Muḥammad’s Night Journey (Isrā’) to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā. Aspects of the Earliest Origins of the Islamic Sanctity of Jerusalem

Abstract

This article tries to show that the Qur’ānic al-Masjid al-Aqṣā (Q 17:1) stands for the earthly Jerusalem and not for a heavenly sanctuary as held by many modern scholars. The Jerusalem for which it stands is a Christian holy city, a “New Jerusalem” that replaced the one that had been destroyed because of the sinful Jews. Muḥammad’s Qur’ānic night journey to that place is a vision like the one experienced already by Ezekiel. The earliest tafsīr sources are unanimous that the Qur’ānic al-Masjid al-Aqṣā stands for Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis). Only in some Shī‘ī sources do we find the claim that al-Masjid al-Aqṣā is in heaven which means that the Prophet never came to Jerusalem. This claim reflects the Shī‘ī anti-Umayyad attitude, and was designed to deprive Jerusalem of its special sacred status as a pilgrimage destination. The claim was inspired by traditions describing a night journey of Muammad from Mecca straight to heaven. These latter traditions originally belonged to the cycle of the stories about Muammad’s first revelation, and had nothing to do with his night journey to Jerusalem.