The Virtue of Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Shaykh : The sanctity is confined solely to Al-Aqsa Mosque, for two virtues have been reported regarding it. The first is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) paired Al-Aqsa Mosque with the two Harams, Makkah and al-Madinah, in a well-known hadith whose authenticity is established. That is his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): This is the first virtue mentioned in the Shari'ah, and its authenticity is confirmed as you have heard from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the other virtue, it is like a branch of the first virtue, because traveling to a place, when permitted by the Wise Lawgiver, is only due to a virtue present in that place. However, this virtue may be general, as in the first hadith, or specific, which is the second virtue I am now explaining: the multiplication of prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque. Every mosque in the world has a congregation that is worth five or twenty-seven degrees.