As the incident of Miraj is declared in the first verse of Surah Isra and between the 5th and 18th verses of Surah An-Najm; It took place with a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from there to the heavens, and at the end of this journey, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) came with the good news that the prayers that had been performed as two rak'ahs in the morning and evening until that day, except for the night prayers, were 17 rak'ahs at five different times of the day.
Therefore, the most important message left in our minds from the Miraj event should be prayer and the awareness of Jerusalem. Here, the unity of prayer and Jerusalem is a unity of nature and space.
Let's not forget that Jerusalem is the first qibla of Muslims and our Prophet prayed towards Jerusalem for exactly 15 years, starting from the first days of prophethood.
This first qibla, directed for prayer, eventually became the venue for the Miraj event, which is also a prayer good news. The relationship between prayer and Jerusalem is not limited to this. When we look at the historical process of this holy city, we see very important connections between these two values.
Namely; Whenever the ummah of Islam performed their prayers properly and kept their heads upright, Allah gave them Jerusalem as a sign of their majesty. However, whenever the ummah did not give importance to their prayers as much as Allah wanted, they either did not perform them at all, or they converted the prayers into a static state by transforming them into rituals, Allah took Jerusalem away from them as if to show that this state of the ummah was a state of humiliation.
The meeting of Jerusalem with the justice-dispensing flag of Islam coincides with the 15th year of the Hijra. Those years were the period with Omar (r.a.); Those years are the glorious years of Islam. Because those years were the years when the rights of the altars were paid, the years when the head of the prayer was held high.
As Muslims hold their heads up in prayer, Allah held their heads high, and Jerusalem met with Adhan in those years, with an expedition attended by many of the Companions. After these days of glory, with the weakening of Muslims' prayer sensitivity, the Crusader armies began to attack Islamic geographies.
But 400 years ago, when he saw that the Muslims were a group of happy people who killed death with the power and strength they received from prayer, during the war of Yarmuk, where the valiant Companions were at their head, Heraclius, the commander of the Byzantine at that time, looked at the Syrian lands on his horse and said, "Goodbye Syria! Farewell forever”.
Heraclius did not know that; It was their religion that made those people saints. If they kept their religion, they would continue to be saints. No, if they turned their backs on their religion, they would be in a disgraceful situation.
SALAHUDDIN AYYOUBI, THE MOST LOVED SULTAN OF THE ORIENT
The Muslims of that day, who lost their prayers with the Crusades that started in 1095, would say goodbye to Jerusalem. At this first stage, those lands would have longed for the adhan for 90 years. During this time, there would be a great sadness in Islamic geographies. Because the Muslims had lost the place of the Miraj event, their first qibla.
In those days, a carpenter from Aleppo will begin to feel the pain of this work from the bottom of his heart and will say to himself; It would be said, "The first qibla of Muslims will be occupied, but you will not be able to do anything".
This is the carpenter; He will not say "what can I do"; He would think, cry, storm in his heart and finally say;
“I better build a pulpit. Because I believe that those lands will surely belong to Muslims again one day. Let me at least do something like this to speed up that process, to put Jerusalem on the agenda of Muslims."
According to this decision, this carpenter from Aleppo was going to start building this pulpit and eventually build a pulpit that would amaze everyone who saw it. The customers who came to his shop would wonder and ask which mosque this pulpit, which was built without using a single nail, belonged, and the carpenter would give the following answer that would bring everyone to tears:
"I hope this pulpit will belong to Masjid al-Aqsa, which awaits Muslims."
And one day, a 5-6 year old boy would pass in front of this carpenter, and that beautiful pulpit would attract his attention. He would look at this pulpit with great admiration for minutes, then go inside and ask the carpenter questions about that pulpit.
When the carpenter said that the pulpit belonged to Masjid al-Aqsa, this child's world would change in an instant and he would make a promise to himself there;
"Hopefully! I will be the commander who will conquer Jerusalem and I will be the one who will put this pulpit in Masjid al-Aqsa."
Who was this boy? In the words of Akif, who made this promise in front of the pulpit; He was none other than "Salahuddin Ayyoubi, the most beloved sultan of the Orient".
“THE PEOPLE WHO RAISE THEIR PRAYERS WILL OWN JERUSALEM”
That great commander would burn with the love of this job for years. He would forbid himself to laugh.
He would say, "How can I laugh when Jerusalem is under occupation?"
One night, as he was wandering around the tents of his soldiers, he would hear snoring sounds from a tent; “Here comes the smell of defeat,” he would say.
He would hear the voices of the Qur'an from another tent. The soldiers of that tent were awake when everyone else was asleep; They were standing, bowing, prostrating or at the head of their lecterns.
Salahuddin will be happy to see this tent; “Here comes the smell of victory,” he would say.
Because your song knew the most beloved sultan very well; “Those who resurrect their prayers will become the owners of Jerusalem.”
He also resurrected the soldiers under his control, and Jerusalem was theirs again.
What a wonderful coincidence the conquest was that they were granted on the 27th day of the month of Rajab.
Right after the conquest, Saladin brought that pulpit in Aleppo and placed it in Masjid al-Aqsa.
If the prayer is the believer's ascension and the place of the ascension is Jerusalem, the task is clear. Keeping the head of the prayer up… When our prayers are upright, I hope our Jerusalem will also be upright.
Muhammet Emin Yıldırım, siyervakfi.com