques, and the third of the holy sanctuaries. No journey is to be undertaken to any mosque, after the two holiest, except to it.
Were it not for the fact that you were among those whom Allah had chosen from among His slaves and selected from among the inhabitants of His land, you would not have been singled out for this virtue in which no one can compete with you or attain the honor that you have attained. Glad tidings to you of an army at whose hands appeared miraculous battles like Badr, resolve like that of as-Siddeeq, conquests like those of Umar, armies like those of Uthman, power like that of Ali. You have brought back for Islam days like those of al-Qadisiyah, Yarmouk, and Khaybar, and battle charges like those of Khalid ibn al-Waleed. May Allah reward you with the best of rewards on behalf of His Prophet Muhammad and show appreciation for what you have done; may Allah reward you for offering your souls in fighting the enemy and may Allah accept from you what you offered of your blood in order to draw close to Him and reward you with paradise. It is indeed the abode of the blessed.
Appreciate this blessing, may Allah have mercy on you, as it should be appreciated, and fulfill the duty towards Allah of giving thanks to Him for bestowing this blessing upon you exclusively and for choosing you to do this service, because this is the conquest for which the gates of heaven were opened. By means of its light the darkness was illuminated and the angels who are close to Allah rejoiced and the Prophets and Messengers were comforted. What greater blessing can there be than your being made the army that would conquer Jerusalem towards the end of time, the troops by means of whose swords the banners of faith would be raised a while after the time of Prophethood. It may be that the exchange of congratulations among the inhabitants of heaven is greater than that among the inhabitants of earth.
Is it not the house to which Allah refers in His Book and mentions by name? He says “Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed” (Qur’an 17:1)
Is it not the House which was venerated by kings and praised by Messengers, in which the four Books which were revealed from your God, Glorified and Exalted, are recited?
Is it not the House for the sake of which Allah held back the sun for Joshua, holding it back from setting and causing it to move slowly until he achieved victory?
Is it not the House which Allah commanded Musa to enjoin his people to save, but no one responded except two men, and Allah was angry with them because of it and made them wander in the wilderness as a punishment for their disobedience?
So praise Allah, Who strengthened your resolve to do that which the Children of Israel refused to do at the time when they were favored above all others. He enabled you to do that which the nations who came before you failed to do and caused you to unite for His sake after being divided, and made it a matter of “was” and “have” instead of “will” and “until.”
Congratulations to you, for Allah has mentioned you among those who are close to Him; He has made you his troops and praised you to the angels, for what you have given to this House of the fragrance of tawheed, spreading sanctification and praise of Allah, and what you have removed from this place of the stench of polytheism, the trinity, and evil beliefs. Now the angels of heaven are praying for forgiveness for you and sending blessings upon you.
Take care of this blessing that has been given to you and guard it by fearing Allah. The one who adheres to that and clings to this handhold will be safe and will be protected. Beware of following whims and desires, or following the route that leads to doom, or turning back on your heels and forgetting about fighting the enemy. Make the most of this opportunity, remove what is left of the traces of evil, strive properly for the sake of Allah. O slaves of Allah, sell your souls to please Him as He has made you His slaves.
Beware lest the devil causes you to slip and beware of transgressing the limits and thinking that this victory only came about because of your sharp swords, fine horses, and steadfastness in battle. No, by Allah, “And victory is not but from Allah . Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” (Quran 8:10)
Beware, O slaves of Allah, after Allah has honored you with this great conquest and immense blessing, and singled you out for this clear conquest and caused you to hold fast to this rope which He held out to you, lest you commit any major sin that He has prohibited, or do any grave act of disobedience, then you would be like “she who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong ” (Qur’an 16:92), or like “him to whom we gave [knowledge of] Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators.” (Qur’an 7:175).
Jihad is the best of your acts of worship and the noblest of your traditions. Support Allah’s cause and He will cause you to prevail; remember Allah and He will remember you; give thanks to Allah and He will increase your blessing and show appreciation to you. Strive hard to put an end to this problem and finish off the enemy, purify the rest of the land that has angered Allah and His Messenger; chop off the branches of disbelief and uproot it entirely. The time for Islamic vengeance and supporting the Ummah of Muhammad is overdue. Allah is Great; it is the victory of Allah. Allah will prevail and humiliate and subdue those who disbelieve.
Remember, may Allah have mercy on you, that this is an opportunity, so make the most of it. It is a gain so seize it. It is a mission, so strive hard for it and strengthen your resolve. Matters are judged by how they end. Allah has given you the upper hand against this defeated enemy although they are equal or superior to you in numbers, so how about when you are outnumbered by them by twenty to one? Allah says: “If there are among you twenty [who are] steadfast, they will overcome two hundred.” (Qur’an 8:65)
May Allah help us and you to follow His commands and heed His prohibitions; may He help all the Muslims with victory from Him:
“If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after Him?” (Quran 3:160)
The sheikh concluded the khutbah by making dua for the khalifah and the sultan, Salah ad-Deen al-Ayyubi whom he referred to as Salah ad-Dunya wad-Deen.
Source: Salah ad-Deen al-Ayubi, Ali Sallabi. Vol 3, pg 95-102
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