Dear Readers, Assalam o Alaikum!
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In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
'Bayt ul-Muqaddas' (or literally the Holy House) and the 'Masjid al-Aqsa' (or literally the farthest Mosque) are two names of the same Masjid which was originally built in Jerusalem by the Noble Prophet of Allah (saws), Hadrat Sulaimaan ibn Dawood (a.s.).
Ref: Qubbat as Sakhra or Dome of the Rock
The 'rock' over which the 'Dome of the Rock' is built was considered 'holy' by the People of the Book before the Revelation of the Glorious Quran and the advent of the Prophet Mohamed (saws). Jews erroneously believed, and still believe, the 'rock' to be the place where Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) prepared to sacrifice his second-born son Ishaaq (a.s.), whereas the Truth is confirmed by Allah Subhanah in His Glorious Quran that Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) did not prepare to sacrifice his second-born son and Prophet Ishaaq (a.s.) in Jerusalem, but rather it was his first-born son and the Prophet Ismail (a.s.) who was prepared for sacrifice under the Command and guidance of the Lord Most High in Makkah.
The 'rock' over which the 'Dome of the Rock' is built is still believed by the Jews to stand directly over the site which they term the 'Holy of the Holies', the place upon which once stood the 'Temple of Solomon' and 'Herod's Temple'. The Jews believe that this was the 'rock' upon which the 'Ark of the Covenant' was placed in the first Temple of Solomon; and it was on this very 'rock' during the second Temple upon which their High Priest offered the incense and sprinkled the blood of the sacrifices during the 'Yom Kippur' services. Jewish Rabbinic legend also alleges that the entire world was created from this very 'rock', hence they also call it the 'Foundation Stone'!
In Christianity, in addition to the several incidents of Prophet Jesus (a.s.) in the 'Temple of Solomon' which are recorded in the present day Bible, it is believed that during the time of the Byzantine Empire, the spot where the 'Dome' was later constructed was where Constantine's mother built a small church, calling it the 'Church of St. Cyrus and St. John', later on enlarged and called the 'Church of the Holy Wisdom.'
Although it cannot be authenticated, some muslims believe that the 'rock' over which the 'Dome of the Rock' was later built was the very site from where the Prophet Mohamed (saws) ascended to the heavens with Arch-Angel Jibrael (a.s.) during the 'Mairaaj'....And Allah Alone Knows Best.
The Dome of the Rock was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik from 688 to 691 AD. It was not intended to be a mosque, but rather only a monument to the site from which Prophet Mohamed (saws) ascended to the heavens.
Even if the claim of some muslims that the 'rock' over which the 'Dome of the Rock' was later built is the very site from which Prophet Mohamed (saws) ascended towards the heavens is to be believed, then this site of the 'Dome of the Rock' would hold only a historical significance in Islam; for without an iota of a doubt, the 'rock' or the 'Dome of the Rock' holds absolutely no religious significance in the deen of Islam.
What is of enormous religious significance to the believers and in Islam is the actual site of the 'Masjid-al-Aqsa' which is found adjacent and to the South of the place where the 'Dome of the Rock' is built, and it is this 'Masjid al-Aqsa' which is considered the third most holiest Masjid in Islam after the Holy Sanctuary in Makkah and the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah.
Best Wishes
