Geography, history and holy places of Jerusalem

Geographical location: Jerusalem is located at a longitude of 35? east and a latitude of 31? north on a chain of hills running eastward and ranging from between 720 metres (m) to 800 m above sea level. The city is about 52 kilometres (km) from the Mediterranean, 22 km from the Dead Sea, 250 km from the Red Sea (Mustafa 1989), 150 km from Akka, 65 km from Nablus, 36 km from Hebron, 62 km from Jaffa, 88 km from Amman, 390 km from Damascus, 528 km from Cairo, 388 km from Beirut and 865 km from Baghdad (Jaber 1996; Al Farhan 1975; Al Dabbagh 1975).

Excavations have revealed that the origin of Jerusalem was in the Al Dhor hills (Al Tour or Ovel Hill). It overlooked Sulwan, southeast of the Holy Sanctuary, on an area of 55 dunums. This area was supplied by the Um Al Daraj spring on the eastern side of the Al Dhor hills. As years passed, the city expanded to include other hills such as Beit Al Zeitoun (also known as Bezeta) in the north-east, Sanctuary hill (also known as Medria) in the east, Zion hill in the south-west, and other hills inside the Sanctuary area, known as Ancient Jerusalem, encompassing an area of 1 km, including the holy places for the three faiths (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) (Abu Elyan 1993).

The city is characterized by its strategic location; its natural defensive lines include a system of valleys in the east (Suleiman, Sitna Merriam or Yahu Shafat valleys), west (Wadi Eljabaneen) and south (Wadi Alrababeh). The level area in the north was the main access route for most military raids and attacks on the city (Al Farhan 1975). All those who conquered the city, such as Naboukheth Nasser, Alexander, Bombay and Omar Bin Al Khattab, entered the city via the northern access (Mahmoud 1984).

The topography of the city also enhances its military stronghold because of its being surrounded by mountains, namely, Al Tour mount in the east at 830 m above sea level overlooking the Jordan Valley, Samuel mount in the west overlooking the Coastal Strip, Al Masharef or Scopus mount in the north that reaches Ramallah, and Al Mukkaber mount (named as such because Omar Bin Al Khattab called out "Allahu Akbar" when he conquered the city) in the south reaching Bethlehem. These early warning sites enabled the army to defend the city (Mahmoud 1984; Jaber 1996).

The rapid increase in the population has pushed the city limits beyond the Wall surrounding it. The modern quarter, known as the New Jerusalem, sits beside the suburbs of Shu'fat, Beit Haneena, Sulwan, Ein Karem, Deir Yassin and Al Qastel (see figure). More quarters and districts have been recently built on the neighbouring mountains of Al Masharefi, Al Qatamoun and Al Mukkaber (Palestinian Encyclopedia 1984).

Nomenclature: The first name given to Jerusalem was "Orshalem", meaning the "City of Peace", named by the Canaanites 5,000 years ago. This name was then changed to Yuroshalime by the Jews, then to Orshamam by the pharoahs, then Herusulima by the Greeks and Romans, and finally to Jerusalem by the Franks (Al Dabbagh 1975).

Israelis attacked during the 200-year Canaanite rule over Jerusalem. Thereafter, the city was known as Yabous City, given by Yusha'a, the Israeli leader. When the city was conquered by the Jews in 997 BC, it was named David City after the Prophet Daoud, peace and blessings be upon him, because he established his government therein (Mahmoud 1984). This name did not last long and was soon replaced by Orshalem and continued thereafter until the end of the Jewish rule, which lasted only 73 years. The city was then ruled by the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans successively. In 135 CE (Common Era), the city was annihilated by Hedrian, the Roman emperor, and the name was changed to Elia Capitolina, meaning "Allah's House". Although Constantine, another Roman emperor, restored the old name Orshalem, Elia was used by Moslems and Arabs even after the Islamic Conquest. Later it was called Al Quds or Beit Al Maqdes as evidenced by the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah (Al Dabbagh 1975). The meaning of the new name is related to pure faith and sanctity.

Holy places: Jerusalem is highly respected and revered by the followers of the three faiths-Moslems, Christians and Jews-because most of the prophets and messengers either lived in the city or had been there at one time or another such as Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Jesus, Yahya, Zakaria and Saleh, peace be upon them. Stories indicate that Adam was buried in a cave between Jerusalem and Abraham's shrine, and Noah's ark is believed to have told him that "this is the place of your sons-Sam who built the city and ruled it" (Bin Mohammed [date unknown]). Moreover, Abdullah Bin Omar said, "Beit Al Maqdes had been built by the prophets, peace be upon them, and the angels had prostrated all over the city". Muqatel Ben Suleiman said, "The prophets and angels had prayed all over the city" (Al Suyouti [date unknown]).

The Islamic faith confirms the belief in all prophets and considers this one of its articles of faith to believe in all previous faiths, as mentioned in the Holy Qur'an in Surah Al Imran, verses 3 and 4, "Allah has sent you the Book to believe in the previous faiths, and He had sent Al Torah and Al Injeel (the Psalms) as a guide for the people." Also, in Surah Al Shoura, verse 13, "Allah has shown you the true religion which was oracled to Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus to follow this belief and not disperse." Consequently, the holy and sacred places in the Jerusalem are (Al Zein 1988):

Al Aqsa Mosque. It was the second mosque built by Abraham, peace be upon him, after he had built the Kaabah. Al Aqsa means "the farthest" and it was named so because it is far away from Mecca and it was the destination of Mohammed's Al Isra'a journey.

The Dome of the Rock. It was taken as a mosque and altar by Abraham (peace be upon him) and as a mosque by Jacob. Yusha'a took the dome as a meeting place made by Moses (peace be upon him) in the chaos. David and Suleiman also took it as a mosque and finally it was the starting point of Al Miraaj, the journey by Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) up to the heavens (Mustafa 1989).

Al Buraq. This is the wall that surrounds Al Aqsa Mosque from the west. It is an indivisible part of the sanctuary. It is called the Wailing Wall by the Jews, who believe that the so-called Al Haykal was built there by Herodes in 18 BC and thereafter destroyed by Titus in 70 CE.

Concerning the Christians, Al Qeyameh Church was built by Queen Heliana in 335 CE. This is where they discovered the cross upon which Jesus Christ was believed to have been crucified. This Church is considered to be the most revered place for Christians. The Jews are still searching for Al Haykal, built by Suleiman, especially in the area (Al Zein 1988).
II. Historical Eras

The Canaanites emigrated from Arabia because of the drought and lived in Syria in 4000 BC, especially in Jordan and Palestine. This whole of this land was called "Canaanites' land", including the coastal strip from Sidon to Ghora, from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea and from Tiberias to Beir Sheba'a (Jeffreeze [date unknown]). The Canaanites divided into tribes and likewise different locations, so they could not form a united entity. Jerusalem was occupied by Yabous, on of these tribes, in 2500 BC (Al Farhan 1975).

Although they worshipped various gods, Canaanites were monotheists as shown in the Old and New Testaments. Malki Sadeq, the Arab Yabousi king who ruled Jerusalem, was a monotheist. He believed in Allah and used the Sanctuary as a mosque, and he used the Dome of the Rock to make sacrifices (Al Dabbagh 1975). The Old Testament referred to him as "Allah's priest" (Genesis, 14:18-20; a letter to the Hebraics in the Bible, 6:20 and 7:1-5). Historical studies show that Canaanite existence continued in Palestine until the Islamic conquest (Abu Elyan 1993).

Pharoanic Era: The Pharoahs ruled Jerusalem during 1600 BC for nearly 200 years when the city was attacked by the Bedouin Alkhabero tribe. The Egyptian ruler, Abid Kheba, was forced to ask for help from Akhnatoon, who was unable to help him till 1317 BC, the date when Seti first ruled Egypt (1317-1301 BC) (Al Dabbagh 1975). A certain letter sent by Abid Kheba indicated that the people of the city were forced to leave it and live in the mountains (Abu Elyan 1993), and so he was also unable to go back to Jerusalem.

Jewish Era: The Jews attacked the city in 977 or 1000 BC when David (peace be upon him) conquered the city and called it David's City. He built a palace and temples. He was succeeded by his son Suleiman, who ruled for 40 years and who built Al Haykal, where Malki Sadeq used to worship. After Suleiman's death, the Jews were divided. The name of the city changed back to its Canaanite name, Jerusalem. During this 337-year-long Era, 20 different kings ruled the city. Their people assassinated more than half of them. In addition, the city suffered through several catastrophes, and polytheism prevailed amongst the population, especially among Yabousians, Canaanites and Ammonites (Palestinian Encyclopedia 1984).

Persian Era: The city was attacked by Naboukheth Nasser during Sedqia Ben Yushia's rule, the last Jewish king in the city (597-586 BC). The city was destroyed, and the Jews were taken captive and brought to Babylon in Iraq. They were not allowed to go back till King Kurush did so in 538 BC. King Kurush was influenced by his wife, who was connected to the Jews, and so he built Al Haykal, which lasted from 515-20 BC, at which time the Herodons began to build a new one (Palestinian Encyclopedia 1984; Mahmoud 1984),

Greek Era: The city was conquered by Alexander in 332 BC. The Jews, who by this time had forgotten what the Persians had done for them, welcomed him. After Alexander's death, Ptolemys ruled the city. Thereafter, Salouqians from Syria ruled it. The people were influenced by this Hellenistic period. Their king, Antokhios IV, succeeded in destroying Al Haykal in 165 BC and forced the Jews to believe in Heathenism. As a result, many revolts began, especially the Maccabites, till the Jews got autonomy under the rule of Hasmounians (135-76 BC) (Palestinian Encyclopedia 1984).

