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Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jerusalem in Islam is considered a sacred city,[1] and has played a significant role in the faith. The al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem is considered the third holiest site in Islam, after the mosques of al-Haram and al-Nabawi. Also in particular:
It was the first qibla (direction of prayer) in Islam, before the Kaaba in Mecca;
Muhammad is believed to have been taken by the flying steed Buraq to visit Jerusalem, where he prayed, and then to visit heaven, in a single night in the year 620. less (Yusuf Ali's translation).
Early in Islamic history, the name for Jerusalem was Īliyāʾ madīnat bayt al-maḳdis, meaning "Aelia, the city of the Temple." However, in practice, the city was most commonly referred to simply as "bayt al-maḳdis." This term derives from the Aramaic bēth maḳd e ʿs̲h̲ā (meaning the "Temple"). The even more common name, al-Quds, was used early as well, and came in popular use by 985. The term is derived from the Aramaic ḳuds̲h̲a, which, when used in the term ḳarta de-ḳuds̲h̲a denotes "city of the sanctuary".[2]
Islamic texts
Qur'an
The Qur'anic verse (17:1) is interpreted by all widely used tafsirs (commentaries) as referring to the journey of Israe and Miraj, with the term "the farthest Mosque" (al-masjid al-Aqsa) referring to the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem, where the mosque stands:
The earliest dated stone inscriptions containing verses from the Qur'an appear to be Abd al-Malik's in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, from 72 AH (692 CE).
After the conquest of Jerusalem by the armies of the second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, parts of the city soon took on a Muslim character. According to Muslim historians, the city insisted on surrendering to the Caliph directly rather than to any general, and he signed a pact with its Christian inhabitants, the Covenant of Umar. He was horrified to find the Temple Mount - known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary - being used as a rubbish dump, and ordered that it be cleaned up and prayed there. However, when the Bishop invited him to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, he refused, lest he create a precedent for its use as a mosque. He visited the church, but when his companions were overcome by emotion and wished to pray he instead ordered them to recite the fatiha, the opening chapter of the Qur'an. According to some Muslim historians, he also built a crude mosque on the Temple Mount, which was later replaced by Abd al-Malik. The Byzantine chronicler Theophanes Confessor (751-818) gives a somewhat different picture of this event, claiming that Umar "began to restore the Temple at Jerusalem" with encouragement from local Jews.
Many Muslims celebrate the anniversary of the journey, the Isra and Miraj, on Rajab27 with dhikr, gatherings and feasting, although Salafis (including Wahhabis) take the position that no regular festivals are permissible except the two Eids. Muslim prayers do not include Jerusalem.
