Was There Masjd-Al Aqsa in Jerusalem During the Period of the Prophet Mohammad?

According to the Hadiths of the prophet Mohammad, the second masjid built in the World and the third masjid to be visited for prayer, Masjid-al Aqsa is commonly known and acknowledged to be within the vicinity of Jerusalem. Indeed, different views have been put forward with regard to the place of such masjid alleging that the masjid is somewhere outside Jerusalem and therefore it should be searched somewhere else. The present paper is to reveal the whereabouts of Masjid-al Aqsa, important not only for the Muslim world but also the Christian and Jewish, mostly cited in the Koran as the sacred place and in the hadiths several times. The results of the study will draw attention of the readers and researchers.

Keywords

The Prophet Mohammad, Jerusalem, Iliya, Al-Masjid-Al-Aqsa, Bayt-ul Maqdis.