Short answer: al-Masjid al-Aqsa is the whole walled compound on the hill in Jerusalem's Old City, about 14 hectares (36 acres), also called al-Haram al-Sharif. Inside it stand two famous buildings: the Dome of the Rock, the shrine with the gold dome over the rock, completed by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik in 691 to 692 CE, and the Qibli Mosque, the grey-domed prayer hall at the south end, often called the Aqsa Mosque. Praying anywhere in the compound is praying in al-Aqsa.
The difference at a glance
| Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhrah) | Qibli Mosque (al-Jami' al-Aqsa) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An octagonal shrine built over a rock outcrop | The main congregational prayer hall |
| Dome | Gold-covered | Grey (lead-covered) |
| Where | Centre of the compound, on a raised platform | South end, facing Makkah |
| Built | Completed 691 to 692 CE (72 AH) by Abd al-Malik | Built under Abd al-Malik or his son al-Walid I, by about 705 to 715 CE, on the site of an earlier simple mosque |
| Used for | Prayer and visits; women often pray here | The main Friday and daily congregational prayers |
The Quran's "al-Masjid al-Aqsa" (17:1) means the whole sacred site. Neither of today's buildings stood there in the Prophet's ﷺ lifetime; the name refers to the place, which was a place of prophets' worship long before.
Al-Aqsa in the Quran and Sunnah
سُبْحَٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ ﴿١﴾
Subhaanal lazeee asraa bi'abdihee lailam minal Masjidil Haraami ilal Masjidil Aqsal-lazee baaraknaa haw lahoo linuriyahoo min aayaatinaa;innahoo Huwas Samee'ul-Baseer
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.
Quran 17:1 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Isra
This verse describes the Isra, the Night Journey, in which the Prophet ﷺ was taken from Makkah to al-Aqsa and from there up through the heavens. He said he tied the Buraq at the ring where the prophets used to tie their mounts, then prayed two rakahs there (Sahih Muslim 162). Read the full account on our Isra and Miraj page.
- The first qibla. The Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months after the Hijrah, until the qibla was changed to the Kaaba (Sahih al-Bukhari 40, from al-Bara ibn Azib; Quran 2:144).
- One of three mosques. "Do not set out on a journey except to three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haram, the mosque of the Messenger ﷺ, and al-Masjid al-Aqsa" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1189; Sahih Muslim 1397).
- The second mosque on earth. It was set up forty years after al-Masjid al-Haram (Sahih al-Bukhari 3366; Sahih Muslim 520).
- A blessed land. The Quran calls the land around it blessed (17:1), the land to which Ibrahim and Lut were saved (21:71).
- The land of prophets. Dawud, Sulaiman, Zakariya, Yahya and Isa all lived and worshipped there. Sulaiman asked Allah, after building it, that whoever comes only to pray there leaves free of sin like the day he was born (Sunan an-Nasa'i, from Abdullah ibn Amr, graded sahih by al-Albani).
The reward of prayer there. Reports differ. Abu Dharr reported that a prayer in the Prophet's ﷺ mosque is better than four prayers in al-Aqsa, and that al-Aqsa is an excellent place of prayer (al-Hakim, graded sahih by al-Hakim and al-Albani). The popular figure of 500 prayers comes from narrations that many hadith scholars grade weak; the figure of 1,000 is weaker still.
A short history, with dates
| Date (CE) | Event |
|---|---|
| 637 or 638 | The caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab receives the surrender of Jerusalem from its patriarch, Sophronius, and visits the site. Historians give either year |
| c. 680 | The Gallic pilgrim Arculf describes a large, simple mosque of wooden beams on the site, holding about 3,000 people |
| 691 to 692 | The Dome of the Rock is completed under Abd al-Malik. Its mosaic inscription gives the year 72 AH |
| c. 705 to 715 | The congregational mosque is built or rebuilt under Abd al-Malik and al-Walid I |
| 746 and 1033 | Earthquakes damage the mosque; it is rebuilt by the Abbasids and later by the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir, whose plan it largely keeps |
| 1099 | The Crusaders take Jerusalem. The mosque becomes a palace and later the headquarters of the Knights Templar; the Dome becomes a church |
| 1187 | Salah al-Din (Saladin) retakes Jerusalem and restores both buildings to Muslim use, installing the minbar Nur al-Din had commissioned in 1168 |
| 1500s | The Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds the city walls and covers the Dome of the Rock's outer walls with tiles |
| 21 August 1969 | An Australian, Denis Michael Rohan, sets fire to the Qibli Mosque, destroying Saladin's minbar. A replica was installed in 2007 |
| 1993 to 1994 | The Dome of the Rock's dome receives its present gold-plated covering, paid for by King Hussein of Jordan |
The compound is administered by the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem, under the custodianship of the King of Jordan.
