Masjid Al-Aqsa and Sakhra

Today we left in the morning to go to the Haram Al-Sharif. It is the place where the Prophet Muhammed ascended to heaven in the ‘Israa/ma’raj story and is considered in Islam the third holiest site. We caught a bus in the morning which took us about 30 minutes to reach Jerusalem proper. It would have been much faster if we took the pre-Wall route since this one was winding through neighborhoods, most times with potted roads and single lane streets. Iman’s grandmother made it a point to make sure I knew exactly which areas were Jewish and which were Muslim as we drove. It was kind of obvious, since all Jewish houses have an Israeli flag on them while the Palestinian houses have nothing. After a about 15 minutes winding through streets, we hit a major avenue that had two lanes on both sides and the road was smooth. Iman turned to me and said that when she came last time, this is how the road was straight from her grandmother’s house to Jerusalem, if it wasn’t for the wall I spoke of earlier.

It was a short walk from the bus station to the old city that is like a fortress and we entered through the Door of ‘Umar. As soon as you walk in, there are street vendors lined up and down the sides for the streets selling all kinds of wares. We slowly walked down the main street as Iman and her sisters wanted to do some window shopping (figuratively of course, since there are no windows). People still live in the old city above the street vendors and I felt a sense of awe that I was walking down streets that were thousands of years old. I imagined also how much blood would be found if someone was to dig up the streets!! As we approached the gate of the Haram, there were guards standing there and they asked us if we were Muslims. Three girls in Hijab and I with a beard and they asked us that? Seemed odd, and then they asked if we were from Turkey? Anyway, they did let us in, and as soon as you walk in the, Masjid al-Sakhra just jumps out at you because it is so colorful, and very beautiful. As we walked in, it was almost time for Dhuhr prayer, so I quickly went to make wudu and then went to Masjid Al-Aqsa, which is south of the Masjid Sakhra and a little lower (about 100ft). As a point of clarification, the beautiful structure that most people see is the Masjid Sakhra or Mosque of the Rock. The real holy site (its all actually holy) is the Masjid Al-Aqsa, which is much more “ordinary” except from the inside. For prayers, the women pray in the Sakhra and for Friday prayers, the entire courtyard is filled with worshippers.

As I walked in, the imam was giving a lesson and I understood most of it. I could tell that the people were a bit unhappy with it since some of them asked him to stop. What he was saying was that the men, at the risk of not spending time with their kids and family, should just pray in congregation at home rather then coming to the masjid. Pretty radical concept for the Middle East if you think about it. Anyway, after prayer, I went and saw the Masjid Sakhra and the rock from which the Prophet Muhammed ascended to heaven. As I walked out, I saw Iman’s uncle waiting for us and he gave us a great tour cause his house in literally part of the haram, directly underneath one of the minarets. I didn’t even notice until he pointed it out to me that beneath the Masjid Aqsa is an entire masjid below. My Uncle told us that it was used as a stable for horses and then abandoned until 1948, when a group of Pakistanis were hired to clean up the place and then it became a masjid again. It was huge down there, equal to the size of the masjid above and very cool as well. I can’t wait to go back for Friday pray, that is, if they let me in. Sometimes, they don’t allow people under 40 to attend Friday prayer there.

I think it is important to note that it seems that slowly, this masjid is becoming the forgotten haram. Not in terms of being on people’s mind, but rather, that no one visits it. Many people assume that they can’t come because the Israelis won’t let them, or they will have problems when they do come, etc. Alhamdulillah, so far, the opposite has been true for me and my family, and as such, would encourage people to come. Compared to the “international” nature of both the Ka’ba and the Prophet’s mosque, and the number of people that visit there, the Masjid Al-Aqsa is a ghost town. However, there is no reason for this to be the case.