Jerusalem's Importance in Early Islam
Unlike the Night Journey in 620 CE, the conquest of Jerusalem in 638, the completion of the Dome of the Rock in 691, and the Christian Crusades at the dawn of the 11th century – each occurring on a historical timeline from Muḥammad’s birth and thereafter – Ibrāhīm’s sacrifice occurred some 2,500 years before Muḥammad.[35] Therefore, this event is of special importance because it involves more than a historical understanding of Islam as it unfolded. By way of contrast it involves a sharp disagreement with the founding principles of both Judaism and Christianity, the two religions containing the same prophets that Muḥammad and Islam claim to supersede. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity agree that ﷲ or הָשֶׁם tested Ibrāhīm by commanding him to sacrifice his son. Ibrāhīm complied and bound his son for the sacrifice, but seconds from carrying out its conclusion, the angel Jabriel stayed Ibrāhīm's hand and the Lord held his oath fulfilled; he had passed the test. The disagreement is over the son he was commanded to sacrifice and the event's location.
According to Islam, ﷲ commanded Ibrāhīm to sacrifice Ismā˓īl —and this is no small matter because the Arab peoples[36] claim lineage from Ibrāhīm through the house of Ismā˓īl .[37] While tracing Arab genealogy to Ismā˓īl is as problematic as tracing Jewish genealogy to Isaac, the difference both in which son was chosen by ﷲ or הָשֶׁם and the location is paramount because it goes to the heart of both Jerusalem's and Mecca's earliest importance in the monotheistic religions. Jerusalem the most important place in Judaism as a direct result of the sacrificial episode. This same event is what makes Mecca the most important place in Islam.
