Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa
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Quick Facts
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Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (Arabic:المسجد الاقصى "The Farthest Mosque,") also known as Al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The site which includes the mosque (Along with the Dome of the Rock), also referred to as Al-Haram Ash-Sharif or "Noble Sanctuary,".
Muslims believe that Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to Al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. Islamic tradition holds that Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God directed him to turn towards the Ka'aba. Today, the Old City is under Israeli control, but the mosque remains under the administration of the Palestinian-led Islamic waqf.
The rectangular Al-Aqsa Mosque and its precincts are 144,000 square metres (1,550,000 sq ft), although the mosque itself is about 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft) and could hold up to 5,000 worshipers.It is 272 feet (83 m) long, 184 feet (56 m) wide.
Muslims believe that Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to Al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. Islamic tradition holds that Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God directed him to turn towards the Ka'aba. Today, the Old City is under Israeli control, but the mosque remains under the administration of the Palestinian-led Islamic waqf.
The rectangular Al-Aqsa Mosque and its precincts are 144,000 square metres (1,550,000 sq ft), although the mosque itself is about 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft) and could hold up to 5,000 worshipers.It is 272 feet (83 m) long, 184 feet (56 m) wide.
History of Construction,Restoration and Expansion of the Mosque
From Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him) to Prophet Soloman (Peace On Him)
Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) (Peace On Him) rebuilt the Kaba in Makkah with his firstborn son Ismael (Peace On Him). This was an order from ALLAH that Ibrahim and Ismael (Peace On Him) reconstruct this Holy House of ALLAH as a place of worship for all the believers on earth. Ismael (Peace On Him) was 17 at the time he and his father rebuilt the Kaba. Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), a descendent of the Prophet Ismael (Peace On Him), would come nearly 2,500 years after Kaba was rebuilt and repurify it as a holy place of worship according to the teachings of the Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him).
In Jerusalem, Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him) also established a place of worship. This place would later be known as The House Of ALLAH or Beteyel. Forty years after the reconstruction of Kaba, Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him) expanded this place of worship. Isaac (Peace On Him), Prophet Ibrahim's (Peace On Him) younger son, worshipped in Beteyel, but also made journeys to Kaba in Makkah for Hajj (Pilgrimage) as did Ibrahim (Peace On Him). Jacob (Peace On Him) the second son of Isaac (Peace On Him), extended Beteyel as a place of worship for all the believers of ALLAH in the region. The natives of the land, the Palestinians, believers in the teachings of the Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him), also worshipped in Beteyel or The House Of ALLAH. Ibrahim (Peace On Him), referred to Beteyel as "Masjid Al-Aqsa", which means the farthest place of worship of the ALLAH. Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him), was stating that Masjid Al-Aqsa was the farthest place of worship west of Kaaba in Makkah.
Some years later, Prophet Joseph (Peace On Him), the son of Jacob (Peace On Him) attained a high position of power in Egypt, he sent for all of his family to come live with him in Egypt away from the poverty of Palestine. There were 33 in all, Jacob (Peace On Him), his children and his grandchildren. Because there was no one left from Jacob's (Peace On Him) tribe to care for Beteyel, Jacob (Peace On Him), intrusted care of Beteyel or Masjid Al-Aqsa to the natives of the area, the Palestinians. This was acceptable due to the fact that the natives were also followers of the Patriarch, the Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him). The Israelites remained in Egypt for four hundred years as slaves to the Egyptians with no connection to Palestine, the land from which they immigrated.This choice was not forced on them, they simply chose to leave Palestine for the sake of the wealth and riches in Egypt.
In the time of Prophet Moses (Peace On Him), the Israelites were still slaves to the Egyptians. ALLAH ordered Moses (Peace On Him), after freeing the Israelites from bondage, to lead them to Palestine. The Israelites rejected this order from ALLAH, and preferred to live in the desert of Sinai, rather than to sacrifice themselves for the sake of ALLAH (God). They believed this land belonged to the Palestinians, the natives of the area.
For fourty years, the Israelites wandered in the desert of Sinai. A new generation was born, and from it came forth Prophet David (Peace On Him), he would lead this generation of believers to Palestine. Prophet David (Peace On Him) established his kingdom in part of Palestine, and controlled Jerusalem. His son, Prophet Soloman (King Solomon) (Peace On Him) rebuilt Masjid Al-Aqsa with the help of the natives, and next to it he built the ruler's palace. After Prophet Solomon's death, his two sons divided his kingdom amongst themselves. Each son established his own kingdom and each had its own capital. From both of these kingdoms, ALLAH raised prophets. According to Jewish history, these kingdoms existed for nearly two hundred years.
