User talk:Onceinawhile/MAA

List of notable historical (pre-modern) references to the name Masjid Al Aqsa (ٱلْمَسْجِد ٱلْأَقْصَىٰ) or the Masjid of Jerusalem. The list is not exhaustive. Please add to the list:

Masjid Al Aqsa, without location specified

 * Quran Surah 17:1 "Praise be unto Him who transported His servant by night from El Masjid el Haram to El Masjid el Aksa, the precincts of which we have blessed"
 * Abu Hurairah (hadith): “Do not undertake a journey to visit any Mosque, but three: this Mosque of mine, the Mosque of al-Haram and the Mosque of Aqsa”
 * Abu Darda (hadith): “A prayer in Makkah (Ka’bah) is worth 10,000 times (reward), a prayer in my Masjid (Madinah) is worth 1,000 times, and a prayer in Al-Aqsa Sanctuary is worth 500 times more reward than anywhere else”
 * Anas ibn Malik (hadith): “A man’s prayer in his house is equal (in reward) to 1 prayer; his prayer in the mosque of the tribes is equal to 25 prayers; his prayer in the mosque in which Friday prayer is offered is equal to 500 prayers; his prayer in Aqsa Mosque is equal to 50,000 prayers; his prayer in my mosque is equal to 50,000 prayers; and his prayer in the Sacred Mosque is equal to 100,000 prayers.”
 * Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (hadith): “O Messenger of Allah, which mosque was first built on the surface of the earth?” He said, “Al- Masjid-ul-Haram.” I said, “Which was built next?” He replied “The mosque of Al-Aqsa.” I said, “What was the period of construction between the two?” He said, “Forty years.” He added, “Wherever the prayer time becomes due, perform the prayer there, for the best thing is to do so ”
 * Umm Salama (hadith): “If anyone puts on Ihram for Hajj or Umrah from Masjid Al-Aqsa and then proceeds to the Sacred Masjid (Ka’bah), his past and future sins will be forgiven, or he will be guaranteed Paradise”.

early Islamic period (620s-685)
Umar's visit to Jerusalem was recounted by Al-Tabari:
 * Al-Tabari: "proceeded to enter the Mosque... he stood at the door of the Mosque"; Mourad notes there were no buildings in the area at this time.

At an unknown time after the Muslim conquest of 635, the first place of Muslim congregational prayer was built. The exact location of the original covered mosque built at the time of Umar is unknown. Some scholars have assumed a location on the south side of the platform, but no evidence supports this claim.

The main sources of this period are reports of Christian pilgrims - Arculf (c.680) - the only one in this period to refer to Islamic Jerusalem.

Marwanid period (685-813)
The Marwinid period starts with the rebuilding of the area of the former Temple by ‘Abd al-Malik in 685. The most important sources from the period are the inscriptions on the buildings, sometimes extant, and sometimes known only through historical writings. Some contemporary sources exist in later collections by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Wasiti and Ibn al-Muraggà, which, for example, often rely on Muqatil ibn Sulayman's tafsir.

High Abbasid period (813-969)
The High Abbasid period begins with the end of the civil war. The main sources of the period are the works of the Muslim geographers: Istakhri (9th century), Ibn al-Faqih (902), Al-Maqdisi (985), and Ibn Hawqal (c.988).
 * c.988: Ibn Hawqal: "In Jerusalem, there is a mosque that has no equal in size anywhere else in the realm of Islam. On its southern side, in the western corner of the mosque, there is a roofed structure that extends half the width of the mosque. The rest of the mosque is not built, except for another structure atop the Rock, where that elevated stone sits like a solid mass. It is massively huge, and its surface is uneven. Above the Rock is a high and rounded dome coated with a thick cover of lead. Underneath this dome, there is this Rock whose height from the floor reaches up to a standing person’s chest; it is known as the Rock of Moses. Its length and width are almost equal. Around it, there is a stone barrier that reaches to a person’s waist; its radius measures in the teens of yards. One can descend into this Rock through a narrow opening that leads to a cave measuring around 5 by 10 yards. The ceiling is not high and the surface is neither round nor square, but one can stand comfortably in it."

Fatimid period (969-1099)
During the Fatimid period, the covered mosque was rebuilt. The main source of this period is Nasir Khusraw.
 * c.985: Al-Maqdisi. Le Strange writes: "Mukaddasi invariably speaks of the whole Haram Area as Al Masjid, or as Al Masjid al Aksî, “the Akså Mosque,” or “the mosque," while the Main-building of the mosque, at the south end of the Haram Area, which we generally term the Aksa, he refers to as Al Mughattâ, “the Covered-part.” Thus he writes "the mosque is entered by thirteen gates," meaning the gates of the Haram Area. So also "on the right of the court,” means along the west wall of the Haram Area; "on the left side” means the east wall; and “at the back” denotes the northern boundary wall of the Haram Area."


