المسجد الأقصى

Arabic

Etymology

Literally, “the far/furthermost mosque (from the perspective of pre-Hegira Mecca)”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al.mas.d͡ʒid al.ʔaq.sˤaː/

Proper noun

المَسْجِد الأَقْصَى • (al-masjid al-ʔaqṣā) m

1. (Islam) a reference to the Temple in Jerusalem or the general area of the site thereof, hence the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif

   Synonyms: بَيْت المَقْدِس (bayt al-maqdis), الحَرَم الشَّرِيف (al-ḥaram aš-šarīf)

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 17:1:

     سُبْحَٰنَ ٱلَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَىٰ ٱلَّذِي بَٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

     subḥāna llaḏī ʔasrā biʕabdihi laylan mina l-masjidi l-ḥarāmi ʔilā l-masjidi l-ʔaqṣā llaḏī bāraknā ḥawlahu linuriyahu min ʔāyātinā ʔinnahu huwa s-samīʕu l-baṣīru

     Glorified be He Who transported His servant (Muhammad) by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Far Mosque (in Jerusalem), whose environ (that is, Jerusalem) We blessed, so that We show him Our signs; it is indeed He, the All-Hearing All-Seeing One.

   • 7th century CE, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Buḵāriyy, 60:97:

     […] عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ - رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ - قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، أَيُّ مَسْجِدٍ وُضِعَ أَوَّلُ قَالَ " الْمَسْجِدُ الْحَرَامُ ". قُلْتُ ثُمَّ أَيُّ قَالَ " الْمَسْجِدُ الْأَقْصَىٰ ". قُلْتُ كَمْ كَانَ بَيْنَهُمَا قَالَ " أَرْبَعُونَ ". ثُمَّ قَالَ " حَيْثُمَا أَدْرَكَتْكَ الصَّلاَةُ فَصَلِّ، وَالأَرْضُ لَكَ مَسْجِدٌ ".

     […] On the authority of ʾAbū Ḏarr — God be pleased with him: He said: I said, "O Apostle of God! Which mosque was laid down first?" He said, "The Sacred Mosque (in Mecca)." I said, "Then which?" He said, "The Far Mosque (in Jerusalem)." I said, "How much is [the time] between the two of them?" He said, "Forty (years)." Then he said, "Wherever [the time of] prayer catches up to you, pray then [and there] for the earth is mosque for you."

   • 12th century CE, ʾAbū Bakr ʾibn al-ʿArabī, Kitāb al-Qabas fī Šarḥ Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik bin ʾAnas [The Book of Spark in the Exposition of the Muwaṭṭaʾ of Mālik bin ʾAnas]:

     […] صخرة بيت المقدس من عجائب الله تعالى فإنها صخرة قائمة شعثاء في وسط المسجد الأقصى […]

     […] The rock of Jerusalem is from the wonders of God, He be exalted, and it is indeed the conspicuous craggy rock in the midst of the Temple Mount […]

2. (by extension) the Al-Aqsa Mosque (on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif)

   Synonyms: جَامِع الأَقْصَى (jāmiʕ al-ʔaqṣā), المُصَلَّى القِبْلِي (al-muṣallā l-qiblī)

   • 1938 May 23, Professor Muhammad Saeed Al-Arian, “أسبوع في فلسطين [A Week in Palestine]”, in Arrissalah:

     […] فزرت المسجد الأقصى، وقبة الصخرة ومصلى عمر، وكنيسة القيامة، ومصعد المسيح، وبيت لحم، والمتحف الإسلامي، وكلية الروضة، والنادي المصري؛

     […] I visited Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, Omar’s prayer hall (Mosque of Omar), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Christ’s place of ascension (Chapel of the Ascension), Bethlehem, the Islamic Museum, Al-Rawdah College, and the Egyptian Club.

Declension

Declension of noun المَسْجِد الْأَقْصَى (al-masjid al-ʔaqṣā)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	—	المَسْجِد الْأَقْصَى al-masjid al-ʔaqṣā	—
Nominative	—	المَسْجِدُ الْأَقْصَى al-masjidu l-ʔaqṣā	—
Accusative	—	المَسْجِدَ الْأَقْصَى al-masjida l-ʔaqṣā	—
Genitive	—	المَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى al-masjidi l-ʔaqṣā	—

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

Semi-learned borrowing from Arabic الْمَسْجِد الْأَقْصَى (al-masjid al-ʔaqṣā, literally “the farthest mosque”).

Proper noun

المسجد الأقصى • (il-masjed il-ʔaqṣa) m

1. Haram al-Sharif (in Jerusalem)