Masjid Al-Aqsa: A Journey Through Time by: Ebrahim Moosa

Written in a chronological approach, this newly published book fills a gap in accessible, English language literature on Masjid al-Aqṣā.

Masjid al-Aqṣā: A Journey Through Time is the culmination of numerous speaking engagements of the same title undertaken by the author over the past decade. The key objective of the book, is to dispel the misconception that Masjid al-Aqṣā in Islamic tradition only draws its significance from Prophet Muḥammad’s miraculous journey of Isrāʾ and Miʿrāj. To the contrary, this work sets out to illustrate how the Masjid has an illustrious history feted in Islam, almost from the onset of human existence, and how it will maintain its significance right until the End of Time.

Masjid al-Aqṣā was the first Qiblah of the believers, the second mosque to be established on earth and the third holiest site in Islam. It is a site cherished and beloved to the hearts of Muslims the world over. Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the city within which it resides, likewise is steeped in layers of symbolism and history, and is held sacred by all the Abrahamic faiths. Masjid al-Aqṣā is a hub of barakah (blessings), the abode of the Prophets and pious people, and a living repository of Islamic heritage; a place that has been embellished with rare beauty and specialities.

As the Masjid continues to dominate headlines and the global current affairs agenda for the ominous trends that surround it, these events have inadvertently kindled a keen interest in Al-Aqsa, sparking renewed enthusiasm about its rich history and heightening the longing to visit it. It is vital that this thirst to rediscover the first Qiblah be quenched with an authentic clarification of its history and that seekers be offered the option of accessing a Muslim-centric narrative of a site which in any case draws its holiness from none other than the Qurʾān and the Sunnah.