Introduction to International Relations

Why is the UN silent? Why are children who are supposed to go to school, they should be playing, instead, they are faced with an unfinished war?

Glory be to (Allah), who has driven His servant (Muhammad) at night from the Grand Mosque to the Aqsa Mosque which We have blessed around him so that We show him some of Our signs (greatness). Verily, He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (QS. Al-Isra’: 1)

Let’s start this article by finding out what “Baitul Maqdis” is. First, what do we need to know about Baitul Maqdis or Masjid Al Aqsa according to QS. Al-Isra’ verse 1 is a blessed place around it. If the surroundings are blessed, it means that we believe, let alone “in the middle”. So this land seems to be a barometer of land that exists throughout the world and a pillar between the earth and the sky that causes peace to emerge. If Muslims who have a true religion manage Baitul Maqdis well, then world peace will be created; but if the Muslims are forced to leave the land, then the peace in the whole world will be shattered. It turns out that if we talk about Baitul Maqdis, it is not only the place that is the cause of peace, but also the morals of its inhabitants which are the barometer and balance sheet for the good and bad of the world’s population. This is in accordance with the hadith, “When the people of Sham have been corrupted, then there will be no good in your midst. A group from my ummah will always receive help. It will not harm those who ignore them until the end of the world occurs. The population of Sham is currently identified with the state of Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. This is where Aqsa later became the womb of world civilization.

The problems between Israel and Palestine today are not just humanitarian issues, but also issues of religious aqeedah. In the book Baitul Maqdis Gold by Prof. Abdul Fattah, that there are three meanings of Baitul Maqdis, namely the Aqsa Mosque, the city now called Jerusalem, and ardu’l-muqoddasah. Because the root of the problem is belief, Jews come from all over the world who want to return to the land of Zion after being in the diaspora and expelled all over the world. In short, in the 1890s, a young man was born who would later hold a Zionist Congress, named Theodor Herzl. Theodor Herzl then collaborated with a British aristocrat and conglomerate named Leonel Rothschild who was a descendant of the family that initiated the banking system. They worked together on how to be able to buy settlements in Baitul Maqdis to later become the forerunner of the state of Israel. Of course, Caliph Abdul Hamid the leader in Palestine at that time totally rejected this decision. The Caliph said we would not hide behind the forts of Jewish money, he emphasized that it would be better for the Palestinian people to die and stick swords in their own bodies than to witness this land being taken. Then the power and leadership of Islam were targeted by the Jews, where they succeeded in destroying the leadership power of the Muslims after World War I, so that at that time the lost territory was divided based on the Sykes-Picot agreement in 1916. After dividing, the British gave a piece of Palestinian territory to the Jews, and at the end on May 14, 1948, the United Nations established the state of Israel and agreed by America was the winner of World War II. This is where the chaos started.

Jewish nation

Genealogically, the discussion of Judaism begins with the Prophet Abraham.

And Abraham passed it on to his children, so did Jacob. O my children! Verily, Allah has chosen this religion for you, so do not die except in a Muslim state. (QS. Al-Baqarah: 132)

Prophet Ibrahim left an important treatise on monotheism. In the book At-Ta’rif wa-l I’lam by Abu-l-Qaasim As-Suhaili or we can also find it in al-Bidayah wa-l-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir, during his lifetime, Prophet Abraham had two wives, namely Sarah and Hajar, from Sarah was born the Prophet Ishaq; from Hajar was born Prophet Ishmael. Narrated that Prophet Ishaq married Rifqoh and gave birth to two twins, they are Ya’qub and Iesh. Prophet Ishaq ordered his children to seek experience and share goodness at a young age. Iesh went to Roman territory and Ya’qub went to his uncle Laban in Fadam Aram, the area around Palestine. When it came to Fadam Aram, Laban offered Ya’qub to marry his son either Layya or Rahil. Ya’qub with all his good intentions married both of them, it was here that Layya later gave birth to 6 children named: Robin, Syam’un (also spelled Simon), Levi, Yahudza, Issacha, Zaballon; and from Rahil gave birth to two children namely Yusuf and Bunyamin. Given by Laban, two household assistants help Layya and Rahil’s work, namely Zalfa and Balha. Each of Zalfa and Balha was also married by Ya’qub, born of them with 4 children. There is an opinion that says, it was from the descendants of Yahudza, Layya’s son, that the Jewish nation was born.

