What Is So Special About The Al-aqsa Mosque

[Gypsy]

(salam)

A few days ago, we (the Shaykh of the Chat-room, Zareen and the gang) were having a discussion about this mosque in Jerusalem. According to the Sunnis, this mosque here (incorrectly known as the al-Aqsa) is the third holiest site/mosque in Islam after Makkah and Medina.

1.Are we absolutely sure that verse 1 in Surah al-Israa is about this mosque? [shakir 17:1] Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

2. Hadeeth from the Ahlul Bayt stated that al-Aqsa is not on earth but in heaven

Ali bin Ibrahim al-Qummi (May Allah be pleased with him), relying on the Isnad of Isma’il al-Ju’fi, narrated: “I was sitting in the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, when Abu Jafar – Imam Muhammad al-Baqir peace be upon him- took a glance at the heaven and another glance at the Kaa’bah.

“He then recited the verse: “Glorified (and Exalted) is He (Allah) who took His slave (Muhammad, peace be upon him and his pure family) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Harâm (the Sacred Mosque in Makkah) to the farthest mosque’. He repeated this three times.

“He then turned towards me and said, ‘What do the people of Iraq say about this verse, O Iraqi?’ I said: ‘They say that he (the Prophet peace be upon him and his pure family) was taken for a night journey from the Sacred Mosque to Jerusalem.’ He then said: ‘It is not as they say, rather he was taken for a night journey from here to here’, pointing to the heaven. And he added, ‘What is in between them is sacred.’” (Tafsir al-Qummi v2, p 243)

3. Historically, the Muslims were not known to have built any mosque in the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in the year 600AD. No mosque named al-Aqsa existed then in Jerusalem??.

4. According to the history, the mosque was built after Muslim conquest of Jerusalem. So the claim that the mosque (in Jerusalem) being referenced to a verse in al-Quran doesn’t seem valid...right?.

I am not finding anything significant with the Jerusalem mosque. It is an old mosque and a house of worship (and should be respected) but beyond that, there isn’t anything really significant here.

What do you guys think? :unsure:

[DayStrike312]

Well, at one point in time, Masjad Al-Aqsa was the Kiblah, so that's why it might be important?

Let's just say hypothetically, the Ka'bah was no longer the Kiblah, It would still be an important figure eh? :P

[Al-Mufeed]

We had an interesting discussion about it here:

Some other hadeeths about it:

Úä ÓáÇã ÇáÍäÇØ (6) Úä ÑÌá Úä ÇÈì ÚÈÏÇááå (Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã) ÞÇá: ÓÃáÊå Úä ÇáãÓÇÌÏ ÇáÊì áåÇ ÇáÝÖá¡ ÝÞÇá: ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÍÑÇã æãÓÌÏ ÇáÑÓæá¡ ÞáÊ: æÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÇÞÕì ÌÚáÊ ÝÏÇß¿ ÝÞÇá: ÐÇß Ýí ÇáÓãÇÁ¡ Çáíå ÇÓÑì ÑÓæá Çááå (Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÂáå)¡ ÝÞáÊ: Çä ÇáäÇÓ íÞæáæä: Çäå ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ¿ ÝÞÇá: ãÓÌÏ ÇáßæÝÉ ÃÝÖá ãäå (7).

From Salam al-Hannat from a man from Abu `Abdillah Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã. He said: I asked him about the masajid which have superiority (or, virtue). So he said: The Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid of the Messenger. I said: And the Masjid al-Aqsa, may I be made your ransom? So he said: That is in Heaven, to it the Messenger of Allah Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÂáå did the night journey. So I said: Verily the people say that it is Bayt al-Maqdis (i.e. Jerusalem)? So he said: The Masjid of Kufa is superior to it.

