Ambiguous is a word that leaps to mind when thinking about Jerusalem in the Qur˒ān. In the Old Testament, Jerusalem (literally) appears 669 times; the Christian New Testament mentions Jerusalem (literally) 154 times; the Qur˒ān (literally) mentions Jerusalem at no time.

            In reading Hadith, one can always find something to justify anything. These same six collections of Hadiths prohibit or glorify martyrdom in the form of a suicide bomber; and speak of heaven's physical reward of 70, or 71, or 72, black-haired and beautiful, or fat and gangly virgins.

            The first Hadiths were not collected until some 200 years after Muḥammad's death. The process of isnad does not change the fact that many Hadiths that were inconsistent with others were simply dropped from tradition. Even after the purging of inconsistencies, Goldziher's research demonstrated that many Hadiths remained outright forgeries.^[54]

            Many Hadiths were created for the 'good' of the community. Of course when Arabian Muslims opposed to the Damascus-based Caliphate created their own Hadiths, the Umayyad rulers naturally created their own. When the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad succeeded the Damascus Umayyads, the process gathered even more steam—they had to demonstrate their legitimacy.

            By 661, Muḥammad's dream of a unified Islamic kingdom was beset with internal schisms. Two branches of Islam were created (Sunni and Shi^˓a) and they were at odds with eachother. The last of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, ^˓Ali, whom the Shi^˓a believe should have been Muḥammad's first successor, was murdered. A new Caliph, Mu^˓awiyya^[25] ruled the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus, a dynasty that would last from 661–750.

            In Medina, ^˓Ali's son Husayn received word (according to Shi^˓a tradition) that he would be next in line to assume the Caliphate. When he arrived in Karbala (near Baghdad) in 680, he discovered that Mu^˓awiyya was already dead and he had appointed his son, Yazid as his successor. Husayn was subsequently killed in what has become the most defining moment in Shi^˓a history. By 685, there was open revolt. The roots of these disputes exist to today—and those roots began with the death of Muḥammad in 632. It is within this context that the Umayyad Caliph, Abd al-Malik commissioned the building of the Qubbat al-Sakhra in Jerusalem during the late 7th century.

            Sura 2 of the Qur˒ān explicitly states that one should face the Ka˓ba in Mecca during prayer. So important is this direction that in Islam, the dead are buried facing the Ka˓ba.
            El-Khatib points to al-Qibla (the prayer direction) and references the second Sura, verses 142, 143, and 145. He explains that, "We are told that Muslims when praying faced towards Bayt al-Maqdis^[20] for 17 consecutive months after the Hijra,^[21] until this was abrogated by the revelation of Q 2:142–146. These verses ordered the Prophet and the Muslim community to turn in prayer towards the Ka˓ba in Mecca instead of Jerusalem."^[22]

            Chronologically, Muḥammad’s Night Journey and Ascension are the earliest events in Islam pertaining to Jerusalem. Sura 17:1 of the Qur˒ān tells the story:

"Glory be to Him, who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the Further Mosque the precincts of which We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. He is the All-hearing, All-seeing."[10]

("Subḥana al-ladhi asra bi˓bdihi laīlan mina al-masjidi al-ḥarami ila al-masjidi alaqṣā, al-adhi baraknā ḥawlaū linuriyaū min 'ayatinā inaū huwa al-samī˓u al-baṣīru")

            Below are three alternative and trusted translations of the same Sura:^[11]

Yusif Ali: Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).

Pickhal: Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far distant place of worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer.

Shakir: Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

            According to tradition, Muḥammad son of ^˓Abdallah was born in 570 or 571 CE to the Arab tribe of Quraysh in the small town of Mecca in western Arabia.^[4] At the time, the Arabian peninsula was mostly an uninhabited desert with a few towns along ancient trading routes. The majority of the inhabitants were nomads who secured their livelihood by raising sheep, goats, and camels, and by occasionally raiding a nearby tribe. During the 6th century, Mecca became one of several flourishing towns as it lay along a trade route while the empires of Rome and Persia renewed their hostilities.
            Muḥammad was 40 years old when the angel Gabriel appeared and revealed what would become the first four verses in the Qur˒ān.^[5] Many more revelations followed. During the early years of Muḥammad’s mission he gained a number of converts, first among his family and tribe, followed by those in wider circles. This movement that began to stir in Mecca caused suspicion among many leading families. In 622, twelve years after his first revelation, Muḥammad and a group of his disciples left for the oasis town named Yathrib (a town that later became known as Medina from the Arabic, al-Madīna or the The City).^[6]