The Sahabah and Mubarizun ... The Trustworthy

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatuLlah wabarakatuh

AlhamduliLLah syukur ... for the barakah of lights and understanding ...

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Baitul Maqdis and The Occupied Palestine have taken me back to the life preceeding now ... the lives of those that have love for only Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and the Prophet RasuluLLah Salallahu 'alaihi wasallam ...

... and everything else is founded upon that eternal love ...

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... and here's one among the first ten ...

Sayyidina Abu Ubaidah ibn Al Jarrah r.a. ... the Trustworthy ... whose real name was Amir bin Abdullah bin Al Jarrah bin Hilal Al Fihri Al Quraisy ...

a few narratives of Sayyidina Abu Ubaidah r.a. ... here ...

English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ubaidah_ibn_al-Jarrah

Bahasa Malaysia
Sayyidina Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah r.a.

http://dakwah.info/utama/buku-tarbiyah/abu-ubaidah-bin-jarrah-2/
Sayyidina Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah

Baginda Nabi S.A.W, “Sesungguhnya setiap umat mempunyai orang kepercayaan, dan orang kepercayaan umat ini adalah Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah.” - Riwayat al-Tirmizi

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AlhamduLillah, we were given the opportunity to visit his maqam in Jordan ... where a plaque was hung on a wall with writings describing the Sahabat in Arabic.

Our Amman Brother Guide translated the inscription word for word ... and i realised then how little i know about those beloved sahabah of the Prophet SAW who had given their lives to keep the path of Allah SWT opened to us ...

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His wasiat ... 

As soon as Abu Ubaidah moved to Jabyia he became afflicted with the plague (Ta'un). As death hung over him, he spoke to his army:

Let me give you some advice, which will cause you to be on the path of goodness always— Establish Prayer. Fast the month of Ramadan. Give Sadaqah. Perform the Hajj and Umrah. Remain united and support one another. Be sincere to your commanders and do not conceal anything from them. Don't let the world destroy you for even if man were to live a thousand years he would still end up with this state that you see me in. Peace be upon you and the mercy of God.^[10]

He then appointed Muadh ibn Jabal as his successor and ordered him to lead people in prayers; after the prayers Muadh went to him and, at that moment, his soul departed.
Muadh got up and said to the people:

O people, you are stricken by the death of a man. By God, I don't know whether I have seen a man who had a more righteous heart, who was further from all evil and who was more sincere to people than he. Ask God to shower His mercy on him and God will be merciful to you.^[9]

He died in 639 C.E. and was buried at Jabiya. It has been narrated that his janaza was led by Muadh bin Jabal.

Source: Here

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may I and beloved all never forget ...

this wasiat of the sahaba Sayyidina Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah r.a. ... as he breathed his last few breaths ...

"Don't let the world destroy you for even if man were to live a thousand years he would still end up with this state that you see me in".

Allahua'lam

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The complex that houses maqam Sayyidina Abu Ubaidah r.a. and a Masjid named after him ...
in Jordan (Google image).

Ya Allah keep us in Your Hidayah and Guide our every step ...and let us learn from those who have been rightly guided ...

... ameen Allahumma ameen ...

That First Sight and More ... Part 1/2

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatuLLah wabarakatuh

Alhamdulillah syukur ... for the many lessons learned and shared from the ziarah …

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The following illustrations and maps of the various sites from google map will help visualise part of Baitul Maqdis (also known as Al Quds, Jerusalem, The Holy Land, East Jerusalem, The Old City, The Walled City ...)

 The sight that beheld our hearts.

It was cloudy as we entered Baitul Maqdis (in this city you would hear it referred to as Jerusalem only). Approaching it from behind the mountains from Amman to King Hussein-Allenby Bridge and through Jericho (Arabic-Ariha), this was the view that welcomed us as we approach the Blessed Land.
This photo was taken by my sister, Andah from the bus. 

