pictures from the old city of jerusalem's "african quarter", which comprises of ribat al-mansuri and ribat al-basiri. mamluks built the compounds in the late 13th century to house muslim pilgrims and the poor. ottomans used them as prisons, and the british closed the prisons when they occupied jerusalem in 1917. the ribats then came under the ownership of the islamic waqf, and were leased to the local afro-palestinian community.
afro-palestinians have an array of origins. like some other diaspora communities in palestine, some came through pilgrimage - al-aqsa was on their hajj path, and while many would visit to pray there, some decided to settle in jerusalem. there are also some who came to palestine enslaved or conscripted, most recently to ottomans. some came during the time of the british mandate, many as conscripted laborers to the british. afro-palestinians who can trace their ancestry do so to nigeria, chad, senegal, or sudan.
jerusalemite afro-palestinians were employed to guard al-aqsa throughout the ottoman period. during the 1948 palestine war, some joined the arab liberation army and fought with fellow palestinians to defend al-aqsa and their presence in jerusalem. the position of guards has been taken by occupation soldiers since the 1967 war, after which a quarter of the afro-palestinian population became refugees in surrounding countries.
jerusalem's afro-palestinian community still live in the compounds today, which also house the local african community society. (the door in the last picture is theirs.) afro-palestinians as a whole face the same legal, social, and economic restrictions and maltreatment as other palestinians, compounded with the same anti-black racism from israeli government and police which ethiopian jews and eritrean asylum seekers face, which result in a form of "passport racism" unique to them.
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A Plan for the First 10 Days of Dhul-Hijah
The Best Days of the World
1. Intention
Make the intention for your deeds to be sincerely for Allah ﷻ during these days, and have the conscious intention to expose yourself to the blessings of Allah ﷻ.
Whoever is sincere towards Allah ﷻ, Allah ﷻ will be sincere towards him (meaning He ﷻ will fulfill his wishes).
2. Repentance
Make a table of all the sins that you want to pledge to Allah ﷻ that you will stop doing them.
The Conditions of Repentance:
1. Abandoning the sin completely.
2. Feeling remorse for what has already happened (of sins).
3. Having the firm intention never to return to the sin ever again.
3. Praying
The Five Daily Prayers (in their Fixed Times)
Leave everything behind you as soon as you hear the azaan and get up and pray.
"The best of deeds is prayer during its earliest time."
Remember, you will be doing what our Lord ﷻ loves the most.
4. As-Sunan Ar-Rawaatib
12 Raka'ahs everyday.
(2 before Fajr -4 before Zuhr and 2 after it - 2 after Maghrib-2 after Isha)
"Whoever prays in a day and night 12 raka'ahs voluntarily, Allah ﷻ will build a house for him in Paradise."
Imagine🤍🙏🏻
5. Night Prayer
Any even number of rakaahs, and end them with one rakaah of Witr and make du'a for everything you want.
"And pray during the night when the people are asleep, and you will enter Jannah in peace."
What more could you want?!
6. Duha Prayer
Two to eight raka'ahs, any time between 15 minutes after sunrise till 15 minutes before Zuhr.
It is a daily charity for every joint in your body.
(Also known as Chaast or Awwabeen Prayer.)
7. Fasting
Have the intention to fast the first 9 days of Dhul-Hijjah, as the Messenger ﷺ of Allah ﷻ used to do, especially the Day of 'Arafah.
"Fasting the Day of 'Arafah, l anticipate that Allah ﷻ will expiate (through it the sins of) the year before it and the year after it."
8. Quran
Our goal is to finish reciting the whole Qur'an at least once (during these 10 days):
Day 1 - From Surat Al-Fatihah till the end of Surat Ale 'Imraan.
Day 2 - From Surat An-Nisa till the end of Surat Al-An'aam.
Day 3 - From Surat Al-A'raaf till the end of Surat At-Tawbah.
Day 4 - From Surat Yunus till the end of Surat Ar-Ra'd.
Day 5 - From Surat Ibraheer til the end of Surat Al-Kahf.
Day 6 - From Surat Marlam till the end of Surat Al-Mu'minoon.
Day 7 - From Surat Ash-Shu'araah till the end of Surat Al-Ahzaab.
Day 8 - From Surat Saba till the end of Surat Fussilat.
Day 9 - From Surat Ash-Shura till the end of Surat Al-Hadeed.
Day 10 - From Surat Al-Mujadilah til the end of Surat An-Naas,
9. Zikr
(Remembrance of Allah ﷻ)
Let your tongue be busy with:
100 times at the very least
 سبحان الله
الحمد لله
 لا اله الا الله
الله اكبر
 لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله
الصلاة على الرسول ﷺ
استغفر الله العظيم وأتوب إليه
وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ
“and mention the name of Allah ﷻ on known days” (al-baqara: 203)
10. Azkaar
(Let these Azkaar also be a part of your day)
1. The azkaar of the morning and the evening.
2. The azkaar after every prayer.
3. Repeating the azaan and the du'a after it.
4. The azkaar before sleeping.
Write down some examples of these azkaar on paper and stick/hang them up where you usually walk.
(meaning where you'd see them a lot, just to be reminded of them as much as possible).
11. Du'a (Supplication)
Write down every single thing you've ever wanted and keep supplicating to Allah ﷻ again and again for it everyday (especially in Sujood, between the azaan and the iqamah, and during the last one-third of the night).
And persist in making even more du'a on the Day of 'Arafah.
And watch all your wishes come true after a while in sha Allah ﷻ.
12. Supplicating for Others
Assign a portion of your du' a for at least a hundred people. Choose ten people everyday from your family, spouse, friends, teachers, and anyone who has ever benefited you in any way, and make alot of dua for them, from your heart.
And make du'a for all the Muslims:
"May Allah ﷻ forgive me and my parents and the believing men and the believing women and the muslim men and the muslim women, alive and deceased"
13. Charity
Do not let a single day go by without giving out some charity, even if it is just a small amount.
Think of ten needy people that you want to help, or put a little money in a cash box everyday and take out and give away the whole amount on the last day.
14. Maintain the Ties of Kinship
Give a call or leave a message everyday to one of your extended family members.
The message can be as follows:
"How are you t/n? l hope you are well. I just wanted to let you know that l am remembering you a lot in my du'as today.”
15. Reviving a Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ
Aim to do a Sunnah act everyday, with the intention of reviving the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ
For example:
- Saying Bismillah (before starting anything).
-Sitting down while drinking.
Starting with the right hand or right side (when doing certain things).
- Reciting the opening supplication (in the prayer before reciting Surat Al-Fatihah).
- Performing Wudu before going to sleep.
- Reciting the prescribed dua after making Wudu.
16. Prohibitions
Beware of wasting the best days of the world and the greatest days of worship in:
Watching TV
Social Media
Backbiting
useless talk
Sleeping too much
Perhaps you may never get these days again.
may Allah ﷻ accept from us all, ameen 🤍
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