Palestine: Land, Prophets & Conquest
The Palestine Question · Part One: Palestine in History

Palestine:
The Land, the Prophets & the Conquest

Ten thousand years of history on one page. From the first city humans ever built at Jericho, to the footsteps of the prophets in Hebron and Jerusalem, to the day Umar ibn al-Khattab walked into Jerusalem on foot while his servant rode.

For high school & university students3 chapters · 25-minute readInteractive quiz at the end

Timeline · tap any point to jump there

Oldest on the left. Distances are proportional to time, which is why the prophets and the conquest bunch up on the right.

Chapter One

The Land of Palestine and Its People

Where is it? Why have empires fought over it? And who are its people?

A Bridge Between Two ContinentsLocation and name

Open a map of the Muslim world and put your finger right in the middle. You will land on Palestine.

Palestine is the south-western part of Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria), on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Its position makes it the link between Asia and Africa, and the meeting point of the two wings of the Muslim world. That is why armies, caravans and divine messages have passed through it throughout history.

Its oldest known name is “the Land of Canaan”, after the Canaanites, the first people we know to have settled it. The name “Palestine” comes from sea peoples who arrived from the Aegean around the 12th century BCE and appear in Egyptian inscriptions as “P-L-S-T”. They settled the coast and quickly merged with the Canaanites. All that remained of them was the name they gave the land.

Under Muslim rule, al-Sham was divided into military districts (ajnad), and Jund Filastin stretched from Rafah to al-Lajjun near Jenin. Palestine’s modern borders were only drawn precisely under British occupation (1920–1923).

27,009km² — the area of Palestine by modern borders
1,207 mMount Jarmaq (Meron), the highest peak
−400 mThe Jordan Rift, the lowest place on the face of the earth

Three Landscapes in One LandTerrain · a schematic cross-section from the sea to the Jordan River

Choose a region to learn more
Sea 0 m 1,207 m −400 m ← West East → Coastal Plain Central Highlands Rift

The climate is a mild Mediterranean one that encourages settled life and farming. Fertile soil, a unique location and a sacred status: three reasons Palestine has drawn people to it since the dawn of history.

Who Are the People of Palestine?Layers of the people through history · tap each layer

The Palestinian people are like an ancient wall in Jerusalem: stones from many different eras that became one wall.

The conclusion reliable historians reach: most Palestinians today, especially villagers, descend from the Canaanite, Amorite and Philistine tribes and from Arab tribes. They merged into one fabric, bound together by Islam and the Arabic language over thirteen centuries of Muslim rule.

Did You Know?Tap a card to flip it

For group discussion

  1. Why is Palestine’s location both a blessing and a challenge?
  2. The Canaanites came from Arabia centuries before the Children of Israel. How does that change the question of “who was there first”?
  3. Christian and Jewish minorities lived in peace in Palestine under Muslim rule. What does that tell us?
Chapter Two

The Journey of the Prophets in Palestine

A land where Ibrahim walked, Dawud fought and Sulayman built. Who inherits their legacy today?

The TimelineTap any point to read the details

Prophet or believing leaderHistorical event

A Lesson from the Generation of the Wilderness

Allah saved the Children of Israel from Pharaoh through Musa (Moses), peace be upon him. But centuries of humiliation had left them unwilling to enter the Holy Land, and they told their prophet:

﴿فَاذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَا إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ﴾“So go, you and your Lord, and fight. We will stay right here.”Surat al-Ma’idah 5:24

So they wandered for forty years. They only entered the land when a new, hardened generation grew up under the leadership of Yusha‘ ibn Nun (Joshua). The takeaway for young people: victory does not come to a generation used to humiliation. It comes to a generation raised on faith and strength.

How Long?Comparing lengths of rule and presence in Palestine

Unbroken presence of Palestine’s native people on their land (until 1948)~4,500 years
Muslim rule (636–1917 CE), briefly interrupted by the Crusades~12 centuries
The Israelite kingdoms, over parts of Palestine, not all of it< 4 centuries
Of which the reigns of Dawud and Sulayman, the golden age of monotheism before Islam~80 years

After the revolt of 132–135 CE, most Jews had no real link with Palestine for about 18 centuries. Its native people never left, until many were forcibly expelled by Zionist militias in 1948.

Who Inherits the Prophets?Answering the religious and historical claims

The Zionist project bases its occupation on two claims: a “divine promise” of the land, and a “historical right” because they once ruled it. The Islamic position is clear. Jews have freedom of religion and must not be forced to change their beliefs. But they have no right to impose those beliefs on others, or to uproot a people and seize their land in their name.

The religious argument

The land was given to the Children of Israel when they raised the banner of tawhid (monotheism) and stayed true to it. When they deviated, altered the scripture and killed their prophets, they lost that legitimacy. The matter is about following the path, not about lineage or race. Muslims are the true continuation of the call of Ibrahim, Ishaq, Ya‘qub, Musa, Dawud, Sulayman and ‘Isa, peace be upon them all.

The historical argument

Israelite rule lasted under four centuries over parts of Palestine, and was mostly weak, divided and subject to neighbouring powers. Muslim rule lasted about twelve centuries. And the Canaanites were in the land before the Children of Israel, stayed during their time, and remain to this day.

﴿وَإِذِ ابْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا ۖ قَالَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي ۖ قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ﴾“And when his Lord tested Ibrahim with certain commands and he fulfilled them, He said: ‘I will make you a leader for mankind.’ Ibrahim asked: ‘And of my descendants?’ He said: ‘My covenant does not extend to the wrongdoers.’”Surat al-Baqarah 2:124

The verse is decisive: leadership is not granted to the wrongdoers among Ibrahim’s descendants. And if the promise were about lineage alone, it would also belong to Isma‘il (Ishmael) and his Arab descendants, including Muhammad ﷺ.

