Below are a collection of hadith relating to Al Masjid Al Aqsa:
The Importance of Visiting Masjid Al-Aqsa
Abu Hurayrah (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said:
“Do not undertake a journey to visit any Mosque, but three: this Mosque of mine, the Mosque of al-Haram and the Mosque of Aqsa”
[Sahih Muslim 1397]Many similar Hadiths appear in Sahih Bukhari (Ref: 1189), Abu Dawud (Ref: 2033), An Nasa’i (Ref: 700) & Ibn Majah (Ref: 1409). There are also other narrations from Abu Sa’eed Al Khudri relating the same message in Tirmidhi (Ref: 326) and Ibn Majah (Ref: 1410).
Great Virtue in Praying at Masjid Al-Aqsa
Abu Darda (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said:
“A prayer in Makkah (Ka’bah) is worth 1000,000 times (reward), a prayer in my Masjid (Madinah) is worth 1,000 times, and a prayer in Al-Aqsa Sanctuary is worth 500 times more reward than anywhere else”
[Bayhaqi]Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
“We were discussing when we were with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is better, the Mosque of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “One prayer in my mosque is better than four prayers offered there (in Bayt al-Maqdis), and what a good place of prayer it is. Soon there will come a time when, if a man has a piece of land the size of a horse’s rope from which he can see Bayt al-Maqdis, that will be better for him than the whole world.”
[ al-Haakim, 4/509]Anas Ibn Malik (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said:
“A man’s prayer in his house is equal (in reward) to 1 prayer; his prayer in the mosque of the tribes is equal to 25 prayers; his prayer in the mosque in which Friday prayer is offered is equal to 500 prayers; his prayer in Aqsa Mosque is equal to 50,000 prayers; his prayer in my mosque is equal to 50,000 prayers; and his prayer in the Sacred Mosque is equal to 100,000 prayers.”
[Ibn Majah – Daeef Hadith]Abdullah Ibn Amr reports that the prophet (ﷺ) said:
“When Sulaiman bin Dawud finished building Baitil-Maqdis, he asked Allah for three things: judgment that was in harmony with His judgment, a dominion that no one after him would have, and that no one should come to this mosque, intending only to pray there, but he would emerge free of sin as the day his mother bore him.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Two prayers were granted, and I hope that the third was also granted.”
[Ibn Majah]The Second House of Allah on Earth
Abu Dharr (ra) reported that he asked the Prophet (saw), “O Messenger of Allah, which mosque was first built on the surface of the earth?” He said, “Al- Masjid-ul-Haram (in Mecca).” I said, “Which was built next?” He replied “The mosque of Al-Aqsa ( in Jerusalem) .” I said, “What was the period of construction between the two?” He said, “Forty years.” He added, “Wherever (you may be, and) the prayer time becomes due, perform the prayer there, for the best thing is to do so (i.e. to offer the prayers in time)”
[Sahih Bukhari 3366]A similar Hadith is also narrated in Sahih Muslim (Ref: 520 a), and in Ibn Majah (Ref: 753).
The Importance of Donating to Masjid Al-Aqsa
Maymunah Bint Sa’d (ra) relates that she asked the Prophet (saw):
“O Messenger of Allah, tell us the legal injunction about (visiting) Bayt al-Muqaddas. The Messenger of Allah said: go and pray there. All the cities at that time were effected by war. If you cannot visit it and pray there, then send some oil to be used in the lamps.”
[Abu Dawud]The Virtues of Wearing Ihram From Masjid Al-Aqsa
Umm Salamah (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said:
“If anyone puts on Ihram for Hajj or Umrah from Masjid Al-Aqsa and then proceeds to the Sacred Masjid (Ka’bah), his past and future sins will be forgiven, or he will be guaranteed Paradise”.
[Abu Dawud 1741 – Daeef Hadith]The Blessed Land of Masjid Al-Aqsa
Zaid Ibn Thabit (ra) narrated:
“We were with the Messenger of Allah (saw) collecting the Qur’an on pieces of cloth, then the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘Tuba [a prayer for glad tidings] ]is for Ash-Sham.’ So we said: ‘Why is that O Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘Because the angels of Ar-Rahman spread their wings over it.’”
[Tirmidhi]The First Qiblah
Al-Bara (ra) narrated that:
“We prayed toward Bait Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for sixteen or seventeen months – Safwan was not sure – then it was changed to the Qiblah.”
[An Nasa’i 488]Al Isra Blessings For Ummah
Abu Hurayrah (ra) narrated that:
Allah’s Messenger (saw) was presented with two cups one containing wine and the other milk on the night of his night journey at Jerusalem. He looked at it and took the milk. Gabriel said, “Thanks to Allah Who guided you to the Fitra (i.e. Islam); if you had taken the wine, your followers would have gone astray.”
[Bukhari vol 6, book 60, Hadith 232]Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “I met Ibrahim (ﷺ) on the Night of Ascension (Al-Asra), and he said to me: ‘O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell them that Jannah has a vast plain of pure soil and sweet water. It is a plain levelled land. The plants grow there by uttering: Subhan-Allah, Al-hamdu lillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar (Allah is free from imperfection; praise be to Allah; there is no true god except Allah; and Allah is Greatest).”
[At- Tirmidhi]
Masjid Al-Aqsa – The Best Place of Residence
‘Abd Allaah bin ‘Amr said:
“ I heard the Apostle of Allaah (saw) say “There will be emigration after emigration and the people who are best will be those who cleave most closely to places which Abraham migrated [i.e. Jerusalem].”
[Abu Dawud – Daeef]