Every span of Jerusalem has witnessed the footsteps of prophets, the standing of angels, and the rise and fall of nations.
“The Prophets Home, the Golden Dome”
“The Prophets Home”
Jerusalem is the city of the Prophets. It is where countless Messengers of God lived, prayed, and walked, from Ibrahim (AS) who built the foundations of the sanctuary, to Dawud (AS) and Sulayman (AS) who established the Masjid, to Isa (AS) (Jesus), and the final Prophet ﷺ who journeyed there in the Isra and Mi’raj. It is the spiritual heartland of the Abrahamic tradition.
“The Golden Dome” is a direct and reference to Qubbat al-Sakhra (The Dome of the Rock), built in 691–692 CE. Its golden dome has become the global symbol of Jerusalem and Islamic presence in the Holy Land, linking Prophetic legacy with Islamic civilisation.
Jerusalem belongs first and foremost to the Prophets and their final message, Islam.
“Tell Greece, tell Rome at glinting gloam”
This rhetorical challenge. “Tell Greece, tell Rome” addresses the heirs of the great ancient empires that once ruled or influenced the region. It says: Go ahead and ask your predecessors, the philosophers of Greece and the Caesars of Rome what happened to their empires in Jerusalem.
“At glinting gloam”: “Gloam” means twilight or dusk. “Glinting” suggests the golden dome catching the last rays of sunlight as the empires eventually lived their dusk (their inevitable fall). Yet through it all, Jerusalem remained the Prophet’s Home.
Empires rise and fall (Greece, Rome, Byzantium, the Crusaders, the Ottomans, the British, and now the modern settler project), but the Golden Dome remains. Empires come and go, but the sanctity of this land, the heirs of the prophets and the truth it represents endure.
“Each inch a tale each span a song,
Of nations gone of time so long.”
Every inch of this blessed land carries a story. The poem draws from a profound narration of Abdullah ibn Abbas RA, who said:
“Bayt al-Maqdis was built by the Prophets and inhabited by the Prophets. There is not the area of a single hand span except that a Prophet prayed in it or an angel stood on it.”
Every span of Jerusalem has witnessed the footsteps of prophets, the standing of angels, and the rise and fall of nations.
From the time of Ibrahim and Sulayman AS to the final revelation, the land has absorbed the prayers, struggles, and histories of countless generations.
“When Adam lay its stones so bare,
And angels cleansed the mount and square.”
According to several classical narrations and the opinion of scholars such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, it was Prophet Adam (AS) who laid the foundations or stones of Al-Masjid al-Aqsa after building the Kaaba in Makkah. Some traditions state that Jibril x(AS) guided Adam (AS) in its construction.
The famous Hadith of Abu Dharr (recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim) confirms the ancient link between the two sanctuaries:
The Prophet ﷺ was asked which Masjid was built first on earth. He replied: “Al-Masjid al-Haram.” He was then asked: “And then which?” He said: “Al-Masjid al-Aqsa.” He was asked: “How long between them?” He replied: “Forty years.”
The phrase “angels cleansed the mount and square” alludes to angels purifying and preparing the site by removing traces of previous corruption or sanctifying it for worship after periods of neglect or desecration by earlier nations.
“The mount” refers to the Mount of Olives (Jabal al-Zaytun), the sacred hill immediately east of the Old City. It is a place of immense prophetic significance, a site of prayer for many prophets and the place from which Prophet Isa (Jesus, AS) ascended to the heavens.
“The square” refers to the great rectangular Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the vast walled esplanade that encompasses Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and surrounding structures.
This platform measures approximately 144,000 square metres and is enclosed by historic walls with multiple gates (traditionally around eleven to fifteen main entrances).
“For saints to come, the earth prepare,
For Abraham, to rest right there.”
The land of Palestine was divinely prepared and sanctified from the earliest times as a resting place and sanctuary for the Prophets and righteous servants of Allah.
The phrase “For Abraham, to rest right there” refers to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) ﷺ, the father of the Prophets and a foundational figure in Palestine and around whom the sanctity of the Holy Land is focused.
According to authentic Islamic tradition and historical consensus, Ibrahim’s final resting place is in Hebron (al-Khalil), in the Cave of the Patriarchs (known in Arabic as al-Haram al-Ibrahimi).
The Masjid al-Khalil (the Ibrahimi Mosque) was built over this cave. It is one of the most ancient and revered sites in Palestine. Inside the cave lie the graves of Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Sarah, his son Ishaq (Isaac), his wife Rebekah, his grandson Yaqub (Jacob), and his wife Leah AS.
This line connects the preparation of the land from the time of Adam and the angels to its role as the eternal resting place of the intimate friend of Allah, the father of the Prophets and the master of the monotheistic way, Ibrahim ﷺ.
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