After Prophet Soloman (Peace On Him) to Persian Empire
In 586 B.C., King Je-hoia-chin of Jerusalem, saw that he might lose his kingdom. He was the last Jewish king who tried to resist the Babylonians in Jerusalem. In his struggle, his kingdom was surrounded by the Babylonians who cut off supplies from the outside world. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem ran out of food and water, the king made a tunnel to enable his soldiers to escape and retrieve supplies from the outside world. Part of the tunnel collapsed, the resistance led by King Je-hoia-chin was defeated, and the Babylonians took over Jerusalem. The tunnel used by King Je-hoia-chin, is the same tunnel being excavated today in Jerusalem. After the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, they took its inhabitants as slaves to Babylon.
The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed what King Solomon had built in Jerusalem. After seventy years of slavery in Babylon, King Cyrus of Persea gave the Israelites their freedom. At that time very few of the Israelites returned to Palestine. These few Israelites worshipped only in The House Of ALLAH. For generations, the Israelites took care of Beteyel or Masjid Al-Aqsa. During the period when the Roman Empire was in constant battle with the Persean Empire, the Israelites aided the Perseans, and benefited when the Persians had control of Jerusalem. Because the Israelites supported the Persian Empire as spies and in other ways, the Romans treated them as enemies of the Roman Empire.
In 70 A.D., the Romans destroyed (burned) Beteyel, and converted it into a place of Roman idol worship (Jupitor,etc.). In 315 A.D., when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, the Romans had no regard for Beteyel. It became a place were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, including the Jews threw their garbage. The Jews no longer considered Beteyel a Holy Shrine.
The Persian Empire defeated the Romans in 614 A.D., the Jews were now able to worship where they wished, but choose not to worship in Beteyel or Masjid Al-Aqsa. The Persians controlled Jerusalem until 624 A.D. The Jews, who were in a position of power during this period, tortured the Arab Christians. Jerusalem was in need of a just ruler. Both the Christians and the Jews had suffered under different empires, and both knew that the Holy Scriptures promised the coming of a ruler to save them from all this unjust torture and aggression.
Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Era to Before Crusaders
The Israelites were awaiting the coming of the Messiah, who would be king and ruler, and would defeat all the evil empires, as promised by ALLAH. The only Prophet in history to have accomplished this task, was Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and his followers defeated all the empires of the time, establishing the Kingdom Of ALLAH (Islamic State) throughout the region.The Israelites had tried to fulfill this prophecy in 165 B.C., under the leadership of Judah Makabi. Within three years, he was defeated by the Romans, who regained complete control of Jerusalem. Prophet Jesus (Peace On Him), was also unable to accomplish this task mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. It was the Prophet from Arabia, Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) who fulfilled this prophecy.
In 621 A.D., the Prophet Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) ascended to the heavens in the night known as "Isra and Miraj" to the Muslims.In that night, Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) led all the Prophets of ALLAH in prayer in the Holy Mosque (Masjid Al-Aqsa). For this reason, Masjid Al-Aqsa is a holy place of worship for the Muslims, along with Kaaba in Makkah and The Prophet's (Peace Be Upon Him) Mosque in Medina.The historical significance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards Al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of sixteen or seventeen months after migration to Medina in 624, thus it became the Qibla ("Direction") that Muslims faced for prayer. Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) later prayed towards the Ka'aba in Mecca after receiving a revelation during a prayer session.The qibla was relocated to the Ka'aba where Muslims have been directed to pray ever since.
In 637 A.D., the Christian leader of Jerusalem, Snaifors, realized through the holy Scriptures (Zeckariah 9,Verses 9 and 10), that the second leader of the Islamic State, Umar Ibn Al-Khatab, fits the description of the one who would open Jerusalem and free it from the evil empires. Snaifors surrendered peacefully. Umar Ibn Al-Khatab and the Muslims, after securing Jerusalem, again established Masjid Al-Aqsa as a holy place of worship. Both the Christians and the Jews were pleased with the arrival of Umar and the Muslims, and with the just rule under the Islamic State.Rebuilt and expanded by the Ummayad Caliph Abd Al-Malik and finished by his son Al-Walid in 705 A.D.
In 746, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was damaged in an earthquake, four years before Abul Abbas Al-Saffah overthrew the Ummayads and established the Abbasid Caliphate. The second Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far Al-Mansur declared his intent to repair the mosque in 753, and he had the gold and silver plaques that covered the gates of the mosque removed and turned into dinars and dirhams to finance the reconstruction which ended in 771. A second earthquake damaged most of Al-Mansur's repairs, excluding those made in the southern portion in 774.In 780, the successor Caliph Mohammad Al-Mahdi had it rebuilt, but curtailed its length and increased its breadth.Al-Mahdi's renovation is the first known to have written records describing it.In 985, Jerusalem-born Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi recorded that the renovated mosque had "Fifteen naves and fifteen gates".