ÍÏøËäí ÃÈí Ü ÑÍãå Çááå Ü Úä ÓÚÏ Èä ÚÈÏÇááå ¡ Úä ÃÍãÏ Èä ãÍãøÏ Èä ÚíÓì ÞÇá : ÍÏøËäí ÃÈæ íæÓõÝ íÚÞæÈõ Èä ÚÈÏÇááå ãä æáÏ ÃÈí ÝÇØãÉ ¡ Úä ÅÓãÇÚíá Èä ÒíÏ ãæáì ÚÈÏÇááå Èä íÍíì ÇáßÇåáí(1) ¡ Úä ÃÈí ÚÈÏÇááå Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã «ÞÇá : ÌÇÁ ÑÌáñ Åáì ÃãíÑ ÇáãÄãäíä Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã Ü æåæ Ýí ãÓÌÏ ÇáßæÝÉ Ü ÝÞÇá : ÇáÓóøáÇã Úáíß íÇ ÃãíÑ ÇáãÄãäíä æÑÍãÉ Çááå æÈÑßÇÊå ¡ ÝÑÏóø Úáíå [ÇáÓøáÇã] ¡ ÝÞÇá : ÌÚáÊ ÝÏÇß Åäøí ÃÑÏÊ ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÃÞÕì ÝÃÑÏÊ Ãä ÇõÓáøãó Úáíß æÇõæÏøÚóßó ¡ ÝÞÇá : Ãíø ÔíÁ ÃÑÏÊó ÈÐáß¿ ÝÞÇá : ÇáÝÖá ÌõÚáÊ ÝÏÇß ¡ ÞÇá : ÝÈöÚ ÑÇÍöáóÊß ¡ æßõáú ÒÇÏß ¡ æÕáöø Ýí åÐÇ ÇáãÓÌÏ ¡ ÝÅäø ÇáÕøáÇÉ(2) Ýíå ÍÌøÉ ãÈÑæÑÉ ¡ æÇáäøÇÝáÉ ÚãÑÉ ãÈÑæÑÉ ¡ æÇáÈÑßÉ ãäå Úáì ÇËäí ÚÔÑ ãíáÇð ¡ íãíäå íãäñ ¡ æíÓÇÑõå ãóßÑñ ¡ æÝí æÓØå Úíäñ ãä Ïõåúä æÚíäõ ãä áóÈä æÚíäñ ãä ãÇÁò ÔÑÇÈÇð ááãÄãäíä ¡ æÚíäñ ãä ãÇÁ ØåæÑÇð ááãÄãäíä ¡ ãäå ÓÇÑÊ ÓÝíäÉ äæÍ æßÇä Ýíå äóÓúÑ æíóÛæË æíóÚæÞ(3) æÕáøì Ýíå ÓÈÚæä äÈíøÇð æÓÈÚæä æÕíøÇð ÃäÇ ÃÍÏåã Ü æÞÇá ÈíÏå Ýí ÕÏÑå(4) Ü ãÇ ÏÚÇ Ýíå ãßÑæÈñ ÈãÓÃáÉ Ýí ÍÇÌÉ ãä ÇáÍæÇÆÌ ÅáÇø ÃÌÇÈå Çááåõ æÝóÑóøÌ Úäå ßõÑÈóÊóå

a man came to Amir al Mumineen while the Imam was in masjid kufa and said I wanted to say salam to you before I go to Masjid Al Aqsa, the Imam (as) said what do you hope to gain? he said blessings, The Imam (as) said pray in this masjid (instead), praying in this masjid has the reward of an accepted Hajj and also an accepted Umrah, its blessings spread for 12 miles in each direction, it is the place where nuh's boat landed, and seventy prophets and seventy successors have prayed in it, and I am one of them, no one goes to this masjid with a problem, or a hajjat, that Allah doesnt fulfill his hajat and take away his troubles.

[Gypsy]

(wasalam)

Thanks for the link Bro Mufeed.

I saw a post by Brother Macisaac where it is mentioned that Masjid al-Kufa is far superior than the current al-Aqsa mosque or the Dome of the rock

wa `alaykum as-salaam,

In Tafsir al-`Ayyashi (one of our oldest tafsirs):

Úä ÓáÇã ÇáÍäÇØ (6) Úä ÑÌá Úä ÇÈì ÚÈÏÇááå (Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã) ÞÇá: ÓÃáÊå Úä ÇáãÓÇÌÏ ÇáÊì áåÇ ÇáÝÖá¡ ÝÞÇá: ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÍÑÇã æãÓÌÏ ÇáÑÓæá¡ ÞáÊ: æÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÇÞÕì ÌÚáÊ ÝÏÇß¿ ÝÞÇá: ÐÇß Ýí ÇáÓãÇÁ¡ Çáíå ÇÓÑì ÑÓæá Çááå (Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÂáå)¡ ÝÞáÊ: Çä ÇáäÇÓ íÞæáæä: Çäå ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ¿ ÝÞÇá: ãÓÌÏ ÇáßæÝÉ ÃÝÖá ãäå (7).

From Salam al-Hannat from a man from Abu `Abdillah Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã. He said: I asked him about the masajid which have superiority (or, virtue). So he said: The Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid of the Messenger. I said: And the Masjid al-Aqsa, may I be made your ransom? So he said: That is in Heaven, to it the Messenger of Allah Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÂáå did the night journey. So I said: Verily the people say that it is Bayt al-Maqdis (i.e. Jerusalem)? So he said: The Masjid of Kufa is superior to it.

[guest 34193]

Well, at one point in time, Masjad Al-Aqsa was the Kiblah, so that's why it might be important?

