A Brief History of the Holy Places in Jerusalem

Jerusalem is highly respected and revered by the
followers of the three faiths-Moslems, Christians and Jews-because most
of the prophets and messengers either lived in the city or had been
there at one time or another such as Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Jesus,
Yahya, Zakaria and Saleh, peace be upon them. Stories indicate that Adam
was buried in a cave between Jerusalem and Abraham's shrine, and Noah's
ark is believed to have told him that "this is the place of your
sons-Sam who built the city and ruled it" (Bin Mohammed [date unknown]).
Moreover, Abdullah Bin Omar said, "Beit Al Maqdes had been built by the
prophets, peace be upon them, and the angels had prostrated all over
the city". Muqatel Ben Suleiman said, "The prophets and angels had
prayed all over the city" (Al Suyouti [date unknown]). The Islamic faith
confirms the belief in all prophets and considers this one of its
articles of faith to believe in all previous faiths, as mentioned in the
Holy Qur'an in Surah Al Imran, verses 3 and 4, "Allah has sent you the
Book to believe in the previous faiths, and He had sent Al Torah and Al
Injeel (the Psalms) as a guide for the people." Also, in Surah Al
Shoura, verse 13, "Allah has shown you the true religion which was
oracled to Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus to follow this belief and not
disperse." Consequently, the holy and sacred places in the Jerusalem are
(Al Zein 1988):

Al Aqsa Mosque.



It was the second mosque built by Abraham, peace be upon him, after he
had built the Kaabah. Al Aqsa means "the farthest" and it was named so
because it is far away from Mecca and it was the destination of
Mohammed's (peace be upon him) Al Isra'a journey.


The Dome of the Rock



. It was taken as a mosque and altar by Abraham (peace
be upon him) and as a mosque by Jacob. Yusha'a took the dome as a
meeting place made by Moses (peace be upon him) in the chaos. David and
Suleiman also took it as a mosque and finally it was the starting point
of Al Miraaj, the journey by Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be
upon him) up to the heavens (Mustafa 1989).

Al Buraq



This is the wall that surrounds Al Aqsa Mosque from the west. It is an
indivisible part of the sanctuary. It is called the Wailing Wall by the
Jews, who believe that the so-called Al Haykal was built there by
Herodes in 18 BC and thereafter destroyed by Titus in 70 CE. Concerning
the Christians, Al Qeyameh Church was built by Queen Heliana in 335 CE.
This is where they discovered the cross upon which Jesus Christ was
believed to have been crucified. This Church is considered to be the
most revered place for Christians. The Jews are still searching for Al
Haykal, built by Suleiman, especially in the area (Al Zein 1988