In 1033, there was another earthquake, severely damaging the mosque. The Fatimid Caliph Ali az-Zahir rebuilt and completely renovated the mosque between 1034 and 1036. The number of naves was drastically reduced from fifteen to seven.Az-Zahir built the four arcades of the central hall and aisle, which presently serve as the foundation of the mosque. The central aisle was double the width of the other aisles and had a large gable roof upon which the dome made of wood was constructed.
Crusaders to Ottoman Empire
Jerusalem was captured by the Crusaders in 1099, during the First Crusade. Instead of destroying the mosque which they called "Solomon's Temple" the Crusaders used it as a royal palace and as a stable for horses. In 1119, it was transformed into the headquarters for the Templar Knights. During this period, the mosque underwent some structural changes, including the expansion of its northern porch, and the addition of an apse and a dividing wall. A new cloister and church were also built at the site, along with various other structures.The Templars constructed vaulted western and eastern annexes to the building; the western currently serves as the women's mosque and the eastern as the Islamic Museum.
After the Ayyubids under the leadership of Saladin reconquered Jerusalem following the siege of 1187, several repairs and renovations were undertaken at Al-Aqsa Mosque. In order to prepare the mosque for Friday prayers, within a week of his capture of Jerusalem Saladin had the toilets and grain stores installed by the Crusaders at Al-Aqsa removed, the floors covered with precious carpets, and its interior scented with rosewater and incense.Saladin's predecessor the Zengid Sultan Nur Al-Din had commissioned the construction of a new minbar or "pulpit" made of ivory and wood in 1168–69, but it was completed after his death; Nur Ad-Din's minbar was added to the mosque in November 1187 by Saladin.The Ayyubid Sultan of Damascus, Al-Mu'azzam, built the northern porch of the mosque with three gates in 1218. In 1345, the Mamluks under Al-Kamil Shaban added two naves and two gates to the mosque's eastern side.
After the Ottomans assumed power in 1517, they did not undertake any major renovations or repairs to the mosque itself, but they did to the Noble Sanctuary as a whole. This included the building of the Fountain of Qasim Pasha (1527), the restoration of the Pool of Raranj, and the building of three free-standing domes the most notable being the Dome of the Prophet built in 1538. All construction was ordered by the Ottoman governors of Jerusalem and not the sultans themselves.The sultans did make additions to existing minarets, however.
20th-century
The first renovation in the 20th-century occurred in 1922, when the Supreme Muslim Council under Amin Al-Husayni (The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem) commissioned Turkish architect Ahmet Kemalettin Bey to restore Al-Aqsa Mosque and the monuments in its precincts. The council also commissioned British architects, Egyptian engineering experts and local officials to contribute to and oversee the repairs and additions which were carried out in 1924–25 by Kemalettin. The renovations included reinforcing the mosque's ancient Ummayad foundations, rectifying the interior columns, replacing the beams, erecting a scaffolding, conserving the arches and drum of the main dome's interior, rebuilding the southern wall, and replacing timber in the central nave with a slab of concrete. The renovations also revealed Fatimid-era mosaics and inscriptions on the interior arches that had been covered with plasterwork. The arches were decorated with gold and green-tinted gypsum and their timber tie beams were replaced with brass. A quarter of the stained glass windows also were carefully renewed so as to preserve their original Abbasid and Fatimid designs.Severe damage was caused by the 1927 and 1937 earthquakes, but the mosque was repaired in 1938 and 1942.
On August 21, 1969, a fire occurred inside Al-Aqsa Mosque that gutted the southeastern wing of the mosque. Among other things, the fire destroyed Saladin's minbar.The fire is started by a tourist from Australia named Denis Michael Rohan. Rohan was a member of an evangelical Christian sect known as the Worldwide Church of God.He hoped that by burning down Al-Aqsa Mosque he would hasten the Second Coming of Jesus, making way for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. Rohan was subsequently hospitalized in a mental institution.In response to the incident, a summit of Islamic countries was held in Rabat that same year, hosted by Faisal I, the late king of Saudi Arabia. The Al-Aqsa fire is regarded as one of the catalysts for the formation of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) in 1972.
In the 1980s, Ben Shoshan and Yehuda Etzion, both members of the Gush Emunim Underground, plotted to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Etzion believed that blowing up the two mosques would cause a spiritual awakening in Israel, and would solve all the problems of the Jewish people. They also hoped the Third Temple of Jerusalem would be built on the location of the mosque.On January 15, 1988, during the First Intifada, Israeli troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters outside the mosque, wounding 40 worshipers.On October 8, 1990, 22 Palestinians were killed and over 100 others injured by Israeli Border Police during protests that were triggered by the announcement of the Temple Mount Faithful, a fringe group of religious Jews, that they were going to lay the cornerstone of the Third Temple.On September 28, 2000, then-Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon and members of the Likud Party, along with 1,000 armed guards, visited the Al-Aqsa compound; a large group of Palestinians went to protest the visit. After Sharon and the Likud Party members left, a demonstration erupted and Palestinians on the grounds of the Haram Al-Sharif began throwing stones and other projectiles at Israeli riot police. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd, injuring 24 people. The visit sparked a five-year uprising by the Palestinians, commonly referred to as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) (Peace On Him) rebuilt the Kaba in Makkah with his firstborn son Ismael (Peace On Him). This was an order from ALLAH that Ibrahim and Ismael (Peace On Him) reconstruct this Holy House of ALLAH as a place of worship for all the believers on earth. Ismael (Peace On Him) was 17 at the time he and his father rebuilt the Kaba. Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), a descendent of the Prophet Ismael (Peace On Him), would come nearly 2,500 years after Kaba was rebuilt and repurify it as a holy place of worship according to the teachings of the Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him).
