The Sacred House (Al-Aqsa Mosque)
Allah, the Exalted, selects from His creation whom He wills, bestows high status upon whom He chooses, grants purity and sanctity to whom He desires, endows each word as He wishes, and enriches whom He wills with blessings. Such is the glory of Allah, the Exalted, that no questions can be raised about His actions. Allah is capable of everything and everything is easy for Him. He is the Lord and Master of His servants, dependent on none, while all depend on Him. He is not bound by anyone; rather, all are bound to Him. He may bestow His favors upon someone whenever He wishes and test someone with trials whenever He desires. He can keep someone healthy and strong for as long as He wishes and can make someone ill and weak for whatever period He desires. He can keep someone dominant for as long as He wants and can keep someone among the creation for whatever duration He wills. A servant’s duty is to worship, and worship means bowing one’s head in submission in front of the Master and His decisions. Raising objections is not a servant’s place. Whatever prayers and supplications a servant or slave makes to their Master are also expressions of their servitude; these prayers and supplications do not elevate them to the status of advisors. These matters are an essential part of our religion and beliefs, which we must always keep in mind and consider in matters around us. It is also very beneficial. The demonstration of the complete power of Allah is that He has granted special virtue and status to these three mosques on the earth: Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, and Masjid Al-Aqsa in Palestine.
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) encouraged traveling to these mosques and praying in them, stating: ‘Translation: “Do not set out [on a journey] specifically except to three mosques: the Masjid al-Haram, this mosque of mine, and Masjid Al-Aqsa.”’ It is evident from this hadith that these three mosques should belong to the Muslims so that they can travel from all over the world to worship in these mosques. If these mosques are not under Muslim control, how easy would it be to travel there for worship? Masjid Al-Aqsa is the historical mosque that was built as the second place for worshiping Allah on earth. It is narrated from Abu Dharr (رضي الله عنه) that he asked the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), ‘Which mosque was built first?’ The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, ‘Masjid al-Haram.’ I asked, ‘Then which?’ He said, ‘Masjid Al-Aqsa.’ I asked, ‘How long was the period between them?’ The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘Forty years.’ Remember that ‘Al-Aqsa’ means ‘the farthest’ because this mosque is situated far from Masjid al-Haram, hence it is called Masjid Al-Aqsa.
“The second point to note is that there are two opinions among scholars about what is meant by the 40-year period between these two mosques. Some scholars say that this refers to the construction by Prophet Adam (علیہ السلام), who built the Masjid al-Haram first by the command of Allah, and then, 40 years later, built the Masjid al-Aqsa. When mentioning the construction during the times of Prophet Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and Prophet Yaqub (علیہ السلام), it is said that Prophet Ibrahim (علیہ السلام), by Allah’s command, rebuilt the Masjid al-Haram, whose traces had disappeared over time, with the assistance of his son, Prophet Ismail (علیہ السلام). Then, 40 years after this construction, Prophet Yaqub (علیہ السلام), the son of Prophet Ishaq (علیہ السلام), rebuilt the Masjid al-Aqsa in Palestine.
In essence, for a long period, the Masjid al-Haram remained with the descendants of Ismail, and the Masjid al-Aqsa with the descendants of Yaqub. Since ‘Israel’ is another name for Prophet Yaqub (علیہ السلام), a significant portion of his lineage later came to be known as the Bani Israel.
Then, on the night of Isra and Mi’raj, Allah took His last Prophet, Muhammad (ﷺ), to Masjid al-Aqsa and gathered all the other prophets (علیہم السلام) there. They all prayed led by Muhammad (ﷺ), who was bestowed with the position of the final prophet, demonstrating that the custodianship and inheritance of both Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Aqsa were now entrusted to the last prophet of Allah among the descendants of Ismail, and to the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ).
Therefore, some people of the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ) have been guardians of Masjid al-Aqsa. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: ‘Some of my Ummah will always remain dominant in matters of religion, suppressing their enemies. Their opponents will not harm them, except for the hardship of the economy that they will face, until the command of Allah, that is, death or the Day of Judgment, arrives.’
The companions asked, ‘Where will these people be?’ The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) replied, ‘In and around Bayt al-Maqdis [Jerusalem].
