The Real al-Aqsa Mosque in Palestine
Monday, September 3, 2007
Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) which in Arabic we called him as ‘Sulaiman',
built a mosque, a long, long time ago, on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem.
He dedicated it to the worship of Allah s.w.t. the One True God. Like
his father, Prophet David(Dawood in Arabic) (peace be upon him) , he was
a prophet and a messenger, calling all humanity to the worship of Allah
s.w.t. and to establish piety on the earth.
Now, all these years later and its nowadays, there is some confusion
about the site of the real al-Aqsa mosque. In the eastern part of
Jerusalem is the Old city, a quadrangular area built on two hills.
Within the wall there are four quarters. The Muslim quarter, on the
east, contains the Haram al-Sharif, within which are the ‘Dome of the
Rock' and the ‘Mosque of al Aqsa'. Both places are sacred sites for
Muslims. However it is around the Mosque of Al Aqsa that the confusion
lies.
Whenever mention is made in the local or international media pertaining
to Al Aqsa, a picture of the ‘Dome of the rock' will appear. These two
mosques lie within a rather close proximity to each other but they bear
little resemblance. All over the world, we can find pictures of the
‘Dome of the rock' under the heading ‘Al Aqsa' , to the point that
people aren't really sure anymore, which is which.
The difference however, is clear and simple. The ‘Dome of the rock'
bears the sacred rock that Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) stood on
when he went on the ascension to the Sidratul Muntaha, while Al Aqsa
mosque lies on the site of the original mosque of Prophet Solomon (Sulaiman)
(peace be upon him). Islam reveres both Jewish and Christian traditions,
as these two religions belong to its traditions.
Actually Al Aqsa Mosque was the original qiblat (The direction ofMuslim
prayers), which was later changed during the time of Prophet Mohammed
(peace be upon him) to the Ka'ba at Mecca al Mukarramah.
The reason for the deliberate dispersion of false information is also
clear and simple. By focusing attention on the ‘Dome of the rock' under
the label of Al Aqsa, all the Muslim people all over the world will not
know when the real Al Aqsa mosque finally disappears.
http://worldofmuslim.blogspot.com/2007/09/real-al-aqsa-mosque-in-palestine.html
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Bearing in mind that
speculative Masonry dates its origin from the building
of King Solomon's temple by Jewish and Tyrian artisans,
the first important fact that attracts the attention is,
that the operative masons at Jerusalem were engaged in
the construction of an earthly and material temple, to
be dedicated to the service and worship of God--a house
in which Jehovah was to dwell visibly by his Shekinah,
and whence he was, by the Urim and Thummim, to send
forth his oracles for the government and direction of
his chosen people. (The Symbolism of Freemasonry by
Albert G. Mackey) |
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Al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem)
was the first of the two qiblahs (prayer direction), and is one of the
three mosques to which people may travel for the purpose of worship. It
is said that it was built by Sulayman (Solomon, peace be upon him), as
stated in Sunan an-Nasa’i and classed as authentic by al-Albani. And it
is also said that it existed before Sulayman (peace be upon him) and
that Sulayman rebuilt it; this is based on the hadith reported by Al-Bukhari
and Muslim on the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him)
who said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which mosque was built on
earth first?’ He said, ‘Al-Masjid Al-Haram [in Makkah].’ I said, ‘Then
which?’ He said, ‘Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.’ I said, ‘How much time was there
between them?’ He said, ‘Forty years. So wherever you are when the time
for prayer comes, pray, for that is the best thing to do.’”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken on the Night
Journey (isra’) to Bayt Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), where he led the Prophets
in prayer in this blessed mosque. Allah says: “Glory to (Allah) Who did
take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque (Al-Masjid
al-Haram) to the farthest Mosque (Al-Masjid al-Aqsa), whose precincts We
did bless, in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is
the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).” (al-Isra’: 1)
The Dome of the Rock was built by the caliph `Abd Al-Malik ibn Marwan in
72 AH. It is mentioned in Al-Mawsu`ah al-Filastiniyyah (4/203): “The
name Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa was historically applied to the entire sanctuary
(Al-Haram Al-Sharif) and the buildings in it, the most important of
which is the Dome of the Rock which was built by `Abd Al-Malik ibn
Marwan in 72 AH/691 CE, which is regarded as one of the greatest Islamic
historical buildings. But today the name is applied to the great mosque
which is situated in the southern part of the sanctuary plateau.”
It also says in al-Mawsu`ah (3/23): “The Dome of the Rock is situated in
the middle of the plateau of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, which is in the
southeastern part of the city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem). It is a spacious
rectangular plateau which measures 480 meters from north to south, and
300 meters from east to west. This plateau occupies approximately
one-fifth of the area of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The mosque which is the place of prayer is not the Dome of the Rock, but
because pictures of the Dome are so widespread, many Muslims think when
they see it that this is the mosque. This is not in fact the case. The
Mosque is situated in the southern portion of the plateau, and the Dome
is built on the raised rock that is situated in the middle of the
plateau."
We have already seen above that the name of the mosque was historically
applied to the whole plateau. The Muslims’ fondness for the picture of
the Dome may be because of the beauty of this building, but this does
not excuse them from the resulting mistake of not distinguishing between
the Mosque and the buildings that surround it.
This may be
one of the plots and tricks of the Jews in order to give
importance to the Rock so that they can fulfill their desire to build
the so-called Temple of Solomon on the ruins of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.
This
is by making the Muslims think that Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is the Dome of the
Rock, so that if the Jews start to destroy Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and the
Muslims denounce them for that, they will tell them, “Al-Masjid al-Aqsa
is fine,” and will show them a picture of the Dome of the Rock. Thus
they will achieve their aims and be safe from the Muslims’ criticism.
