Bro Truth Seeker Masjid Aqsa was not constructed during the time of Prophet but after his death .Even when Hazrat Umer went to Jeruslam the Christian chirf asked to pray in a Church but he refused saying Muslim may convert Churches as Masajid. How can the Prophet go to Jerosalam ( Masjid Aqsa) so long by night to see Allahs signs? I just wanted to know as to what kind of Signs Allah would show there? At this stage of discussions I request Bro Joseph to please offer his views Thanks
Dear brother Sardar,
May peace be with you.
'Aqsa' is simply a description, an adjective that describes something which is
far away. For example, please note the expression
'makanan qasiyyan' (a remote place) in 19:22 or
'bil'udwati-lquswa' (on the farther side) in 8:42, or as nouns in
'aqsa-l'madinati' (farthest end of the city) in 28:20 or 36:20.
Therefore,
'masjid al-aqsa' was simply a reference the contemporaries of the Prophet knew and referred to imply a particular
holy precinct at a distance / far away. The fact that later caliphs may have built a mosque / another mosque by the same name on a similar location does not negate that they are the same place. They could have easily named a place based on what they thought the Quran was referring to.
Furthermore, as mentioned in some excerpts already provided by Truth-seeker from some of my own articles, the Quranic use of the term 'Blessed' to signify a land that is blessed has always been reserved for localities
around the holy land. The Quran never makes use of the term
'barakna' to describe the sanctuary at Makkah, which is normally referred to as 'Masjid Haram' (Prohibited / inviolable mosque / sacred mosque), or the Kaaba which is present within its bounds, or any place such as Madinah.
There is absolutely
no warrant in the Quran to consider
'masjid-al-aqsa' as referring to a location in Madinah.
As to what signs were shown, once again I would refer you to Truth-seekers quote which is taken from my article which is obviously a view I subscribe to.
In the end, I humbly feel that we need to clear the noise that oft emanates from stories that are sometimes conflated with this verse and those 'Quran-centric' voices that provide elaborate interpolations without any Quranic warrant and accept the clear narrative of verse 17:1.
The Prophet was simply taken on a night journey, possibly spiritual (given the distance of the holy lands from Makkah) from one location to another where he was shown God's signs. This was clearly a test for those with him and any intricate details which have not been expounded by the Quran have no relevance to believers today.
Of course, there are many stories linked to this night journey
[1]. However, from a Quranic perspective, these are based on extraneous sources without any Quranic warrant.
Please let us stay with clear verses which are meant for the guidance of believers.
I hope this helps, God willing.
Joseph.
REFERENCES:[1] THE NIGHT JOURNEY - ISRA AND MI'RAJhttp://quransmessage.com/articles/lailatul%20miraj%20FM3.htm