Let's just say hypothetically, the Ka'bah was no longer the Kiblah, It would still be an important figure eh? :P

Masjid al-Aqsa is in Heaven, not Jerusalem (which for a time was the qibla). Where the masjid now called al-Aqsa is located, at that time it was used as a garbage dump (literally).

[Gypsy]

Well, at one point in time, Masjad Al-Aqsa was the Kiblah, so that's why it might be important?

Let's just say hypothetically, the Ka'bah was no longer the Kiblah, It would still be an important figure eh? :P

From my understanding the Qibla was the direction to the Jerusalem (an area of the Holy City) and was not pointing to any mosque there?

As for the meaning of aqsa.... It is not a proper noun (or name of a specific place) Of course this was before they decided to name the mosque in Jerusalem

Also, are you aware that a lot of people are confused between al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock?

Some people think Dome of the Rock is the actual al-Aqsa mentioned in the Quran.

But like I said earlier, the mosque al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock did not exist in the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The Sunni Hadeeth state that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) prayed in a mosque but there was no mosque back then in the year when the Holy Prophet (pbuh) traveled to heaven on a night journey.

[DayStrike312]

Masjid al-Aqsa is in Heaven, not Jerusalem (which for a time was the qibla). Where the masjid now called al-Aqsa is located, at that time it was used as a garbage dump (literally).

In the heavens? :unsure:

I thought there was a "sakhara" that came to the prophet and elevated him up, and a Baraq flew him to the seven skies.. Lol

From my understanding the Qibla was the direction to the Jerusalem (an area of the Holy City) and was not pointing to any mosque there?

As for the meaning of aqsa.... It is not a proper noun (or name of a specific place) Of course this was before they decided to name the mosque in Jerusalem

Also, are you aware that a lot of people are confused between al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock?

Some people think Dome of the Rock is the actual al-Aqsa mentioned in the Quran.

But like I said earlier, the mosque al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock did not exist in the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The Sunni Hadeeth state that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) prayed in a mosque but there was no mosque back then in the year when the Holy Prophet (pbuh) traveled to heaven on a night journey.

Oh sorry, :( I thought they actually prayed to the Mosque itself, and not Jerusalem as a whole.

[Al-Mukhtar]

In the book 100 Virtues of Imam Ali(a.s.) and his sons there are at least 6 different hadith's that talk about the night journey and the Prophet (pbuh) praying in Heaven.

I think it was really messed up for people to build a mosque on top of someone else's holy place. We would probably be doing the same things the Jews are if they had built over the Kaba regardless if it was a city dump.

Question, what is the significance of the Dome of the Rock? Are there any hadith's about it?

[Gypsy]

(salam)

In the heavens? :unsure:

I thought there was a "sakhara" that came to the prophet and elevated him up, and a Baraq flew him to the seven skies.. Lol

[Pooya/Ali Commentary 17:1]

This verse is about the physical ascension (mi-raj) of the Holy Prophet to the highest station in the heaven.

The mi-raj; is usually dated to the 27th night of the month of Rajab in the year before hijrat. While the Holy Prophet finished his night prayers in the house of his cousin, Ummi Hani, the sister of Ali ibn Abu Talib, the angel Jibra-il came to him with the invitation of the Lord of the worlds to have a journey to the highest heaven. Jibrail first took him to the Ka-bah (the Masjid al Haram) and from there he was taken to the farthest masjid in the heavens. Although aqsa means "the farthest" but most of the translators and commentators confuse this word with the name of Masjid al Aqsa in Jerusalem. Farthest is an adjective used to refer to the masjid in the most distant heaven. The distance between the Masjid al Haram and the Masjid al Aqsa in Jerusalem is not more than a few hundred miles which cannot be described as farthest. Moreover, the journey to Jerusalem was meaningless when the divine purpose was to show the Holy Prophet the wonders of the glory of the kingdom of Allah. If Allah had selected an earthly place to do this He could have chosen the Masjid al Hama.

http://quran.al-islam.org/

[guest 34193]

In the book 100 Virtues of Imam Ali(a.s.) and his sons there are at least 6 different hadith's that talk about the night journey and the Prophet (pbuh) praying in Heaven.

I think it was really messed up for people to build a mosque on top of someone else's holy place. We would probably be doing the same things the Jews are if they had built over the Kaba regardless if it was a city dump.

Question, what is the significance of the Dome of the Rock? Are there any hadith's about it?

Actually what's really ironic is that that location might not even be the Temple Mount. There's apparently evidence that indicates the actual Temple was located elsewhere, and that what that is is the location of where an old Roman fortress had been (the Antonia Fortress) which later Jews (and then Muslims) confused for the location of the destroyed temple.