 * 1040s: Nasir Khusraw. Le Strange writes: "Nasir-i-Khusrau, who wrote in Persian, uses for the Main-building of the Aksâ Mosque the Persian word Pushish, that is, “Covered part,” which exactly translates the Arabic Al Mughatta. On some occasions, however, the Akså Mosque (as we call it) is spoken of by Näsir as the Maksurah, a term used especially to denote the railed-off oratory of the Sultan, facing the Mihrâb, and hence in an extended sense applied to the building which includes the same. The great Court of the Haram Area, Nâsir always speaks of as the Masjid, or the Masjid al Akså, or again as the Friday Mosque (Masjid-i-Jum'ah)."

Crusader period

 * c.1150: Ibn Asakir: al-Mustaqsa fi fada'il al-masjid al-aqsa (The Exhaustive Treatise on the Merits of the Aqsa Sanctuary)


 * 1150s: Muhammad al-Idrisi: "Under Muslim rule it was enlarged, and it is (today) the great mosque known by Muslims as Mesdjid el-Acsa مسجد الأقصى. There is none in the world that equals it in size, if we except, however, the great mosque of Cordoba in Andalusia; because, according to what is reported, the roof of this mosque is larger than that of the Mesdjid el-Acsa. Moreover, the area of ​​the latter forms a parallelogram, the height of which is two hundred fathoms (ba'a), and the base of one hundred and eighty. Half of this space, that which is close to the Mihrab, is covered with a stone roof (or rather a dome) supported by several rows of columns; the other is in the open. At the center of the building is a large dome known as the Dome of the Rock; it was decorated with arabesques in gold and other fine works, by the care of various Mussulman caliphs. The dome is pierced by four doors; opposite that which is to the west, we see the altar on which the children of Israel offered their sacrifices; near the eastern door is the church called the holy of holies, of an elegant construction; to the south is a chapel which was for the use of the Mussulmans; but the Christians seized it by force and it remained in their power until the time of the composition of the present work. They converted this chapel into a convent where religious of the order of the Templars, that is to say servants of the house of God, reside." Also at

Mamluk period

 * Ibn Battuta: "وهو من المساجد العجيبة الرائقة الفائقة الحسن، يقال: إنه لا يوجد على وجه الأرض مسجد أكبر منه، وإن طوله من شرق إلى غربي سبعمائة واثنتان وخمسون ذراعا بالذراع المالكية وعرضه من القبلة إلى الجوف أربعمائة ذراع وخمس وثلاثون ذراعا في جهاته الثلاث، وأماالجهة القبلية منه فلا علم بها إلا بابا واحخدا، وهو الذي يدخل منه الإمام، والمسجد كله فضاء وغير مسقف في النهاية من إحكام الفعل وإتقان الصنعة مموه لبالذهب والأصبغة الرائقة، وفي المسجد مواضع سواه مسقفة"
 * Ibn Taymiyyah: "فالمسجد الأقصى اسم لجميع المسجد الذي بناه سليمان عليه السلام, وقد صار بعض الناس يسمي الأقصى؛ المصلى الذي بناه عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه مقدمه، والصلاة في هذا المصلى بناه عمر للمسلمين أفضل من الصلاة في سائر المسجد، فان عمر بن الخطاب لما فتح بيت المقدس وكان على الصخرة زبالة عظيمة، لأن النصارى كانوا يقصدون إهانتها مقابلة لليهود الذين يصلون إليها، فأمر عمر رضي الله عنه بازالة النجاسة عنها، وقال لكعب الأحبار أين ترى أن نبني مصلى للمسلمين؟ فقال خلف الصخرة . فقال يا ابن اليهودية خالطتك اليهودية، بل أبنيه أمامها فإنّ لنا صدور المساجد ،"
 * c.1495: Mujir al-Din: "I have at the commencement called attention to the fact that the place now called by the name Aksa (i. e. the most distant), is the Mosk [Jamia] properly so called, at the southern extremity of the area, where is the Minbar and the great Mihrab. But in fact Aksa is the name of the whole area enclosed within the walls, the dimensions of which I have just given, for the Mosk proper [Jamia], the Dome of the Rock, the Cloisters, and other buildings, are all of late construction, and Mesjid el-Aksa is the correct name of the whole area."

Ottoman period

 * c.1650: Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatnâme: