Al-Aqsa Mosque

Al-Aqsa Mosque and its importance in Islam

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second mosque to be built on earth, and most of the prophets and messengers, peace be upon them, lived around it. Among them: Abraham, Solomon, Zakaria, Jesus, David, and the Virgin Mary, And the Prophet Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - has a night journey to him, and Al-Aqsa Mosque is all that revolves around the wall, and it is located in the far southeastern corner, The Old City of Jerusalem, featuring the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Qibli Mosque. A large number of nearly 200 monuments of domes, arches, schools, squares, museums and other monuments.

Historians disagreed about who was the first to build Al-Aqsa Mosque?

Are they the angels, or the Prophet of God Adam peace be upon him or the Prophet Ibrahim peace be upon him or the Prophet Solomon peace be upon him There is an opinion stating that the angels may build the Sacred House, so Ibn Hajar mentioned in Al-Fath: The first to build Al-Aqsa Mosque was Adam, peace be upon him, and it was said the angels, and it was said Shem bin Noah, peace be upon him, and Jacob, peace be upon him, said: Likewise: I found evidence supporting the saying of those who said: Adam, peace be upon him. He built both mosques, If we are sure that it was the Prophet of God Solomon who built Al-Aqsa Mosque, When God's Prophet Solomon - may God bless him and grant him peace - built Jerusalem, asked God three things:

1 - Judgment consistent with God's judgment.

2 - A judgment after which there will be no other person.

3 - No one goes to Al-Aqsa Mosque only for the sake of prayer, so he does not go out unless his sins are erased on the day his mother gave birth, that is, all his sins are forgiven for him.

A problem in the way of understanding

The confusion between the two hadiths, because there are long periods between Abraham and Solomon, History people said: more than a thousand years. And it was said: Abraham and Solomon, peace be upon them, do not renew except what others establish

The names of Al-Aqsa Mosque and why is it called by this name?

The reason for naming Al-Aqsa Mosque was given this name because of its distance from the Grand Mosque in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, so it is far from it, Bayt al-Maqdis, meaning in the language the Holy House or the Sanctuary, Elijah Mosque: It was said in its meaning: the house of God, and on the authority of Ka’b al-Ahbar that he hated being called Elijah, but rather the holy house of God, and Al-Wasiti narrated it from him. His virtues.

The virtues of Al-Aqsa Mosque

1- The first Islamic qiblah: Al-Aqsa Mosque is the first Islamic qiblah. Muslims also continued to pray towards Al-Aqsa Mosque before God Almighty commanded to turn the qiblah to the Kaaba for sixteen or seventeen months

2 - One of the mosques he travels to: The Messenger of God - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - said (Do not travel except to three mosques: Al-Masjid Al-Haram, the two mosques of this Prophet’s Mosque, and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

3- The reward for praying in it: It was narrated that he, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “A prayer in this mosque of mine is equivalent to a thousand prayers in any other mosque, a prayer in Elia is equivalent to a prayer elsewhere, and a prayer in the Sacred Mosque is equivalent to a hundred thousand prayers elsewhere.”

4 - The second largest mosque on earth: Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second mosque erected on earth after the honorable Kaaba in Makkah Al-Mukarramah.

5 - A night journey came down to him - may God bless him and grant him peace - from Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that was during the journey of Isra and Mi’raj, where the Messenger - Peace be upon him. Peace - transfer from the Sacred Mosque to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.))

6- Blessings come around the Al-Aqsa Mosque: God Almighty says ([Al-Aqsa Mosque around which We have blessed), that is, it encompasses the entire region of the Levant, and there are two interpretations of it:

The verse: One of them is that he is blessed with those who are buried around him from among the good and chosen prophets, and the second: the abundance of fruits and streams of rivers.

