Some information in regards to Masjid al Aqsa; Purity is to Him Who took His bondman in a part of the night from the Sacred Mosque to the Aqsa Mosque around which We have placed blessings, in order that We may show him Our great signs; indeed he is the listener, the beholder. (This verse refers to the physical journey of Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him – to Al Aqsa Mosque and from there to the heavens and beyond. The entire journey back to Makkah was completed within a small part of the night.)
[b/Israel 17:1]
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here are in fact multiple mosques on the site that we know as Masjid Al-Aqsa. We tend to think of Masjid Al-Aqsa as the building at the southernmost corner of the mosque. In actual fact, that is the Qibali Mosque – so called because it is the closest to the Qiblah. The whole complex is known as the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa. It is also referred to as Al-Haram ash-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary).
The Dome of the Rock was built by the Ummayad ruler Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. It was originally wooden with either a brass, lead or ceramic cover. The iconic dome we all know was built almost a thousand years later during the reign of the Ottoman ruler, Sulaiman the Magnificent. The distinctive gold layer was added to the dome along with the Ottoman tiles to the facade of the building.
Though there is no accurate record of who and how many have been buried here, the burial ground in Al-Haram as-Sharif is the resting place for many prophets (as) and Sahabah of the Holy Prophet (saw).
For example, Ubadah ibn Samir (ra), who was the first Islamic judge in Masjid Al-Aqsa, is buried in the Bab ar-Rahmah Cemetery. This is the third most prominent graveyard in the Islamic world, after two famous graveyards in Makkah and Madinah.
