Addendum to Al-Isra and the “Temple” in the Islamic Sources: A Response to Sam Shamoun

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم

“Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”

– The Quran, Surah Al-Isra, 17:1

            Sam “the Scam” Shamoun has been foaming at the mouth since we last met him on the subject of Al-Isra and the “temple”. In our last series, we saw Shamoun crash and burn on his laughable claim that a masjid can only be a physical building, and that the Quran’s reference to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in Surah 17 must have been the temple, instead of the entire Temple Mount site.[1] After being refuted, Shamoun made excuses that he does not have the time to write articles, and instead “challenged” me to a debate, which I turned down.[2] Well, after a nearly 6-month hibernation, Shamoun came back and gave me a week (as of 01/09/20)[3] to accept yet another “challenge” to a debate before he goes “public” again (which he did as of 03/18/20). Needless to say, I will not be accepting this “challenge” because I prefer written correspondence. As I have said to Shamoun in the past:

“The pen is mightier than the loudmouth.”

Instead, I decided to annoy Shamoun even more by embarrassing him with more scholarly references to finish off his pathetic argument once and for all.[4] It should be noted that this Addendum is purely for fun, as I smashed Shamoun’s argument in the last 3-part series.

            Readers of the last series may remember the following table:

A masjid does not have to be a building/Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa refers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem/Al-Masjid Al-Haram refers to the Kaaba and the land around it		A masjid can only be a building/Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and Al-Masjid Al-Haram refer to physical buildings (i.e., the temple and the Kaaba, respectively)
Muslim scholars	Non-Muslim scholars/sources	Muslim scholars	Non-Muslim scholars	Other
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Hatem Bazian Ibn Kathir Ibn Taymiyyah Ismail Patel Khalid El-Awaisi Mohamad Rasdi Muhammad Asad Mujir Al-Din Al-Hanbali Mustafa Abu Sway Yehia Wazery Yusuf Ali	Aaron W. Hughes Edward Lane Jonathan Bloom Robert Hillenbrand Sheila Blair Uri Rubin Encyclopedia Britannica	None	None	Sam Shamoun

In this article, I will be expanding this one-sided table to further demonstrate that Shamoun is utterly lost. The man is a loser, pure and simple. His pride and ego will no doubt keep him from admitting the facts and he will probably continue with his tirades until the last hour arrives. Nevertheless, by the end of this article, the table above will be even more one-sided, insha’Allah.

The Additional Evidence

            So, let us begin this fun exercise in demolition. Regarding the Arabic term masjid and the Muslim belief in the whole earth being a “masjid”, Islamic scholar Basit Kareem Iqbal states (emphasis ours):

“Salah, that is, does not require a sanctuary constructed specifically for the purpose of worship, as was required of other nations, and water ablutions may be replaced if circumstances so dictate.”[5]

Furthermore, he explains the difference between masjid and musalla as follows:

“Musalla’ appears in the Qur’ān once (2:125), and denotes simply a place in which prayers are performed. ‘Masjid’, on the other hand, linguistically denotes the place of sujud, which is a part of the prayer.”[6]

Malaysian Muslim scholars Harlina Sharif, Jamilah Othman, Khalruddin Abdul Rashid, and Azila Ahmad Sarkawi reiterate this as well, while citing classical scholars (emphasis ours):

“The word masjid, thus, designates the place or the utility that facilitates for prostration to be performed (Ibn Manzur, III, 1941; Al-Zarkashy, 1384H, pp. 26-8). Based on the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w): ‘The whole earth is made a masjid for me’ (Al-Bukhari, hadith no. 438; Muslim, hadith no. 1161-7); Al-Qadhi Íyadh expanded the word to include every space on the earth, which has been made pure for the Muslims to perform their prayers (salat) is considered a masjid.”[7]

            Non-Muslim scholars like Dr. Christopher E. Longhurst echo this scholarly consensus:

“Since submission to God is the essence of divine worship, the place of worship is intrinsic to Islam’s self-identity. This ‘place’ is not a building per se but what is evidenced by the etymology of the word ‘mosque’ which derives from the Arabic ‘masjid’ meaning ‘a place of sujud (prostration).’”[8]

This is also confirmed by Ray Colledge, who explains that a “mosque” can be a building or any place where prayers are performed (emphasis ours):

“A mosque is a building where Muslims bow before Allah to show their submission to His will. It is not necessary to have a building to do this. Muhammad said that ‘Wherever the hour of prayer overtakes you, you shall perform the prayer. That place is the mosque’. In his early days in Makkah there was no mosque, so he and his friends would pray anywhere.”[9]

            The fact that a “masjid” does not necessarily have to be a physical building, complete with windows, door, or a roof has been confirmed by the discovery of many early mosques.[10] One such discovery happened very recently, when one of the world’s earliest mosques was discovered in the Negev desert. This mosque, shown below, shows that all that was necessary to “build” a mosque was to place some stones around a designated area, along with the mihrab.

