Can anyone visit Al Aqsa? Can anyone enter the Al Aqsa?

Yes, visitors are allowed to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, due to security concerns, non-Muslim visitors are only allowed to enter the compound at certain times and are not allowed to pray inside the mosque.

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.

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.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque has been a site of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians for many years. It has been closed to non-Muslim visitors for extended periods due to security concerns.

Al-Masjid al-Aqṣā” refers to the entire compound known as the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif, encompassing the mosque itself. “Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā,” on the other hand, specifically refers to the silver-domed congregational mosque building within the compound.