Description

Islamic: Status of Al Aqsa and its associated reward
Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us that we should only undertake a special journey to one of three masaajid; Al Masjid Al Haram in Makkah, Al Masjid An-Nabawi in Madinah, and Al Masjid Al Aqsa in Jerusalem. In addition – prayer in each of these blessed masaajid are multiplied in virtue, with one salaah in Al Masjid Al Aqsa receiving at least 500 times the reward of salaah elsewhere.

Al Masjid Al Aqsa has a very special status for Muslims because of its own unique history, including being:
The first qibla in Islam;
The second place of worship built in Islam (built 40 years after Kaaba);
The place where the Prophet Muhammad (saw) travelled to on the night of Isra;
The place where the Prophet Muhammad (saw) led all the other Prophets in prayer;
The place where the Prophet Muhammad (saw) ascended during the Miraj;
A place mentioned in the Quran as being “blessed” and “holy”, on numerous occasions. A few of these Quranic references are extracted below:
Surah Isra (17:1): “Glorified be He [Allah] Who did take His servant for a journey by night from Al Masjid Al Haram to Al Masjid Al Aqsa, whose precincts We did bless, in order that We might show him some of our Signs. Verily He is the All Hearing, All Seeing”

Surah Maidah (5:21): “Remember Musa said to his people: “O my people! Call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when He produced Prophets among you, made you kings and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people! Enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will you be overthrown, to your own ruin”

Surah Al Anbiyya (21:69-71): “We said, O Fire! Be thou cool and [a means of] safety for Ibrahim. Then they planned against him, but We made them the greater losers. But we delivered him and Lot (and directed them) to the land which We have blessed for the nations”

One final point relating to reward is that some shayukh have said that if one remembers Allah at a time when others forget, then inshAllah the reward is greater because it is harder to do so. So imagine the reward one will get for visiting Al Masjid Al Aqsa if one embarks on that journey at a time when the rest of the Muslims are neglectful and / or forgotten to visit this blessed place.