# Is al-Aqsa really in Jerusalem?

*Jerusalem was never that sacred, and al-Aqsa was in the heavens*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/kwmtt2tqao0/s/27/
- Date: 2020-08-24 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #179 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (1:54:29–1:57:06)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmtt2TQAO0&t=6869s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/kwmtt2tqao0/

**Topics:** Palestine and Gaza; Isra and Mi'raj; Umayyads and Abbasids

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says Jerusalem was not originally so sacred in Islam and that, in his understanding, al-Aqsa refers to a place in the heavens.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says that in his understanding al-Masjid al-Aqsa, the farthest point, would have been in the heavens, not Jerusalem.

**Evidence, his words at 1:55:49:** “i've never believed that was muslim al-aqsa anyway muscle axot in my understanding would have been the farthest point would have been in the heavens” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmtt2TQAO0&t=6949s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says he knows people will not agree, but to him Jerusalem was never that sacred from an Islamic viewpoint: it was associated with earlier prophets, and its glorification began with the caliph Abd al-Malik, who built the Dome of the Rock as a rival pilgrimage site to Mecca. He says he never believed al-Masjid al-Aqsa was in Jerusalem; in his understanding the farthest place was in the heavens. Even granting that Jerusalem is holy, he says it is arguably more sacred to Jewish people, who would take care of it, and that it is only bricks and mortar.

## Sources and names cited

- al-Masjid al-Aqsa
- Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan
- Dome of the Rock

## Transcript (machine tier, 1:54:29–1:57:06)

[1:53:49] you came in with money and it was broken as a deal they won't accept you as a refugee because you're just a burden to them so yeah but coming back to my point that muslims guilt trip these palestinians secondly there's a lot of politics you know there's arab countries are happy that palestine is between them and israel because it creates a buffer zone because if israel was to just take over that completely then they would be the next target for israel so they would rather that the next guy is getting beaten up and they're just at a safe distance saying

[1:54:29] [Music] as opposed to saying uh oh you know it's like so jordan and these other countries are glad that there is this buffer zone so there's a lot of politics going on here people but i honestly feel that and even this whole thing i know that's my people won't agree with me on the whole jerusalem thing but to me jerusalem was never that sacred anyway from an islamic viewpoint it was something the the real glorification like it was there as i've mentioned before it was there

[1:55:09] uh it was associated with prior prophets but it wasn't seen as this mega the way it seemed today and the glorification of jerusalem began with abdul malik the caliph who who creates this rival city to makkah and medina to kind of especially to makkah not to medina but to distract people from um up to leibniz obeyed and to allow them to come to a pilgrimage in the rock you know dome of the rock so this um and then ever since people have you know they've added stuff and added stuff and then it's become this really holy site

[1:55:49] but even if look let's say let's go with the argument i know people ain't going to agree with me on that and i've i've never believed that was muslim al-aqsa anyway muscle axot in my understanding would have been the farthest point would have been in the heavens because al-aqsa the farthest point is not jerusalem why is that the farthest point on earth so the al-aqsa would have been in the heavens in my understanding but even if you take it let's say you take the fact that jerusalem is a really holy site in islam let's just say it's not holy as a you don't have to do

[1:56:27] a pilgrimage there and to be honest no matter how holy it is to us it's arguably that area is more holy and more sacred to the jewish people so if they took it they're only going to take care of it they're not going to you know they're not going to go around turning that area into a toilet or doing something like that remember it's sacred territory for them as well in fact i would feel it's more sacred for them so even though it's a different religion but tkr you know it doesn't it's only bricks and mortar you know it's not it's not life more valuable

[1:57:05] it's you know the allah didn't send us on this earth just to preserve some bricks preservation of life trumps all and at the end of the day look they they just want to set up a temple if they want to set up the temple and they take over and they won't be killing people and it's what dedicated to the israeli prophets who by the way are all in the quran so okay but we have to just accept that this battle is this war is lost there's no point fighting a lost war because it's just what is really tragic is the amount of

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment KWmtt2TQAO0/s/27. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/kwmtt2tqao0/s/27/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.