Videos
In the Quran, chapters 5:20 and 17:104, it seems to support the idea that Allah gave the promised land to the Jews.
As an agnostic humanist, I am disturbed by the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Especially considering the similarities in the faiths and the fact that they lived together in peace for hundreds of years.
It seems you can come down on this issue in different ways. You could support them theologically but oppose Israel politically because of their human rights abuses.
So, what are your thoughts on this difficult and painful issue? Does the Quran guarantee a Jewish state? Why do some Muslims violently oppose Israel, while others believe Allah has given it to them?
Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:20-21): “And [mention, O Muhammad], when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, remember the favor of Allah upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds. O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back [from fighting in Allah’s cause] and [thus] become losers.’”
2. Surah Al-A’raf (7:137): “And We caused the people who had been oppressed to inherit the eastern regions of the land and the western ones, which We had blessed. And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of what they had patiently endured. And We destroyed [all] that Pharaoh and his people were producing and what they had been building.”
3. Surah Al-Isra (17:104): “And We said after Pharaoh to the Children of Israel, ‘Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering.’”
I personally don't believe in religious justifications for modern day situations, and I'm also not a Muslim.
This idea is getting somewhat popular within right wing Israelis, and was even posted on MK Naftali Bennett's Facebook page. I would love to hear peoples' opinions and takes on this, Muslims and non-muslims alike.
I couldn't find the original but here's a copy of the post, translated (by me):
"Quotes from the Quran that show that the land (of Israel) belongs to the people of israel...
Beforehand, it should be mentioned that Jerusalem, "el-quds", isn't mentioned in the Quran once... Masjid "el-aqsa" = "the Extreme", the furthest away. Muslim scholars believe this place to be in the heavens and not on earth Also the word Palestine doesn't appear once in the Quran el kareem (originaly written like this)
And now for the quotes: 5:21 - Moses: "oh my people, enter this holy land which Allah has assigned for you" (https://quran.com/5/21-31) 10:93 - "And We had certainty settled the Children of Israel in an agreeable settlement and provided them with good things" (https://quran.com/10/93-103 17:104 - "And We said after Pharaoh to the Children of Israel, "Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering" (https://quran.com/17/104)
And now in Hebrew (I'll skip this part, same but in hebrew)
Muslim scholars who know these verses, and other verses that show that the land of Israel belongs to the Jews, are relying on the fact that most Muslims don't read the Quran.
More surprises in the Quran that show that (the land of) Israel belongs to the children of Israel - on the matter of "el-aqsa" = "the most furthest away", notice the interpretation of Ibn Kathir in the "tafsir". He says that el-aqsa, that was mentioned in the Mohammed's nightly voyage, is a place in the heavens and not on earth. Aisha, Mohammed's wife, swore that all night Mohammed didn't leave his bed.
Another proof that it (el-aqsa) isn't Jerusalem, aside from not being mentioned in the Quran once, is that when the Quran was written, Jerusalem wasn't under Islamic rule."
Sorry for any mistakes in translation. Controversial title I know, hope this won't create a shitstorm. Would love to hear your thoughts about this. Will add in a second a photo of the original post.
Edit: the post in Hebrew https://ibb.co/hBnRz8L Edit2: the --- on the top and bottom
As the other respondents have mentioned, the land of Palestine is not mentioned by this name in the Qur'an. At the time of the Roman Empire it formed the “Provincia Palaestina”. In early Islamic times it was called Jund Filasṭīn, that is “the (army) encampment of Palestine”, but soon it became part of the province of Shām (Greater Syria), and it remained thus until the First World War (with a brief interruption as the Crusader “Kingdom of Jerusalem”). After the First World War it became the British-ruled “Palestine Mandate”, reviving the name used in Roman Empire. The modern Palestinian movement has retained this name from the time of the British Protectorate.
The city of Jerusalem (not Palestine as a whole) is called Bayt al-Maqdis (House of the Sanctuary) in Classical Arabic. The shorter form al-Quds is modern.
The Quran never mentions Palestine. The Quran calls it the Holy Land when speaking about the Jews:
Quran 5:21
يَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الْأَرْضَ الْمُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِي كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَرْتَدُّوا عَلَىٰ أَدْبَارِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِينَ
Oh my people! Enter the holy land which Allah has written to you, and do not turn back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.
The Arabic word of Palestine comes from the Biblical word Philistines, which originates from the Hebrew term Pelistim.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philistines
Arabs have always called that land in that area Alquds Jerusalem in respect of the Masjid Alaqsa. It wasn't until 80's that it was officially called Palestine by the PLO.