Page 76 - Seekers Guide Book

Islam and the Quran
Aqsa did not have any physical existence at the time
of the Prophet. In the verse quoted above, ‘Masjid al-
Haram’ is a proper noun and refers to the Kabah in
Makkah, while ‘masjid al-aqsa’ is only used as an adverb.
The literal meaning of the term ‘masjid al-aqsa’ in this
verse is ‘a far-off masjid’ (‘far’, because it was far from
Makkah – the place from where the Prophet started
his night journey). This far-off masjid was the sight at
Jerusalem where the Prophet was taken during his night
journey and is said to have prayed. So, the place where
he prayed was just a space and had no physical building
in the form of a mosque. This is why the term ‘masjid
al-aqsa’ in the above verse is not a proper noun, referring
to a physical mosque which existed when the Prophet
went there, rather, it means a far-off place (which was
Jerusalem) where the Prophet prayed.

It was only later on, after the death of the Prophet, that
Muslims constructed a physical mosque at this sight in
Jerusalem where the Prophet had prayed during his night
journey. After construction, Muslims gave it the name
‘Masjid Al-Aqsa’. Thus, the accurate translation of the
verse would be:

Holy is He who took His servant by night
from al-Masjid al-Haram to a far-off
masjid.

The above verse just refers to a far-off place where the
Prophet prayed during his night journey, it does not refer
to the particular physical structure of the mosque that
presently exists in Jerusalem. God has bestowed no duty
to Muslims towards the present Masjid Al-Aqsa.

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