Jerusalem's Importance in Early Islam
Everyone has heard the familiar mantra— Jerusalem is the center of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It begs the questions, what are the various claims to the ancient city and how does one weigh these claims to the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest site in Islam?
The purpose of this paper is to examine Jerusalem’s importance in early Islam by focusing on the historical, religious, and political contexts. In order to draw conclusions one must focus on the historical context that gave rise to the religion. The methods used for drawing a conclusion include exploring scholarly historical, political and religious discourse, comparing the texts of the Qur˒ān with the texts of the Old and New Testament, and examining the relevant Hadiths (Islamic oral tradition).
The purpose of this paper is to examine Jerusalem’s importance in early Islam by focusing on the historical, religious, and political contexts. In order to draw conclusions one must focus on the historical context that gave rise to the religion. The methods used for drawing a conclusion include exploring scholarly historical, political and religious discourse, comparing the texts of the Qur˒ān with the texts of the Old and New Testament, and examining the relevant Hadiths (Islamic oral tradition).
There are five primary issues to examine that are instructive in determining Jerusalem's religious, historical, and political importance in Islam: 1) al-Isra and al-Miraj (Muḥammad’s Night Journey and Ascension); 2) the selection of the Qibla (direction of prayer) in Islam; 3) Abd al-Malik’s Jerusalem and the building of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount; 4) Jerusalem during the Crusades, and; 5) Ibrāhīm, Isḥāq, and Ismā˓īl.[1]
Two religious narratives claim Jerusalem as central to their religion. In Judaism הָשֶׁם commanded Abraham in Genesis 22:2 to take the son that he loves, his "only" son and offer him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.[2] Abraham fulfilled his covenant with הָשֶׁם on Mount Moriah in the land the Lord promised in Genesis 15:18. In the same place, Abraham's grandson, Jacob had the dream of a ladder to heaven with angels ascending and descending.[3] In Genesis 28:13 הָשֶׁם reaffirmed his covenant with Jacob and his descendants and promised the land under his head. Centuries later, King David of the Israelites conquered Jerusalem and his son Solomon built the first of two temples on Mount Moriah, where Abraham the father of Judaism fulfilled his sacrificial pledge to הָשֶׁם.
In Islam, Muḥammad is the "The Seal of the Prophets" who received the final and most complete revelation from ﷲ (Allah). Jews and Christians are considered “People of the Book” and thus Yasu˓a/Jesus, Suliman/Solomon, Dawud/David, Musa/Moses, Yaqub/Jacob, Isḥāq/Isaac, and Ismā˓īl/Ismail are all prophets. Ibrāhīm is the father of both Islam and Judaism. Because Islam is the perfect and complete continuation of Judaism and Christianity, anything holy to the former monotheistic religions is holy to Islam. According to tradition, Muḥammad’s Night Journey from the “holiest mosque to the furthest mosque” and his subsequent Ascension into heaven in Sura (Chapter) 17:1 took place on al-Haram al-Sharif ( الحرم الشريف ) in Jerusalem. Furthermore, Jerusalem also was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) in early Islam. Today al-Haram al-Sharif is home to the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra) and the Mosque of al-Aqsa.
[1] Ibrāhīm in Arabic, is Avraham in Hebrew, and Abraham in English; Isḥāq in Arabic, is Yitzhak in Hebrew, and Isaac in English; Ismā˓īl in Arabic, is Ishmael in Hebrew, and Ismail in English.
[2] For the purpose of this post, during the Jewish narrative הָשֶׁם (pronounced, Hashem) is used to denote their God. Likewise, in the Islamic narrative لله is used (pronounced, Allah).
[3] See Genesis 28:10–18