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"From the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque"
Author : Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh
Date Added : 15-04-2018

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Master Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

The place: From the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to the Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem; the first of the two Qiblas and the third of the Harams. The blessed land of Prophets and Messengers (PBUT). Whatever is between the two Mosques, including Jordan, is a blessed land since Allah, The Almighty, Said (What means): "whose precincts We did bless" [Al-isra`/1]. The sanctity of this place has joined the two Mosques for a divine wisdom, and that is warning and awakening the Muslim Ummah from the state of inadvertence that it has been going through. This is in order for the Farthest Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa) to remain alive in the heart and conscience of every Muslim so that it continues to be an integral part of his/her creed. Thus, whenever they turn to the Sacred Mosque in prayer, they remember their first Qibla (Al-Aqsa Mosque) and the place from where their Prophet (PBUH) had embarked on his nocturnal journey. This will eventually drive them to liberate it from the yoke of the Jewish occupation. This was manifested in Saladin`s capture of the city of Jerusalem. With Allah`s permission, Al-Aqsa Mosque will be restored and the Muslim Ummah will keep trying to achieve that no matter how costly the price will be. This deep belief in Al-Aqsa can`t be shaken by any international resolution. It is simply recharged whenever the verse (What means): "Glory to (God) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless," [Al-Isra`/1] is recited.

 

At the night of Isra`, belief was manifested in its purest forms for the Prophet (PBUH) has chosen the natural thing. He (PBUH) said: "I entered the mosque and prayed two Rak'ahs in it, and then came out and Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk, and Gabriel said: You have chosen the natural thing." [Moslim]. Choosing milk over wine proves that Islam was the natural thing because it indicates righteousness. Milk is a delicious drink for the drinkers, and so is Islam.

 

At the mosque, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) led other prophets in prayer to establish the oneness of God for he (PBUH) is the Master and the leader of the Prophets. Abu Hurairah (May Allah Be Pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying: "I shall be pre-eminent among the descendants of Adam, the first from whom the earth will be cleft open the first intercessor, and the first whose intercession will be accepted." [Moslim]. This reflects that the Muslim Ummah has been entrusted with leading humanity and will always be.

 

Anas Bin Malik and Ibn Hazm said: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Allah, The Almighty and Sublime, enjoined fifty prayers upon my Ummah, and I came back with that until I passed by Musa, peace be upon him, who said: 'What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah?' I said: 'He has enjoined fifty prayers on them.' Musa said to me: 'Go back to your Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, for your Ummah will not be able to do that.' So I went back to my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and He reduced a portion of it. Then I came back to Musa and told him, and he said: "Go back to you Lord, for your Ummah will not be able to do that.' So I went back to my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and He said: 'They are five (prayers) but they are fifty (in reward), and the Word that comes from Me cannot be changed." [1] I came back to Musa and he said: "Go back to your Lord.' I said: 'I feel too shy before my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime." [Agreed upon].

 

 This is how obligatory prayer was directly prescribed by Allah, The Exalted, to be the backbone of religion and the beginning of the acts of worship and the rope between the slave and his Lord. 

 

However, in the morning after Isra`, people were divided into two groups. One believed what the Prophet (PBUH) had gone through, but the other didn`t, and so disbelieved. In simple words, this event distinguished the pure from the impure.

 

 I pray that Allah, The Almighty, makes this anniversary an incentive for the Muslim Ummah to liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque, and I also pray that He blesses Jordan with safety and stability along with the rest of the Islamic countries. And all perfect praise be to The Lord of The Worlds.

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on performing prayer on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Facing the actual structure of the Ka‘bah (‘ayn al-Ka‘bah) is one of the conditions for the validity of the prayer. The scholars have clarified what is meant by "the actual structure of the Ka‘bah."
Imam ash-Sharwānī (raḥimahullāh) said: "What is meant by its ‘ayn (actual structure) is its physical body, or the airspace directly aligned with it — if the person praying is not inside it. But if he is inside it, then the airspace alone does not suffice; rather, the actual physical structure must be faced, such that even if he faces a projecting part of it measuring roughly two-thirds of a dhirā‘ (cubit) or more, this would be sufficient." [Ḥāshiyat ash-Sharwānī ‘alā Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/P.484]
Sheikh al-Qulyūbī (raḥimahullāh) said: "Unlike one who prays outside it — i.e., outside the Ka‘bah — for him the airspace (directly above it) suffices, even if he is higher than it, or even if he is at the location where it (hypothetically) has been demolished." [Ḥāshiyat al-Qulyūbī ‘alā Sharḥ al-Minhāj,  Vol.1/P.154]
Accordingly, the prayer is valid on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, even though these floors are higher than the roof of the Ka‘bah itself. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on eating and drinking at night after making the intention? Is it necessary to renew the intention?

Eating and drinking at night, even after making the intention (for the next day), does not affect the fast, and it is not necessary to renew the intention after eating and drinking.

If a person enters a mosque and finds the congregation in the final tashahhud, which is more virtuous — joining them or waiting for a second congregation to catch the opening takbīr (takbīrat al-iḥrām)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a worshipper finds a congregation that is about to finish its prayer, and he hopes to catch the entire prayer from the beginning with another congregation, it is more virtuous for him to pray with this first congregation and then repeat the prayer with the second one — provided he does not intend to confine himself to a single prayer. If, however, he intends to perform only one prayer, then it is more virtuous for him to wait for the second congregation rather than joining the first, so that he may attain the reward of congregational prayer for every single rakʿah.
Al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "If members of a congregation enter the mosque while the imam is in the final tashahhud, al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn held that it is recommended for them to join him in prayer, and that they should not delay in order to form a second congregation. Al-Mutawallī, however, affirmed the opposite view, and al-Qāḍī's own statement elsewhere supports this latter position, which is the relied-upon view. In fact, it is more virtuous for a person who has missed part of the prayer with one congregation, and who hopes to catch another congregation with whom he can attain the entire prayer within its proper time, to delay so that he may catch it in full with them. This applies when he intends to confine himself to a single prayer; otherwise, it is more virtuous for him to pray with the first group and then repeat the prayer with the others." [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj,Vol. 3/P.186] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for a woman in her menstrual period to recite from the Mus-haf (copy of the Quran ), or to recite by heart?

A menstruating woman is permitted neither to recite nor to touch the Quran according to what Ali Bin Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) reported about the Prophet (PBUH) who was only held from reciting the Holy Quran by Janabah (Major impurity) [Al-Tirmizi in a sound Hadith]. Although Janabah and menstruation are major impurities, a menstruating woman is permitted to supplicate Allah (Duaa`) and make Zikr (Tasbihat ), even if these involved saying words from the Holy Quran, provided that she does not mean the words for themselves but as a supplication, or Zikr. Moreover, she is rewarded for not reciting the Quran during her menstrual period because she abided by the injunctions of Allah.

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