format_quote Originally Posted by
Avicenna
First notice how aburd this even is. Considering that it would take the light (fastest thing in the universe) 8 years to make a round trip to the closest solar system, and 30 billion years to the outskirts of the known universe
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...-of-light.html
and considering that wings don't serve beyond the atmosphere of the Earth
The Prophet saws was not travelling in our material universe for Miraaj, he ascended beyond our observable dimension through the Ma'ârij. He was not travelling in 'outer space'!! And the Burâq is unlike any earthly creatures as are its wings.
Why Muhammad had to go to Masjidul' Aqsa in order to go to heaven?
He didn't. The trip to Al-Aqsa was the isrâ' and the ascension was the miraaj.
Masjid'ul Aqsa ("{Farthest Mosque") was built
after the death of Muhammad.
Let us first clarify what Masjid Al-Aqsa is:
The Arab grammarians classify masjid as "ism makan", i.e., "name of location"; it indicates the place where an action takes place. Masjid being derived from the root sa-ja-da (to prostrate), it means "place of prostration". Since a place of worship is a place where believers prostrate to God, "masjid" is a general term to designate any place of worship without any religious distinction. Later, this word was used to designate Islamic places of worship in particular, i.e., the mosques.
The Prophet's night journey was from "the inviolable place of worship" (al-Masjid al-Haram) to "the farthest place of worship" (al-Masjid al-Aqsa). The former is certainly located in Makkah, but what about the latter? The reference to Allah blessing its surroundings (... whose precincts We did bless) suggests a location in the "Holy Land" (cf. 21:81; 7:137; 34:18).
Masjid is any place of prostration. The Prophet Muhammad pbuh said "The earth has been made for me [and for my followers] a "masjid" [Arabic: a place for prostration]and a means of purification. Therefore, my followers can pray wherever the time of a prayer is due." (Sahîh Bukhârî).
As for the hadîth you quoted it refers to the initial designation of the location as a sacred sanctuary and the foundations of Bayt Al-Maqdis.
The hadith presents yet another problem. Masjid'ul Haram (Ka'ba) was allegedly built by Abraham. He lived about 2000 BC and the Temple of Solomon (the site of the Msjid ul'Aqsa) was built about 958-951 BC. There is a gap of about over 1040 years between the dates of the construction of the two buildings.
Neither were the first. It can be said that Abraham laid the foundations of both, or that Adam and his progeny did. Ibn Al-Jawzî:
"The answer to that is that the mention concerns the first construction and the foundation of the mosque and it is not Abraham who built the Ka`bah for the first time nor is it Solomon who built Bayt al-Maqdis for the first time. Indeed, we have narrated that the first one who built the Ka`bah is Adam. Then his progeny spread out on earth. Therefore, it is possible that one of them built Bayt al-Maqdis. Later, Abraham (re)built the Ka`bah according to the Qur'an."
Regards
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