[Gypsy]

(salam)

I found the reference for the site to be a garbage dump when the Sunni Caliph Umar al-Khattab took the city in 630AD.

Sassanid vassal state period

In 610, the Sassanid Empire drove the Byzantine Empire out of the Middle East, giving the Jews control of Jerusalem for the first time in centuries. The new rulers soon ordered the restart of animal sacrifice for the first time since the time of Second Temple. Shortly before the Byzantines took the area back a few years later, the Persians gave control to the Christian population, who tore down the partially built Jewish temple edifice and turned it into a garbage dump,[17] which is what it was when the Caliph Omar took the city in the 630s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount#cite_note-16

[rotten_coconut]

Actually what's really ironic is that that location might not even be the Temple Mount. There's apparently evidence that indicates the actual Temple was located elsewhere, and that what that is is the location of where an old Roman fortress had been (the Antonia Fortress) which later Jews (and then Muslims) confused for the location of the destroyed temple.

Really? Do you have the source?

It'll ironic to the Jews considering now how they revere & pray in the Wailing Wall

[Fuan]

(salam)

Interesting... does that mean that the story of the rock in Masjid al-Sakhraa' (ie. Dome of the Rock) was fabricated, and it's just an ordinary rock?

[Bhooka_Bhairiya]

(salam)

A few days ago, we (the Shaykh of the Chat-room, Zareen and the gang)....................

You mean shaikha.

[Significance of 12]

Good point, as far as history goes, here it is:

According to Islamic belief, the prophet Jacob was the first to build the Mosque as a House of God, and it was later expanded and renovated by the prophet Solomon. The Kaaba in Mecca was the first House of Worship to God, and the Masjid Al-Aqsa (Bayt Al-Maqdis) was the second. The current al-Aqsa Mosque was originally a small prayer house built by the Rashidun caliph Umar, but was rebuilt and expanded by the Ummayad caliph Abd al-Malik and finished by his son al-Walid in 705 CE. After an earthquake in 746, the mosque was completely destroyed and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754, and again rebuilt by his successor al-Mahdi in 780. Another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa in 1033, but two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir built another mosque which has stood to the present-day. During the periodic renovations undertaken, the various ruling dynasties of the Islamic Caliphate constructed additions to the mosque and its precincts, such as its dome, facade, its minbar, minarets and the interior structure. When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they used the mosque as a palace and church, but its function as a mosque was restored after its recapture by Saladin. More renovations, repairs and additions were undertaken in the later centuries by the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, the Supreme Muslim Council, and Jordan.

[DeeeeeBo]

Yeah from what i know 2 reasons

1 it was the qibla b4 mecca

2 the miraj

3 - because Sayed Hassan Nasrallah says so :P

hahahahaha

salam

deebo

[siraatoaliyinhaqqun]

The hOuses of prophet musa and harun asws were made qiblah in Misr. I don't know what direction they are from Mecca.

Quran: search for buyutin in Quran. I am not sure but I heard in a majlis that there were four qiblas all together and there will be fifth when imam ajf comes back.

Ya Ali Madad

[alimohamad40]

salaam alaikum

There are a few issues to study whether bait almaqdis (in jerusalem) is the same as masjid al aqsa or not.

The verse referring to masjid al aqsa is:

(ÓõÈúÍóÇäó ÇáøóÐöí ÃóÓúÑóì ÈöÚóÈúÏöåö áóíúáÇð ãøöäó ÇáúãóÓúÌöÏö ÇáúÍóÑóÇãö Åöáóì ÇáúãóÓúÌöÏö ÇáÃóÞúÕóì ÇáøóÐöí ÈóÇÑóßúäóÇ Íóæúáóåõ áöäõÑöíóåõ ãöäú ÂíóÇÊöäóÇ Åöäøóåõ åõæó ÇáÓøóãöíÚõ ÇáÈóÕöíÑõ) (1) ÓæÑÉ ÇáÅÓÑÇÁ.

glory to the one who made his slave travel at night from the masjid al haraam to the masjid al aqsa

the word used here for travel is "ISRAA"

the Famous event that the prophet experienced is called

"ISRAA AND MIRAJ" because it involved two stages one of which is traveling and the other ascending upwards.

