Series: The Incident of Quraysh Questioning the Prophet About Baitul Maqdis

Background of the Incident

This incident occurred after Prophet Muhammad SAW informed Quraysh about his night journey. By ordinary human measure, this was a tremendous report. Quraysh knew long-distance travel. They knew distance, time, means of transport, caravans and trade routes. Therefore, when the Prophet SAW said that he had been taken on a night journey and had returned to Makkah by morning, they did not simply accept it.

They accused him of lying. As for the longer narration that will be discussed later, it also mentions a man from among the mushrikin who specifically tested the Prophet SAW regarding Baitul Maqdis. That part will be separated into its own article so that it is not mixed with the concise authentic narrations. Allah then displayed Baitul Maqdis to him so that he could answer their questions.

From here, Baitul Maqdis became the subject of questioning. Quraysh were not merely mocking him. They wanted to test him. If someone had truly reached a distant place, surely he would be able to mention something about that place. Therefore, their questions about Baitul Maqdis became a test against the report of Isra’ delivered by the Prophet SAW.

However, this is where an important boundary must be guarded. The authentic hadiths do show that Quraysh asked about Baitul Maqdis. They also show that the Prophet SAW answered their questions. However, those concise authentic narrations do not preserve a complete list of the appearance, features or signs of Baitul Maqdis that he mentioned to them.

Therefore, we are facing two matters at the same time. First, the incident of Quraysh questioning the Prophet SAW about Baitul Maqdis does exist in authentic narrations. Second, the full details of the appearance of Baitul Maqdis cannot be determined from those concise authentic narrations alone.

An Important Note on the Terms al-Masjid al-Aqsa and Baitul Maqdis

One matter must be guarded from the beginning. The Qur’an records the incident of Isra’ in the first verse of Surah al-Isra’ with the wording of a journey from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa. However, the hadith narrations that form the basis of the Quraysh questioning in this series use the wording Baitul Maqdis.

This difference in wording cannot be treated as minor. Do not build a reading as though Quraysh had already heard the term al-Masjid al-Aqsa from the first verse of Surah al-Isra’ that morning, then questioned the Prophet SAW based on that term. The authentic narrations we have do not say that.

At that time, the mosque as an institution of the Muslim ummah after the Hijrah had also not yet taken shape as it later did in Quba’ and Madinah. Masjid Quba’ had not yet been built. Masjid Nabawi had not yet been built either, because the Hijrah had not yet occurred. Therefore, do not imagine the Quraysh setting at that time through the framework of the Muslim mosque after the Hijrah.

This does not mean Quraysh did not know sacred places. They knew the Ka‘bah, the Sacred Land, worship, long journeys and honoured places. However, in the narrations of the questioning after the incident of Isra’, the wording that appears is Baitul Maqdis.

Therefore, in this series, we need to distinguish between two layers. The Qur’an records the incident of Isra’ with the wording al-Masjid al-Aqsa. The hadiths of Quraysh’s questioning record their test with the wording Baitul Maqdis. These two wordings must not be mixed hastily before the context of each is examined.

Why You Need to Read This Series

I arranged this series because questions about Baitul Maqdis often arise whenever I discuss Masjidil Aqsa. This happens because many readers have long equated the two terms, whereas in the study of wording, the Qur’an and hadith must be read according to their respective expressions.

I have already explained this confusion in the opening article of the series, titled Why I Discuss Baitul Maqdis When My Original Study Is About Masjidil Aqsa. Therefore, in this main article, I will not repeat that entire explanation. Readers who want to understand why this series needed to be written should read that article first.

This main article functions as a map of the series. Here, we will look at the background of the incident in which Quraysh questioned the Prophet SAW about Baitul Maqdis, the limits of the information found in authentic hadiths, the need to examine the longer narrations and the arrangement of articles that will dissect this issue step by step.

The important matters in this series are not limited to Quraysh’s questioning. We will also examine the trade caravan as a means of verification, the mushrik man who tested the Prophet SAW and an element that is rarely given attention, namely the mountain specifically mentioned beside Baitul Maqdis.

