The 17th Surah, Al-Isrā’, of the Qur’ān mentions the blessed environs of Masjid Al-Aqşā, and talks of the corruption inherent in the nature of the Israelis and their eventual punishment. The very first verse glorifies God “who transported His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque (in Makkah) to the Aqşā Mosque (in Jerusalem) – the environs of which We have blessed….” The opening verse describes Masjid Al-Aqşā as one with blessed environs. This description shows the blessings surrounding the mosque and flowing in abundance. Those who have visited Palestine, which houses Masjid Al-Aqşā, bear witness that the entire environs are blessed. Despite all the corruption and destruction caused by the Israelis, Palestine continues to and will continue to be a blessed nation.
Palestine is the land of Prophets, especially Prophet Moses (Musa) who received the revealed book, the Torah. God says: “We gave Moses the book and made it a (source of) guidance for the Children of Israel, saying: Do not take anyone for a guardian other than Me. You are the descendants of those whom We carried (in the ark) with Noah. He was a truly grateful servant of Ours.” (The Qur’ān – 17:2-3)
Here the Qur’ān warned them not to “take anyone for a guardian other than Me” and that they would be doomed to destruction if they spread corruption on earth but history shows that they did not pay heed to this warning and for this they were eventually punished. “We made it clear to the Children of Israel in the book: ‘Twice will you spread corruption on earth and will indeed become grossly overbearing’.” (17:4)
Then the Qur’ān lays down the basic principle of action and reward or punishment. “And We said: ‘If you do good, you will be but doing good to yourselves; and if you do evil, it will be also against yourselves’.” (The Qur’ān – 17:7)
This is the rule based on Adl (justice) and it is never changing. It makes everything a human being does, with all its consequences, his own. If he does good, he will be rewarded here in this physical world as well as in the hereafter. And, if he does evil, he will be punished both here and in the hereafter; he may escape punishment here but shall not escape it in the hereafter. This is the natural corollary of action, which depends on the intent and nature of the action.
Thus we are responsible for whatever we do. No action goes in vain. This relationship between action and reward should set the course of our action in life so that we may make the earth a place worth living and as a result achieve ultimate success in the hereafter.