            Now let us discuss the identification of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in the Quran, Surah Al-Isra, 17:1. According to Angelika Neuwirth:

“[t]his somewhat cryptic verse mentions a nocturnal ‘exodus’ viewed analogously to that of Moses, leading the prophet [Muhammad] out of Mecca toward ‘the other sanctuary’ par excellence, located within the Blessed Land; namely the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, the masjid of the Banu Isra’il.”[11]

Like other non-Muslim scholars, such as Uri Rubin, Neuwirth correctly identifies Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa not just with the temple, but more broadly with the entire Temple Mount.

            Similarly, Dr. Ophir Yarden states regarding the Temple Mount that:

“[f]or Muslims it is al-Masjid al-Aqsa (the furthest mosque), Muhammad’s destination in his night journey (al-isra`) as alluded to in the opening verse of Sura 17 of the Qur’an.”[12]

Other non-Muslim scholars, besides the ones already listed in the table, hold this view as well. Gulru Necipoglu states (emphasis ours):

“It seems reasonable to me that among the diverse coexisting interpretations, the one connecting ‘the Furthest Place of Prayer” with Jerusalem (accepted in Muqatil’s exegesis) must have been prevalent in Syria-Palestine by the late seventh century. […] Pedersen concludes that the Muslims recognized the holiness of the Jerusalem sanctuary early on, as is evident from the first qibla and the ‘traditional interpretation’ of Qur’an 17:1…”[13]

Also, commenting on the views of the scholar Oleg Graber, who previously held the view that the Isra was only linked with Jerusalem after Al-Walid constructed the “Al-Aqsa Mosque” Necipoglu observes that:

“…he now believes that the identification of the Haram with the first qibla of Islam, the Prophet’s Night Journey, and the place of God’s return at the Last Judgment began to take root in Jerusalem between 640 and 690.”[14]

Interestingly, Necripoglu notes:

“…the perception of the precinct as a sanctified place for seeking God’s forgiveness is attested early on by the pilgrimages of several Companions of the Prophet.”[15]

He even quotes Muawiya, one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), on the importance of the Temple Mount, stating:

“Mu’awiya is reported to have announced from its [the Jerusalem sanctuary] minbar that ‘what is between the two walls of this mosque (masjid) is dearer to God than the rest of the earth,’ presumably a reference to the whole praying ground of the precinct.”[16]

            Coming back to Oleg Graber, let us see more of his views on the matter. Referring to the Temple Mount, he stated that (emphasis ours):

“[b]efore the Ottomans, the space was usually called al-masjid al-aqsa (the Farthest Mosque), a term now reserved to the covered congregational space on the Haram, or masjid bayt al-maqdis (Mosque of the Holy City) or, even, like Mecca’s sanctuary, al-masjid al-haram.”[17]

Furthermore, he stated that (emphasis ours):

“[q]uite early, the association was made between the Muslim space in Jerusalem and the masjid al-aqsa, the “farthest mosque” of Qur’an 17:1, to which the Prophet was transported during his mystical Night Journey.”

Thus, even Orientalist scholars, who maintain a skeptical attitude towards Islam’s early source material, nevertheless agree that the Quran’s reference to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa had the entire Temple Mount site in mind. They confirm the views of Muslim scholars, such as the ones we have already mentioned in the previous series. Other Muslim scholars that can be added to the table are Professor Haithem F. al-Ratrout,[18] Dr. Shaykh Yusuf Jum’ah Salamah,[19] Dr. Muhammad Hashim Ghosheh,[20] and Dr. Spahic Omer.[21] The commentary on Surah Al-Isra in The Study Quran also confirms this and cites Tabari for support.[22]

            Even Jewish scholars, besides Uri Rubin, acknowledge this. Hillel Cohen explains that:

“[t]he holy site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif or al-Aqsa is central to both the Jewish and Palestinian Arab national movements.”[23]

Why does Shamoun insist on his folly?

