Jerusalem: Don’t Be A Stranger

The other night I was sat on my sofa not doing very much. Being the easily bored woman-child that I am, I ended up messing around with the Google Maps feature of my latest toy, which allowed me to view aerial shots of almost anywhere in the world, 007-stylee. All of a sudden, I felt the urge to perform a virtual Umrah, and a few seconds after typing in “Mecca”, I was magically transported to… California.

Say what?

You can check it out for yourself. You lucky American Muslims have your very own Mecca! It has nothing on the Saudi version, obviously, but perhaps it is worth a visit if you're in the area. Imagine living there? That would be one awesome postal address for a Muslim!

Anyway, after being a little more specific with Mr G. Maps, (“Take me to Mecca, Saudi Arabia – please”), I was soon gazing down upon the dusty streets of Makkah Al-Mukkaramah – and with a few sweeps of my right index finger, I quickly happened upon the unmistakable shiny, white marble floors of the Sacred Mosque.

I've seen plenty of photos of the Haram – I even have a large poster of that truely iconic scene of the masjid being packed to the rafters with worshippers – but none of them ever gave me the chills that I felt when I zoomed into the image on my little hand-held screen, in order to have a better angel-eye's view of the roof of the Kaaba. Amazing, subḥānAllāh!

Of course, no Umrah is complete without a visit to Medina Al-Munawarrah, in order to pass on one's salaams to the Beloved Prophet, sallalahu 'alayhi wa salam (and I mean “complete” in the sense of personal satisfaction: it would be sad to travel so far and not experience that immense blessing). Thus a virtual Umrah should be no different. After plugging in the new destination, again, it did not take me long to locate the second sacred mosque – its bright whiteness and distinctive courtyard are a familiar sight, even from my sofa in the sky. Zooming into the green dome above the resting place of our Nabi, sallalahu 'alayhi wa salam, sent further chills down my spine – to be directly above this spot, even in the virtual sense, was mind blowing.

So where to next on my virtual pilgrimage? The obvious answer, of course, was the location of the first Qiblah, and home to the third holy site of Islam: Jerusalem. However, having never visited this location in person, I wasn't so familiar with the terrain. It looked similar enough to Makkah and Medina in that the city was a large patch of brown and grey, intersected by rows of streets and buildings – but where was Al-Aqsa, the masjid where Rasoolallah, sallalahu 'alayhi wa salam, lead the previous Prophets in prayer? Where was the famous golden dome of the Dome of the Rock from where he, sallalahu 'alayhi wa salam, was escorted to the Heavens by Gibreel, 'alayhis salam?

I really had no idea what I was looking at, and as much as I scrolled up, down, left and right, I couldn't see any distinctive shapes that lead me to my desired location. It was frustrating to say the least, but more than that, it was quite saddening. Saddening because this incident so clearly highlighted how alien this holy ground is to me. I have never walked upon it as I have done with the previous two sanctuaries – and to be perfectly honest, I am scared to even try.

I mean, none of us wants our special, potentially once-in-a-lifetime, pilgrimage experience to be tainted with the fear of facing armed soldiers at checkpoints, right? But then again – imagine – that is exactly what the people of Palestine have to face every day for the simplest of errands, such as going to work, to school, even to hospital. Bravery, necessity, whatever the motivation, it's a reality that they have no choice but to face – may Allāh continue to strengthen them.

Restricted access to the furthest Mosque is one of the lesser casualties of the Middle Eastern conflict – though it is one that affects the entire Muslim world. Even so, the third Haram still remains a beacon of hope; we pray that one day we will all be free to enter its gates in peace, just as we pray that one day, the people of Palestine, the children of Ibrahim, 'alayhis salam, can go about their lives in peace. May Allāh, the Most Merciful, grant us that day soon – āmīn.

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Entry written for Blog About Palestine Day. Image Credit: Simeon.