What is the rock under the Dome?
The Dome is built over a large outcrop of bedrock, the Sakhrah, with a small cave beneath it. Many Muslims believe it is the point from which the Prophet ﷺ rose to the heavens on the night of the Miraj. The authentic hadith say he prayed at al-Aqsa and then ascended, but do not name the exact spot, and scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah warned against treating the rock itself with special rituals. Stories of a footprint of the Prophet ﷺ on the rock, or the rock floating in the air, have no authentic basis.
The rock is also sacred in Jewish tradition, which links the site to the Temple. That shared history is part of why the site is so contested.
Why is Jerusalem holy to Muslims?
Jerusalem, called in Arabic al-Quds (the Holy) or Bayt al-Maqdis, is the third holiest city in Islam, after Makkah and Madinah. In short:
- It holds al-Aqsa, the second mosque set up on earth and the first qibla.
- The Prophet ﷺ was taken there on the Night Journey and led the prophets in prayer there.
- It is one of only three mosques to which Muslims travel for the sake of the mosque itself.
- It is the land of many prophets whom Muslims love and follow, from Ibrahim to Isa.
- The Quran calls the land around it blessed.
قَدْ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۖ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةًۭ تَرْضَىٰهَا ۚ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ ۚ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُۥ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَٰفِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٤٤﴾
Qad naraa taqalluba wajhika fis samaaa'i fala nuwalliyannaka qiblatan tardaahaa; fawalli wajhaka shatral Masjidil haaraam; wa haisu maa kuntum fawalloo wujoohakum shatrah; wa innal lazeena ootul Kitaaba laya'lamoona annahul haqqu mir Rabbihim; wa mal laahu bighaafilin 'ammaa ya'maloon
We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.
Quran 2:144 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Baqarah
Questions
Is the Dome of the Rock al-Aqsa Mosque?
No. The Dome of the Rock is the gold-domed shrine over the rock. The Aqsa Mosque, or Qibli Mosque, is the grey-domed prayer hall at the south end. Both are inside al-Aqsa, the sacred compound.
Who built the Dome of the Rock?
The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, completed in 691 to 692 CE (72 AH), as its own mosaic inscription records.
Who built Masjid al-Aqsa?
The site was set up as a mosque forty years after the Kaaba, according to Sahih al-Bukhari. Prophets including Sulaiman built and worshipped there. The present Qibli Mosque goes back to Abd al-Malik and al-Walid I (about 705 to 715 CE), rebuilt after later earthquakes.
Why is al-Aqsa important in Islam?
It was the first qibla, the destination of the Night Journey (17:1), the second mosque set up on earth, and one of the three mosques to which Muslims travel to pray.
Where did the Prophet ﷺ ascend to heaven from?
From al-Aqsa. Many Muslims hold it was from the rock under the Dome, but the authentic hadith do not name the exact spot.
Sources
- Quran 2:144, 17:1, 21:71. Translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 40, 1189, 3366; Sahih Muslim 162, 520, 1397. Sunan an-Nasa'i, Kitab al-Masajid, the dua of Sulaiman, graded sahih by al-Albani. Al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, the hadith of Abu Dharr on prayer in al-Aqsa.
- K. A. C. Creswell, Early Muslim Architecture (Oxford, 1932 to 1940), on the Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa mosque, and on Arculf's account.
- Oleg Grabar, The Dome of the Rock (Harvard University Press, 2006).
- Encyclopaedia of Islam (Brill), entries al-Kuds, al-Masjid al-Aksa and Kubbat al-Sakhra. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dome of the Rock and Aqsa Mosque.
- Ibn Taymiyyah, Iqtida al-Sirat al-Mustaqim, and his treatise on visiting Bayt al-Maqdis.
The dates and facts on this page come from the sources listed. Where historians differ, we say so. The religious content is pending review by the scholars on our team.