            The woes get worse for Shamoun regarding Al-Masjid Al-Haram as well. Readers will recall that Shamoun made the foolish claim that when the Quran refers to Al-Masjid Al-Haram, it was referring only to the Kaaba. Thus, in Shamoun’s view, Al-Masjid Al-Haram is only the Kaaba and does not include the land around it. This view was refuted in the last series. Here are additional scholarly sources for weight of evidence.

            Kristina Lazaridi (International Black Sea University, Georgia) explains that:

“[t]he main pilgrimage sites for Moslems are Mecca and Medina. Mecca is the city were the prophet Muhammad was born in 570. The Mosque Al-Masjid al-Haram is located in Mecca: this is the largest mosque in the world, with a capacity of 700,000 people. Today Mecca is closed to members of other religions, as Muhammad prohibited the entrance of non-Moslem people to the holy place of Islam. The Kaaba, which is “the most sacred site in Islam”, is a cuboid building located in the Al-Masjid al-Haram.”[24]

So, the Kaaba is located within Al-Masjid Al-Haram. It is a part of it, but it is not the only part.

            Allison Lee Palmer, when defining the word “mosque” in her book Historical Dictionary of Architecture states that:

“[t]he first mosque is considered to be either the one built around the Kaaba, or ‘House of God,’ in Mecca, now called Al-Masjid al-Haram, or the Quba Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia, built when Muhammad arrived there from Mecca in 622.”[25]

            Muslim scholar Syed Ariffin indirectly confirms this as well when referring to the conquest of Mecca in 630 CE. He states that:

“[d]uring the Conquest of Mecca in 630 AD, Muhammad entered the holy precinct of Masjid al-Haram. It was reported by Ibn Ishaq that during that day the Ka’ba was surrounded with 360 idols.”[26]

Furthermore, Ariffin included a drawing from the Turkish scholar Dogan Kuban of Al-Masjid Al-Haram:[27]

Note the heading of the figure, which clearly indicates that the Kaaba is part of the mosque.

            According to Tafseer As-Sa’di:

“…the virtue that belongs to the Sacred Mosque is applicable to the entire Haram zone; the multiple reward for worship applies to acts of worship anywhere within the Haram zone.”[28]

            As one last piece of evidence to serve as the final nail in Shamoun’s coffin, let us look at a document from the year 837 AH (1433 CE), known to scholars as the Pilgrimage Scroll of Sayyid Yusuf, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This document is of interest as it refers to the harams in both Mecca and Jerusalem, and only further demonstrates how clueless Shamoun is. According to Mounia Chekhab-Abudaya, Amélie C. Desvergnes, and David J. Roxburgh (emphasis ours):

“…the mammoth scroll features representations of the major Muslim holy sites and objects including: the Kaʿba and Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al- Ḥarām) in Mecca, with the adjacent “trotting space” (masʿā) extending between Mounts Safa and Marwa; the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina,  which housed his tomb and those of the first two caliphs,  Abu Bakr and ʿUmar; the Prophet’s sandal; Jerusalem, featuring the Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque, built atop the Noble Sanctuary (al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf)…”[29]

In other words, this 600-year old document confirms that the “masjids” in Mecca and Jerusalem are not just the buildings, but the land as well. In fact, the authors note that the scroll depicts Al-Masjid Al-Haram (emphasis ours):

“…as a rectangle with the separate sites of importance clearly depicted as discrete entities. The entire site is bounded by an arcade composed of slightly pointed arches set over columns with a lamp hanging inside each bay. Minarets project diagonally from the four corners of the Masjid al-Haram toward the center, in effect pointing toward the Kaʿba as the sacred pole (qibla).”[30]

Here is the image from the scroll clearly showing the Kaaba as being part of Al-Masjid Al-Haram:

            As for Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (Al-Haram Al-Sharif), the authors describe the scroll’s depiction as follows (emphasis ours):

“The composition suggests to the viewer that the outer arcades correspond to the perimeter walls of the Noble Sanctuary, the temple platform. As seen in the representations of Mecca and Medina, the four minarets at the corners are labelled in association with their most proximate buildings (fig. 12[a] for the Aqsa Mosque, and [b] for the Dome of the Rock).”[31]

But it is the next part that is interesting and makes matters worse for Shamoun (emphasis ours):

“Two doors lead to the mosque and bear names similar to those of the Meccan sanctuary: “ʿAli’s Gate” (bāb-i ʿAlī), and “Gate of Peace” (bāb al-salām) (fig. 12[c, left side]). A third door, named “Gate of Hell” (bāb-i Jahannam), referring to the Jahannam Valley (wādī Jahannam) to the east of the Haram, is on the right side, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock (fig. 12[c, right side]).”[32]

Notice that the “doors” lead to the “mosque”, which means that the “mosque” is the entire site (the Noble Sanctuary or the Temple Mount).

