The History of Masjid Al-Aqsa

Masjid Al-Aqsa – also known as Bayt Al-Maqdis – is the third holiest site in Islam, after only the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah and the Masjid Al-Nabawi in Medina. It was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) in Islam, and remained as such until the second year after the Hijra.

“Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa” means “the farthest mosque,” and includes the entire perimeter of the walled-in compound that surrounds the Dome of the Rock and Al-Jami’ Al-Qibli (the prayer building at the south end of the compound) in Al-Quds (known today as Jerusalem).

Allah (swt) mentioned Masjid Al-Aqsa in the Qur’an in Surat Al-Israa, where He says:

“Glory be to Him Who took His slave (Muhammad) one night from the Masjid Al-Haram (in Makkah) to the Masjid Al-Aqsa – whose vicinity We have blessed – so that We may show him some of Our signs; surely He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” [17:1]

Al-Israa’ wal-Mi’raj – commonly known as the miraculous night journey – was the moment when the Messenger of Allah (saw) travelled from Makkah to Al-Quds in a single night, and then ascended from the location of the Dome of the Rock to meet Allah (swt) and receive the command for the 5 obligatory prayers per day.

Al-Aqsa before Islam

Masjid Al-Aqsa was originally built about forty years after the Ka’ba was built by Adam (as). It was narrated that Abu Tharr Al-Ghifaree said:

“I asked (the Prophet): ‘O Messenger of Allah, which Masjid was built first?’ He said: ‘Al-Masjid Al-Haram (in Makkah).’ I asked: ‘Then which one?’ He said: ‘Masjid Al-Aqsa.’ I asked: ‘How long between them being built?’ He said: ‘40 years’.” [Muslim]

There is difference of opinion regarding who the original builder of Al-Aqsa was; some scholars hold the opinion it was Adam (as) who built it after he built the Ka’ba, and others holding the opinion it was Ibrahim (as) who built it.

Masjid Al-Aqsa was a known place of worship during the time of the Prophet Ibrahim (as) and the Prophet Ishaq (as). When the Prophet Yusuf (as) had his family join him in Egypt, Masjid Al-Aqsa was left with no caretaker. Bani Isra’eel were enslaved in Egypt, then liberated the Prophet Musa (as), and then they were returned to Al-Quds under the leadership of Prophet Dawood (as). The Prophet Suleiman (as) restored Masjid al-Aqsa during his time as King after it fell into disrepair before him, but his kingdom did not last long after his death.

When the Babylonians and their King, Nebuchadnezzar, invaded Al-Quds around the year 500 BCE, Masjid Al-Aqsa was destroyed by them. Attempts to restore Masjid Al-Aqsa were made by the Persians after the land came under their control, however the wars between the Romans and the Persians saw the region fall under different hands of ownership frequently, and led to the destruction of the Masjid by the Romans again in 70 CE.

When the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as the official religion, the site on which Masjid al-Aqsa once stood fell into disuse and became a wasteland for hundreds of years, until the Messenger of Allah (saw) traveled there during Al-Israa wal-Mi’raj, and led all the Prophets in prayer there before ascending to heaven.

Al-Aqsa under Islam

Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) brought Al-Quds under Islamic rule during his Caliphate in 638 CE, and – as part of his historic pact, The Umari Treaty – Islam spread throughout Al-Quds and the surrounding region peacefully and without the shedding of blood. A prayer building (known today as Al-Jami’ Al-Qibili) was built in the Al-Aqsa compound, and the surrounding area was restored during his rule.

In 692 CE, the Caliph Abdul-Malik bin Marwan built the famous Dome of the Rock within Masjid Al-Aqsa to contain, protect, and honor the location where it was believed that the Messenger of Allah (saw) began his ascent to heaven on the night of Al-Israa wal-Mi’raj.

In 970 CE, the Fatimids – most scholars deemed them to be non-Muslim – took control of Al-Quds, which led to the city falling into disrepair and weakened the city to the extent that they could not withstand the subsequent invasion and occupation by the Crusaders.

In 1099 CE, Al-Quds fell to the Crusader invaders from Europe who murdered every man, woman, and child within the walls of Al-Aqsa upon entering it. The famous Islamic historian Ibn Al-Atheer narrated that: “The Crusaders remained in Masjid Al-Aqsa for a full week killing Muslims within it…killing over seventy thousand Muslims, including the Imams, scholars, and worshipers among them.” Numerous Crusaders wrote boastfully regarding the massacre, including one writer who noted: “how wonderful it was to see (the Crusaders) up to their knees in blood.”

Masjid Al-Aqsa remained under Crusader control for nearly 100 years.

