Is it prescribed to pray in the Dome of the Rock?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Benefits from the explanation of the book *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim li-Mukhalafat Ahl al-Jahim* by Ibn Taymiyyah. If the Dome of the Rock is next to al-Aqsa Mosque, what is the ruling regarding it?
The Shaykh:
Al-Aqsa Mosque is not the Dome of the Rock; it is separate from it. Yes, it is separate.
The questioner:
Is it south of the Dome of the Rock?
The Shaykh:
Yes, between the Rock and the Ka'bah. Yes.
The questioner:
But the Dome of the Rock is prayed in like any other mosque.
The Shaykh:
No, the Muslims do not pray on the ground.
The questioner:
It is not prayed in for the sake of the Rock.
The Shaykh:
They pray in 'Umar's Mosque, which 'Umar built when he conquered the Levant. He went to Bayt al-Maqdis, designated the location of the mosque, and the mosque was established as it was in the time of the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them),
The questioner:
which is al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Shaykh:
Yes, indeed, the one that 'Umar built.
The questioner:
And this is what remains; it appears in the pictures as a mosque.
The Shaykh:
The Christians and the Jews revere it, but this reverence is not from the religion of the Muslims. Yes.
The questioner:
But is the Muslim prohibited from praying in it, or is it permissible for him to pray in it?
The Shaykh:
He prays in the existing mosque. The dome built over the Rock was the action of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, may Allah forgive him; it was an act of his independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), and he had no right to do so, but he did it.
The questioner:
But it was a mistake.
The Shaykh:
A mistake, yes.
Benefits from the explanation of the book *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim li-Mukhalafat Ahl al-Jahim* by Ibn Taymiyyah. If the Dome of the Rock is next to al-Aqsa Mosque, what is the ruling regarding it?
The Shaykh:
Al-Aqsa Mosque is not the Dome of the Rock; it is separate from it. Yes, it is separate.
The questioner:
Is it south of the Dome of the Rock?
The Shaykh:
Yes, between the Rock and the Ka'bah. Yes.
The questioner:
But the Dome of the Rock is prayed in like any other mosque.
The Shaykh:
No, the Muslims do not pray on the ground.
The questioner:
It is not prayed in for the sake of the Rock.
The Shaykh:
They pray in 'Umar's Mosque, which 'Umar built when he conquered the Levant. He went to Bayt al-Maqdis, designated the location of the mosque, and the mosque was established as it was in the time of the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them),
The questioner:
which is al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Shaykh:
Yes, indeed, the one that 'Umar built.
The questioner:
And this is what remains; it appears in the pictures as a mosque.
The Shaykh:
The Christians and the Jews revere it, but this reverence is not from the religion of the Muslims. Yes.
The questioner:
But is the Muslim prohibited from praying in it, or is it permissible for him to pray in it?
The Shaykh:
He prays in the existing mosque. The dome built over the Rock was the action of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, may Allah forgive him; it was an act of his independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), and he had no right to do so, but he did it.
The questioner:
But it was a mistake.
The Shaykh:
A mistake, yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [1757] هل تُشرع الصلاة في مسجد الصخرة؟ I الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.