Masjid Al Aqsa: The first Qibla

The First Qibla: Masjid Al-Aqsa

Our post this time is about the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.  It is full of history and beauty. Full of controversy and contention. Literally many people have died trying to control it.  It is on my bucket list to visit it in the near future. 

Masjid Al Aqsa was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) in Islam and the third most holiest mosque for muslims, after Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and Masjid Nabawi in Madina. These days many people, as well as muslims, fail to recognize this mosque and they mistake it for the Dome of the Rock. As a matter of fact both Masjid al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock are situated in the same complex, the Al Aqsa complex which is found in the heart of Jerusalem.
At the southernmost end of the of the complex is Masjid Al Aqsa, also known as al-Jami' al-Aqsa or al-Qibli or Masjid al-Jumah or al-Mughata, these names refer to the building with the silver lead dome which was re-built by the Khalifa Umar bin Al-Khattab in the year 19 Hijri. At the centre of the complex is the well known golden Dome of the Rock. The entire area is regarded as Baitul-Maqdis or Al-Qudus and comprises nearly one sixth of the walled city of Jerusalem.

For centuries, al-Masjid al-Aqsa referred not only to the mosque, but to the entire complex, while al-Jami' al-Aqsa referred to that particular mosque. This changed during the period of Ottoman rule (c. early 16th century to 1918) when the entire complex came to be known as al Haram ash-Sharif

Map of the Al Aqsa complex

In the picture above, the following are identified by colours: 
Masjid al-Qubbatus-Sakhra (The Dome of the Rock) 
Masjid al-Aqsa (The Farthest Mosque) 
Al Madrasa An-Nahawiah 
Al Musalla Al-Marwani

The word Al Aqsa masjid literally means 'the farthest place of worship of the One God' in reference to the fact that Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) has stated that Masjid Al-Aqsa was the farthest place of worship west of the Kabba in Makkah. 

When Prophet Muhammad received the command from God to lead the muslims in five daily prayers, their prayers, originally, were directed towards the holy city of Jerusalem. For Muslims, the city of Jerusalem is a very important place.
The city attained an added importance when Prophet Muhammad made the miraculous Night Journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and the Ascent to Heaven (that night is known as the Isra’ wal-Mi’raj).

The History of Al Aqsa masjid is so immense and great that I cannot pretend to cover it on this blog, besides there are other blogs and websites that deal with the subject exclusively. Below we cover a brief outline of its story.

Bits of History:

• Most muslim scholars are of the opinion that Masjid Al Aqsa was first built by Prophet Adam.
• Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) rebuilt the Masjid Al Aqsa in Jerusalem as he and Ismail rebuilt the Ka'ba in Makkah.
• Prophet Dawood (David) began the rebuilding of Masjid Al Aqsa.
• It was Prophet Suleyman (Solomon) who finally completed the building of Masjid Al Aqsa.
• Masjid Al Aqsa, which was built by Prophet Suleyman, was destroyed in 587 BC by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon.
• The Jews call this same Masjid Al Aqsa built by Sulayman as their Temple.
• The Jews re-built their Temple on the same site in 167 BC but was destroyed in 70 AD and Jews banished from Jerusalem.
• The site of Masjid Al Aqsa remained barren and was used as a rubbish tip for nearly 600 years until the great Khalifah Umar bin Khattab liberated Jerusalem in 637/8 AD.
• The Khalifah Umar bin Khattab began the foundation of Masjid Al Aqsa and a timber mosque was built.
• The Umayyad Khalifah, Abd' al Malik ibn Marwan in 691/2 [72/73 AH] began the construction of, Dome of the Rock.
• The al Buraq wall or Western Wall where Prophet Muhammad tied his animal the Buraq on the night journey of al Isra is what the Jews call the wailing wall.
• Israel occupied Masjid Al Aqsa in 1967.
• A fire in 1967 destroyed the 900 year old mimbar installed by Salahudeen al Ayubi.

The 900 year old mimbar