Al-Aqṣā is the blessed land from which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began his ascent to the heavens. It was our first qiblah and the home of many Prophets. It is a place where revelation descended, momentous events will unfold at the end of time, and humanity will be resurrected.
1. The Blessed Land: Sanctified in the Qur’an
The importance of al-Masjid al-Aqṣā is mentioned in the first āyah of Sūrah al-Isrā’:
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِيْ أَسْرٰى بِعَبْدِه لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِيْ بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهٗ لِنُرِيَهٗ مِنْ اٰيَاتِنَا ، إِنَّهٗ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِير
“Glory be to the One Who took His servant [Muḥammad ﷺ] by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He Alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing” (17:1).
From this āyah, we learn that:
- Allah ﷻ chose al-Masjid al-Aqṣā as the place where the Prophet ﷺ was taken on the blessed Night Journey.
- The masjid and its surroundings are blessed.
Even if this āyah were the only virtue mentioned about Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), it would be sufficient, for it encompasses all blessings. It is the place of divine signs, the abode of blessings, and the gathering place of purified souls.
Imām al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahullāh) said: “Regarding the statement ‘whose surroundings We have blessed’, Allah ﷻ means: He has made blessings abound around it for its inhabitants, in their livelihoods, sustenance, crops, and plantations.”
Allah ﷻ also mentions in the story of Prophets Ibrāhīm and Lūṭ (ʿalayhimas-salām):
وَنَجَّيْنَـٰهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِى بَـٰرَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
“And We rescued him and Lūṭ towards the land we blessed for all the worlds” (21:71).
And He says:
وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ ٱلْقُرَى ٱلَّتِى بَـٰرَكْنَا فِيهَا
“We had also placed between them and the towns We showered with blessings…” (34:18)
This refers to the blessed towns of al-Shām, which include and extend beyond the Holy Land.
Furthermore, Allah commanded the Banū Isrā’īl:
يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْأَرْضَ ٱلْمُقَدَّسَةَ ٱلَّتِى كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ
“O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has destined for you…” (5:21).
Shaykh al-Saʿdī (raḥimahullāh) explains that al-Shām holds special blessings: many Prophets lived there, Allah chose it as the land where His close friend Ibrāhīm (AS) migrated, and it contains one of His three sacred houses: Bayt al-Maqdis.
Bayt al-Maqdis is not an ordinary place on earth, but rather a sacred land, sanctified since ancient times. Numerous historical sources testify to this reality, which is why it has always held a lofty and unique status. Many Prophets, Messengers, and righteous servants passed through it and resided there, and countless others longed to live in it or even be buried in its soil.
Bayt al-Maqdis was also honoured by the residence of many noble Companions, some of whom explicitly requested to be buried in its earth. Among them were ʿUbādah b. al-Ṣāmit, Abū Rayḥānah al-Azdī, Fayrūz al-Daylamī, Shaddād b. Aws, Masʿūd al-Anṣārī, and Salām b. Qays al-Ḥaḍramī (radiy Allāhu ʿanhum).
In addition, many of the great Companions passed through Bayt al-Maqdis, including ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, Abū ʿUbaydah b. al-Jarrāḥ, ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ, Khālid b. al-Walīd, Muʿāwiyah b. Abī Sufyān, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf, Bilāl b. Rabāḥ, and the Mother of the Believers Ṣafiyyah (radiy Allāhu ʿanhum). All of them were keen to attain the reward of praying in al-Aqṣā and to walk upon its pure and blessed land.
Likewise, Bayt al-Maqdis was honoured by the presence of many devout worshippers, ascetics, and leading figures from the Tābiʿīn, such as ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and Mālik b. Dīnār, further affirming its enduring role as a centre of faith, devotion, and spiritual purity.
2. The Station of al-Isra & al-Miʿraj
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When the people of Quraysh did not believe (that I was taken on the Night Journey), I stood in the Ḥijr and Allah displayed Bayt al-Maqdis in front of me, and I began describing its features to them while I was looking at it” (Bukhārī).
3. The Place Where the Prophet ﷺ Led the Other Prophets in Salah
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The Burāq was brought for me: a tall white beast, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule. It could place its hooves at the farthest boundary of its gaze. I mounted it until I arrived at Bayt al-Maqdis. I tied it to the ring where the Prophets would tie their mounts (i.e. the Burāq Wall or Western Wall). I then entered the masjid and prayed two rakʿahs there, and then left” (Muslim).
In another ḥadīth, he ﷺ said: “I saw myself among a group of the Prophets. Mūsā (ʿalayhis-salām) was standing in prayer: a well-built man with curly hair, as though he were from the men of Shanū’ah. ʿĪsā the son of Maryam (ʿalayhis-salām) was standing in prayer, and the person who most closely resembled him was ʿUrwah b. Masʿūd al-Thaqafī. Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhis-salām)was also standing in prayer, and the one who most closely resembled him was your companion” [meaning himself]. The time for prayer came, so I led them in prayer” (Muslim).
The Prophet’s ﷺ leading of the other Prophets in prayer on the Night of al-Isrāʾ and al-Miʿrāj is a clear indication that the final identity of al-Masjid al-Aqṣā is Islamic. Through this event, the connection of al-Masjid al-Aqṣā became firmly established with the Muslim Ummah, whose Messenger ﷺ led all the Prophets in that sacred place.
Moreover, the fact that the ascension of the Prophet ﷺ to the highest heavens was linked to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā is a powerful proof of the great status of this blessed sanctuary in the sight of Allah, and of its lofty rank with the Prophet ﷺ and his Ummah.
4. The First Qiblah
Al-Barā’ (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrated: “We prayed along with the Prophet ﷺ facing Bayt al-Maqdis for 16 or 17 months. Then Allah ordered him to turn his face towards the Kaʿbah” (Bukhārī).
5. One of the Three Masjids to Visit
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “A journey should not be undertaken except to three Masjids: al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, the Masjid of the Messenger ﷺ, and al-Masjid al-Aqṣā” (Bukhārī).
6. Prayer in al-Aqsa: A Means of Forgiveness
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When Sulaymān the son of Dāwūd (ʿalayhimas-salām) finished building Bayt al-Maqdis, he asked Allah for three things:
- Judgement that was in harmony with His Judgement;
- A kingdom that no one after him would have;
- And that no one will come to this Masjid, intending only to pray, except that they will leave free of sin like the day their mother gave birth to them.
The Messenger ﷺ said: “As for the first two requests, he was granted them; and I hope that he was granted the third request too” (Ibn Mājah).
7. One Salah in al-Aqsa = Reward of 500 Salahs
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The virtue of ṣalāh in al-Masjid al-Ḥarām is a hundred thousand times greater than elsewhere. In my Masjid, it is a thousand times greater. And in al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, it is five hundred times greater” (Bayhaqī).
