A Brief History of the Temple of Jerusalem

The first temple was built by the prophet Solomon ﷺ, and he built it virtually identically to the tabernacle. When the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, according to the Bible, they had a tabernacle, a big tent, and that was their temple. It was divided into two sections and the tent was surrounded by a courtyard. The first section of the tent was the holy place where they had ritual objects like the Menorah, and the second was an inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where they kept the tablets of Moses ﷺ (the Ark of the Covenant).

The Kaaba was also constructed the same way by prophet Abraham ﷺ, originally. But when the prophet Muhammad ﷺ was 35 (c. 608 CE), the Quraysh rebuilt the Kaaba after a flood, and they didn’t have enough halal money to fully build it, so they built that one room and now the rest of it is just a white wall (which was the hijr Ismael) which you have to go around during tawaf (circumambulation).

This is the way the original temple was built, too, by the prophet Solomon ﷺ, like the Kaaba was built. They built a beautiful structure around it, as well.

This was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BCE. This ended the Kingdom of Judah and scattered its populace, with many of its elite citizens being sent back to Babylon, initiating a period known as the Babylonian Captivity.

Then shortly before the days of Ezra (Uzayr) ﷺ, they built the second temple (c. 537–516 BCE (per biblical narrative)). That is the one that remained until the days of Jesus ﷺ. But when the Jews saw the second temple, they cried, because it wasn’t the first. They remember the past and the Babylonian Captivity. So the prophet Haggai ﷺ consoles them. The temple was expanded under King Herod in 20-19 BCE.

Our Inheritance

In 66 CE, the Jewish population rebelled against the Roman Empire. In 70 CE, the Romans took Jerusalem and destroyed the city and much of the second temple. The sects of Judaism that had their base in the Temple dwindled in importance, including the priesthood and the Sadducees. Pharisaic beliefs then became the foundational, liturgical and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism, which became the mainstream form of Judaism in the 6th century CE until today, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud.

The Byzantines will become Christian in the 4th century. Why didn’t they build a church on the Temple Mount? It’s the obvious thing to do, since that will be house number three. That’s the one that indicates the world religion. We’re told by Eusebius (264–339 CE) is that they couldn’t build it, because every time they tried to build a church on the temple mount, fire came out of the mountain, even though it’s not a volcano. So they didn’t try anymore. So they turned it into a stable and a garbage dump, as a curse to the children of Israel. “We don’t need that temple after all,” they figured.

The reality is they were not allowed to build that house. Who was allowed to? Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Faruq. He comes there and cleans off the temple mount, then it rained there for a certain time so that it was clean of all of the najasa (impurities). Then he began the building of Masjid al-Aqsa, which was expanded and completed in the Umayyad Period by the caliph Abd al-Malik in 690 CE along with the Dome of the Rock.

That means to the people of the book that Muslims are the heirs, the torch-bearers of the final revelation. Even when the prophet ﷺ came to Jerusalem, where did he tie Buraq? He tied him to the temple wall, which is the Wailing Wall. That’s where the Jews go to wail because they think that it’s all that is left of their temple. If only they would open their eyes. The night of Isra and Miraj was our inheritance of that, and the prophet Muhammad ﷺ led all of the previous prophets in prayer there. Ironically, it’s like they’re wailing at their own kufr (disbelief). If they simply accept God’s final message, they will be allowed into this masjid again.

Even in the first printed map of Jerusalem, published in Mainz, Germany, in 1486, you find masjid al-Aqsa named “Temple of Solomon.”

Muslims, Zionists, and Istidraj

The reality is that they broke God’s covenant and became disbelievers. They can re-enter it, at any time, by taking the shahada. Their claim to this house of worship is unfounded and null. Israel was founded by an atheist–how can they be “God’s chosen people?” They’re the only country on Earth producing estrogen for human sex changes. 65% of Israelis said they were either not religious or atheists in one poll. They turned a mosque into a bar. Their “Birthright Israel” program has an explicit goal of encouraging premarital sex. How could such a people claim custodianship of such a sacred place? We can never let these disbelievers destroy Allah’s masjid. Their kufr (disbelief) is the root of their problems, not an imaginary lack of a “third temple.” The third temple is already there, their disbelief prevents them from even seeing it right in front of them. With or without masjid al-Aqsa, our commitment to Allah ﷻ as Muslims remains. And part of that commitment is to safeguard and defend Allah’s masajid.

The reality is the creation of this modern state of Israel is an istidraj for them and a wake-up call for us. We fell into envy for the West, the desire to be like Europe, rebellion against the caliph in the Arab Revolt, and innovation in our religion (IE the modernist movement). The punishment upon us is collective–even the righteous are hit by it. The Zionists continued down their path of disbelief. Even when currently surrounded by believers, albeit imperfect, most of them still reject the truth and reject the renewal of their religion via the shahada. They persecute and oppress daily without flinching. They sin and transgress, falling further into disbelief (atheistic and irreligious) and wickedness. They think they “won” and that God’s promise to them was fulfilled, when in reality they are losing even worse than before. On the Day of Judgement they will truly see how much they lost, wishing they had joined the ummah of the final prophet ﷺ.

