Nebuchadnezzar, whom Allah had granted a reign of 700 years. He marched against them until he entered Jerusalem, besieged it, conquered it, and killed 70,000 people in retaliation for the blood of John son of Zechariah, peace be upon him. He then took its people captive [along with their children] (1), carried off the ornaments of Jerusalem, and removed from it seventy thousand plus one hundred thousand cartloads of ornaments.
I said, “O Messenger of Allah, was Jerusalem so magnificent?” He said, “Yes. Solomon son of David built it of gold, silver, rubies, and chrysolite, and its pillars were of gold. Allah bestowed this upon him and subjected the devils to him, bringing him these things in the blink of an eye. Nebuchadnezzar carried them away until he came to Babylon. The Children of Israel remained under his power for 100 years, enslaved by the Magians and their descendants, with prophets among them.
“Then Allah showed them mercy and inspired a believing Persian king named Cyrus to march against them and rescue what remained of the Children of Israel. Cyrus went to the Children of Israel and recovered the ornaments of Jerusalem, until he restored them there. The Children of Israel then remained there, obedient to Allah Most High, for 100 years. Then they returned to acts of disobedience, so Allah set over them a king named Antonius. He attacked the Children of Israel until he reached them in Jerusalem, took its people captive, and burned Jerusalem. He said to them, ‘O Children of Israel, if you return to acts of disobedience, we shall return against you a second time [with captivity].’ (2)
“They returned, so Allah set over them a Roman king named Faqis ibn Astyanus. He attacked them by land and sea, took them captive, carried away the ornaments of Jerusalem, and burned Jerusalem.”
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “This is part of the account of the ornaments of Jerusalem. The Mahdi will restore them to Jerusalem; they will fill 1,700 ships, which he will bring ashore at Jaffa until they are transported to Jerusalem. Through them Allah will gather the first and the last.”
Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: The Children of Israel committed grave wrongs and sins, yet Allah was forgiving toward them and benevolent to them. The first calamity that befell them because of their sins was, as He had informed them through Moses, peace be upon him, that one of their kings was named Zedekiah (3). Whenever Allah appointed a king over them, He sent with him a prophet to guide and direct him. He did not send down Scriptures to them; rather, they were commanded to follow the Torah and the rulings it contained.
When that king came to rule, Allah sent with him Isaiah son of Asphiah. This was before the mission of Zechariah, John, and Jesus, peace be upon them. Isaiah was the one who gave glad tidings of Jesus and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. He said: “Rejoice, O Jerusalem! Now the rider upon the donkey is coming to you, and after him will come the rider upon the camel.”
That king ruled over the Children of Israel and Jerusalem for a time. When his reign came to an end, grave wrongs became widespread among them, while Isaiah was with them. Allah sent against them Sennacherib (4), the king of Babylon, with 600,000 banners. He marched on until he encamped around Jerusalem. The king was ill, with an ulcer on his leg. The prophet Isaiah came to him and said, “O king of the Children of Israel, Sennacherib, king of Babylon, has encamped against you with his army of 600,000 banners. The people have been terrified of them and are overwhelmed with fear.” This weighed heavily upon the king, and he said, “O Prophet of Allah, have you received any revelation from Allah concerning what has occurred, so that you may tell us what Allah will do with us and with Sennacherib and his army?”
He replied, “No revelation has come to me.” While they were in that state, Allah revealed to the prophet Isaiah: “Go to the king of the Children of Israel and command him to make his testament and appoint, over his kingdom, whomever he wishes from among his household as his successor.” Isaiah then came to Zedekiah, the king of the Children of Israel, and said to him, “Your Lord has revealed to me that I should command you to make your testament and appoint whomever you wish from among your household as successor over your kingdom, for you are going to die.”
When Isaiah said this to Zedekiah, he turned toward the direction of prayer, prayed, supplicated, and wept. As he wept and humbly implored Allah with a sincere heart, he said: “O Allah, Lord of lords and God of gods; O Most Holy, O Most Sanctified; O Most Merciful, O Most Compassionate, O Most Kind, whom neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes: remember me for my deeds, my actions, and my just judgment over the Children of Israel. All of this was from You, and You know it better than I do. You know my private and public affairs, and You are the Most Merciful.”
Allah answered him, for he was a righteous servant. Allah Most High then revealed to Isaiah that he should inform Zedekiah that his Lord had answered him, shown him mercy, delayed his appointed term by 15 years, and saved him from his enemy Sennacherib. Isaiah came to him and told him this. When he told him, his pain left him, his sorrow departed, and he fell in prostration, saying: “O my God and the God of my forefathers, to You I have prostrated; I have declared Your perfection, proclaimed Your greatness, and magnified You. You are the One who gives dominion to whom You will and takes dominion away from whom You will; You honor whom You will and humble whom You will. Knower of the unseen and the seen, You are the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden. You show mercy and answer the supplication of those in distress. You are the One who answered my supplication and showed mercy to my humble entreaty.”