Who conquered Al-Aqsa?

The area was conquered by Saladin in 1187. The Crusaders later entered the blessed Masjid and massacred thousands of Muslims inside. Al Masjid Al Aqsa was then converted into a palace, and it took 88 years before the Muslims reclaimed it in 1187 under the leadership of the great leader Salahuddin Ayyubi.

The name “Al-Aqsa” means “the farthest mosque” and comes from a story in the Quran called “The Night Journey”. In the story, Prophet Muhammad travels from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he ascends to heaven and meets with other prophets before returning to Mecca.

The mosque was originally built by Caliph Umar in 638 CE, just a few years after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located on the Temple Mount, which is also known as Haram al-Sharif.

The compound contains several other important religious sites, including the Dome of the Rock, which is believed to be the spot where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The mosque has undergone several renovations and expansions over the centuries.

The present-day mosque was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik or his successor al-Walid I (or both) as a congregational mosque on the same axis as the Dome of the Rock, a commemorative Islamic monument.

After being destroyed in an earthquake in 746, the mosque was rebuilt in 758 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. It was further expanded upon in 780 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi, after which it consisted of fifteen aisles and a central dome.

However, it was again destroyed during the 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake. The mosque was rebuilt by the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1036), who reduced it to seven aisles but adorned its interior with an elaborate central archway covered in vegetal mosaics; the current structure preserves the 11th-century outline.