The “doors” are marked by the letter ‘c’ in the image above. Readers may remember that Shamoun’s main argument was based on the following hadith from Ibn Sa’d’s Kitab al-Tabaqat Al-Kabir (emphasis ours):

“(The Prophet continued) I stood at al-Hijr, visualised Bayt al-Muqaddas and described its signs. Some of them said: How many doors are there in that mosque? I had not counted them so I began to look at it and counted them one by one and gave them information concerning them.”[33]

Well, we can see again via the Pilgrimage Scroll, that the “doors” refer to the gates enclosing the Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount), as I had noted way back in my original response to Shamoun.[34]

            Given the overwhelming evidence that the Kaaba is part of Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and not the masjid by itself, we can again reiterate the blowback that Shamoun suffers from his own argument. He had claimed that since Surah 17:1 stated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had been taken from Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and since the ahadith indicate that the specific location from where he was taken was the Kaaba (which is a building), the context would indicate that Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa would also have to refer to a building. I know, I know. The logic is childish at best, but that is Shamounian logic for you. But since we know that his argument was based on a flawed premise (that only the Kaaba is Al-Masjid Al-Haram), and since we know that Al-Masjid Al-Haram is the site which contains the Kaaba, then using Shamoun’s own logic, Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa must also refer to a site, which of course we know to be the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa or the Haram Al-Sharif.

Conclusion

            So, with these additional sources, we can update the table. The result of this tug-of-war is so one-sided, one must wonder if Shamoun is just crazy. If so, he has my sympathy. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) knows best!

A masjid does not have to be a building/Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa refers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem/Al-Masjid Al-Haram refers to the Kaaba and the land around it		A masjid can only be a building/Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and Al-Masjid Al-Haram refer to physical buildings (i.e., the temple and the Kaaba, respectively)
Muslim scholars	Non-Muslim scholars/sources	Muslim scholars	Non-Muslim scholars	Other
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Hatem Bazian Ibn Kathir Ibn Taymiyyah Ismail Patel Khalid El-Awaisi Mohamad Rasdi Muhammad Asad Mujir Al-Din Al-Hanbali Mustafa Abu Sway Yehia Wazery Yusuf Ali Basit Kareem Iqbal Harlina Sharif Jamilah Othman Khalruddin Abdul Rashid Azila Ahmad Sarkawi Ibn Manzur Al-Zarkashy Qadi Iyad Muqatil ibn Sulayman Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan Haithem F. al-Ratrout Shaykh Yusuf Jum’ah Salamah Muhammad Hashim Ghosheh Spahic Omer Syed Ariffin Dogan Kuban The Study Quran Tabari ‘Abdur-Rahman Nasir as-Sa’di (Tafseer As-Sa’di) Sayyid Yusuf (Pilgrimage Scroll)	Aaron W. Hughes Edward Lane Jonathan Bloom Robert Hillenbrand Sheila Blair Uri Rubin Encyclopedia Britannica Christopher E. Longhurst Ray Colledge Angelika Neuwirth Ophir Yarden Gulru Necripoglu Oleg Graber Hillel Cohen Kristina Lazaridi Allison Lee Palmer Mounia Chekhab-Abudaya Amélie C. Desvergnes David J. Roxburgh	None	None	Sam Shamoun

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[1] https://quranandbibleblog.wordpress.com/2019/07/14/al-isra-and-the-temple-in-the-islamic-sources-response-to-sam-shamoun-part-iii-a/

https://quranandbibleblog.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/al-isra-and-the-temple-in-the-islamic-sources-response-to-sam-shamoun-part-iii-b/

https://quranandbibleblog.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/al-isra-and-the-temple-in-the-islamic-sources-a-response-to-sam-shamoun-part-iii-c/

[2] https://quranandbibleblog.wordpress.com/2019/08/03/on-shamouns-challenge-to-debate/

[3] He missed this deadline by more than 2 months. Maybe this is why he didn’t graduate from high school. Deadlines and due dates are a big thing in high school.

