Rehmat
02-18-2008, 03:01 PM
Long ago I read in an Urdu magazine that when Islam’s second Khalifah, Umar ibn Khattab (ra) reached the wall of Jerusalem city in 638 CE - he was carrying his slave on top of his camel while himself walking on foot ahead of it. The messenger of Archbishop of the city told the slave (assuming him to be the leader of Arab force) that the Archbishop would like to meet him. The slave pointed him to Umar. On his return, when the messenger told this story to the Archbishop, he informed the priests that the “promised one” has finally arrived and it would be fruitless to fight with him. So the main gate was opened and the city surrendered to Muslims without fight.
The Archbishop and Umar negotiated and signed the surrender deal - which allowed the Church to carry on its usual duties without interference from the new rulers and the pledge that Muslims would not destroy any house of worship, homes, orchards, or loot shops. After the ceremony, though Umar refused Archbishop’s permission to pray in city’s main church - refused the offer saying that he fears that this may give some future Muslim ruler to demolish the church and build a mosque on that site. However, he did ask the Archbishop about the ‘Soloam’s Temple (Temple of Mount)’, from where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ascended to heaven (Mi’raj).
Muslim soldiers found that site being used a city garbage dump. Umar, with help of some soldiers, cleaned the site and awarded it to the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, who was so overwhelmed by this generosity that he proclaimed Umar as “the promised Jewish Messiah”, who was prophesized to liberate the Jews from bondage and restore the Temple to them.
I was not sure of this story until I read Karen Armstrong’s article in April 16, 2001 issue of TIME magazine, entitled “Islam: A Short History”, which confirmed several parts of the above story. She wrote - Islam’s great Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab gave Islam’s teachings a practical shape by showing justice and manifesting respect for other faiths. When Caliph Omar conquered Jerusalem from Christian Byzantines in 638, he insisted that the three faiths of Abraham co-exist. He refused to pray in the church of Holy Sepulcher when he was escorted around the city by the Greek Orthodoc Patriarch. Had he done so, he explained, the Muslims would have wanted to build a mosque to commemorate the first Islamic prayer in Jerusalem. The Jews found their new Muslim rulers far more congenial than the Byzantines. The Christians had never allowed Jews to reside permanently in the city, whereas Umar invited 70 Jewish families back. The Byzantines had left the Temple Mount in ruin and had even begun to use the Temple Mount as a garbage dump. Omar, according to a variety of accounts, was horrified to see this desecration. He helped clear it with his own hands, reconstructed the platform, and built a simple wooden mosque on Southern end, site of al-Aqsa Mosque today.
Karen Armstrong (b. 1944 in England) is a former Catholic Nun. She is author of several books and is recognized an authority at Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhaism. She teaches at Leo Baeck College, London.
The Archbishop and Umar negotiated and signed the surrender deal - which allowed the Church to carry on its usual duties without interference from the new rulers and the pledge that Muslims would not destroy any house of worship, homes, orchards, or loot shops. After the ceremony, though Umar refused Archbishop’s permission to pray in city’s main church - refused the offer saying that he fears that this may give some future Muslim ruler to demolish the church and build a mosque on that site. However, he did ask the Archbishop about the ‘Soloam’s Temple (Temple of Mount)’, from where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ascended to heaven (Mi’raj).
Muslim soldiers found that site being used a city garbage dump. Umar, with help of some soldiers, cleaned the site and awarded it to the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, who was so overwhelmed by this generosity that he proclaimed Umar as “the promised Jewish Messiah”, who was prophesized to liberate the Jews from bondage and restore the Temple to them.
I was not sure of this story until I read Karen Armstrong’s article in April 16, 2001 issue of TIME magazine, entitled “Islam: A Short History”, which confirmed several parts of the above story. She wrote - Islam’s great Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab gave Islam’s teachings a practical shape by showing justice and manifesting respect for other faiths. When Caliph Omar conquered Jerusalem from Christian Byzantines in 638, he insisted that the three faiths of Abraham co-exist. He refused to pray in the church of Holy Sepulcher when he was escorted around the city by the Greek Orthodoc Patriarch. Had he done so, he explained, the Muslims would have wanted to build a mosque to commemorate the first Islamic prayer in Jerusalem. The Jews found their new Muslim rulers far more congenial than the Byzantines. The Christians had never allowed Jews to reside permanently in the city, whereas Umar invited 70 Jewish families back. The Byzantines had left the Temple Mount in ruin and had even begun to use the Temple Mount as a garbage dump. Omar, according to a variety of accounts, was horrified to see this desecration. He helped clear it with his own hands, reconstructed the platform, and built a simple wooden mosque on Southern end, site of al-Aqsa Mosque today.
Karen Armstrong (b. 1944 in England) is a former Catholic Nun. She is author of several books and is recognized an authority at Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhaism. She teaches at Leo Baeck College, London.