Roman Era: The city was conquered by the Roman leader Bombay in 63 BC, but it was conquered again by Persians in 40 BC. The Romans restored it in about two years and appointed Herodous as king, who restored Al Haykal for the Jews and gave them autonomy (Mahmoud 1984).

Despite these privileges, the Jews rebelled against the Romans so Titus destroyed the city and dispersed them (the Diaspora) in 70 CE. They rebelled again in 115 CE and in 132 CE, but Hedrian annihilated the city and banished all the Jews. He allowed only the Christians to live in the city and called it "Elia". Consequently, the Jews disappeared for 1,000 years, with no connection to the city. Constantine allowed them to visit the city once a year (Al Aref 1959). When the Roman Empire was divided and became weak in 395 CE, the Persians conquered the city in 614 CE with the aid of 25,000 Jews. However, the Romans restored the city in 627 CE. This event is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an in Surah 30 (The Romans) (Palestinian Encyclopedia 1984).

First Islamic Era: After a fierce battle that continued for four months, the Patriarch Sofronious asked the Islamic leader Abu Obeidah to call the Caliph, Omar Bin Al Khattab, to come and receive the keys of the city personally. He came and entered the city through Al Mukkaber Mount in 636 CE and he wrote a treaty, called Al Ohdeh Al Omarieh, to protect the Christian rights in the city. The Christians stayed freely in the city but had to pay compensation (al jezyah) for being protected by the Muslims (Mahmoud 1984).

A great number of Prophet Mohammed's companions (Al Sahabeh) and his followers came to the city, as well as a lot of Muslims from all over, to live in or to visit the holy places, to study and to start their pilgrimage to Mecca. At this time, the city recovered its Islamic features (Al Farhan 1975). Both the Umayyad and Abbassiad caliphs paid great attention to the city concerning the fields of architecture, and the scientific movement. Several scientists and physicians stayed there (Al Asali 1981). The situation in the city had changed because of the deterioration of the Abbassiad's control, plus the conflict between the Abbassiads and the Fatemides over Syria and Palestine (Al Asali 1981).

Crusades Era: The conflict between Al Salajeqeh and the Fatemides made it easy for the Crusaders to conquer Jerusalem in 1099 CE (492 Hijra [H]). This marked the end of the first Islamic Era. The Crusades Era lasted for 90 years. The Crusaders were such barbarians. They murdered more than 70,000 Muslims, especially in the Sanctuary. This barbarity contradicts the Treaty signed by the Caliph Omar Bin Al Khattab regarding the Islamic tolerance and lenience with the Christians in the city. Besides, the Crusaders destroyed the city and took all the treasures and made the Sanctuary a stable for their horses (Al Farhan 1975). Consequently, a Catholic authority ruled the city, but the Orthodox were dissatisfied. In the meantime, the Muslims continued their efforts to restore the city, that being their supreme ambition (Mahmoud 1984).

Second Islamic Era: Both Emad Eldin and Nureldin Zinky did their best to unify the Muslims and restore the city. Finally, Saladin was able to restore the city after he had defeated the Crusaders in the battle of Hitteen in 1187, so the Crusaders were banished. The Christians were allowed to stay in the city (Mahmoud 1984). Consequently, Saladin removed the cross that was installed on the Dome of the Rock, appointed Imams, cleaned up the whole place and made the city a stronghold to protect it from other raids. Moreover, he increased the number of Muslims in the city and built several Islamic educational institutions (Mahmoud 1984). Saladin's followers such as King Issa the son of King Aladel Abu Bakr, Saladin's brother, ordered that the walls of the city had to be destroyed in case the Crusaders conquered the city again. This would make it difficult to remove them, especially when they occupied Demiat in 1229 CE. As a result, most of the people in Jerusalem were forced to leave the city to Kerak or Damascus. Moreover, King Alkamel surrendered the city to the Crusaders, except the Sanctuary, for 11 years, but King AlNaser Daoud restored it, then he handed it back to the Crusaders for four more years and finally King Al Saleh liberated it in 1244 CE (Al Asali 1981).

British Occupation: The city prospered during the Second Islamic Era, especially under the rule of Mamalik, which lasted for 260 years. This prosperity, both in architecture and the sciences, continued until the rule of the Ottomans (1556-1917 CE). They renewed the Dome of the Rock and rebuilt the wall to protect the city (Al Asali 1981).