The Jews referred to in the Qur’an actually do not refer to their nation, but the desired characteristics change; because every time the Jewish people passed through a certain era and generation, a serious problem was certain to occur. We can see at the time of the Prophet Yusuf, how the other brothers of Joseph began to show characteristics, from getting rid of his brother, deceiving his father, etc. During the time of Prophet Musa when the Jewish nation was liberated by Musa from Pharaoh’s colonialism, after Musa’s death a problem arose until it was criticized in the Qur’an when they changed the teachings and guidance of Prophet Musa and then wrote their own version in the hope of influencing people and getting income from their deeds the.

So woe to those who write books with their (own) hands, then say, “This is from Allah” (with the intention) to sell them at a low price. So woe to them because of their handwriting, and woe to them because of what they have done. (QS. Al-Baqarah: 79)

Unfortunately, they also convey narratives that inspire later generations to do more than that. This character builds a belief from a narrative that is created separately and passed on to subsequent generations. From this, we need to understand together that even God has been violated, so it does not rule out the possibility of peace treaties with treacherous humans, this is the character they carry.

This Jewish behavior was condemned by the Koran so that no other religious holy book offers its contents to be proven except only the Koran.

Say, “Indeed, if humans and jinn come together to make something similar (to) this Qur’an, they will not be able to make something like it, even if they help each other.” (QS. Al-Isra’: 88)

They even said, “He (Muhammad) has fabricated the Koran.” Say, “(In that case), bring ten surahs like it (the Qur’an) which are fabricated, and invite anyone among you who can besides Allah, if you are truthful.”

So if they don’t meet your challenge, then (say), “Know, that (the Qur’an) was sent down by the knowledge of Allah, and that there is no god but Him, then will you surrender (convert to Islam)?” (QS. Hud: 13-14)

Is it appropriate for them to say he (Muhammad) made it up? Say, “Make a sura similar to the sura (Al-Qur’an), and invite anyone of you who is able (to make it) besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (QS. Yunus: 38)

In the end, the Qur’an wants to bring down stories written by Jews about the Prophet Ya’qub who wrestled with his God, and won, the story of Prophet Musa, Prophet David, Prophet Lut, etc., is wrong and a big problem. The Qur’anic narration presents the Prophet with all his privileges and honors; including the Prophet Ya’qub or Israil (starting from the word isra’ which means servant and ‘il which means Allah, then Israel itself means an obedient servant of Allah) and his children who are implied that will give pious offspring and have a good influence on the world.

Children of Israel and Israel

We know that the Children of Israel are descendants or children of Israel or the Prophet Ya’qub. So when we discuss the Children of Israel there are many verses in the Qur’an that call on the Children of Israel, this is where we understand that the Children of Israel are people who were chosen and glorified by Allah. However, among them will later be divided; practically speaking, their leadership was divided into 12 regions which were condensed into two new terms. There are two terms for the Jewish area, the first is the Kingdom of Israel in Samaria, and the second is the Jewish Kingdom which is taken from the name Yahudza, one of the sons of the Prophet Ya’qub in Jerusalem. In short, these two empires were conquered by Babylon, then reconquered by Rome, until it ended in the founding of the Zion or Zionist movement. In fact, the commandments in the Qur’an for Jews are not to be despised, even the Messenger of Allah had a Jewish wife, namely Shafiyah; but what we need to hate is their behavior such as being a greedy, cowardly, liar, unreliable, always taking advantage, disobedient, killing their own prophet, etc.

Practically speaking, the current state of Israel refers to the state that occupied Palestine earlier, not to the Children of Israel. For the Jewish meaning, it refers to the bad qualities of the Jews themselves.

In the Qur’an, Allah has given them (the Children of Israel) many pleasures, the gifts of the prophets including the Prophets Yusuf, Musa, Daud, Sulaiman, and Isa solely so that they will return to remember Allah because many of their ancestors came from there. Indeed, it has been stated in the Qur’an, that the characteristics of the Children of Israel did not provide peace in every place they stepped on, they always presented problems and problems. Even in the modern era, you can see how they were driven out in every region.

In closing, I would like to convey that ardu’l-muqoddasah is the area we know today as Palestinian land. Just imagine, for example, we have a house, then we receive guests, the guests have stayed long enough, we respect, serve, suddenly the next day they say, “I have the right to this house, you can leave” or if you don’t want to go out, we just share, where I 70% you 30%, but you live in the back room. Well, that’s the situation that is happening between Israel and Palestine today.

*Student of the Department of International Relations, University of Muhammadiyah Malang