She was seated on the left side of the bus. So try to sit on this side when entering The Holy City :)

Two three snaps ... 

and the view was very quickly hidden from us as we moved on ...

  a better perspective from Google ... (click on the image for a better view)

Notice the wall running through the middle of the picture ...
This wall was built and rebuilt during the many different reigns including those of the Mamluk's (of Egypt) and Ottoman reigns to protect the City against intrusions and invaders. We entered Baitul Maqdis (Jerusalem) and reached the Haram Al Sharif (Dome of The Rock and Masjid Al Aqsa) from this side of the City.
Our Hotel was just a few minutes walk from one of the Gates.

still a camera ...  a mechanical tool can only capture so much ... here's a googled view on a bright glamorous day ...

The Dome of the Rock 

(Arabic: مسجد قبة الصخرة‎, translit.: Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah)

A mosque was built over the location where Rasullullah Prophet Muhammad SAW was raised to heaven on the night of Isra' wal Mikraj. We entered the vast courtyard of The Haram from the north door and we passed by The Dome of The Rock which was situated at a higher level, went down the stone steps and on towards Masjid Al Aqsa. 

InsyaAllah I will describe the internal details of both Masjid Qubbat As Sakhrahh and Masjid Al Aqsa in separate entries ... InsyaAllah.

 

Notice the palm tree and the others are olive trees - just completed its harvest season during our visit.

 (image source ... google)

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Masjid Al Aqsa 

... viewed from the east. The Black Dome is at the south most of the Mosque where the Imam leads solat ... remember that Makkah al Mukarramah, hence the Kiblat, is to the south. We entered from the right of the picture where the trees are - from the north that is. You will not be able to view the Black Dome when standing in front of the Masjid. The dome is covered in lead, hence its black colour.

(image source ... google)

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Entrance to the Masjid Al Aqsa. 

The Black Dome of the Masjid is right to the back (south most) and is not visible from this position. Imagine that you are the photographer. If you turn around and face north, immediately your line of sight will fall upon the Golden Dome of the Rock.

(image source ... google)

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What i wanted to do was to provide an overview of the routes and sites in the Holy City but blogger.com is having trouble uploading ... to get around the problem my approach now is to upload the posting in bits and pieces. I hope the elaboration will encourage us to make plan for a ziarah soon...

InsyaAllah

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That First Sight and More ... Part 2/2

That First Sight and More ... Part 2/2

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatuLLah wabarakatuh

AlhamduLillah syukur ... for the infinite blessings of Allah SWT ...

~

 Late November through early December was still pleasantly cold. When the sun was up we can do without thick winter garment. Ladies can easily wear in layers for warmth. We left before snowfall ... which occurred in the second week of December.

 Herod's Gate (Bab al Shahirah aka Bab al Zahirah) ... our entry to the Old City and Haram Al Sharif. Our hotel was a few minutes walk from here. You would see a few armed Israel Security Police in front of this Gate. Just guarding. No close up photographs here. Surreptitious distant photographs should be done with care. 

We arrived at our hotel during Asar time. 

And was ready and eager to go to Masjid Al Aqsa for Maghrib and Isya'. MasyaAllah it was not to be. Led by our Palestinian Brother Guide, we were a few meters happily out of the hotel but as we turned into a corner of a street, we met some locals who were returning, because they were stopped at this Gate. 

That day an incident occurred at Hebron (another adjacent city), where some fights (and death occurred). We could hear some shots in the distance as well. I am not sure whether these were shots of celebration (the Jews were celebrating Hanukah) or shots of commotion. Nevertheless our Brother Guide advised us to turned back into the Hotel. 

AlhamduliLLah, early the next morning we managed to do our Fajar Solat in the Masjid ... alhamduLillah ... much much syukur.

(Image source ... google)

 

 Another view of Herod's Gate.  Notice The Old City beyond the Gate. This is part of the Muslim Quarter.

