Occupied Jerusalem

- From all the governorates of the West Bank, the Palestinian interior, and the neighborhoods of Jerusalem, they marched individually and in groups towards the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to observe seclusion in its flanks.

They gather in the ranks of the worshipers to perform the Tarawih prayer, and their throats shout “Amen” during the prayer of qunut in the Witr prayer collectively, and when it ends, they head to where they used to meet the founder of the Jerusalem initiative, Abdul Salam Abu Khalaf, who holds a doctorate in the field of Islamic faith and philosophy.

The first episodes of scientific retreat at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the last ten days were held last Wednesday (Al-Jazeera)

The terrace opposite the Marwani prayer hall testifies to these science councils, which moved this year due to the cold weather to the Arbaeen chapel inside the Al-Qibli prayer hall, and there the young men circled around Abu Khalaf to receive the first lectures of seclusion for this year, all of which fall under the axis of “Reviving the Essence of Islam in Contemporary Societies.”

On the system of governance in Islam between stability and development, and on Shura as a model, the first lecture was launched after a council to pray for the Messenger Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.

And Abu Khalaf - who also established an initiative for the formation of Islamic mental sciences and who is interested in issues of change and renaissance - elaborated on his talk to Al Jazeera Net about the reasons that prompted him to launch the scientific retreat initiative at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He said that everyone who attends I’tikaf nights in the world Islamic countries finds that the role of scholars and preachers is strongly present in their large mosques, and in return we find this presence weak in Al-Aqsa Mosque due to the conditions of the occupation and the restrictions it imposes on scholars’ access to the mosque.

The founder of the scientific seclusion initiative at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Abdul Salam Abu Khalaf, during one of the seclusion lectures (Al-Jazeera)

Honest and low awareness

Despite the restrictions, the mosque’s chapels and courtyards during the nights of i’tikaaf were not free – according to Abu Khalaf - from practicing some rituals of i’tikaaf, such as episodes of reading the Qur’an, remembrance and praying at night, but what was absent from these rituals are the scientific and intellectual aspects.

"We considered the necessity of covering these two aspects in addition to the Zakat aspect, and what confirmed the need to launch this initiative is my observation of the presence of sincere religiosity among the young men in repentance in Al-Aqsa Mosque, but their level of awareness of legal and intellectual issues is relatively low, and from here we launched a clear and regular program in the month of Ramadan of 2018." He added. Founder of the initiative.

Regarding the most prominent challenges facing the scientific seclusion in the first two Qiblas, Abu Khalaf stressed that they are related to the occupation and its practices, whether those related to obstructing the access of scholars and supplications to give lectures in the mosque, or the tense events inside it that are not commensurate with scientific lessons.

He added that "intellectual councils need calm, and they cannot be held during the outbreak of confrontations in Al-Aqsa.. After the dawn prayer on the second Friday of Ramadan, I should have given a lecture on the Islamic fatwa, but the situation was stifled, and there was a waiting for the storming, and the young men were on alert, so I immediately apologized about dropping it.”

A lesson in Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyah within the activities of the scientific retreat (Al-Jazeera Net)

The main challenges

And about his fear that the lectures will run as planned this year in light of the outbreak of events in Al-Aqsa Mosque a week ago, Abu Khalaf explained that a decision was taken to hold all I’tikaf lectures at the specified time and place in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to hold them through the “Zoom” application in the event that it is not possible to pass them Inside the mosque because of the events.

This young Jerusalemite recalls the stations of Islamic activity in Al-Aqsa Mosque throughout history, saying that it was an important center and forum for Muslim scholars and stakeholders who visited it, and programs were organized for them to deliver lectures and Friday sermons and explain books and messages in its vast, and they were entrusted with the task of guiding creation to the path of truth.

Abdul Salam Abu Khalaf concluded his speech to Al-Jazeera that he aspires to restore to Al-Aqsa Mosque its role and scientific value, and to carry out its Islamic mission without much effort and preparation.

Hisham Basbous: The lectures shed light on important issues, especially for the youth group (Al Jazeera)

Among those joining the initiative since its inception is Professor of Islamic Education Hisham Basbous, who said that what distinguishes her lectures is that they are held by a distinguished group of specialists in all Islamic sciences.

Basbous added that these scholars shed light on important issues in light of the spread of ideas and practices alien to our religion, our customs and traditions, and in light of the state of alienation from religion among the youth group, which had to spread knowledge in them, hence the importance of this initiative.

The young man, A.Q., was determined to go into seclusion in Al-Aqsa Mosque, coming from the city of Hebron (south of the West Bank) through the gaps in the separation wall, and said that he had learned about the mosque’s scientific seclusion initiative through its Facebook page, which was directed to it by his university professors in the field of Islamic law.

Regarding this initiative, he said that he feels reassured when he attends her lectures because he receives them at the hands of specialized scholars, adding that some of the lessons are deeply engraved in his memory, such as those related to the relationship of science to ethics and the common foundations between them, and others about jurisprudential errors in Murabaha contracts and Islamic banks and others.

The lecturers are not only keen to pass on information, but also receive questions and inquiries from the audience inside the chapel and those who follow the councils through the live broadcast feature on the initiative's Facebook page.

After about two hours, the Scientific Council disbands and the gathering disperses to join the ranks of the worshipers to perform the Tahajjud prayer in Rehab Al-Aqsa, provided that the scientific meeting is renewed on the following night until the end of the holy month.