Source:
www.islam-qa.com
Jews Hope for
Return
Even during the Jewish exile extending over
many centuries, the people continually expressed hope for a return to
Jerusalem, for the rebuilding of the city and of the Temple. Two
eighteenth century rabbis, Jacob Emden and Jonathan Eibschutz were
fierce rivals. On the subject of returning to Jerusalem, however they
saw eye to eye. Emden wrote:
We do not mourn properly over Jerusalem. Were
we guilty of this transgression alone, it would be sufficient reason for
the extension of the period of our Exile. In my opinion this is the most
likely, most apparent and the strongest reason for all of the dreadful
terrifying persecutions which have been fallen us in Exile, in all the
places of our dispersion. We have been hotly pursued. We have not been
granted rest among the nations with our humiliation, affliction and
homelessness, because this sense of mourning has left our hearts. While
becoming complacent in a land not ours, we have forgotten Jerusalem; we
have not taken it to heart. Therefore, "Like one who is dead we have
been forgotten," from generation to generation sorrow is added to our
sorrow and our pain.
Eibschutz concurred:
One must weep ceaselessly over the rebuilding
of Jerusalem and the restoration of the glory of King David, for that is
the object of human perfection. If we do not have Jerusalem and the
kingdom of the House of David, why should we have life? . . . Since our
many transgressions have led to the Destruction and to the desolation of
our glorious Temple and the loss of the kingdom of the House of David,
the degree which we suffer the absence and the lack of good is known to
all. Surely have we descended from life until death. And the converse is
also true: "When the Lord restores the captivity of Zion," we shall
ascend from death unto life. Certainly the heart of anyone who possesses
the soul of a Jew is broken when he recalls the destruction of
Jerusalem.
The hope of the Jews in diaspora is that one
day they would again come to their land, rebuild the Holy City, and
their Temple.
Cited by Arthur Herzberg,
editor, Judaism, George Braziller, Inc. New York, 1961, pp.
163-164
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Did you
know?
- 1. That, Masjidul Al Aqsa
was the second Masjid on earth.
- 2. That, it was built 40
years after the Ka’ba in Makkah.
- 3. That, most scholars are
of the opinion that Masjidul Al Aqsa was first built by
Prophet Adam [as].
4. That, Ibrahim [as] rebuilt the Masjidul Al Aqsa in
Jerusalem as he and Ismail [as] rebuilt the Ka’ba in Makkah.
- 5. That, Prophet Daud [as]
began the rebuilding of Masjidul Al Aqsa.
- 6. That, it was Prophet
Sulayman [as] who finally completed the building of Masjidul
Al Aqsa.
- 7. That, Masjidul Al Aqsa
built by Sulayman [as] was destroyed in 587 BC by
Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon.
- 8. That, the Jews call this
same Masjidul Al Aqsa built by Sulayman [as] as their
Temple.
- 9. That, the Jews re-built
their Temple on them same site in 167 BC but was destroyed
in 70 AD and Jews banished from Jerusalem.
- 10. That, the site of Masjidul Al
Aqsa remained barren and was used as a rubbish tip for
nearly 600 years until the Great Khalifah Umar bin Khattab
liberated Jerusalem in 637/8 AD.
- 11. That, the Khalifah Umar bin
Khattab began the foundation of Masjidul Al Aqsa and a
timber mosque was built.
- 12. That, the Umayyad Khalifah,
Abd’ al Malik ibn Marwan in 691/2 [72/73 AH] began the
construction of, Dome of the Rock – today this is the Golden
Domed Mosque.
- 13. That, the al Buraq wall or
Western Wall where Prophet Muhammad [saas] tied his animal
the Buraq on the night journey of al Isra is what the Jews
call the wailing wall.
- 14. That, to Muslims it is the
land or the Haram Sharif area which is most holy and
important.
- 15. That, the Haram area of Al
Aqsa has within it the Masjidul Al Aqsa [Black Domed Mosque]
and Dome of the Rock [the Golden Domed Mosque].
- 16. That, Israel occupied Masjidul
Al Aqsa in 1967.
- 17. That, the fundamentalist Jews
have made 100’s of attempts to destroy Al Aqsa since 1967
when they occupied it. A fire in 1967 started by their help
destroyed the 900 year old Mimbar installed by Slaudeen Ayub,
the Great Muslim Hero.
- 18. That, the fundamentalist want
to blow up and destroy Masjidul Al Aqsa and replace it with
a Jewish Temple.
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Jerusalem committee warns against an Israel plan to
demolish al-Aqsa mosque
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 12/13/2001
The higher
Islamic commission in Jerusalem has warned against the consequences of
the perpetuated Israeli intention against the holy al-Aqsa mosque.
In a memorandum circulated on the Islamic states recently, the
commission explained that the extremist Zionist organization are about
to launch an aggression against al-Aqsa mosque making use of the
prevailing international conditions.
In this respect, the memorandum indicated to what has been published by
the Israeli daily Maareve recently on what was established by rightist
sides in Israel of planning to launch an aggression against al-Aqsa
mosque by exploding the mosque through a plane loaded by bombs.
The memorandum said quoting the Israeli paper as saying that the Israeli
police received a message from an extremist Israeli in which he
explained he will blow off a plane loaded by explosives over al-Aqsa
mosque.
The commission called on the Arab and islamic states to take the Israeli
threats seriously and to launch an intensive political and diplomatic
campaign to foil the perpetuated Israeli aggressive schemes against al-Aqsa
mosque.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/011213/2001121319.html
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