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Holy Places
Jerusalem is highly respected and revered by the followers of the three faiths-Moslems, Christians and Jews-because most of the prophets and messengers either lived in the city or had been there at one time or another such as Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Jesus, Yahya, Zakaria and Saleh, peace be upon them. Stories indicate that Adam was buried in a cave between Jerusalem and Abraham's shrine, and Noah's ark is believed to have told him that "this is the place of your sons-Sam who built the city and ruled it" (Bin Mohammed [date unknown]). Moreover, Abdullah Bin Omar said, "Beit Al Maqdes had been built by the prophets, peace be upon them, and the angels had prostrated all over the city". Muqatel Ben Suleiman said, "The prophets and angels had prayed all over the city" (Al Suyouti [date unknown]). The Islamic faith confirms the belief in all prophets and considers this one of its articles of faith to believe in all previous faiths, as mentioned in the Holy Qur'an in Surah Al Imran, verses 3 and 4, "Allah has sent you the Book to believe in the previous faiths, and He had sent Al Torah and Al Injeel (the Psalms) as a guide for the people." Also, in Surah Al Shoura, verse 13, "Allah has shown you the true religion which was oracled to Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus to follow this belief and not disperse." Consequently, the holy and sacred places in the Jerusalem are (Al Zein 1988):
Al Aqsa Mosque.
It was the second mosque built by Abraham, peace be upon him, after he had built the Kaabah. Al Aqsa means "the farthest" and it was named so because it is far away from Mecca and it was the destination of Mohammed's (peace be upon him) Al Isra'a journey.
The Dome of the Rock
. It was taken as a mosque and altar by Abraham (peace be upon him) and as a mosque by Jacob. Yusha'a took the dome as a meeting place made by Moses (peace be upon him) in the chaos. David and Suleiman also took it as a mosque and finally it was the starting point of Al Miraaj, the journey by Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) up to the heavens (Mustafa 1989).
Al Buraq
This is the wall that surrounds Al Aqsa Mosque from the west. It is an indivisible part of the sanctuary. It is called the Wailing Wall by the Jews, who believe that the so-called Al Haykal was built there by Herodes in 18 BC and thereafter destroyed by Titus in 70 CE. Concerning the Christians, Al Qeyameh Church was built by Queen Heliana in 335 CE. This is where they discovered the cross upon which Jesus Christ was believed to have been crucified. This Church is considered to be the most revered place for Christians. The Jews are still searching for Al Haykal, built by Suleiman, especially in the area (Al Zein 1988).
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