Prelude – Al Aqsa Mosque (part I)

No one knows exactly when Al-Aqsa Mosque was built for the first time, as historians differed among themselves over who laid the first brick for the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque. What is known is that when  Al-Aqsa Mosque was built for the first time, it was primitive as it was built of mud bricks. Over time it was rebuilt more than once.

Al-Aqsa Mosque gained its grandeur with a brilliant design during the Umayyad era and it comprised   a vast area of land, but it was subjected to an earthquake that destroyed the western and eastern sides. It was then restored by the Abbasid caliph, but was again subject to another earthquake and was restored again by the Abbasid caliph.

The name Al-Aqsa Mosque is given to the entire semi-rectangular area of 144 dunums (one thousand square meters), and the facilities in it, the most important of which is the Dome of the Rock, which was built by Abd al-Malik bin Marwan in the year 72 AH (691 AD) with the Al-Qibli Mosque, which is considered one of the most wonderful Islamic monuments .It occupies about one-sixth of the area of the Old City in Jerusalem.

Al Aqsa mosque has a semi-rectangular shape, and it has 11 doors, 7 of which are in the north, a door in the east, two in the west, and one in the south.

The importance of  Al-Aqsa Mosque comes during the period of events that encompass the journey of Isra and Mi’raj, and it was a source of hope and consolation for the Prophet, after the difficult and sad days he went through, where God Almighty took him from the Sacred Mosque to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and from it to the Mi’raj to the sky, to receive the obligation of prayer- an event that the Holy Qur’an immortalized: (Glory be to the one who is pleased with his servant, at night, from the mosque, the forbidden to the mosque. [Al-Isra: 1]

The Night Journey took place shortly before the Prophet’s migration (determined by narrations in a year or sixteen months), and at that time Al-Aqsa was within the lands under the control of the Persians. “In the place where the prophets are linked.” Then he prayed there, and from there he ascended to heaven, then returned to it and led the prophets in prayer as an imam after God Almighty gathered them for him in Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is the  great significance in the life of prophet Mohamad  of Al-Aqsa. Then he returned to Mecca on Al-Buraq once more.

This short description reflects the great religious value of Al Aqsa Mosque to Muslims worldwide- Enter Israel.

Reem Haddad 

Editor-in – Chief