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This was a difficult time in the life of Prophet Muhammad,
and this journey was a great compliment to him. The deliverance of the
message was entering a new phase, and the establishment of the Muslim nation
was about to begin. Prophet Muhammad was feeling overwhelmed and alone.
The vast majority of Meccans had refused to heed his call or accept his
message. Both his beloved uncle and cherished wife had died, and this
gift of God offered him support and opened his eyes to the signs and wonders of
the universe. After travelling the enormous distance to Jerusalem on the back of al-Buraq, Prophet
Muhammad reached the area known as Masjid al-Aqsa. He dismounted and tethered
al-Buraq to a ring in the gate.
Another Miracle Occurs
Prophet Muhammad walked into the Masjid – the place of
prostration - to be met by a group of the previous Prophets; he then had the
great honour of leading them in prayer. God rewarded His Messenger and
caused him to understand that the Prophets before him also went through
difficult times preaching to their people. They stood behind Prophet
Muhammad and acknowledged him as their leader. This was another
indication of his importance and excellence as well as the nature of his
message.
Before the advent of Prophet Muhammad, all the Prophets
delivered their message of submission to One God to their own people; Muhammad,
however, had come for all of mankind. God refers to him as a mercy.
God says in Quran:
“He listens to what is best for you; he believes in God; has
faith in the believers; and is a mercy to those of you who believe.” (Quran
9:61)
The message was international, and this communication
distributed worldwide was Islam. The Prophets of God stood behind the
newest and final Messenger of God and supported him when his need was
greatest. Prophet Muhammad mentions in his sayings that all of the
Prophets are brothers.[1] This
congregation standing behind Prophet Muhammad was a sign of real and
everlasting brotherhood.
The Significance of Al-Aqsa
The fact that this momentous occasion took place in Jerusalem is also of
significance. This is the land of the Prophets of God; this is the land of Abraham Mecca
and Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem .
God was also linking the so-called cradle of religion, the Holy
Land around Jerusalem , with the land of Arabia
God established Al-Aqsa as one of the three Holy Masjids in
Islam. The Holy Masjid in Mecca , the
Prophet Muhammad’s Masjid, yet to be established in Medina ,
and this Masjid in this blessed neighbourhood of Jerusalem . It is only to these three
Masjids to which Muslims can travel for the purpose of worship.[2]
One prayer in Masjid Al-Aqsa is worth 250 prayers elsewhere, excluding the
Prophet’s Masjid where one prayer is the equivalent of 1,000 prayers and the
Holy Masjid in Mecca
where one prayer contains the reward of 100,000 prayers.[3] God
emphasized the significance and sacredness of Masjid Al-Aqsa, and for this
reason it plays an important role in a Muslim’s life. Therefore it
is guarded and protected zealously.
Al-Aqsa was the first qiblah (the direction in
which a Muslim turns to pray) in Islam, but this direction was later changed to
Holy Masjid in Mecca .
Establishing the exact date for this change is difficult, but from the
evidence, we can discover approximately when this occurred because the mission
of Prophet Muhammad is divided into two distinct periods. The Meccan
period, defined by calling the people to the religion of Islam, and the Medinan
period, defined by the establishment of the Muslim state. Prophet
Muhammad and the majority of his followers migrated to the city of Medina in the 14th year
of Prophethood.
The Night Journey and Ascension took place late in the
Meccan period, while the qiblah changed to Mecca
around 15 months after the Prophet’s migration to Medina . From this, we can infer that
the Muslims faced Al-Aqsa when praying for approximately three years before God
changed the direction to Mecca .
This by no means diminished the significance of Jerusalem or Masjid Al-Aqsa, it merely
represented another step in the establishment of the message for all of
humanity. The Holy Masjid in Mecca
was fixed as the central point in Islam.
The Journey and Miracle Continues
While still in the sacred precincts of Masjid Al-Aqsa, the
Angel Gabriel presented Prophet Muhammad with two cups. One was filled
with milk, the other with wine, and both offered to the Prophet. Prophet
Muhammad chose and drank the milk. Angel Gabriel then said to him “Thanks
be to God, who guided you to thefitrah; if you had taken the wine, your
followers would have gone astray”.[4]
It is difficult to translate the Arabic word fitrah into English; it
denotes the natural and pure state in which one is born, an innate feeling that
guides one to do the “right” thing. Prophet Muhammad instinctively chose
right over wrong, good over evil, and the Straight Path rather than the crooked
path to Hell.
It was from the Holy city of Jerusalem , in the sacred precincts of Masjid
Al-Aqsa[5] that Prophet Muhammad commenced
the next stage of his miraculous Night Journey. Prophet Muhammad ascended
to the lowest heaven from a rock. This rock can be found inside the Dome
of the Rock, the most famous symbol of Jerusalem .
It should not be confused with the actual Masjid building, which is on the
other side of the Al-Aqsa compound. The entire precinct is the masjid,
but many separate buildings exist there. It is important to remember that
although the Dome of the Rock is inside the Masjid compound, it is not Masjid
Al-Aqsa and it is not the place of prostration where Prophet Muhammad led the
previous Prophets in prayer. From the rock, now covered by the familiar
golden dome, Prophet Muhammad ascended to the lowest heaven in the company of Angel
Gabriel.
Footnotes:
[1] Saheeh
Al-Bukhari
[2] Saheeh
Al-Bukhari and Muslim
[3] Saheeh
al-Hakim
[4] Saheeh
Bukhari
[5] The
compound is also known as “Temple
Mount
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