In Jerusalem, Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him) also established a place of worship. This place would later be known as The House Of ALLAH or Beteyel. Forty years after the reconstruction of Kaba, Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him) expanded this place of worship. Isaac (Peace On Him), Prophet Ibrahim's (Peace On Him) younger son, worshipped in Beteyel, but also made journeys to Kaba in Makkah for Hajj (Pilgrimage) as did Ibrahim (Peace On Him). Jacob (Peace On Him) the second son of Isaac (Peace On Him), extended Beteyel as a place of worship for all the believers of ALLAH in the region. The natives of the land, the Palestinians, believers in the teachings of the Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him), also worshipped in Beteyel or The House Of ALLAH. Ibrahim (Peace On Him), referred to Beteyel as "Masjid Al-Aqsa", which means the farthest place of worship of the ALLAH. Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him), was stating that Masjid Al-Aqsa was the farthest place of worship west of Kaaba in Makkah.
Some years later, Prophet Joseph (Peace On Him), the son of Jacob (Peace On Him) attained a high position of power in Egypt, he sent for all of his family to come live with him in Egypt away from the poverty of Palestine. There were 33 in all, Jacob (Peace On Him), his children and his grandchildren. Because there was no one left from Jacob's (Peace On Him) tribe to care for Beteyel, Jacob (Peace On Him), intrusted care of Beteyel or Masjid Al-Aqsa to the natives of the area, the Palestinians. This was acceptable due to the fact that the natives were also followers of the Patriarch, the Prophet Ibrahim (Peace On Him). The Israelites remained in Egypt for four hundred years as slaves to the Egyptians with no connection to Palestine, the land from which they immigrated.This choice was not forced on them, they simply chose to leave Palestine for the sake of the wealth and riches in Egypt.
In the time of Prophet Moses (Peace On Him), the Israelites were still slaves to the Egyptians. ALLAH ordered Moses (Peace On Him), after freeing the Israelites from bondage, to lead them to Palestine. The Israelites rejected this order from ALLAH, and preferred to live in the desert of Sinai, rather than to sacrifice themselves for the sake of ALLAH (God). They believed this land belonged to the Palestinians, the natives of the area.
For fourty years, the Israelites wandered in the desert of Sinai. A new generation was born, and from it came forth Prophet David (Peace On Him), he would lead this generation of believers to Palestine. Prophet David (Peace On Him) established his kingdom in part of Palestine, and controlled Jerusalem. His son, Prophet Soloman (King Solomon) (Peace On Him) rebuilt Masjid Al-Aqsa with the help of the natives, and next to it he built the ruler's palace. After Prophet Solomon's death, his two sons divided his kingdom amongst themselves. Each son established his own kingdom and each had its own capital. From both of these kingdoms, ALLAH raised prophets. According to Jewish history, these kingdoms existed for nearly two hundred years.
After Prophet Soloman (Peace On Him) to Persian Empire
In 586 B.C., King Je-hoia-chin of Jerusalem, saw that he might lose his kingdom. He was the last Jewish king who tried to resist the Babylonians in Jerusalem. In his struggle, his kingdom was surrounded by the Babylonians who cut off supplies from the outside world. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem ran out of food and water, the king made a tunnel to enable his soldiers to escape and retrieve supplies from the outside world. Part of the tunnel collapsed, the resistance led by King Je-hoia-chin was defeated, and the Babylonians took over Jerusalem. The tunnel used by King Je-hoia-chin, is the same tunnel being excavated today in Jerusalem. After the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, they took its inhabitants as slaves to Babylon.
The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed what King Solomon had built in Jerusalem. After seventy years of slavery in Babylon, King Cyrus of Persea gave the Israelites their freedom. At that time very few of the Israelites returned to Palestine. These few Israelites worshipped only in The House Of ALLAH. For generations, the Israelites took care of Beteyel or Masjid Al-Aqsa. During the period when the Roman Empire was in constant battle with the Persean Empire, the Israelites aided the Perseans, and benefited when the Persians had control of Jerusalem. Because the Israelites supported the Persian Empire as spies and in other ways, the Romans treated them as enemies of the Roman Empire.
