The Mizan Series: How to Weigh Doubts (3): The Isra and Mi'raj and al-Masjid al-Aqsa

The Mizan Series: How to Weigh Doubts, Article Three

The Isra and Mi’raj and al-Masjid al-Aqsa

The previous article showed that differences in the city’s names do not negate the virtue of al-Masjid al-Aqsa. Here we turn to a claim about identifying the place itself: is the “farthest mosque” (al-masjid al-aqsa) mentioned in the verse of the Night Journey the mosque of Bayt al-Maqdis, or a mosque at al-Ji’rana near Makkah? And what does the building date of the Dome of the Rock have to do with it?

These questions are not settled by finding a similar word in some book, nor by the date of a building standing today. They are settled by gathering the texts, understanding their context, and distinguishing between a place and its buildings, and between the authenticity of a report and what it actually indicates. The authentic text on the Night Journey names Bayt al-Maqdis explicitly; the report about al-Ji’rana speaks of a place of prayer and of entering ihram, and does not say that it is what the verse of the Night Journey means.

Stating the Claim Precisely

The argument under discussion rests on two premises: that some books of reports mention a mosque at al-Ji’rana described as “the farthest” (al-aqsa), and that the Dome of the Rock was built in the Umayyad era. From these it is concluded that the Night Journey was to al-Ji’rana, and that linking it to Bayt al-Maqdis arose later for political purposes. This is a paraphrase of the argument’s meaning, not a verbatim quotation from any particular person.

What is required is not to deny the existence of the historical text or of the Umayyad building, but to ask: what does each of them prove? The existence of a mosque bearing a shared description does not determine what is meant in every text in which that description occurs, and the late date of a particular building does not prove that the place itself, or its standing, came late.

The Text That Identifies the Destination of the Night Journey

Allah the Exalted says: “Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” (al-Isra 17:1).

The authentic Sunnah then makes the place clear. Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in the hadith of the Night Journey: “I rode it until I came to Bayt al-Maqdis,” then: “Then I entered the mosque and prayed two rak’ahs in it,” and, after mentioning his coming out and Jibril coming to him: “Then he ascended with us to the heaven” (Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith, chapter on the Night Journey of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to the heavens and the obligation of the prayers, no. 162).

The hadith names Bayt al-Maqdis, mentions entering the mosque and praying in it, and then the ascent to the heaven, all in one continuous account. It also shows the difference between the Isra, the journey by night to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, and the Mi’raj, the ascent to the heavens. It is therefore not valid to put a report about an ‘umrah from al-Ji’rana in place of this hadith merely because both reports mention a mosque or a journey by night.

Al-Tabari said in his commentary on the verse: “His words ‘to al-Masjid al-Aqsa’ mean the mosque of Bayt al-Maqdis” (Jami’ al-Bayan, on al-Isra 17:1). The identification here rests on the explanation of the Sunnah and the exegesis of the verse; it does not rest on the city’s common name alone, nor on the shape of its buildings in a later age.

Whoever disputes this identification must deal with these same proofs. Citing another text in which the description “farthest” occurs, without showing that it speaks of the Night Journey, does not contradict the explicit hadith, since it has not yet been shown that the two texts speak of one and the same place.

What the Report About al-Ji’rana Says

Al-Azraqi, in Akhbar Makkah, in the chapter on the mosque of al-Ji’rana, records a report in which Ibn Jurayj relates from Muhammad ibn Tariq that he met Mujahid at al-Ji’rana. It reads: “He told me that the farthest mosque (al-masjid al-aqsa), the one beyond the valley on the far bank, was the place where the Prophet ﷺ prayed when he was at al-Ji’rana. He said: As for this nearer mosque (al-masjid al-adna), it was built by a man of Quraysh, who put up that wall” (Akhbar Makkah, ed. Rushdi al-Salih Malhas, vol. 2, p. 207).

The context of the report is a description of two places at al-Ji’rana, one beyond the valley and the other nearer, and its subject is identifying where the Prophet ﷺ prayed and entered ihram, not the interpretation of Surat al-Isra. Nothing in the wording says that the Prophet ﷺ was taken by night to this place, or that Bayt al-Maqdis is not what the verse means.

The word aqsa in its basic usage means “farthest,” and what it refers to is determined by context. Here it stands opposite adna, “nearer,” and its location is explained by mention of the valley and its far bank. Even if the description had come to function as a local name for this mosque, it would not follow that it is the mosque mentioned in the Qur’an: two places sharing a name or a description does not make them one place.