﴿إِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ لَلَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ وَهَٰذَا النَّبِيُّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ۗ وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾“The people with the best claim to Ibrahim are those who followed him, and this Prophet, and those who believe. And Allah is the protector of the believers.”Surat Al ‘Imran 3:68
The author also cites the Jewish writer Arthur Koestler’s view that most Jews today (the Ashkenazim) descend from the Khazar tribes, who converted to Judaism in the 8th century CE. Researchers dispute this view, so in a discussion the stronger argument is the core one: inheritance is by the path, not by blood.

Did You Know?Tap a card to flip it

For group discussion

  1. “The legacy of the prophets is our legacy, and their history is our history.” What does this mean in practice for a young Muslim today?
  2. Why did being the descendants of prophets not help the Children of Israel once they went astray? What is the lesson for Muslims themselves?
  3. How would you calmly and clearly answer someone who says, “God promised this land to the Jews”?
Chapter Three

The Islamic Conquest of Palestine

Seven years that shaped the identity of the land for fourteen centuries.

Hearts Arrived Before ArmiesBackground

Palestine was under Byzantine (Eastern Roman) rule. Emperor Constantine recognised Christianity (Edict of Milan, 313 CE) and built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. After the empire split in 395 CE, Palestine stayed in Byzantine hands until the Muslims came.

But Muslim hearts were attached to it long before their armies reached it:

First QiblahMuslims prayed towards al-Aqsa until the 2nd year after the Hijrah
Al-Isra’In the 10th year of prophethood, the Night Journey from Makkah to al-Aqsa, whose surroundings Allah blessed
StoriesThe stories of Ya‘qub, Lut, Zakariyya, Yahya, Dawud, Sulayman and ‘Isa took place in Palestine
GroundworkKhaybar (7 AH), Mu’tah (8 AH), Tabuk (9 AH) and the expedition of Usamah (11 AH)

The Conquest, Step by StepChoose a stage · army sizes follow the reports the book relies on

The Negotiation No One ForgotMu‘adh ibn Jabal in the Byzantine camp before the Battle of Fahl

Just before the Battle of Fahl, the Byzantines asked for a man to negotiate with. Abu ‘Ubaydah sent Mu‘adh ibn Jabal. Follow the exchange as al-Azdi records it in Futuh al-Sham:

Monks by Night, Lions by DayA Byzantine spy’s report before Yarmouk

Al-Durunjar, commander of the Byzantine left wing, sent a Christian Arab to spy on the Muslims. He stayed in their camp for a night and a day, then came back and said:

“I have come from a people who stand all night in prayer and fast all day, who command what is right and forbid what is wrong. Monks by night, lions by day. If their king stole, they would cut off his hand; if he committed adultery, they would stone him, because they put the truth above their own desires.”
Al-Durunjar replied: “If these people are as you say, then for anyone who wants to fight them, the belly of the earth is better than its back.”

The Covenant of UmarThe guarantee of safety for the people of Aelia (Jerusalem) · 15 AH

The people of Jerusalem insisted that the Caliph himself receive their city. So Umar ibn al-Khattab left ‘Ali in charge of Madinah, travelled to al-Sham and wrote them a guarantee of safety. We have highlighted its key lines:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم This is the guarantee of safety that the servant of Allah, Umar, Commander of the Faithful, has given the people of Aelia: he grants them safety for their lives, their property, their churches and their crosses, for the sick and the healthy and all their community. Their churches shall not be occupied or demolished, nor shall anything be taken from them or their grounds, their crosses or any of their property. They shall not be coerced in their religion, nor shall any of them be harmed… Whoever leaves is safe in life and property until he reaches his place of safety, and whoever stays is safe… Witnessed by: Khalid ibn al-Walid, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf and Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan.

At a time when blind fanaticism and forced conversion were common across the world, this document became a model of religious tolerance.

The EntryHow did the Caliph enter one of the holiest cities on earth?

“O people of Islam, Allah has fulfilled His promise to you, given you victory over your enemies, made you inherit the land and established you in it. So let your only response be gratitude. Beware of sin, for sin is ingratitude for blessings. Rarely does a people deny Allah’s blessings and fail to turn back in repentance without being stripped of their honour and having their enemy set over them.”
From Umar ibn al-Khattab’s sermon before he left Jerusalem

The author comments: this is the reality Muslims lived through in the Crusades, and the one we live today. Ingratitude for blessings, then loss of honour, then an enemy set over us.

Islam Takes RootPeople who settled in or came from Palestine · filter by group

After the conquest, the people of Palestine entered Islam. Companions of the Prophet settled there and taught them their religion, and the land produced scholars and leaders who changed history.

Buried in Jerusalem alone (count by a modern researcher)
9Companions
60kings & princes
167scholars
66righteous saints
53judges

“A drop from the ocean”, since many names have been lost. That is Jerusalem alone. Imagine all of Palestine.

For group discussion

  1. The Muslims won at Ajnadayn, Fahl and Yarmouk despite being heavily outnumbered. What factors does the book point to, and which can we learn from today?
  2. Khalid ibn al-Walid was removed from command at the height of his victories and carried on fighting as a soldier. What does that teach us about sincerity and teamwork?
  3. The Muslims returned the jizyah to the people of Homs when they could no longer protect them. How does that compare with the conduct of occupying armies today?
  4. Read Umar’s sermon again. Do you see a link between the state of the Ummah today and what he warned against?
Wrap-up

Test Yourself

12 questions from all three chapters. The correct answer and an explanation appear after each choice.