In 70 A.D., the Romans destroyed (burned) Beteyel, and converted it into a place of Roman idol worship (Jupitor,etc.). In 315 A.D., when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, the Romans had no regard for Beteyel. It became a place were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, including the Jews threw their garbage. The Jews no longer considered Beteyel a Holy Shrine.
The Persian Empire defeated the Romans in 614 A.D., the Jews were now able to worship where they wished, but choose not to worship in Beteyel or Masjid Al-Aqsa. The Persians controlled Jerusalem until 624 A.D. The Jews, who were in a position of power during this period, tortured the Arab Christians. Jerusalem was in need of a just ruler. Both the Christians and the Jews had suffered under different empires, and both knew that the Holy Scriptures promised the coming of a ruler to save them from all this unjust torture and aggression.
Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Era to Before Crusaders
The Israelites were awaiting the coming of the Messiah, who would be king and ruler, and would defeat all the evil empires, as promised by ALLAH. The only Prophet in history to have accomplished this task, was Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and his followers defeated all the empires of the time, establishing the Kingdom Of ALLAH (Islamic State) throughout the region.The Israelites had tried to fulfill this prophecy in 165 B.C., under the leadership of Judah Makabi. Within three years, he was defeated by the Romans, who regained complete control of Jerusalem. Prophet Jesus (Peace On Him), was also unable to accomplish this task mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. It was the Prophet from Arabia, Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) who fulfilled this prophecy.
In 621 A.D., the Prophet Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) ascended to the heavens in the night known as "Isra and Miraj" to the Muslims.In that night, Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) led all the Prophets of ALLAH in prayer in the Holy Mosque (Masjid Al-Aqsa). For this reason, Masjid Al-Aqsa is a holy place of worship for the Muslims, along with Kaaba in Makkah and The Prophet's (Peace Be Upon Him) Mosque in Medina.The historical significance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards Al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of sixteen or seventeen months after migration to Medina in 624, thus it became the Qibla ("Direction") that Muslims faced for prayer. Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) later prayed towards the Ka'aba in Mecca after receiving a revelation during a prayer session.The qibla was relocated to the Ka'aba where Muslims have been directed to pray ever since.
In 637 A.D., the Christian leader of Jerusalem, Snaifors, realized through the holy Scriptures (Zeckariah 9,Verses 9 and 10), that the second leader of the Islamic State, Umar Ibn Al-Khatab, fits the description of the one who would open Jerusalem and free it from the evil empires. Snaifors surrendered peacefully. Umar Ibn Al-Khatab and the Muslims, after securing Jerusalem, again established Masjid Al-Aqsa as a holy place of worship. Both the Christians and the Jews were pleased with the arrival of Umar and the Muslims, and with the just rule under the Islamic State.Rebuilt and expanded by the Ummayad Caliph Abd Al-Malik and finished by his son Al-Walid in 705 A.D.
In 746, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was damaged in an earthquake, four years before Abul Abbas Al-Saffah overthrew the Ummayads and established the Abbasid Caliphate. The second Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far Al-Mansur declared his intent to repair the mosque in 753, and he had the gold and silver plaques that covered the gates of the mosque removed and turned into dinars and dirhams to finance the reconstruction which ended in 771. A second earthquake damaged most of Al-Mansur's repairs, excluding those made in the southern portion in 774.In 780, the successor Caliph Mohammad Al-Mahdi had it rebuilt, but curtailed its length and increased its breadth.Al-Mahdi's renovation is the first known to have written records describing it.In 985, Jerusalem-born Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi recorded that the renovated mosque had "Fifteen naves and fifteen gates".
In 1033, there was another earthquake, severely damaging the mosque. The Fatimid Caliph Ali az-Zahir rebuilt and completely renovated the mosque between 1034 and 1036. The number of naves was drastically reduced from fifteen to seven.Az-Zahir built the four arcades of the central hall and aisle, which presently serve as the foundation of the mosque. The central aisle was double the width of the other aisles and had a large gable roof upon which the dome made of wood was constructed.
Crusaders to Ottoman Empire
Jerusalem was captured by the Crusaders in 1099, during the First Crusade. Instead of destroying the mosque which they called "Solomon's Temple" the Crusaders used it as a royal palace and as a stable for horses. In 1119, it was transformed into the headquarters for the Templar Knights. During this period, the mosque underwent some structural changes, including the expansion of its northern porch, and the addition of an apse and a dividing wall. A new cloister and church were also built at the site, along with various other structures.The Templars constructed vaulted western and eastern annexes to the building; the western currently serves as the women's mosque and the eastern as the Islamic Museum.
