| − | According to the Koran:{{cquote| Glory be to Him, who carried His servant [Muhammad] by night from the Holy Mosque [in Mecca] 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, the All-seeing.<ref>Koran 17:1, Arberry, A.J. ''The Koran Interpreted: A Translation'', 1996, Oxford World's Classics.</ref>}} | + | According to the Koran:{{cquote| Glory be to Him, who carried His servant [Muhammad] by night from the Holy Mosque [in Mecca] 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, the All-seeing.<ref>Koran 17:1, Arberry, A.J. ''The Koran Interpreted: A Translation'', 1996, Oxford World's Classics.</ref>}}This verse is conventionally interpreted to mean that Mohammad was miraculously transported to a "Further Mosque," in Arabic ''al-Masjid al-ʾAqṣā'', as part of a one night journey in 621 and briefly ascended to heaven there. The phrase is properly understood as referring to the Temple Mount as a whole.<ref>"[http://www.islamicencyclopedia.org/islamic-pedia-topic.php?id=641 Masjid al-Aqsa]", ''Islamic Encyclopedia,'' Mon, 13 Oct, 2014.</ref> The al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is one of only three that are suggested as destinations for Islamic pilgrimage. The other two pilgrimage mosques are in Mecca and Medina. |
| − | This verse is conventionally interpreted to mean that Mohammad was miraculously transported to a "Further Mosque," in Arabic ''al-Masjid al-ʾAqṣā'', as part of a one night journey in 621 and briefly ascended to heaven there. The phrase is properly understood as referring to the Temple Mount as a whole.<ref>"[http://www.islamicencyclopedia.org/islamic-pedia-topic.php?id=641 Masjid al-Aqsa]", ''Islamic Encyclopedia,'' Mon, 13 Oct, 2014.</ref> The al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is one of only three that are suggested as destinations for Islamic pilgrimage. The other two pilgrimage mosques are in Mecca and Medina. | |