Al-Aqsa Mosque

This article is about the main prayer hall within the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. For the whole compound, see Al-Aqsa. For other uses, see Al-Aqsa Mosque (disambiguation).

Al-Aqsa Mosque
جامع الأقصى‎ (Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā)
المصلى القبلي‎ (al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī)
المسجد الاقصى‎ (al-Masjid al-'Aqṣā, disputed)
Religion
AffiliationIslam
LeadershipMuhammad Ahmad Hussein (Grand Mufti of Jerusalem)
Location
LocationTemple Mount (East Jerusalem)
Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in Jerusalem
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Location within the Old City of Jerusalem
Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in Jerusalem
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Location within Jerusalem
AdministrationJerusalem Islamic Waqf
Geographic coordinates31°46′34″N 35°14′09″E / 31.77611°N 35.23583°E / 31.77611; 35.23583
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleEarly Islamic
Date established7th–8th centuries
Specifications
Direction of façadeNorth–northwest
Capacity5,000+
MaterialsLimestone (external walls, façade), lead and concrete (dome), white marble (interior columns) and mosaic[1]

The Aqsa Mosque (Arabic: جامع الأقصى, romanized: Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā, lit. 'congregational mosque of Al-Aqsa'), also known as the Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel (المصلى القبلي, al-muṣallā al-qiblī, lit. 'prayer hall of the qibla (south)'),[2] is the main congregational mosque or prayer hall in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. In some sources the building is also named al-Masjid al-Aqṣā,[3][4][5] but this name primarily applies to the whole compound in which the building sits, which is itself also known as "Al-Aqsa Mosque".[6] The wider compound is known as Al-Aqsa or Al-Aqsa mosque compound, also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary').[7][8][9][10]

During the rule of the Rashidun caliph Umar (r. 634–644) or the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), a small prayer house on the compound was erected near the mosque's site. The present-day mosque, located on the south wall of the compound, was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) or his successor al-Walid I (r. 705–715) (or both) as a congregational mosque on the same axis as the Dome of the Rock, a commemorative Islamic monument. After being destroyed in an earthquake in 746, the mosque was rebuilt in 758 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. It was further expanded upon in 780 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi, after which it consisted of fifteen aisles and a central dome. However, it was again destroyed during the 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake. The mosque was rebuilt by the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1036), who reduced it to seven aisles but adorned its interior with an elaborate central archway covered in vegetal mosaics; the current structure preserves the 11th-century outline.

During the periodic renovations undertaken, the ruling Islamic dynasties constructed additions to the mosque and its precincts, such as its dome, façade, minarets, and minbar and interior structure. Upon its capture by the Crusaders in 1099, the mosque was used as a palace; it was also the headquarters of the religious order of the Knights Templar. After the area was conquered by Saladin in 1187, the structure's function as a mosque was restored. More renovations, repairs, and expansion projects were undertaken in later centuries by the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the Supreme Muslim Council of British Palestine, and during the Jordanian occupation of the West Bank. Since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the mosque has remained under the independent administration of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf.[11]

