التعريف

The second place of prayer ever built on earth, and it was built in Jerusalem after the building of the sacred mosque in Makkah. It is called al-Aqsa, which means ‘distant’, because of the long distance between the two. It was the first qiblah, i.e. direction faced in prayer, for Muslims, and it is the third of the three blessed mosque which are the only ones Muslims may travel to visit. It is the place that was the destination of the prophet’s night journey, and the mosque which God blessed its surroundings. It is also called Bayt al-Maqdis. It has been under Zionist occupation since 1967.