[4] Since I knew that Shamoun would return, I had been stockpiling more references for the last few months to bombard him with. This article is the fruit of that research.

[5] Basit Kareem Iqbal, “This Earth a Masjid?”, Islam & Science, 7, no. 1 (Summer 2009), 75, http://cis-ca.org/jol/vol7-no1/End-Matters-7-1.pdf.

[6] Ibid., p. 76.

[7] Harlina Sharif, Jamilah Othman, Khalruddin Abdul Rashid, and Azila Ahmad Sarkawi, “A Survey Of Design Features And Provisions In Surausat Petrol Stations In Klang Valley”, Proceeding of the International Conference on Masjid, Zakat and Waqf, 2016, p. 2, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jamilah_Othman/publication/313804806_A_SURVEY_OF_DESIGN_FEATURES_AND_PROVISIONS_IN_SURAUS_AT_PETROL_STATIONS_IN_KLANG_VALLEY/links/58a6f74592851cf0e3b96832/A-SURVEY-OF-DESIGN-FEATURES-AND-PROVISIONS-IN-SURAUS-AT-PETROL-STATIONS-IN-KLANG-VALLEY.pdf.

[8] Christopher E. Longhurst, “Theology Of a Mosque The Sacred Inspiring Form Function and Design In Islamic Architecture”, Lonaard Architecture Critical Reviews, 8, no. 2 (March 2012), p. 4.

[9] Ray Colledge, Mastering World Religions (London: MacMillan Press, 1999), p. 128.

[10] Gideon Avni, “Early Mosques in the Negev Highlands: New Archaeological Evidence on Islamic Penetration of Southern Palestine”, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 294 (May 1994): 83–100, https://www.academia.edu/12469858/Early_Mosques_in_the_Negev_Highlands.

[11] Angelika Neuwirth, “Face of God–Face of Man: The Significance of the Direction of Prayer in Islam”, in Self, Soul and Body in Religious Experience, eds.  Albert I. Baumgarten, Jan Assman, and Guy C. Stroumsa (Leiden: Brill, 1998), p. 306.

[12] Ophir Yarden, “Religious Self-Restraint as A Positive Contribution to Easing Tensions In Jerusalem”, p. 65, https://www.kas.de/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=673202bd-6cad-d46a-fddc-3836244156ea&groupId=252038.

[13] Gulru Necipoglu, “The Dome of the Rock as Palimpsest: Abd Al-Malik’s Grand Narrative and Sultan Suleman’s Glosses”, in Muqarnas, An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World: Frontiers of Islamic Art and Architecture: Essays in Celebration of Grabar’s Eightieth Birthday, Vol. 25, eds. Gulru Necipoglu and Julia Bailey, (Leiden: Brill, 2008), p. 90.

The fact that one of the “earliest expositors” of the Quran, Muqatil ibn Sulayman, linked Surah 17:1 to the Noble Sanctuary (Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa) in Jerusalem is delightfully ironic given Shamoun’s appeals to the “earliest” tafsirs when they suit his purpose. It is clear that he uses these commentaries haphazardly and inconsistently.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid., p. 19.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Oleg Graber, Jerusalem: Constructing the Study of Islamic Art, Vol. 4 (Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2005), p. 203.

[18] Haitem F. Al-Ratrout, “The Second Mosque On Earth That Islamicjerusalem Forgot Revealing The Ancient Al-Aqsa Mosque”, Journal of IslamicJerusalem Studies, 13, Summer 2013: 23-52, https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/294389.

He states that:

“Al-Aqsa Mosque is meant to refer to the enclave surrounded by the present area walls. This enclave consists of famous Muslim buildings such as al-Jami’ al-Aqsa (the congregational Mosque), Qubbet al-Sakhrah (Dome of the Rock) and Bab al-Rahmah (Mercy or Golden Gate)” (pp. 23-24).

Further, he explains that:

“The Qur’an has used a specific term which is “the Mosque” when it refers to the al-Aqsa enclave (Ibn Kathir 1994, 5; al-Nasfi 1995, 614; Qutub 1979 v4, 2210). Semantically, the word masjid (Mosque) was generated from the Arabic language root of sajada, which means to submit. The religious meaning of sajada is to put the forehead on the ground by prostrating oneself (in worship). Al-masjid (the Mosque) is referred to the place of prostration and it is the place of worship (al-Jawhari nd, 482; al-Fayruz-Abadi v1, 300; Ibn Manzur nd. v2; 98; al-Zubaidi nd. v2; 371). Idiomatically, the Mosque refers to the place that is dedicated for all rites of worship associated with oneness (al-Huwaimel 1998, 241). It is that the Qur’anic link between the al-Aqsa Mosque and the term “Mosque” had not been used incidentally. Regardless of the later architectural development the al-Aqsa Mosque enclave and various building alterations that took place subsequently, the Qur’an, at this very time, considers the al-Aqsa Mosque enclave to still preserve its original religious identity” (pp. 27-28).