  1. ^ Al-Ratrout, H. A., The Architectural Development of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Early Islamic Period, ALMI Press, London, 2004.
  2. ^ Williams, George (1849). The Holy City: Historical, Topographical and Antiquarian Notices of Jerusalem. Parker. pp. 143–160. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2022. The following detailed account of the Haram es-Sherif, with some interesting notices of the City, is extracted from an Arabic work entitled " The Sublime Companion to the History of Jerusalem and Hebron, by Kadi Mejir-ed-din, Ebil-yemen Abd-er-Rahman, El-Alemi," who died A. H. 927, (A. d. 1521)… "I have at the commencement called attention to the fact that the place now called by the name Aksa (i. e. the most distant), is the Mosk [Jamia] properly so called, at the southern extremity of the area, where is the Minbar and the great Mihrab. But in fact Aksa is the name of the whole area enclosed within the walls, the dimensions of which I have just given, for the Mosk proper [Jamia], the Dome of the Rock, the Cloisters, and other buildings, are all of late construction, and Mesjid el-Aksa is the correct name of the whole area." and also von Hammer-Purgstall, J.F. (1811). "Chapitre vingtième. Description de la mosquée Mesdjid-ol-aksa, telle qu'elle est de nos jours, (du temps de l'auteur, au dixième siècle de l'Hégire, au seizième après J. C.)". Fundgruben des Orients (in French). Vol. 2. Gedruckt bey A. Schmid. p. 93. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2022. Nous avons dès le commencement appelé l'attention sur que l'endroit, auquel les hommes donnent aujourd'hui le nom d'Aksa, c'est à-dire, la plus éloignée, est la mosquée proprement dite, bâtie à l'extrêmité méridionale de l'enceinte où se trouve la chaire et le grand autel. Mais en effet Aksa est le nom de l'enceinte entière, en tant qu'elle est enfermée de murs, dont nous venons de donner la longueur et la largeur, car la mosquée proprement dite, le dôme de la roche Sakhra, les portiques et les autres bâtimens, sont tous des constructions récentes, et Mesdjidol-aksa est le véritable nom de toute l'enceinte. (Le Mesdjid des arabes répond à l'ίερόν et le Djami au ναός des grecs.)
  3. ^ Yavuz 1996.
  4. ^ Salameh, Khader (2009). "A New Saljuq Inscription in the Masjid al-Aqsa, Jerusalem". Levant. 41 (1): 107–117. doi:10.1179/175638009x427620. ISSN 0075-8914. S2CID 162230613. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. ^ 1936 Survey of Palestine map of the Old City of Jerusalem
  6. ^
    • Raissa Kasolowsky; Edmund Blair (6 April 2023). "Factbox: Where is Al Aqsa mosque and why is it so important in Islam?". Reuters. Retrieved 23 July 2023. WHERE AND WHAT IS THE AL-AQSA MOSQUE? The Al-Aqsa lies at the heart of Jerusalem's Old City on a hill known to Jews as Har ha-Bayit, or Temple Mount, and to Muslims internationally as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. Al-Aqsa is the name given to the whole compound and is home to two Muslim holy places: the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Qibli Mosque, which was built in the 8th century AD.
    • Tucker, S.C.; Roberts, P. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO history reference online. ABC-CLIO. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-85109-842-2. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2022. Al-Aqsa Mosque The al-Aqsa Mosque (literally, "farthest mosque") is both a building and a complex of religious buildings in Jerusalem. It is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews and Christians as the Har ha-Bayit or Temple Mount. The whole area of the Noble Sanctuary is considered by Muslims to be the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the entire precinct is inviolable according to Islamic law. It is considered specifically part of the waqf (endowment) land that had included the Western Wall (Wailing Wall), property of an Algerian family, and more generally a waqf of all of Islam. When viewed as a complex of buildings, the al-Aqsa Mosque is dominated and bounded by two major structures: the al-Aqsa Mosque building on the east and the Dome of the Rock (or the Mosque of Omar) on the west. The Dome of the Rock is the oldest holy building in Islam.
    • "Jerusalem holy site clashes fuel fears of return to war". BBC News. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022. Whole site also considered by Muslims as Al Aqsa Mosque
    • UNESCO World Heritage Centre (4 April 2022). "39 COM 7A.27 - Decision". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022. …the historic Gates and windows of the Qibli Mosque inside Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which is a Muslim holy site of worship and an integral part of a World Heritage Site
    • The Survey of Western Palestine, Jerusalem, 1884, p.119: "The Jamia el Aksa, or 'distant mosque' (that is, distant from Mecca), is on the south, reaching to the outer wall. The whole enclosure of the Haram is called by Moslem writers Masjid el Aksa, 'praying-place of the Aksa,' from this mosque."
    • Yitzhak Reiter: "This article deals with the employment of religious symbols for national identities and national narratives by using the sacred compound in Jerusalem (The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa) as a case study. The narrative of The Holy Land involves three concentric circles, each encompassing the other, with each side having its own names for each circle. These are: Palestine/Eretz Israel (i.e., the Land of Israel); Jerusalem/al-Quds and finally The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa compound...Within the struggle over public awareness of Jerusalem's importance, one particular site is at the eye of the storm—the Temple Mount and its Western Wall—the Jewish Kotel—or, in Muslim terminology, the al-Aqsa compound (alternatively: al-Haram al-Sharif) including the al-Buraq Wall... "Al-Aqsa" for the Palestinian-Arab-Muslim side is not merely a mosque mentioned in the Quran within the context of the Prophet Muhammad's miraculous Night Journey to al-Aqsa which, according to tradition, concluded with his ascension to heaven (and prayer with all of the prophets and the Jewish and Christian religious figures who preceded him); rather, it also constitutes a unique symbol of identity, one around which various political objectives may be formulated, plans of action drawn up and masses mobilized for their realization", "Narratives of Jerusalem and its Sacred Compound" Archived 21 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Israel Studies 18(2):115-132 (July 2013)