The situation in the city deteriorated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because of the weakness and conflicts in the Ottoman authority (Al Asali 1981). Consequently, the city was occupied by the British on 9 December 1917. This declaration, made by British General Allenby, was the beginning of the present catastrophe in Jerusalem. Palestine has been Judaized in general and Jerusalem in particular since that date (Al Hamed 1997).
III. Virtues

Allah the Most High has honoured and glorified certain areas from around the globe as places of worship where good deeds (hasanat) are multiplied. This is evident in both the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. The most honourable and glorious places are Mecca (the hometown of Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him, and the place of revelation and the Ka'aba), Medina (Prophet Mohammed's refuge, grave and mosque) and Jerusalem, which is connected to both the foregoing places by the nocturnal journey of Al Isra'a and Al Miraj (Shappeir 1987). These three places are blessed by Allah; This is mentioned in the first verse of Surah Al Isra'a in the Holy Qur'an. Blessed means the increase and growth of benevolence andthe Godly providence, taken from the Holy Qur'an, Surah Al Anbiyya, verse 71 (Al Asfahani 1961).

Spiritual Blessings (Shappeir 1987). Jerusalem is spiritually blessed for several reasons. First, it is the hometown of many prophets, the place where angels have descended, the burial place for many prophets, the land of Resurrection and the place where the Day of Judgement (or Doomsday) will be executed. For example, Abraham, Lot, Moses, David and Solomon (peace be upon them) lived on this land. Also, as mentioned in the Sunnah, "Angels have descended there for purposes of revelation". Touba for Al Sham (Syria) says that Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Where the Angels are present spreading their wings to protect that land." Moreover, it is the land of the prophets because all of the prophets were gathered to pray behind Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) when he took Al Isra'a journey. This means that Prophet Mohammed is the leader of all the previous prophets and his message is the last message of revelation. Furthermore, it is the land where the Day of Judgement (or Doomsday) and the Resurrection will take place; this is what Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) said when he was asked about Jerusalem. This is further proof that Jerusalem is divinely blessed and highly glorified and respected by all believers and religious people. Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) emphasized this when he said, "I saw the Light going toward Al Sham, so it is the Land of Faith, and a refuge from trouble."

Another aspect of this blessing is that the residents are considered fighters (Mujahedeen) because this land has been the centre of the nations' conflicts. Prophet Mohammed says, "All of the residents of Al Sham are fighters (Mujahedeen) for Allah's sake in every city, town or frontier." Finally, the people of Jerusalem will be victorious as long as they follow the right way. Regarding this, Prophet Mohammed says, "There is always a group of Muslims following the right way and oppressing their enemy till Allah's order comes; it was said, 'Where are they?' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Around Jerusalem'." Moreover, Prophet Mohammed says, "The people of Al Sham are Allah's whip on the earth to revenge the infidels, and the hypocrites will never overcome the believers; the hypocrites will die sadly."

Perceptible Blessing (Shappeir 1987). Beside the spiritual blessing, there is the perceptible blessing such as the central geographical location in the Arab and Islamic world--a juncture between the continents. This location made the city a hometown to most of the prophets and faiths, and a military centre, especially when Alexander invaded Egypt. Amr Bin Alass invaded Egypt, too. Its seaports were utilized to conquer the islands of the Mediterranean by Muslims. Moreover, Palestine is rich in agriculture because there is plenty of water and the soil is very fertile, especially around Jerusalem, which is surrounded by various kinds of fruit orchards and olive trees. Olives are the most important crop of the land. The land itself is surrounded by the Mediterranean, the Dead Sea, the Red Sea and Lake Tiberias, along with several rivers and springs.

Holiness. The holiness of Palestine is evident in the Holy Qur'an. Moses told his followers, "Oh my people, enter the holy land, which Allah has assigned to you, and turn not back (in flight) for then you will be returned as losers" (Holy Qur'an, Surah 5 [Al Ma'idah], verse 21). The word "holy" means "sanctified and pure", thus Palestine has been called "The Holy Land". Palestine is the home of Al Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, the cradle in Bethlehem, and Al Qeyameh Church in Jerusalem (Shappeir 1987). Since the city is holy and sacred, any form of oppression, transgression or arrogance is unacceptable. The city has never contained idols; any nation that flaunts morality-namely the Persians, the Romans, the Jews and even the Muslims when they quit their religion-would never stay for long on its land. This land rejects wrong beliefs wherever it may lie. Moreover, Al Dajjal (the Anti-Christ) will not enter this land, nor will he enter Mecca or Medina. Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Al Dajjal will overcome the whole earth except Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, where all believers will be besieged, then Allah will defeat him; even the trunk of the tree shows the believers where the infidels are" (Shappeir 1987).