Duas & Fazilat
Ask most Muslims about the holiest places in Islam, and they will name two instantly: the Kaaba in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. But the third of Islam's most sacred mosques, Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, is equally rooted in the Quran and Hadith. Scholars describe it as the mosque the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ loved, prayed in, and instructed his ummah to honour. Let us walk through its virtues — exactly as our sources describe them.
1.Blessed by Allah in the Quran
Allah Himself names Masjid al-Aqsa in the very first verse of Surah Al-Isra (Quran 17:1), describing the Prophet's Night Journey:
"Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs."
Notice the words: "whose surroundings We have blessed." Allah did not only bless the mosque — He blessed the land around it. This divine wording is why Muslims have always spoken of Jerusalem and its surroundings as the "blessed land." And on that blessed night, the Prophet ﷺ reached Al-Aqsa and, according to narrations in Sahih Muslim, entered the mosque and prayed two rak'ahs there — a prayer of the Prophet ﷺ in a place Allah Himself called blessed.
2.The Second Mosque Built on Earth
How ancient is Masjid al-Aqsa? A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari tells us. Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet ﷺ which mosque was first built on earth. The Prophet ﷺ replied: "Al-Masjid al-Haram." Then which? "Al-Masjid al-Aqsa." And how long was between them? "Forty years."
Think about that: of all the mosques ever built, only these two were mentioned in that first ordering — and only forty years separate them. Masjid al-Aqsa is not a later addition to Islam's story; it is one of its two founding mosques, woven into the sacred geography of the ummah from the beginning.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "No journey should be undertaken to visit any mosque except three: al-Masjid al-Haram, this mosque of mine, and al-Masjid al-Aqsa." — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim
3.The First Qibla of the Muslims
For the first part of his mission, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his Companions faced Jerusalem when they prayed. The early Muslim community in Makkah and then in Madinah directed their salah toward Bayt al-Maqdis — this is a well-established fact of the Seerah.
A narration reported in Sahih Muslim from al-Bara' ibn Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) mentions that the Prophet ﷺ prayed toward Bayt al-Maqdis for about sixteen or seventeen months after the Hijrah, before Allah commanded the change of qibla to the Kaaba (Quran 2:144). Every prayer of that period — the prayers of the Prophet ﷺ himself and the Muhajirun and Ansar — faced Al-Aqsa. That alone fixes the mosque in the heart of every Muslim: it was our first direction to Allah.
4.One of the Three Mosques
The Prophet ﷺ said: "No journey should be undertaken to visit any mosque except three: al-Masjid al-Haram, this mosque of mine, and al-Masjid al-Aqsa" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim). This hadith places Masjid al-Aqsa in a rank shared with only two other places on earth — worth travelling for, worth longing to visit.
As for the reward of prayer there: a narration reported in Sunan Ibn Majah mentions that a prayer in Bayt al-Maqdis is worth five hundred prayers. Scholars differ on the strength of this narration's chain, so it is best quoted as a virtue taught in our tradition rather than a fixed guarantee — but even the fact that such narrations exist shows how the ummah has always honoured this mosque.
5.What Masjid al-Aqsa Asks of Us Today
Virtues are not history lessons — they are invitations. Here is what Masjid al-Aqsa asks of the believer today:
Love it with knowledge. Teach your children why this mosque matters: the Night Journey, the first qibla, the three mosques. A love built on Quran and Hadith lasts a lifetime.
Make dua for it. Allah blessed its surroundings; asking Allah to protect the blessed land and its people is the simplest act of a caring heart. Our article on the forgotten door of istighfar reminds us how much power sincere dua carries.
Long to visit. Add it to your life's duas alongside Hajj and Umrah — to pray two rak'ahs where the Prophet ﷺ prayed on the night of Isra. Dream big; Allah loves big duas.
Masjid al-Aqsa is not just a place on a map. It is the destination of the Night Journey, the first qibla of the ummah, and one of the three mosques worth a journey. May Allah bless us with its love, and with a prayer in it one day. Ameen.
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