(image source ... google)

There are nine gates to enter the City but not all are opened. Muslims mainly enter from Damascus Gate, Herod's Gate and Lion's Gate ... right into the Muslim Quarter of the Old City before we reached the entrance to the Courtyard of Haram Al Sharif. Be prepared to hear the various names of the Gates in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

The Walled City of Al Quds

Showing the Quarters. Note that the Quarters are within the Wall. Herod's Gate is at the top of the image ... image source ... google.

This area is usually referred to as The Old City East Jerusalem, where Muslims are allowed to enter. For the Palestinians may or may not ... only those who are residents of the Old City who live in the Muslim Quarter, and those with special permits are allowed entry ... and even then, women and older men have better chance of getting in.

a better representation of the wall ...
The Haram Al Sharif is represented by that rectangular walled area on the right. You might say a wall within a wall. Doors into the Haram are locked and secured by armed Israel Security Police after Isya', and will be opened at about 4.00 am for Fajar Solat.

We entered the main door to the courtyard of the Haram al Sharif from the north, moved past the Dome of the Rock in order to reach Masjid Al Aqsa. There are a few other doors to enter the courtyard of the Haram, all manned by armed Israel Security Forces. We only entered the courtyard from the main North Door.
(Gates refer to the entrances sited at the outer wall, while doors refer to the entrances to the courtyard of the Haram Al Sharif (The Dome of The Rock and masjid Al Aqsa).

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We encountered a still closed door on the second morning of our ziarah ... because we were at the door to the Haram at about 3.30am. We just quietly waited. By 4.00 am the door suddenly opened and the armed security police who opened it appeared from the inside.

AlhamduLillah syukur that we did not encounter any incident similar to the one as illustrated below.

The armed Israel Security Police in front of a steel door leading into the Haram's courtyard.
You may not wish to encounter this ...

when some of the armed police  similar to the above were walking briskly behind us ... i was almost sure that our heartbeats were louder than the sounds of their boots briskly hitting the cobblestones of that narrow alleys ...
ahhhhh i felt so ashamed ... for my cowardice!
Are we not supposed to fear no one but Allah SWT?

For the locals, this is part of their real life ... notice on the left of the above image, some of them waiting patiently for the chance to enter the Haram.

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Earlier while waiting for the immigration clearance at King Hussein/Allenby Bridge, I asked our Brother Guide in Amman how would visitors know whether it is safe to enter Baitul Maqdis. And he said, Jordan will not allow visitors to cross the border if there is any hint of trouble. So for guided ziarah insyaAllah, we should have nothing to worry.
but again remember ...
how many times we have been reminded that Allah SWT is with those who help Him ...

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The gates ...

A view towards the main road from the top of Damascus Gate. I am not sure if we will be able to go up the Gate and the walkway above the wall to view the City. This is a googled image. Anyhow no harm asking the Brother Guide the next time anyone of us is there ... InsyaAllah.

Here are the 9 Gates into the Old Walled City – Baitul Maqdis (Jerusalem) ...

In Arabic and English

1. Bab al Amud (Amud means Column) (Damascus Gate)

2.Bab al Zahirah/Bab al Sahirah(Cemetry) (Flower’s Gate/ Herod’s Gate)

3. Bab al Asbat (Lion’s Gate/St Stephen’s Gate)

4. Bab al Rahmah (Eastern Gate/Golden Gate) (Not open)

5. Bab al Mugrabi (Dung Gate) - Dung means ... well dung :) ... in the past that was the gate used for throwing rubbish out. Not any more though.

6. Bab al Dabbagha (Tanners gate)

7. Bab an Nabi Daud (Zion Gate)

8. Bab al Khalil (Jaffa gate/Hebron Gate)

9. Bab al Jadid (New Gate)

Some information will tell us that there are 6, 7, 8, 9 up to 11 Gates. It depends whether they are referring to all the Gates or only those Gates that are open for access to the Old City.

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  May Allah SWT ease our next visit to the Haram al Sharif ...
Ameen ... Allahumma Ameen..