7 - Ihram for Umrah from Al-Aqsa Mosque: Umm Hakim bint Abi Umayyah bin Al-Akhnas, on the authority of Umm Salama, may God be pleased with her, that the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: (Whoever performs Umrah from Bayt Al-Maqdis will be forgiven). ..." And in a narration by Al-Bayhaqi, She said: I heard the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, say: (Whoever performs Hajj and Umrah from Al-Aqsa Mosque to Al-Masjid Al-Haram, his previous and later sins will be forgiven, and Paradise will be made obligatory for him

When was Al-Aqsa Mosque built?

Date of construction There is a conflict in the narratives and opinions about the actual date of the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque, as the date of its first construction is still unknown, However, the hadiths indicate that it was built 40 years after the construction of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Building the Holy Kaaba, and it came in the honorable hadith of the Prophet: (On the authority of Abu Dharr, he said: I said: O Messenger of God, which mosque was built first on earth? He said: The Sacred Mosque, I said: Then which? He said: Al-Aqsa Mosque, I said: How far between them? He said: Forty years, then wherever prayer catches up with you, pray, for it is a mosque.

The gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque

Al - Asbat gate

It is one of the most important gates of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it is located on its northern wall in the far eastern side. Since the Israeli occupiers closed the door to the Moroccans in the far western wall of the Muslims, this door is considered the main entrance for worshipers, especially from outside Jerusalem, due to its proximity to the Lions Gate located in the Noble Sanctuary. city wall. Its entrance is arched, and its height is 4 m, It was renovated during the Ayyubid era during the reign of Sultan al-Malik al-Muzahim Isa in 610 AH / 1213 AD, then during the Mamluk and Ottoman eras, before it was restored again in 1817 AD, This door is the only entrance for ambulances to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in emergency situations, because it is the largest door equal to the ground, and it witnessed the exit of many wounded and martyrs, especially during the three Al-Aqsa massacres. in 1990, 1996 and 2000.

The Hetah door

It is one of the open doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it is located in the northern façade of Al-Aqsa Mosque, specifically within the northern hallway of the Northern Mosque. It was renovated in 1220 AD during the Ayyubid period during the reign of Sharaf al-Din Abu al-Mansur Isa al-Ayyubi, Its southern façade, which is located inside the mosque, consists of a rectangular door with a motorized stone arch, and on it is a wooden door with two leaves, in one of which is a small entrance, and it is preceded by drapes, which are part of the northern gallery as well, Its entrance is a pointed stone arch topped with a row of nine stone cables, the diameter of which increases as we go up to the top of the door, and between the door opening and these cables there are three prominent circular decorations on the center of the opening and its edges.

Al - Atm gate

It is one of the open gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it is also called the Gate of Faisal in relation to King Faisal the First. The construction of this door was renewed during the Ayyubid period in the days of the great King Ibn Al-Malik Al-Adil Abu Bakr Ibn Ayyub in the year 1213 AD, when the northern gallery of Al-Aqsa Mosque was renovated, It is also known to this door by several names, such as the Dudariya Gate, the King Faisal Gate, and the Honor of the Prophets Gate. The southern facade of the door consists of an opening 4 meters high, It has a wooden door with two leaves, preceded by drapes on the southern side, which are part of the northern gallery. It is covered with a cross arch and the entrance to the portico, It is a huge pointed arch, and it is located within the series of arches of the northern gallery.

Al - Nazer gate

It is one of the open doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is located in the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque Square. It was rebuilt during the Ayyubid period in the year 1203 AD during the reign of the great King Isa bin Ahmed, It has several other common names, such as Bab al-Habs, due to its proximity to al-Habs in the days of the Ottomans, and Bab al-Majlis, the gate is preceded from the eastern side by square pavilions located within the extension of the western gallery, and covered by a dome raised on three rows of muqarnas, as for the door opening, it is a huge rectangle with a height of 4.5 meters and a width of 2 meters. Above the rectangular opening is a motor arch, topped with a decoration in the form of a small hallway, The vestibule space is separated from the rest of the hallway by pointed arches. On the pillar that rests on the arch of the pointed entrance and the arch adjacent to it of the arcade arches, there is a stone inscription, and the inscription shows the date of construction and the sultan who renewed it during his reign, the door is preceded by a vault covered with a cross vault leading to the path of Bab Al-Nazir, which leads to the valley road. On the southern side of the Qantara is an entrance that leads by a stone staircase, and on the northern side is the entrance to the Munjiyyah Madrasa.

