Jerusalem יְרוּשָׁלַיִם · القُدس |
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Jerusalem in Islam refers to the status of Jerusalem in the Islamic tradition. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam, after the mosques of al-Haram in Mecca and al-Nabawi in Medina.[1]
- It is strongly associated with the Biblical prophets David, Solomon, Elijah and Jesus.
- It was the first direction of prayer in Muhammad's lifetime, before the Ka'bah in Mecca;
- According to the Quran, the Islamic Nabi (Arabic: نَـبِي, Prophet) Muhammad was taken by the miraculous steed, that is the Buraq, to visit the Farthest Mosque (which many Muslims believe is Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem), where he prayed, and was then taken to the heavens, in a single night in the year 620 CE. This event is known as Al-Isra’ wal-Mi‘raj (Arabic: الإِسـراء والـمِـعـراج, "The Night-Journey and the Ascension"), in Islamic tradition.[2]
Quran[edit]
Muhammad's journey to the Farthest Mosque is mentioned in the Qur'an, in the verse (17:1).[2] The verse states:
"Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from Al-Masjidil-Haram (Arabic: الـمَـسـجـدِ الـحَـرام, "The Place-of-Prostration The Sacred") to Al-Masjidil-Aqsa (Arabic: الـمَـسـجـدِ الأَقـصى, "The Place-of-Prostration The Farthest"), whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing."
Glory to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Masjid to the Furthest Masjid, whose precincts We have blessed, to show him of Our wonders! He it is Who is All-Hearing, All-Seeing![Quran 17:1 (Translated by Tarif Khalidi)]
Narrations or explanations[edit]
It is specified in a hadith (Arabic: حَـديـث, saying attributed to Muhammad), that the Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is indeed located in Jerusalem:
"That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "When the people of Quraysh did not believe me (i.e. the story of my Night Journey), I stood up in Al-Hijr and Allah displayed Jerusalem in front of me, and I began describing it to them while I was looking at it."
— Sahih Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226.[4]
And Ibn Abbas added:
"And The Prophets lived therein. There is not a single inch in Jerusalem where a Prophet has not prayed or an Angel not stood."
— At Trimidhi.
Islamic tafsirs (commentaries) hold the term "the farthest Mosque" (literally al-masjid al-Aqsa in Arabic) to refer to the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem.
See also[edit]
- Al-Arḍ Al-Mubarakah (Arabic: الأَرض الـمُـبـاركـة, "The Land The Blessed")
- Ash-Sham (Arabic: الـشَّـام, "The Syria" (region, not to be confused with the country of Syria))
- Holiest sites in Islam
- Islamization of Jerusalem
- Jerusalem in Christianity
- Jerusalem in Judaism
- Levant