After the Ayyubids under the leadership of Saladin reconquered Jerusalem following the siege of 1187, several repairs and renovations were undertaken at Al-Aqsa Mosque. In order to prepare the mosque for Friday prayers, within a week of his capture of Jerusalem Saladin had the toilets and grain stores installed by the Crusaders at Al-Aqsa removed, the floors covered with precious carpets, and its interior scented with rosewater and incense.Saladin's predecessor the Zengid Sultan Nur Al-Din had commissioned the construction of a new minbar or "pulpit" made of ivory and wood in 1168–69, but it was completed after his death; Nur Ad-Din's minbar was added to the mosque in November 1187 by Saladin.The Ayyubid Sultan of Damascus, Al-Mu'azzam, built the northern porch of the mosque with three gates in 1218. In 1345, the Mamluks under Al-Kamil Shaban added two naves and two gates to the mosque's eastern side.
After the Ottomans assumed power in 1517, they did not undertake any major renovations or repairs to the mosque itself, but they did to the Noble Sanctuary as a whole. This included the building of the Fountain of Qasim Pasha (1527), the restoration of the Pool of Raranj, and the building of three free-standing domes the most notable being the Dome of the Prophet built in 1538. All construction was ordered by the Ottoman governors of Jerusalem and not the sultans themselves.The sultans did make additions to existing minarets, however.
20th-century
The first renovation in the 20th-century occurred in 1922, when the Supreme Muslim Council under Amin Al-Husayni (The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem) commissioned Turkish architect Ahmet Kemalettin Bey to restore Al-Aqsa Mosque and the monuments in its precincts. The council also commissioned British architects, Egyptian engineering experts and local officials to contribute to and oversee the repairs and additions which were carried out in 1924–25 by Kemalettin. The renovations included reinforcing the mosque's ancient Ummayad foundations, rectifying the interior columns, replacing the beams, erecting a scaffolding, conserving the arches and drum of the main dome's interior, rebuilding the southern wall, and replacing timber in the central nave with a slab of concrete. The renovations also revealed Fatimid-era mosaics and inscriptions on the interior arches that had been covered with plasterwork. The arches were decorated with gold and green-tinted gypsum and their timber tie beams were replaced with brass. A quarter of the stained glass windows also were carefully renewed so as to preserve their original Abbasid and Fatimid designs.Severe damage was caused by the 1927 and 1937 earthquakes, but the mosque was repaired in 1938 and 1942.
On August 21, 1969, a fire occurred inside Al-Aqsa Mosque that gutted the southeastern wing of the mosque. Among other things, the fire destroyed Saladin's minbar.The fire is started by a tourist from Australia named Denis Michael Rohan. Rohan was a member of an evangelical Christian sect known as the Worldwide Church of God.He hoped that by burning down Al-Aqsa Mosque he would hasten the Second Coming of Jesus, making way for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. Rohan was subsequently hospitalized in a mental institution.In response to the incident, a summit of Islamic countries was held in Rabat that same year, hosted by Faisal I, the late king of Saudi Arabia. The Al-Aqsa fire is regarded as one of the catalysts for the formation of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) in 1972.
In the 1980s, Ben Shoshan and Yehuda Etzion, both members of the Gush Emunim Underground, plotted to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Etzion believed that blowing up the two mosques would cause a spiritual awakening in Israel, and would solve all the problems of the Jewish people. They also hoped the Third Temple of Jerusalem would be built on the location of the mosque.On January 15, 1988, during the First Intifada, Israeli troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters outside the mosque, wounding 40 worshipers.On October 8, 1990, 22 Palestinians were killed and over 100 others injured by Israeli Border Police during protests that were triggered by the announcement of the Temple Mount Faithful, a fringe group of religious Jews, that they were going to lay the cornerstone of the Third Temple.On September 28, 2000, then-Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon and members of the Likud Party, along with 1,000 armed guards, visited the Al-Aqsa compound; a large group of Palestinians went to protest the visit. After Sharon and the Likud Party members left, a demonstration erupted and Palestinians on the grounds of the Haram Al-Sharif began throwing stones and other projectiles at Israeli riot police. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd, injuring 24 people. The visit sparked a five-year uprising by the Palestinians, commonly referred to as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
Dome Of Masjid Al-Aqsa
Unlike the Dome of the Rock, which reflects classical Byzantine architecture, the dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is characteristic of early Islamic architecture.Nothing remains of the original dome built by Abd Al-Malik. The present-day dome was built by Az-Zahir and consists of wood plated with lead enamelwork.In 1969, the dome was reconstructed in concrete and covered with anodized aluminum instead of the original ribbed lead enamel work sheeting. In 1983, the aluminum outer covering was replaced with lead to match the original design by Az-Zahir.
Al-Aqsa's dome is one of the few domes to be built in front of the mihrab during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, the others being the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (715) and the Great Mosque at Sousse (850).The interior of the dome is painted with 14th-century-era decorations. During the 1969 burning, the paintings were assumed to be irreparably lost, but were completely reconstructed using the trateggio technique, a method that uses fine vertical lines to distinguish reconstructed areas from original ones.