ISRA is derived from Root verb SARA which means traveled. Other derivatives are sayarah, masar, sayr, aseer, saraya, maseer

MIRAJ is derived from root verb 3ARAJA which means ascended up.

the main places that the journey of the prophet included were

Al masjid al haraam

Almasjid al aqsa

Albait al mamoor

The people who claimed that masjid al aqsa is in the sky say that its the same as Albait al mamoor which is mentioned in the events of ISRAA and MIRAJ and is in the sky.

however there are a few linguistic problems with this claim namely:

verse 1 of sourat al isra in the quran says: the prophet did Isra (travel) from the masjid al haram to the masjid al-aqsa and the verse does not say he did Miraj (ascending upwards) to the masjid al aqsa

If it was in the sky why didn't the verse say he ascended up to the masjid al aqsa? why is the word ISRAA used not Mi3raj?

secondly if you continue this sourah just a few versus later there is a reference to a significant mosque that would be occupied by the Israelites and god's prophecy is that his servants will enter that mosque.... It is very likely that the mosque in the later verse is the same as the mosque in the former verse because they are all mentioned in the same context. This is what I have always thought when i read these versus and I just read now that altabatabaie has this same opinion in his tafseer almeezan.

sourat al isra verse 4-7

and we judged for the sons of israel that you will do mischief on earth twice , when the first appointment comes we send you some of our slaves who are very strong, they enter into the lands and occupy it. It was a promise that is considered done. Then we gave you the power over them once again and gave you lots of money and offsprings and we made you more in population and supporters . If you do good then for yourself and if you do bad then against it then when the appointment of the last one comes they will make you sad and they will enter the mosque just like they entered it the first time and they will destroy the loosing party a complete destruction

tabatabaie in al meezan says the mosque in this reference is al masjid al aqsa which is in albait al maqdis

almizan

æÞæáå: { æáíÏÎáæÇ ÇáãÓÌÏ ßãÇ ÏÎáæå Ãæá ãÑÉ } ÇáãÑÇÏ ÈÇáãÓÌÏ åæ ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÃÞÕì - ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ

This explanation is more consistent with the current world politics as the isralites are now controlling the world and have huge population supporting them and vast amounts of money and they occupy the mosque which was in reference throughout this whole sourah

I also read a number of our prominent mufassereen asserting that masjid al aqsa is the same as bait al maqdis which is in jerusalem and not in the sky:

almeezan for tabatabaie:

ÌÇÁ Ýí ÇáãíÒÇä ááØÈÇØÈÇÆí:

" ÃÞæá: Þæáå (Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã) -íÚäí ÃÈÇ ÌÚÝÑ-: «æ áßäå ÃÓÑí Èå ãä åÐå Åáì åÐå» Ãí ãä ÇáßÚÈÉ Åáì ÇáÈíÊ ÇáãÚãæÑ¡ æ áíÓ ÇáãÑÇÏ Èå äÝí ÇáÅÓÑÇÁ Åáì ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ æ áÇ ÊÝÓíÑ ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÃÞÕì Ýí ÇáÂíÉ ÈÇáÈíÊ ÇáãÚãæÑ Èá ÇáãÑÇÏ äÝí Ãä íäÊåí ÇáÅÓÑÇÁ Åáì ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ æ áÇ íÊÌÇæÒå ÝÞÏ ÇÓÊÝÇÖÊ ÇáÑæÇíÇÊ ÈÊÝÓíÑ ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÃÞÕì ÈÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ".

"the hadeeths are too many saying that the masjid al aqsa is bait al maqdis"

al tebyan for altoosi:

Ýí ÇáÊÈíÇä Ýí ÊÝÓíÑ ÇáÞÑÂä ááØæÓí Ì6:

"æÑæí Úä Ãã åÇäí Ãä ÇáÍÑã ßáå ãÓÌÏ. æÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÃÞÕì åæ ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ¡ æåæ ãÓÌÏ ÓáíãÇä Èä ÏÇæÏ -Ýí Þæá ÇáÍÓä æÛíÑå ãä ÇáãÝÓÑíä- æÅäãÇ Þíá áå: ÇáÃÞÕì¡ áÈÚÏ ÇáãÓÇÝÉ Èíäå æÈíä ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÍÑÇã". Ëã ÞÇá:" æÇáÐí íÔåÏ Èå ÇáÞÑÂä ÇáÇÓÑÇÁ ãä ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÍÑÇã Åáì ÇáãÓÌÏ ÇáÃÞÕì¡ æÇáÈÇÞí íõÚáã ÈÇáÎÈÑ. æÞæáå "ÇáÐí ÈÇÑßäÇ Íæáå" íÚäí ÈÇáËãÇÑ æãÌÇÑí ÇáÇäåÇÑ¡ æÞíá "ÈÇÑßäÇ Íæáå" Èãä ÌÚáäÇ Íæáå ãä ÇáÃäÈíÇÁ æÇáÕÇáÍíä¡ æáÐáß ÌÚáå ãÞÏÓÇ"

"the masjid al aqsa is bait al maqdis "

ibrahim al qummy:

æÌÇÁ Ýí ÊÝÓíÑ ÇáÞÑÂä áÚáí Èä ÇÈÑÇåíã ÇáÞãí:

"ÝäÒáÊ æÕáíÊ¡ ÝÞÇá áí -Ãí ÌÈÑíá- ÃÊÏÑí Ãíä ÕáíÊ¿ ÝÞáÊ áÇ¡ ÞÇá ÕáíÊ Ýí ÈíÊ áÍã ÈäÇÍíÉ ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ¡ ÍíË æáÏ ÚíÓì Èä ãÑíã Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã¡ Ëã ÑßÈÊ ÝãÖíäÇ ÍÊì ÇäÊåíäÇ Åáì ÈíÊ ÇáãÞÏÓ ÝÑÈØÊ ÇáÈÑÇÞ ÈÇáÍáÞÉ ÇáÊí ßÇäÊ ÇáÃäÈíÇÁ ÊÑÈØ ÈåÇ¡ ÝÏÎáÊ ÇáãÓÌÏ æãÚí ÌÈÑÇÆíá Åáì ÌäÈí".

I came down and prayed then Gabriel told me do you know where you prayed? i said no , he said you prayed in bethlaham in the direction of bait almaqdis where jesus (as) was born. then i went on again until we went to bait al maqdis then i tied the buraq with a circle that the prophets used to tie with it and i entered the mosque and Gabriel by my side

bayan alsaada for janabuthy:

æÌÇÁ Ýí ÊÝÓíÑ ÈíÇä ÇáÓÚÇÏÉ Ýí ãÞÇãÇÊ ÇáÚÈÇÏÉ ááÌäÇÈÐí:

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around bait al maqdis is the sham and egypt and both are blessed with fruits and etc. (this is referring to the verse that ,mentions al aqsa)

[Gypsy]

(salam)

The verse for the change of Qibla (Chapter 2 verse 142) doesn't mention the Mosque al-Aqsa.

سَيَقُولُ السُّفَهَاءُ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَا وَلَّاهُمْ عَنْ قِبْلَتِهِمُ الَّتِي كَانُوا عَلَيْهَا ۚ قُلْ لِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ ۚ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ {142}

[shakir 2:142] The fools among the people will say: What has turned them from their qiblah which they had? Say: The East and the West belong only to Allah; He guides whom He likes to the right path.

[Pickthal 2:142] The foolish of the people will say: What hath turned them from the qiblah which they formerly observed? Say: Unto Allah belong the East and the West. He guideth whom He will unto a straight path.

[Yusufali 2:142] The fools among the people will say: "What hath turned them from the Qibla to which they were used?" Say: To Allah belong both east and West: He guideth whom He will to a Way that is straight.

[Pooya/Ali Commentary 2:142]

For "the east and the west belong to Allah" see commentary of verses 107 and 115 of this surah.

Qiblah is the direction towards which the face is turned. In Makka, the Holy Prophet used to face Jerusalem at the time of praying salat, but the holy Kabah was always between him and the first qiblah Even in Madina, he continued to pray towards Jerusalem for seventeen months, after which Allah accepted the Holy Prophet's request to change the qiblah, because the Jews of Madina had been mocking the Muslims for not having their own qiblah.

In fulfilment of the divine promise to bless Ibrahim and Ismail, it was necessary to make the house built by them, the final qiblah for the worship of Allah, by the followers of the perfected and completed religion of Allah, for all times.

Reference to surah al Fil makes it clear that to keep safe the highly venerated house of Allah, Allah Himself destroyed the army of Abraha who came to demolish the holy Kabah. This change was also a prophecy that Makka would, one day, come into the hands of the Muslims, and that it would be cleared of the false gods, because a centre of idolatry could never have been the qiblah of a thoroughly monotheistic faith.

2. Tafsir al-Mizan doesn't mention masjid al-Aqsa. Only the direction (of the Qibla) was towards the Holy Land.

QUR'AN: What has turned them... When the verb, "at-tawliyah" is joined to its object (without preposition), it means, to turn your face towards that thing, to keep it facing you; as Allah says: "so We shall surely turn thee to a qiblah which thou shalt like." When it is followed by the preposition 'an, it gives the opposite meaning, that is, to turn away from, to turn one's face from. The verse means: What has turned them away, or turned their faces, from the qiblah which they were using hitherto, that is, Baytu'l-Maqdis towards which the Prophet and the Muslims used to pray during his stay at Mecca and for a few months after his emigration to Medina.