The role of Zionists is more akin to Nebuchadnezzar II. They now want to destroy the third temple. They exiled over 700,000 Palestinians the 1948. The Palestinians in exile are more akin to the original Babylonian exile than these European Ashkenazim. The Palestinians have a far greater claim to the ancient title of “Israel” than these disbelieving atheists and “irreligious” Jews. Many Palestinians are in fact ancestors of the original Israelis, whose ancestors accepted Islam and renewed their covenant with Allah ﷻ. Even David Ben Gurion was convinced of this.

For example, in 1918, Ben-Gurion – the future founder of the state – was convinced, as were many others, that most of the population of the Land of Israel had not been exiled, but converted to Islam with the Arab conquest, and therefore was clearly Jewish in origin.

Source: Haaretz

Modern Rabbinic Jews think of God’s covenant as a covenant of lineage and race. The “Jewish people,” in the current Israeli definition of it, even includes atheists, but excludes Muslims with the same ancestry. Yet it is quite clear from a reading of both the Bible and the Qur’an that God’s covenant is a covenant of taqwa, not of race. A “Jew” can fall out of favor with God (cue the Babylonian exile) and a “gentile” can take the shahada and enter. The modern state of Israel is, in reality, a massive istidraj awaiting the ultimate self-deception: Dajjal.

We call all Jews worldwide to renew their covenant with God. Islam is the final message and only through it can you restore your covenant with Him. To reject any of the prophets is to reject God’s message and to break your covenant. When you take the shahada, you are renewing the covenant.

وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَمْنًا وَاتَّخِذُوا مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى ۖ وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَن طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ – 2:125

And ˹remember˺ when We made the Sacred House (Kaabah) a centre and a sanctuary for the people ˹saying˺, “˹You may˺ take the standing-place of Abraham (the stone on which Abraham stood while he was building the Ka’bah) as a site of prayer.” And We entrusted (or took a covenant with) Abraham and Ishmael to purify My House for those who circle it, who do ‘itkaf in it, and who bow and prostrate themselves ˹in prayer˺.

Quran 2:125

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ ۚ أُحِلَّتْ لَكُم بَهِيمَةُ الْأَنْعَامِ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ غَيْرَ مُحِلِّي الصَّيْدِ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ مَا يُرِيدُ – 5:1

You who believe, fulfil your obligations (or covenant). Livestock animals are lawful as food for you, with the exception of what is about to be announced to you. You are forbidden to kill game while you are on pilgrimage––God commands what He will,

Quran 5:1

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَٰذَا غَافِلِينَ – 7:172

[Prophet], when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We were not aware of this,’

Quran 7:172

Further Reading

The Centrality of Covenant Theology to the Islamic Faith – Essay

Verses from surat an-Nisa:

And [We cursed them] for their breaking of the covenant and their disbelief in the signs of Allah and their killing of the prophets without right and their saying, “Our hearts are wrapped”. Rather, Allah has sealed them because of their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few.
And [We cursed them] for their disbelief and their saying against Mary a great slander,
and said, ‘We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, though it was made to appear like that to them; those that disagreed about him are full of doubt, with no knowledge to follow, only supposition: they certainly did not kill him-
God raised him up to Himself. God is almighty and wise.
There is not one of the People of the Book who will not believe in [Jesus] before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.)
For the wrongdoings done by the Jews, We forbade them certain good things that had been permitted to them before: for having frequently debarred others from God’s path;
for taking usury when they had been forbidden to do so; and for wrongfully devouring other people’s property. For those of them that reject the truth we have prepared an agonizing torment.
But those of them who are well grounded in knowledge and have faith do believe in what has been revealed to you [Muhammad], and in what was revealed before you- those who perform the prayers, pay the prescribed alms, and believe in God and the Last Day- to them We shall give a great reward.
We have sent revelation to you [Prophet] as We did to Noah and the prophets after him, to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon- to David We gave the book [of Psalms]-
And [We sent] messengers about whom We have related [their stories] to you before and messengers about whom We have not related to you. And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech.
They were messengers bearing good news and warning, so that mankind would have no excuse before God, once the messengers had been sent: God is almighty and all wise.
But God Himself bears witness to what He has sent down to you––He sent it down with His full knowledge- the angels too bear witness, though God is sufficient witness.
Those who have disbelieved and barred others from God’s path have gone far astray;
God will not forgive those who have disbelieved and do evil, nor will He guide them to any path
except that of Hell, where they will remain for ever- this is easy for God.

Surat an-Nisa 155-169