Al-Aqsa's dome is one of the few domes to be built in front of the mihrab during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, the others being the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (715) and the Great Mosque at Sousse (850).The interior of the dome is painted with 14th-century-era decorations. During the 1969 burning, the paintings were assumed to be irreparably lost, but were completely reconstructed using the trateggio technique, a method that uses fine vertical lines to distinguish reconstructed areas from original ones.
Minarets Of Masjid Al-Aqsa
Al-Fakhariyya Minaret
The mosque has four minarets on the southern, northern and western sides. The first minaret, known as Al-Fakhariyya Minaret, was built in 1278 on the southwestern corner of the mosque, on the orders of the Mamluk sultan Lajin. It was named after Fakhr Al-Din al-Khalili, the father of Sharif Al-Din Abd al-Rahman who supervised the building's construction. It was built in the traditional Syrian style, with a square-shaped base and shaft, divided by moldings into three floors above which two lines of muqarnas decorate the muezzin's balcony. The niche is surrounded by a square chamber that ends in a lead-covered stone dome.
The second, known as the Ghawanima minaret, was built at the northwestern corner of the Noble Sanctuary in 1297–98 by architect Qadi Sharaf Al-Din Al-Khalili, also on the orders of the Sultan Lajin. Six stories high, it is the tallest minaret of the Noble Sanctuary.The tower is almost entirely made of stone, apart from a timber canopy over the muezzin's balcony. Because of its firm structure, the Ghawanima minaret has been nearly untouched by earthquakes. The minaret is divided into several stories by stone molding and stalactite galleries. The first two stories are wider and form the base of the tower. The additional four stories are surmounted by a cylindrical drum and a bulbous dome. The stairway is externally located on the first two floors, but becomes an internal spiral structure from the third floor until it reaches the muezzin's balcony.
In 1329, Tankiz the Mamluk governor of Syria ordered the construction of a third minaret called the Bab Al-Silsila Minaret located on the western border of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This minaret, possibly replacing an earlier Umayyad minaret, is built in the traditional Syrian square tower type and is made entirely out of stone.Since the 16th-century, it has been tradition that the best muezzin of the adhan (The call to prayer), is assigned to this minaret because the first call to each of the five daily prayers is raised from it, giving the signal for the muezzins of mosques throughout Jerusalem to follow suit.
The last and most notable minaret was built in 1367, and is known as Minarat Al-Asbat. It is composed of a cylindrical stone shaft built later by the Ottomans, which springs up from a rectangular Mamluk built base on top of a triangular transition zone.The shaft narrows above the muezzin's balcony, and is dotted with circular windows, ending with a bulbous dome. The dome was reconstructed after the Jordan Valley earthquake of 1927.
There are no minarets in the eastern portion of the mosque. However, in 2006, King Abdullah II of Jordan announced his intention to build a fifth minaret overlooking the Mount of Olives. The King Hussein Minaret is planned to be the tallest structure in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The second, known as the Ghawanima minaret, was built at the northwestern corner of the Noble Sanctuary in 1297–98 by architect Qadi Sharaf Al-Din Al-Khalili, also on the orders of the Sultan Lajin. Six stories high, it is the tallest minaret of the Noble Sanctuary.The tower is almost entirely made of stone, apart from a timber canopy over the muezzin's balcony. Because of its firm structure, the Ghawanima minaret has been nearly untouched by earthquakes. The minaret is divided into several stories by stone molding and stalactite galleries. The first two stories are wider and form the base of the tower. The additional four stories are surmounted by a cylindrical drum and a bulbous dome. The stairway is externally located on the first two floors, but becomes an internal spiral structure from the third floor until it reaches the muezzin's balcony.
In 1329, Tankiz the Mamluk governor of Syria ordered the construction of a third minaret called the Bab Al-Silsila Minaret located on the western border of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This minaret, possibly replacing an earlier Umayyad minaret, is built in the traditional Syrian square tower type and is made entirely out of stone.Since the 16th-century, it has been tradition that the best muezzin of the adhan (The call to prayer), is assigned to this minaret because the first call to each of the five daily prayers is raised from it, giving the signal for the muezzins of mosques throughout Jerusalem to follow suit.
The last and most notable minaret was built in 1367, and is known as Minarat Al-Asbat. It is composed of a cylindrical stone shaft built later by the Ottomans, which springs up from a rectangular Mamluk built base on top of a triangular transition zone.The shaft narrows above the muezzin's balcony, and is dotted with circular windows, ending with a bulbous dome. The dome was reconstructed after the Jordan Valley earthquake of 1927.