QUR'AN: from their qiblah: The qiblah is attributed to the Muslims, although the Jews were using it centuries before the Prophet. Obviously, their turning from their own qiblah looks more surprising, and gives more room for objection. And it was for the same reason that the opening phrase says: "What has turned them", instead of saying, "What has turned the Prophet and the Muslims." It would not have looked objectionable in the least if they had said: "What has turned the Prophet and the Muslims from the qiblah of the Jews?"

3. What about hadeeths in post 1, 3 and 4? You wanna ignore them?

4. Historically, when did they build the mosque al-Aqsa? Was there even any Muslim structure in Jerusalem? Muslim didn’t arrive on scene until the time of the Sunni caliph Umar al Khattab. So, how can anyone claim that there was a mosque there? Did the Holy Prophet (pbuh) send someone to build a mosque in Jerusalem?

You mean shaikha.

That wasn't me. I was speaking about another brother on SC>

[alimohamad40]

Salaam:

(salam)

The verse for the change of Qibla (Chapter 2 verse 142) doesn't mention the Mosque al-Aqsa.

yes that's true but the hadeeths do mention.

2. Tafsir al-Mizan doesn't mention masjid al-Aqsa. Only the direction (of the Qibla) was towards the Holy Land.

actually in tafsseer al meezan of this verse he does say that it is bait al maqdis and in other occasions in sourat al isra he says that bait al maqdis is the same as al masjid al aqsa

Al meezan tafseer 2:142:

هذا تمهيد ثانياً لما سيأمر تعالى به من اتخاذ الكعبة قبلة وتعليم للجواب عما سيعترض به السفهاء من الناس وهم اليهود تعصبا لقبلتهم التي هي بيت المقدس

Translation:

..and teaching the reply to the foolish people who would contest (the shift of the Qibla) and they are the Jews who would be bias towards their Qibla which is bait Al Maqdis

later in the tafseer of sourat al isra he asserts that masjid al aqsa is the same as bait al maqdis which was built by David and Solomon.

Al meezan tafseer Alsira:1

وقد افتتحت السورة فيما ترومه من التسبيح بالإِشارة إلى معراج النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فذكر اسراؤه صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم من المسجد الحرام إلى المسجد الأقصى وهو بيت المقدس والهيكل الذي بناه داود وسليمان عليهما السلام وقدسه الله لبني إسرائيل.

Translation:

..... the travel of the prophet was mentioned from the masjid al haraam to the masjid al aqsa which is bait almaqdis or the "haykal" that David and Solomon built and god made sacred for the Israelites.

Then in another occasion of tafsseer of al isra versus 1 -7 Tabatabaie says:

Al meezan Tafseer Al isra1-7:

" أقول: قوله (عليه السلام) -يعني أبا جعفر-: «و لكنه أسري به من هذه إلى هذه» أي من الكعبة إلى البيت المعمور، و ليس المراد به نفي الإسراء إلى بيت المقدس و لا تفسير المسجد الأقصى في الآية بالبيت المعمور بل المراد نفي أن ينتهي الإسراء إلى بيت المقدس و لا يتجاوزه فقد استفاضت الروايات بتفسير المسجد الأقصى ببيت المقدس

Translation:

The hadeeths are too many saying that the masjid al aqsa is the same as bait al maqdis

Then in addressing the other ambiguous mosque that was mentioned in the prophecy in the following versus i.e. verse 7 of al isra Tabatabaie says that its the same one i.e masjid al aqsa or bait al maqdis that is being referred to in the prophecy.

Al meezan Tafseer Al isra 7:

وقوله: { وليدخلوا المسجد كما دخلوه أول مرة } المراد بالمسجد هو المسجد الأقصى - بيت المقدس

Translation:

and when Allah says "they will enter the mosque just like they entered it the first time" the mosque in mention here is al masjid al aqsa i.e. bait al maqdis

3. What about hadeeths in post 1, 3 and 4? You wanna ignore them?

we should not ignore hadeeths but obviously we have conflicting reports here so we need to investigate all the claims to reach the truth. tabatabaie is also saying there are too many hadeeths saying that bait al maqdis is the same as masjid al aqsa

this means there are conflicting reports.

4. Historically, when did they build the mosque al-Aqsa? Was there even any Muslim structure in Jerusalem? Muslim didn’t arrive on scene until the time of the Sunni caliph Umar al Khattab. So, how can anyone claim that there was a mosque there? Did the Holy Prophet (pbuh) send someone to build a mosque in Jerusalem?

Islam in its deeper meaning includes all the prophets.

the concept of Mosque (masjid) which is a place for prostration is also not an invention of prophet Mohammad and mosques have always been built before the birth of prophet Mohammad by other prophets and one example is the sacred mosque which was built by abraham. Did the scared mosque (almasjid al haraam) only come to exist after prophet Mohammad?