    • Annika Björkdahl and Susanne Buckley-Zistel: "The site is known in Arabic as Haram al-Sharif – the Noble Sanctuary – and colloquially as the Haram or the al-Aqsa compound; while in Hebrew, it is called Har HaBeit – the Temple Mount." Annika Björkdahl; Susanne Buckley-Zistel (1 May 2016). Spatialising Peace and Conflict: Mapping the Production of Places, Sites and Scales of Violence. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 243–. ISBN 978-1-137-55048-4. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
    • Mahdi Abdul Hadi:"Al-Aqsa Mosque, also referred to as Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), comprises the entire area within the compound walls (a total area of 144,000 m2) - including all the mosques, prayer rooms, buildings, platforms and open courtyards located above or under the grounds - and exceeds 200 historical monuments pertaining to various Islamic eras. According to Islamic creed and jurisprudence, all these buildings and courtyards enjoy the same degree of sacredness since they are built on Al-Aqsa's holy grounds. This sacredness is not exclusive to the physical structures allocated for prayer, like the Dome of the Rock or Al-Qibly Mosque (the mosque with the large silver dome)"Mahdi Abdul Hadi Archived 2020-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs; Tim Marshall: "Many people believe that the mosque depicted is called the Al-Aqsa; however, a visit to one of Palestine's most eminent intellectuals, Mahdi F. Abdul Hadi, clarified the issue. Hadi is chairman of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, based in East Jerusalem. His offices are a treasure trove of old photographs, documents, and symbols. He was kind enough to spend several hours with me. He spread out maps of Jerusalem's Old City on a huge desk and homed in on the Al-Aqsa compound, which sits above the Western Wall. "The mosque in the Al-Aqsa [Brigades] flag is the Dome of the Rock. Everyone takes it for granted that it is the Al-Aqsa mosque, but no, the whole compound is Al-Aqsa, and on it are two mosques, the Qibla mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and on the flags of both Al-Aqsa Brigades and the Qassam Brigades, it is the Dome of the Rock shown," he said. Tim Marshall (4 July 2017). A Flag Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of National Symbols. Simon and Schuster. pp. 151–. ISBN 978-1-5011-6833-8. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  7. ^ Kershner, Isabel (14 November 2009). "Unusual Partners Study Divisive Jerusalem Site". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Hughes, Aaron W. (2014). Theorizing Islam: Disciplinary Deconstruction and Reconstruction. Religion in Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-317-54594-1. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2022. Although later commentators would debate whether or not this journey was a physical one or took place at an internal level, it would come to play a crucial role in establishing Muhammad's prophetic credentials. In the first part of this journey, referred to as the isra, he traveled from the Kaba in Mecca to "the farthest mosque" (al-masjid al-aqsa), identified with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem: the al-Aqsa mosque that stands there today eventually took its name from this larger precinct, in which it was constructed.
  9. ^ Sway, Mustafa A. (2015), "Al-Aqsa Mosque: Do Not Intrude!", Palestine - Israel Journal of Politics, Economics, and Culture, 20/21 (4): 108–113, ProQuest 1724483297, archived from the original on 19 July 2023, retrieved 28 July 2022 – via ProQuest, Ahmed ibn Hanbal (780–855): "Verily, 'Al-Aqsa' is a name for the whole mosque which is surrounded by the wall, the length and width of which are mentioned here, for the building that exists in the southern part of the Mosque, and the other ones such as the Dome of the Rock and the corridors and other [buildings] are novel (muhdatha)." Mustafa Sway: More than 500 years ago, when Mujir Al-Din Al-Hanbali offered the above definition of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the year 900 AH/1495, there were no conflicts, no occupation and no contesting narratives surrounding the site.
  10. ^ Omar, Abdallah Marouf (2017). "Al-Aqsa Mosque's Incident in July 2017: Affirming the Policy of Deterrence". Insight Turkey. 19 (3): 69–82. doi:10.25253/99.2017193.05. ISSN 1302-177X. JSTOR 26300531. In a treaty signed by Jordan and the Palestinian Authority on March 31, 2013, both sides define al-Aqsa Mosque as being "al-Masjid al-Aqsa with its 144 dunums, which include the Qibli Mosque of al-Aqsa, the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock, and all its mosques, buildings, walls, courtyards". ... Israel insists on identifying al-Aqsa Mosque as being a small building. ... Nonetheless, the Executive Board of UNESCO adopted the Jordanian definition of al-Aqsa Mosque in its Resolution (199 EX/PX/DR.19.1 Rev).
    Occupied Palestine: draft decision (199 EX/PX/DR.19.1 REV), UNESCO Executive Board. UNESCO. 2016.
  11. ^ "Arab states neglect Al-Aqsa says head of Jerusalem Waqf". Al-Monitor. 5 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.