[هدى نورالدين الخطيب]

Alaqsa Mosque
Borders of the holy Aqsa Mosque
By Sheikh Ra ’ed Salah - Head of the Islamic Movement in Palestine areas occupied in 1948

Dome of the Rock, the Mosque, Gates, public fountains,
domes, walls and buildings inside it are all within the Aqsa Mosque

I have found out that many Muslims do not have the proper knowledge about the holy Aqsa Mosque and its exact area and buildings. I have noted with regret that many Muslims are ignorant about that matter. During my trips abroad, my participation in Islamic conferences and through meeting with many Muslims during Haj and Omra seasons, I noted that the Muslims have a wrong idea about that holy Mosque. Some believe that the Dome of the Rock is the Aqsa Mosque and some believe that the Marwani Mosque is another building that has nothing to do with the holy Aqsa Mosque and some are mixed up over the term “Aqsa Mosque” and “Old Aqsa”.
Hence, I resolved that it was necessary to write on this issue, which I do not excuse any Muslim or Arab on Earth for ignoring because ignorance is the sad beginning of losing the holy Aqsa!
Alaqsa Mosque
On the other hand, knowing and understanding such information is a necessary introduction towards preserving the holy Aqsa Mosque purified, dignified and liberated against the wishes of the atheists. That is why I ask myself and ask all Muslims and Arabs: “What is the Holy Aqsa?”

Aqsa means all that is within the walls
Mujeerul Deen Al-Hanbaly (in his book Al-Ons Al-Jaleel) writes: “It is common among people that the Aqsa is the one located towards the Qibla, the mosque constructed in the foremost area including the pulpit and the big mihrab (prayer niche), while the truth is that the Aqsa is the name of all what is within its compound inside the walls … the building in the foremost area and others, Dome of the Rock, corridors and others, the Aqsa means all that is within the walls.” Al-Dabbagh in his book “Al-Quds” wrote: “The Haram Al-Sharif is composed of two mosques the Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque along with what is between and surrounding them of various installations up to the surrounding walls.”
Based on this we clearly realize that all of the area within the holy Aqsa’s compound is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque along with the walls surrounding it. Meaning that the walls and all their gates are part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque. The western wall for example is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque and the Buraq Wall, which is considered part of the western wall, is part and parcel of the Mosque. Ribat Al-Kurd, which is also part of the western wall is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque along with all gates in the western wall such as the Maghareba gate and all buildings along the western wall such as the Tankziye School are all part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque! I am sure that many Muslims are ignorant of those facts but it is a duty to know them! Those who know those facts will realize that there is a flagrant violation on the Aqsa Mosque until our present time! The conversion of the Buraq Wall, which is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque, into what they call today (out of illusion and deception) the “Wailing Wall” is a constant flagrant aggression against the Aqsa Mosque! The Zionist ministry of religions’ announcement years ago of its intention to convert the Ribat Al-Kurd, which is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque, into what they called the mini Wailing Wall project was a constant and flagrant aggression against the Aqsa Mosque! The occupation army’s closure of the Maghareba gate, which is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque, until now and barring Muslims’ entry or exit through it is a constant and flagrant aggression against the Aqsa Mosque! The Zionist government’s conversion of the Tankziye School, which is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque, into a camp for the occupation army until this present time, is a flagrant and continuous aggression against the Aqsa Mosque! I reaffirm that we are committed to knowing reality of the Aqsa Mosque and there is no excuse for the ignorant among us!

The sand grounds planted with olive and other trees are part of Aqsa Mosque
Whoever knows the reality of the Aqsa Mosque will automatically know the continuous violations and aggressions against the Mosque. I repeat that the eastern, northern and southern walls that surround the Aqsa Mosque with their gates and buildings are part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque. What a tragic situation the holy Aqsa Mosque is experiencing these days until this present moment. Then I conclude that each and every building within the four walls are part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque! The sand grounds planted with olive and other trees are part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque along with the public fountains, the arches, the domes and the rest of the buildings. I repeat that those who know these facts will know the true grief and concerns befalling the Aqsa Mosque! One of its buildings was converted into a Zionist police station until this moment, which is a continuous and flagrant aggression against the Aqsa Mosque. Some of the Zionists topped by Yisrael Hokins plan to build a temple on its sand grounds. They stated that and Hokins openly told me of the plan. I retorted saying you are seeking a third world war because those grounds are part of the Aqsa Mosque and your mere thinking of constructing a temple on them was a flagrant violation of the Aqsa Mosque! The Zionist government’s closure of gates leading to those grounds and their buildings is a flagrant and continuous aggression against the Aqsa Mosque!
I then say: according to what was previously mentioned, I affirm that the Dome of the Rock is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque and the mosque built at the forefront of the area is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque and not only the Aqsa Mosque as majority of Muslims imagine until now. The building underneath this Mosque, which we call the “Old Aqsa” is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque and the Marwani Mosque situated underneath the south eastern area of the Aqsa Mosque is part and parcel of the Aqsa Mosque. Accordingly any plot planned against the Old Aqsa or the Marwani Mosque is a cheap and dirty conspiracy against the Aqsa Mosque. We are living in deceptive years, a man might appear with the (deceptive) statement: “Why don’t we give the Marwani Mosque or the Old Aqsa to the Jewish community in the name of peace?!”
I say wake up Muslims and Arabs, this mere thinking is a cheap aggression on the Aqsa Mosque. Yes the wound is deep, the night is long, the concern is heavy but the patience and sacrifices are continuing. If we realize the previous facts, we will easily realize as Mr. Mohammed Hassan Sharab writes in his book “Beitul Makdes and the Aqsa Mosque”: “The Aqsa Mosque mentioned in the Surat Isra’ is all of the Haram Al-Qudsi and the double reward for praying in it is achieved when praying in any part surrounded by the wall.” Prayers in the Aqsa, Dome of the Rock, Marwani Mosque or sand grounds in its yards within the Aqsa Mosque, each Raka’a equals five hundred Raka’a (and in another narration of the Hadith equals one thousand Raka’a) compared to other mosques on Earth with the exception of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina.
Will those sleeping among us wake up and will those inattentive among us take heed O Muslims and Arabs!

Al-Aqsa Mosque

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source: the Palestinian Information Center