The significance of the mosque doesn't lie in the bricks or the renovations that the Umayads done on the holy site later on but the significance is within the holy site itself.

Baaqir:

Couldn't earlier prophets have built a mosque there?

al tebyan for altoosi:

في التبيان في تفسير القرآن للطوسي ج6:

"وروي عن أم هاني أن الحرم كله مسجد. والمسجد الأقصى هو بيت المقدس، وهو مسجد سليمان بن داود -في قول الحسن وغيره من المفسرين- وإنما قيل له: الأقصى، لبعد المسافة بينه وبين المسجد الحرام". ثم قال:" والذي يشهد به القرآن الاسراء من المسجد الحرام إلى المسجد الأقصى، والباقي يُعلم بالخبر. وقوله "الذي باركنا حوله" يعني بالثمار ومجاري الانهار، وقيل "باركنا حوله" بمن جعلنا حوله من الأنبياء والصالحين، ولذلك جعله مقدسا

Trabslation:

"narrated from Um Hani that the whole shrine is masjid and the masjid al aqsa is bait al maqdis and it is the mosque of Solomon the son of David as according to the word of Alhasan and other mufasereen. etc."

Al meezan for al tabatabaei Tafseer sourah Isra verse 1:

وقد افتتحت السورة فيما ترومه من التسبيح بالإِشارة إلى معراج النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فذكر اسراؤه صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم من المسجد الحرام إلى المسجد الأقصى وهو بيت المقدس والهيكل الذي بناه داود وسليمان عليهما السلام وقدسه الله لبني إسرائيل.

Translation:

.... the travel of the prophet was mentioned from the masjid al haraam to the masjid al aqsa which is bait almaqdis or the "haykal" that David and Solomon built and god made sacred for the Israelites.

So yes the word mosque is used by all religions and prophets and is not an invention of prophet Mohamad and exclusive to us only. In fact according to Altoosi, Tabatabaie, alhasan and some other mufasereen the mosque is said to have been built by Solomon the son of David as you saw above. This notion is in consistence with what the Jews believe about that region today and hence they are trying to dig it up to find the haykal. As far as I heard (unverified) that we have prophecy hadeeths saying that at the end of time they will find the haykal and the mosque would collapse and hence an impending conflict.

I also read many hadeeths saying a group from my nation will fight along bait al maqdis and they will be from the forerunners of imam Al mahdi

also the black banners that come from khurasan and end up in Ilya

They say Ilya is Jerusalem and hence this links directly to the versus 1-7 of al Isra

Salaam

Edited February 6, 2011 by alimohamad40

[arif.h]

From my understanding, Masjid al-Aqsa built by Prophet Solomon( PBUH). When the Jews were the chosen people, Masjid al-Aqsa used to be the Qiblah then it was changed to Masjid al-Haram during the time of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). Plus, after Prophet Mohammed ascended to the heavens and came back, disbelievers posed him many questions. They asked him how the "masjid" looked and how many windows it had and ect...People disbelieved him because Jerusalem was far away. How many other masjids could this hadeeth have been referring to?

I think that the importance of the Jews and their role in world just prove that Jerusalem and Palestine/Israel is a very important. Do Shia's believe in the Dajjal (Antichrist)? Sheikh Imran Hosein is one of most brilliant Muslim Scholars I have seen. He is educated in economics and has an excellent understanding of how the government works. He predicts that Dajjal is the cause of tyranny in the world.

http://www.imranhosein.org/books/37-jerusalem-in-the-quran.html

Wonderful Book!!

[Gypsy]

(salam)

So, I am listening to this lecture by

From minute 23:13 he touched a bit on the history of Salah - on the night of Israk Meraj

From minute 23:42 he recited the verse about the al-aqsa. And btw, masjid al-aqsa is not the mosque in Juruselam. Here masjid al-aqsa in Arabic means the furthest mosque in heaven. Some people say he went to masjid al haram to masjid al aqsa and back, no, no no! He went straight to heaven. Some say, he went to masjid al aqsa and then straight to the sky. Historian say no. He went to the furtherest mosque straight.

[El Cid]

Thanks for posting this, I always wondered about Al-Aqsa, It's also in the Saladin+Fredrick Barbarossa campaigns in the game Age of empires 3: Conquerers.. I sort of destroyed it in that game lol (It was an accident, Rowdy Knights =p). Anyway, salaams.

[alimohamad40]

^^^

El Cid you kafir how dare you destroy the masjid al aqsa in the game ???? lol

You know there is a game called half life and it caused many divorces because the wives took it seriously and got mad when their husband divorced their character in the game . one of the wives she went and hacked into the main system and changed the results and killed her husbands character lol