During the period of occupation by the Crusaders, the Masjid Al-Aqsa compound was converted into a palace for the first Crusader ruler over Al-Quds, Godfrey of Bouillon, which included the installation of toilets within the Masjid. All Islamic calligraphy was covered up or destroyed, the prayer Mihrab was walled up with bricks, and the rock contained within the Dome of the Rock was covered over with marble and made into a prayer altar. Since Muslims were banned from Al-Aqsa, the Masjid did not see a single Salat take place there for 88 years.

Throughout the occupation of Al-Quds, the Muslims always remained focused on the goal of liberating it. And after many years of effort working to unite the Muslims in Egypt and Syria, Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi successfully led the Muslims to the liberation of Al-Quds in 1187 CE in the Battle of Hitteen. Salahuddin proceeded to restore Masjid Al-Aqsa to its previous dignity as a Masjid, removed all the Crusader symbols and buildings, including the toilets, and cleaned the entire compound with his own hands. Salahuddin passed away in 1193 CE.

In 1239 CE, Al-Quds once again fell under Crusader occupation briefly, but in 1244 the Tatars attacked and defeated the Crusaders, and then proceeded to destroy the entire city of Al-Quds – but Masjid Al-Aqsa survived.

In 1250 CE, Al-Quds was restored under the Islamic rule of the Mamluks. The Crusaders had lost much interest in invading Al-Quds at that time, which left the Mamluk’s with a long period of stability ruling over the city – amounting to nearly 225 years.

In 1515 the Ottoman Caliph, Sultan Salim, entered Al-Quds and brought it under control of the Ottoman Caliphate.

Masjid Al-Aqsa remained under the control of the Ottoman Caliphate for nearly 400 years until 1917, where the British and French defeated the Muslims in the first World War, invaded and occupied Al-Quds, and subsequently destroyed the Caliphate in 1924.

Al-Aqsa and the Zionist occupation

As European Jews faced increased persecution in Europe in the late 1890s, and as a response to the Russian Pogroms, Jewish leaders like Theodore Herzl, conceived Zionism, which was the idea that Jews will only be safe in a country where they form the majority of the population. While Argentina and Uganda were initially suggested as possible locations for the Zionist settlement, Zionist leaders decided on the region of Palestine after becoming convinced that the religious sentiment in Judaism associated with the region would prove beneficial for the Zionist agenda. The World Zionist Organization finalized the plan in 1897 in Basel Switzerland.

In 1901, Zionist leaders met with Ottoman Caliph Abdul Hamid II. They offered large sums of money in exchange for ownership of a small part of Al-Quds near Masjid Al-Aqsa. At the time, the Ottoman Caliphate was in economic crisis and mounting debt. Despite this pressure, the Caliph responded by refusing to meet with Herzl and said, “Tell Herzl to not proceed any further in this matter. I will not let go of even an inch of this land, for it does not belong to me, rather it is owned by the Islamic Ummah. Our ancestors have fought Jihad for it and irrigated these lands with their blood. So, let the Jews keep their millions.'

Al-Aqsa after the fall of the Caliphate

During the first World War – or more precisely in 1915 – Britain signed a secret agreement with the Zionist leaders to hand over the region known today as Palestine to the new Zionist movement invented by Theodor Herzl if they should win the war.

In 1917 British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour made his famous declaration that Palestine would become the “national home” to the Jews. When Palestine became a British Mandate in 1919, Jewish immigration to Palestine intensified. After the defeat of the Nazi regime during the Second World War, support for a Jewish state in Palestine increased. The 1947 Partition Plan was rejected by the Arab governments in 1948, and war broke out. The Zionists captured the western portion of Al-Quds, but Al-Aqsa remained under the control of Jordan until 1967.

In its nearly 50 years under Zionist occupation and control, Masjid Al-Aqsa has regularly been the target of radical attacks by the Zionist occupiers.  In 1969, the Mosque was set on fire, which sparked the formation of The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) – a politically impotent organization that merely pretends to seek to liberate Al-Aqsa in order to placate the Muslim masses.

Today we see ongoing attacks against the Masjid Al-Aqsa compound, where Muslims were recently prevented from praying Friday prayers there, and Muslims are regularly assaulted and killed. The Zionists of today are no different from the Crusaders of old.

But despite the immense persecution and oppression that the people of Al-Aqsa and the surrounding area have faced at the hands of the Zionist occupiers and their supporters from among the neighboring governments and world powers, Muslims have never lost their focus or their resolve in one day liberating Al-Aqsa from this 100-year occupation – just as the Muslims of the past never lost their focus or their resolve in one day liberating it from the previous 88-year occupation under the Crusaders. The Muslims today have men like Salahuddin working within it, and it is only a matter of time until these efforts lead to the restoration of Al-Aqsa and the surrounding region under the rule of a rightly-guided Caliphate on the Path of Prophethood.