A Matter Rarely Discussed: The Mountain Beside Baitul Maqdis

This series also needs to be read because there is one wording that is very rarely given attention when people discuss Baitul Maqdis in the incident of Isra’, namely the wording of the mountain.

In one of the longer narrations, a mushrik man who claimed to be the most knowledgeable about Baitul Maqdis asked the Prophet SAW about three matters: its structure, its form and its nearness to the mountain.

This wording of the mountain cannot be taken lightly. It is not merely a decorative detail in the story. If someone who claimed to be the most knowledgeable about Baitul Maqdis made its nearness to the mountain a subject of testing, then that mountain becomes an important topographical indicator.

The question is, what mountain is meant? Is it an ordinary mountain? Is it a mountain known to those who had seen Baitul Maqdis? Was the Baitul Maqdis meant in the narration located near one clearly distinct mountain?

This series will not jump straight to a conclusion. We will first read the narration, arrange its context and examine one by one the matters that are truly mentioned.

What Is Meant by Baitul Maqdis in This Narration?

There is another major question that must be opened carefully. When a hadith mentions Baitul Maqdis, we need to ask what is meant by that wording within the context of that narration.

This question is not meant to immediately claim that many Baitul Maqdis exist. It is raised so that we do not force one inherited meaning onto every narration without verification.

Is the Baitul Maqdis known to the person asking the same as the Baitul Maqdis displayed by Allah to the Prophet SAW?

Is the Baitul Maqdis asked about in that questioning session the same as the Baitul Maqdis understood by later society?

Does the use of the term Baitul Maqdis in later narrations carry the same meaning in every context, or must it be read according to the situation, wording and background of each narration?

This is not a small question. If these layers of terminology are not separated, every discussion about Masjidil Aqsa will continue to be dragged into Baitul Maqdis, and every discussion about Baitul Maqdis will continue to be mixed with Masjidil Aqsa.

In the end, people no longer read the wording. They only read inherited assumptions.

Series Arrangement

This series must be read step by step because each article holds a different function. If someone goes straight to the part about the mountain without first reading the authentic hadiths and the longer narration, he may think the conclusion was made too early. If someone only reads the part about the trade caravan, he may think this discussion is merely about proving the journey. If someone only reads the part about the mushrik man, he may not yet see why the issue of topography becomes important.

That is why the arrangement of this series is not random. It begins with separating the terms, then moves to the authentic hadiths, the longer narration, the trade caravan, the mushrik man, the wording of the mountain, the summary and the closing.

The series will be arranged as follows:

1. Why I Discuss Baitul Maqdis When My Original Study Is About Masjidil Aqsa
2. Authentic Hadiths Showing That Quraysh Asked About Baitul Maqdis
3. Quraysh Tested the Prophet’s Claim About Baitul Maqdis
4. The Trade Caravan as Evidence of Quraysh’s Verification
5. The Mushrik Man Who Tested the Prophet About Baitul Maqdis
6. The Lone Mountain Beside Baitul Maqdis Is an Important Indicator
7. BAZ Summary of the Incident of Quraysh’s Questioning
8. Series Closing: What Can and Cannot Be Determined About Baitul Maqdis

Closing

This series was not written to answer one small question. It was written to resolve a recurring problem in discussions about Masjidil Aqsa and Baitul Maqdis.

I do not want every discussion about Masjidil Aqsa to be immediately mixed with Baitul Maqdis without examining the wording. I also do not want every discussion about Baitul Maqdis to make people assume that I am changing the original focus of my study on Masjidil Aqsa.

Every term must be placed in its proper position. What the Qur’an says about Masjidil Aqsa, we examine through the Qur’an. What the hadith says about Baitul Maqdis, we examine through the hadith. What the narration does not mention, we cannot add through assumption.

That is why this series must be read in full. Not to rush toward an answer, but to see how this question is built upon wording, narration, context, verification and indicators that are truly mentioned.