[19] Dr. Shaykh Yusuf Jum’ah Salamah, Introduction to Guide to the Masjid al-Aqsa, by Dr. Muhammad Hashim Ghosheh, trans. Dr. Robert Schick (Jerusalem: Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, 2005), p. 12.

In the “Introduction” to the book Guide to the Masjid al-Aqsa, Dr. Salamah states:

“[t]he area of the Masjid al-Aqsa compound reaches 144 dunams and includes all the buildings and open spaces and the enclosure walls.”

[20] Dr. Muhammad Hashim Ghosheh, Guide to the Masjid al-Aqsa, trans. Dr. Robert Schick (Jerusalem: Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, 2005), p. 14.

Dr. Ghosheh states that:

“[t]he blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa that is mentioned in the Noble Qur’an is the entire compound including the open spaces and the various historic buildings and memorial structures…”

[21] Spahic Omer, The Dome of the Rock: An Analysis of its Origins, p. 1, https://www.academia.edu/13036231/The_Origins_of_the_Dome_of_the_Rock.

Dr. Omer states:

“By the al-Aqsa Mosque we mean the whole area of the Noble Sanctuary, i.e. al-Haram al-Sharif, accounting for the second mosque on earth instituted 40 years after the Ka’bah. The present-day al-Aqsa Mosque covers only a section of the Sanctuary.”

[22] The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary, ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr (New York: HarperOne, 2015), p. 695.

The commentary states that:

“[t]he precincts of the Jerusalem Temple are referred to as the Farthest Mosque…”

[23] Hillel Cohen, “The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa in Zionist and Palestinian National Consciousness: A Comparative View”, Israel Studies Review, 32, no. 1 (Summer 2017): 1, https://www.academia.edu/33360120/The_Temple_Mount_al-Aqsa_in_Zionist_and_Palestinian_National_Consciousness_A_Comparative_View.

[24] Kristina Lazaridi, “Religious Tourism in Christianity and Islam”, 8^th Silk Road International Conference, Development of Tourism in Black and Caspian Seas Regions, 2013, p. 77, http://217.147.235.82/bitstream/1234/242413/1/8t_Internacional_Silk_Road_Symposium_%202013.pdf#page=83

[25] Allison Lee Palmer, Historical Dictionary of Architecture, 2^nd Edition (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), p. 236.

[26] Syed Ahmad Iskander Syed Ariffin, Architectural Conservation in Islam: Case Study of the Prophet’s Mosque (Malaysia: Penerbit, 2005), p. 36.

[27] Ibid., p. 39.

[28] ‘Abdur-Rahman Nasir as-Sadi, Tafseer As-Sa’di: Juz 13-15, Vol. 5, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh: International Islamic Publishing House, 2018), p. 261.

[29] Mounia Chekhab-Abudaya, Amélie C. Desvergnes, and David J. Roxburgh, “Sayyid Yusuf’s 1433 Pilgrimage Scroll (Ziyārātnāma) In The Collection Of The Museum Of Islamic Art, Doha”, in Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Cultures of the Islamic World, Vol. 33, ed. Gulru Necipoglu (Leiden: Brill, 2016), p. 345, https://www.academia.edu/32361145/_Sayyid_Yusuf_s_1433_Pilgrimage_Scroll_Ziy%C4%81r%C4%81tn%C4%81ma_in_the_Collection_of_the_Museum_of_Islamic_Art_Doha_co-authors_Prof._David_Roxburgh_and_Am%C3%A9lie_Couvrat-Desvergnes_Muqarnas_33_December_2016_345-407.

[30] Ibid., p. 351.

[31] Ibid., p. 358.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Ibn Sa’d, Kitab al-Tabaqat Al-Kabir, 1:56:1, www.soebratie.nl/religie/hadith/IbnSad.html.

[34] https://quranandbibleblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/14/al-isra-and-the-temple-in-the-islamic-sources-a-response-to-sam-shamoun/