There are no minarets in the eastern portion of the mosque. However, in 2006, King Abdullah II of Jordan announced his intention to build a fifth minaret overlooking the Mount of Olives. The King Hussein Minaret is planned to be the tallest structure in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Interior
Mihrab and Minbar of Al-Aqsa Mosque
The mosque's interior is supported by 45 columns, 33 of which are white marble and 12 of stone.The column rows of the central aisles are heavy and stunted, having a circumference of 9 inches (23 cm) by 3 inches (7.6 cm) and a height of 16 inches (41 cm) by 5 inches (13 cm). The remaining four rows are better proportioned. The capitals of the columns are of four different kinds: those in the central aisle are heavy and primitively designed, while those under the dome are of the Corinthian order,and made from Italian white marble. The capitals in the eastern aisle are of a heavy basket-shaped design and those east and west of the dome are also basket-shaped, but smaller and better proportioned. The columns and piers are connected by an architectural rave, which consists of beams of roughly squared timber enclosed in a wooden casing.
A great portion of the mosque is covered with whitewash, but the drum of the dome and the walls immediately beneath it are decorated with mosaics and marble. Some wretched paintings by an Italian artist were introduced when repairs were undertaken at the mosque after an earthquake ravaged the mosque in 1927.The ceiling of the mosque was painted with funding by King Farouk of Egypt.
The minbar ("Pulpit") of the mosque was built by a craftsman named Akhtarini from Aleppo on the orders of the Zengid Sultan Nur Ad-Din. It was intended to be a gift for the mosque when Nur ad-Din would capture Jerusalem from the Crusaders and took six years to build (1168–74). Nur Ad-Din died and the Crusaders still controlled Jerusalem, but in 1187, Saladin captured the city and the minbar was installed. The structure was made of ivory and carefully crafted wood. Arabic calligraphy, geometrical and floral designs were inscribed in the woodwork.After its destruction by Rohan in 1969, it was replaced by a much simpler minbar. In January 2007, Adnan Al-Husayni head of the Islamic waqf in charge of Al-Aqsa stated that a new minbar would be installed;it was installed in February 2007.The design of the new minbar was drawn by Jamil Badran based on an exact replica of the Saladin Minbar and was finished by Badran within a period of five years.The minbar itself was built in Jordan over a period of four years and the craftsmen used "Ancient woodworking methods, joining the pieces with pegs instead of nails, but employed computer images to design the pulpit [Minbar]."
A great portion of the mosque is covered with whitewash, but the drum of the dome and the walls immediately beneath it are decorated with mosaics and marble. Some wretched paintings by an Italian artist were introduced when repairs were undertaken at the mosque after an earthquake ravaged the mosque in 1927.The ceiling of the mosque was painted with funding by King Farouk of Egypt.
The minbar ("Pulpit") of the mosque was built by a craftsman named Akhtarini from Aleppo on the orders of the Zengid Sultan Nur Ad-Din. It was intended to be a gift for the mosque when Nur ad-Din would capture Jerusalem from the Crusaders and took six years to build (1168–74). Nur Ad-Din died and the Crusaders still controlled Jerusalem, but in 1187, Saladin captured the city and the minbar was installed. The structure was made of ivory and carefully crafted wood. Arabic calligraphy, geometrical and floral designs were inscribed in the woodwork.After its destruction by Rohan in 1969, it was replaced by a much simpler minbar. In January 2007, Adnan Al-Husayni head of the Islamic waqf in charge of Al-Aqsa stated that a new minbar would be installed;it was installed in February 2007.The design of the new minbar was drawn by Jamil Badran based on an exact replica of the Saladin Minbar and was finished by Badran within a period of five years.The minbar itself was built in Jordan over a period of four years and the craftsmen used "Ancient woodworking methods, joining the pieces with pegs instead of nails, but employed computer images to design the pulpit [Minbar]."
Gates Which Leads To Masjid
The Dome of the Rock viewed through the Cotton Merchant's Gate
The Masjid Al-Aqsa, located in Jerusalem, can be accessed through eleven gates, and contains a further seven sealed gates.
Open Gates
Open Gates
- Bab Al-Silsileh\Chain Gate
- Bab Al-Salam\Tranquility Gate
- Bab Al-Matarah\Ablution Gate
- Bab El-Magharbeh\Dung Gate\Moroccans' Gate\Mugrabi Gate\Gate of the Moors
- Cotton Merchant's Gate\Bab Al-Qattanin
- Bab Al-Hadid\Iron Gate
- Bab Al-Majlis\Bab Al-Nazer\Council Gate\Inspector's Gate
- Gate of Bani Ghanim\Bab Al-Ghawanima
- Gate of Darkness\Bab Al-Atim
- Bab Al-Asbat\Bab Sittna Maryam\Lions Gate\St. Stephen's Gate or Sheep Gate\Gate of the Tribes
Sealed gates
The Golden Gate from within the Mount
- Bab Ar-Rahmeh\Golden Gate
- Single Gate
- Bab El-Tawba\Bab Al-Huttah
- Bab Al-Thulathe\Huldah Gates
- Barclay's Gate
- Warren's Gate