Al Waleed gate

It is one of the open doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it is considered the first door to be constructed in the western wall, starting from the northern side, this was when the western portico of the mosque was established during the era of Qalawun, and at the entrance is a wooden door from the rudder, one of wood. There is a small hole in it to distinguish it from the door, and the door advances from the eastern side, A vestibule knotted with barrel vaults faced by a vault apointed stone, another pointed arch rises to the door, but it is closed.

It is one of the open doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it is located in the western facade of the Al-Aqsa Mosque square, and it leads to the ablution site (the place of ablution), and for that reason it was called the Gate of Purgatory, and it was renewed during the Mamluk era in the year 1266 AD, by Prince Degheidy, and there are those who believe that it was renewed at the hands of Prince Alaeddin Al-Basri, and the western facade of the door consists of a pointed stone arch, and it is devoid of any decorative architectural element, and it has a wooden door with two leaves, one of which is a small peach tree, and the door is approximately 3.5 meters high, Its width is 2 meters. As for the eastern side of the door, it is a rectangular opening in a stone arch with two layers of stone on it. It is preceded by vestibules covered with a cross vault, and it is part of the western gallery.

The chain door

It is one of the open doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it is also called the Gate of the Prophet David, and it is located in the western facade of the Al-Aqsa Mosque square within the western corridor, as for the first gate, which is called the Gate of the Chain, it is open and is visited by visitors to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as for the other one, it is the Gate of Serenity, and it is located to the north of the Chain Gate, and it is adjacent to it, and the door is not opened except in cases of emergency and extreme necessity, these two doors were renewed during the Ayyubid period in the year 1203 AD, during the reign of Sultan Al-Malik Al-Adil Saif Al-Din Abu Bakr, and there are those who believe that it was during the reign of the great King Jesus, rectangular with a motorized arch on it is a wooden door of two leaves, in one of which is a small peach tree to regulate traffic to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Moroccan Gate

And one of the open gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it is located in the southwestern corner of the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it was called the Mughrabi Gate because it connects to the Mughrabi Quarter, west of Al-Aqsa. Al-Aqsa Mosque on the night of Isra and Mi'raj, as some historians believe that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, From it he also entered Al-Aqsa after the conquest, as Ibn Katheer reported: When Omar entered through the door through which the Messenger entered. It was rebuilt during the Mamluk period, during the reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, who constructed the western arcades between the years 1305AD-1336AD, The door from the western front is knotted with a simple pointed knot. As for the eastern side, it is a rectangular opening, and it is in the form of a motorized arch with a wooden door with one rudder on it, and it leads from the eastern side to passages located within the extension of the corridor, It is composed of two stone arches, and rests on three pillars, and on the center of the middle pillar is a stone decoration in a square shape in the middle of which is a circle, and it is covered by two intersecting vaults, and adjacent to the door from the north side is a small mosque called Al-Buraq Mosque.

The Single door

It is one of the closed southern entrances in the southeastern part of the wall of the city of Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it was closed in a very elaborate way so that no trace of the door appears from inside the walls of the mosque, It was called the door of the only single and closed that appears to the eye, and it was known to Arab historians as the door of the eye because it leads to the eye of Silwan.

The Triple door

It is one of the closed gates of the mosque. It consists of three adjacent gates located in the southern wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque wall, 50 meters from the single gate and 80 meters from the double gate. And these gates towering over each other, the width of each of them is 13 feet, and it was known to Arab historians and writers as the gates of the Mihrab of Mary or the door of the Mihrab of Mary, this old door dates back to the era of Adrianus, the builder of Jerusalem in the year 135 AD, and it has been closed since the early nineteenth century AD.

