What is it about?
Jerusalem (al-Quds) is sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews, and each claims it as their heritage. Much modern writing, especially Orientalist studies, stresses its place in Judaism and Christianity and treats the Muslim attachment mainly as a Palestinian national issue. This article sets out the Muslim view from the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions. The Qur'an calls it the "holy land" (5:21) and the "blessed land" (21:71), and names al-Masjid al-Aqsa (17:1) before the Muslim conquest. According to a hadith in Sahih Muslim, al-Aqsa was built forty years after the Ka'bah. The land is linked with many Prophets, with the Night Journey, and with the first qiblah. The article also traces how the Qur'an calls it "mubarak" (blessed) in Makkan surahs and "muqaddas" (holy) in Madinan surahs. Finally, it looks at Umar's covenant with the people of Aelia, which guaranteed their lives, property, churches and freedom of faith, as an example of peaceful co-existence under Muslim rule.
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Why is it important?
The study shows that the Muslim attachment to Jerusalem is rooted in the Qur'an and Sunnah and belongs to Muslims everywhere, not only to one nation. It also brings forward a historical example, Umar's covenant, of different faiths living together in the same sacred city with their places of worship protected. This helps readers understand why Jerusalem holds a special place in Muslim hearts, and how Islamic teaching on tolerance and co-existence was put into practice there.
Perspectives
As a researcher in Hadith Studies, I noticed that discussions of Jerusalem in academic writing often leave out what the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions themselves say about it. In this article I wanted to bring those sources to the centre, and to show from Muslim history how the city could be a shared home for different communities.
Dr. Seema Tahir
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Islamic Jerusalem: The Islamic Heritage and A Model of Peaceful Co-Existence, AL-MAQASID The International Journal of Maqasid Studies and Advanced Islamic Research, July 2025, Intelligentia Resources,
DOI: 10.55265/al-maqasid.v6i1.54.
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