Al_Aqsa is Not a Masjid

  Al-Aqsa is NOT a Masjid

      (By Sahil Sharifdin English)

 Al-Aqsa is not just a Masjid but a group of Masjids built in a compound of 35 acres . The whole compound and all the holy structures inside it are dearest to Muslims after the holy kaba and Madina . The Al-Aqsa compound is located upon a small hill or mount called The Temple Mount by some historians . The Al-Aqsa compound is known by a few other names : The Noble Sanctuary, Haram-sharif , Al-Qudus , the mount of God etc .

For Muslims, the Noble Compound hosts Islam’s third holiest site, the al-Qibli Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, a seventh-century structure believed to be the place from where the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ascended to heavens to perform Miraa'j and a few other holy structures built inside it . 

Some Jews believe the compound is where the Biblical Jewish temples once stood, but Jewish law and the Israeli Rabbinate forbid Jews from entering the compound and praying there, as it is considered too holy to tread upon. They are supposed to worship the western wall of the Al-Aqsa compound externally , not internally. If they worship it internally , they are committing an unforgivable sin according to their religious laws and a heinous crime according to their Constitutional laws . 

The compound’s Western Wall, known as the Wailing Wall to Jews, is believed to be the last remnant of the Second Temple of Jews demolished by Romans in 70 CE [[ Mind it, the First Temple of Jews was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587–586 BC, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and the jews are now planning to build their third Temple ]] Nevertheless, the Muslims refer to the same western wall as al-Buraq Wall , they have built a Masjid next to it which is known as Masjid Al-Buraq because they vehemently believe that it is the site where the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ tied al-Buraq, the animal upon which he ascended to the sky and spoke to God during the night of Miraa'j. 

More About The First , the Second and The Third Temples of Jews 

The third Temple is also called Haikal-e-Sulemani  . The construction of Haikal was initiated by Hazrat Dawood (PBUH), but he could not complete it during his rule . Its construction was completed in the era of the prophet Suleiman (PBUH). That’s why it is named as Haikal E Suleimani . Remember, the prophet Dawood [ PBUH] was the father of the prophet Suleiman [PBUH] and the first temple [ Haikal e Suleimani ] was constructed with the help of Jinns . The Haikal was simply a house for the worship of God. Tabut E Sakina , a gift of God to the prophet Aadam [ PBUH] and inherited finally by the prophet Suleiman [ PBUH ] was also placed in the building of Haikal E Sulemani, and the Israelis/Jews worshiped Allah, turning their faces towards the Haikal .

The First Temple of Jews was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587–586 BC and they probably took away the Tabut-E-Sakina with them . The Second Temple was built When the Persians defeated the Babylonians in 539 BCE and asked the Jews to practise their religion happily . Unfortunately, the second temple was also destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and the Jews fled to a number of foreign countries to save their lives . Now, after almost two thousand years, the Jews returned from the foreign countries [[ mostly out of the fear of Adolf Hitler ]] and took illegally the land of Palestinian people and are planning to build their third Temple or third Haikal-e-Suleman in the Al-Aqsa compound. When Palestinians protest , they are labelled as terrorists and bombarded . The United Nations know all the truth but they keep this conflict hanging for their vested interests. 

As said earlier, the Jewish religious laws do not allow any Jew to enter the Al-Aqsa compound or build anything there . But , some movements have been launched by some fanatic Jews [ such as the Temple Mount Faithful and the Temple Institute ] to challenge

 the Israeli government’s ban on allowing Jews to enter the Al-Aqsa compound and they aim to rebuild the Third Jewish Temple [Haikal-e-Sulemani ] inside the Al-Aqsa compound. The problem is often created by these small number of fanatics among Jews . 

Over the few years, Israeli forces routinely allow groups, some in the hundreds, of Jewish settlers who live in occupied Palestinian territories to descend on the al-Aqsa compound under police and army protection, stirring Palestinian fears of an Israeli takeover of the Al-Aqsa compound.

Most clashes in the same compound have occurred because of Israeli settlers trying to pray within the Al-Aqsa compound, which directly violates their religious laws as well as their constitutional laws . They are bent upon demolishing all the Masjids of muslims inside the Al-Aqsa compound and building a Jewish temple [ The third Temple ] there . Obviously, the Muslims of Palestine will not let that happen as long as they are alive . 

Though the Al-Aqsa compound and whatever it contains are significant for Muslims especially, however, sometimes Palestinian Christians also join Muslims in protest against Israeli encroachment on the Al-Aqsa compound. 

The list of Masjids and shrines inside the Al-Aqsa compound: 

1] MUSALLAH AL MARWANI

It was built by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the 5th Umayyad Caliph. It is also known as the Eastern Basement. This is a massive subterranean [underground] hall located in the south-eastern corner of the Al Aqsa Compound. It extends over four and a half acres of the land and can cater for approximately 6000 worshippers at once. It can be accessed using a stone staircase that is connected to two huge gates . The same staircase is situated to the northeast of the Al-Qibli Masjid. This area is mistakenly sometimes called ‘Solomon’s Stables’. 

2] Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra [[Dome of the rock ]]

The Dome of the Rock (قبة الصخرة‎ Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra) is a shrine-cum-Masjid located inside the Al-Aqsa compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially completed in 691–92 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph , Abd al-Malik . The original dome collapsed in 1015 CE and was rebuilt in 1022–23 CE. The Dome of the Rock is in its core one of the oldest extant works of Islamic architecture. 

3] Al Buraq Masjid

The al-Buraq Mosque ( مَسْجِدُ ٱلْبُرَاق‎, //Masjid al-Burāq) is a subterranean [underground] mosque next to the Western Wall, located in the southwest corner of the Al-aqsa compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. This mosque is called al-Buraq Mosque because of a ring that is nailed to its wall where Muslims believe that Muhammad ﷺ tied the Buraq , an animal that carried him from the al-Haram Mosque to the al-Aqsa compound during the Night Journey called Miraa'j. 

4] Masjid Al Qibli 

Al-Qibli Mosque is one of the mosques within Al-Aqsa compound. It is situated between Al Buraq Masjid and MUSALLAH AL MARWANI . It is often mistakenly referred to as Al-Aqsa Mosque or Al-aqsa Masjid

Al-Aqsa, as mentioned again and again in this article as well as in the Holy Quran, refers to the entire plaza in Jerusalem with its mosques, arenas, gates, fountains, minarets and many other religious and historic landmarks. The plaza is a total area of 35 acres and it makes up the Holy Haram “Al-Haram Al-Sharief” . 

To conclude, it is not the four walls and the roof a building that Muslims refer to as a Masjid, rather , it is the ground that Muslims hold dearest and refer to as a Masjid. According to a Hadith , the whole earth is a Masjid for muslims and they are allowed to pray anywhere they like . The walls and roof are not needed to call a place a Masjid . The walls , the roof or the on-ground structures are changed from time to time but the ground must remain the same . That is why, the Al-Aqsa compound as a whole is regarded holy and sacred by muslims . It is this piece of land that is referred to as MUSJID UL AQSA in the holy Quran and it is the same piece of land for which muslims are obliged to sacrifice their wives , kids , homes , themselves and everything in order to protect it . No power on the earth can snatch it from the hands of muslims unless every muslim breathing on the face of the earth is martyred first . The international community must take the cognizance of the gravity of the conflict and solve it as early as possible before it makes things worse for every inhabitant of the planet earth . 

Let the peace , love , harmony and communal unity prevail . Let the miscreants return to the right track . Let the truth win . 

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References/bibliography

1] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2017/12/6/al-aqsa-mosque-five-things-you-need-to-know 

2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock 

3] Jerusalem : A religious history by iqrasense  

4] https://islamicmedium.net/2020/07/17/planning-for-haikal-e-sulemani-construction-in-place-of-masjid-al-aqsa/

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This research was done by SAHIL Sharifdin English who teaches Ëñglísh language and literature but is interested in other disciplines as well . He is a peacemaker. He works for local , national and international peace . 

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©️ Disclaimer 👇

A related video whose credit goes to the YouTube channel  ''Dekho , suno Jano ''  by Faisal Warriach 👇 

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      Some Facts AND statistics 👇

  

1] wars and Battles 

The long war on Al-aqsa Masjid ?

Total big battles fought between Israel and Palestine from 14th May, 1948 TO 15th May, 2021 = 18 

Total Palestinian deaths = 65, 954

Total Israeli deaths = 16, 590

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Palestine-Israel battle 2014 

  Duration= 50 days 

 Israeli deaths= 72

Palestinian deaths = 2104 

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Palestine-israel battle 2021 

Duration = data of First 11 days 

Palestinian deaths = 232

Israeli deaths = 12 

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No need to panic . Pray for Palestinian army . Insh-Allah, we will solve this Al-aqsa Masjid issue very soon . The nation of Mohammed ﷺ is gathering under the leadership of Tayyip Erdogan and Imran khan.  May Allah send His help to us ! 

2] The Reason of Weaknesses

The main reason of the weaknesses of Muslims is LACK OF EDUCATION. They don't study seriously . According to a research done by me recently , ''For every Jew , there are 1285 Muslims in the world. Yet, some 14 million Jews are more powerful than 1,800 million Muslims. '' The reason is as I said above  Muslims, as a community, have  preferred CASH 💰 and SLEEP 🛌  to BOOKS 📚.  They are divided because of their ignorance and the lack of knowledge.  Yes, knowledge is power and  Muslims need to acknowledge this fact as soon as possible.  

[The data was collected  from different websites and it is based upon the censuses and surveys done in 2020 and before ] 

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