The bilateral door

It is one of the closed doors of the mosque. It is a door with two closed double entrances. It is located on the southern side of the wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, just behind the imam’s pulpit, as it leads to the bottom of Al-Aqsa Mosque through slanted entrances. It is 80 meters away from the triple gate. It is a very old gate dating back to the Byzantines, and the names of this gate are: Khalde Gate, Old Al-Aqsa Gate, and Gate of the Prophet.

The Golden Gate: The Gate of Repentance and Mercy

It is one of the closed doors of the mosque, and it is almost the only door on the northeastern side of the wall, had it not been for the presence of a small door called the Funeral Gate, and there are those who believe that the Golden Gate was established before the Islamic conquest of the city, except that nothing remains of that building except the site, and perhaps touches of the general design, and it was rebuilt many times after that, including what was after the Persians evacuated from Jerusalem and the entry of Emperor Heraclius, and the last construction was done in the Umayyad era, and the golden door in fact consists of two doors of mercy and repentance, but their closure is likely to be They were closed during the reign of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi after expelling the Crusaders from Jerusalem, this is for security reasons, and there are those who say that they were closed by the order of Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab for the same reasons, and whatever it is, the outcome is that these doors have been closed for a long time and have not been opened to this day. As for the name of the Golden Gate, Christians called it because they believed that the Lord Christ would pass through it upon his return

The Funeral door

It is one of the closed doors of the mosque. It is located in the eastern wall of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. It leads to the adjacent cemetery after praying over it in Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is a small door that is not currently used. Its traces are visible from behind the iron safes used by the Lions Gate guards at the site, but it is likely that it was located south of Bab al-Rahma. In any case, it is possible that two gates with this name have been found in history, as the gate may have been in the past, south of Bab al-Rahma, and then it was transformed in later periods (more correctly, the Ottoman period) To near Al - Asbat Gate. This door was used to take funerals out of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to the Mercy Cemetery adjacent to the eastern wall of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and it was probably closed by order of Sultan Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi after the liberation of Jerusalem in 583 AH - 1187 AD, to protect the mosque and the city from any possible invasion.

UNESCO Resolution: Al-Aqsa is pure Islamic heritage

It was adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on October 18, 2016 - During a meeting in the French capital, Paris - a decision denies the existence of a religious association of Jews with Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Buraq Wall, and considers them pure Islamic heritage.

October 13, 2016

The resolution was adopted after it was approved at the level of the committees at a meeting in Paris, where 24 countries voted in favor of the resolution and 26 abstained from voting, including France, while six countries, including the United States of America and Britain, opposed the resolution, and two countries were absent, and the resolution was presented by seven Arab countries, Algeria. Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan.

And following the issuance of the UNESCO decision in October 2016

The Director General of the organization, Irina Bokova, made statements in which she considered that the ancient city of Jerusalem is sacred to the three monotheistic religions (Islam, Judaism and Christianity). Bokova said that the heritage in the city of Jerusalem is indivisible, and that the three religions in Jerusalem have the right to recognize their history and their relationship with the city, the Director-General of UNESCO also warned against any attempt to deny and obliterate any of the Islamic, Christian or Jewish traditions in Jerusalem, because this endangers the site, which contradicts the reasons that prompted its inclusion in the World Heritage List.

The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki rejected Bokova's remarks

In a press statement, he described it as "an unprecedented position that constitutes an affront to the will of Member States that expressed their sovereign positions and voted affirmatively to successfully adopt the resolution." Al-Maliki confirmed that Bokova ignored the text of the Palestinian resolution that was adopted, which reflected illegal Israeli practices in occupied East Jerusalem.

The spokesman for the Palestinian presidency was Nabil Abu Rudeineh

He said that UNESCO's decision constitutes a clear message from the international community that it does not agree with the policy that protects the occupation and contributes to creating chaos and instability. However, the decision sparked widespread anger inside Israel.