Moreover, establishing that the report exists in al-Azraqi’s book is different from judging all of its details to be sound. What is transmitted here is a report related by Mujahid; in this form it is not a hadith with a chain going back through a Companion to the Prophet ﷺ. We therefore do not assert that its chain is sound merely because it appears in the book, and we do not need to do so to refute the argument: even assuming it is established, it does not state the claim that the Night Journey was to al-Ji’rana.

What the Order of Events Tells Us

Sahih al-Bukhari records the Prophet’s ﷺ ‘umrah from al-Ji’rana, where he divided the spoils of Hunayn (Book of ‘Umrah, chapter on how many times the Prophet ﷺ performed ‘umrah, no. 1780). This places the report of the ‘umrah in its context and prevents it from being confused with the account of the Night Journey. Precision in the response, however, requires that we not conclude from the date of this visit alone that the place did not exist before it: visiting a place at a known time does not mean it was established at that time.

The point of criticism, then, is that the report of the ‘umrah does not say that the place where he entered ihram was the destination of the Night Journey. Asserting that this is impossible merely because the visit came later is an argument that does not stand on its own, and a sound response can rely on the explicit text and do without an argument that is open to objection.

Likewise, it is not valid to deny blessing to a place merely because it has little vegetation or its land is dry; blessing is not measured by agricultural appearance alone, and there is no need for this line of argument at all, since the hadith has named Bayt al-Maqdis. The aim is to make the reasoning sound, not to collect every phrase that seems to support the conclusion.

A Mosque Is Not the Form of Its Building in a Given Age

Part of the doubt arises from imagining that the word “mosque” applies only to a building with a dome and walls in the form familiar today. This does not follow. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The earth has been made for me a place of prayer (masjid) and a means of purification” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Tayammum, no. 335, from the hadith of Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah, part of the hadith “I have been given five things”). The usage of the word extends to a place of prayer and does not require this architectural form.

This hadith explains the meaning of the word; it does not by itself identify the location of al-Masjid al-Aqsa, which is taken from the specific texts already cited. Combining the two removes the confusion: the place is known by evidence, and establishing it does not require that its buildings at the time matched what we see now.

As for the Dome of the Rock, its construction is dated to the reign of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the year 72 AH, on the basis of its foundation inscription (Yusuf al-Natsheh, “Dome of the Rock,” Museum With No Frontiers, Discover Islamic Art). This is the date of a particular building on the site; it is not in itself the date on which every act of worship or report connected with the site began. The Dome of the Rock is, moreover, a building within the precinct of al-Masjid al-Aqsa, so its date cannot be made the date of the mosque in everything its name denotes.

A building may be bound up with religious and political purposes, but establishing a specific political purpose requires its own evidence, and establishing that the place’s standing was invented requires further evidence still. Merely attributing a building to a ruler does not invalidate a hadith, nor does it suffice to attribute the narration to his fabrication. A narration is examined by criticizing its chain and its text, not by substituting the date of a building for the date of the report.

The Balance in Reading This Doubt

Before us are three distinct things: a text on the Night Journey that names Bayt al-Maqdis, a report about a mosque at al-Ji’rana, and a date for the building of the Dome of the Rock. They cannot be merged into a single story until a connection between them is established. Each report is read within its own subject, and then we consider how much it actually indicates.

Judging an argument does not depend on the identity of those who promote it or on who benefits from it politically. Someone with an agenda may exploit a sound report, and someone with good intentions may put forward a weak argument. What is correct is known through established texts and disciplined reasoning, and here neither the report about al-Ji’rana nor the date of the Dome shows that the destination of the Prophet’s ﷺ Night Journey was moved from Bayt al-Maqdis to some other place.

A Summary for Young People

If you find mention in a book of a “farthest mosque” at al-Ji’rana, read what comes before and after it: is it speaking of the Night Journey, or of a place of prayer and ihram? Distinguish between a mosque at a known place and a building put up there later. The hadith of the Night Journey in Sahih Muslim explicitly names Bayt al-Maqdis and then the ascent to the heaven; the report about al-Ji’rana does not negate this, and the date of the Dome of the Rock does not invalidate it. Do not let a similarity of words take the place of understanding the context, and do not let the strength of your conviction in a conclusion make you lax about its evidence.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

All parts of The Mizan Series: How to Weigh Doubts