BAITUL MAQDIS

Baitul Maqdis: Al-Aqsa Mosque, the famous Masjid in Al-Quds (Jerusalem). It was the first Qiblah of Islam. Then Allah Ta'ala ordered Muslims to face the first House of Allah, the Ka'aba, at Makkah (Saudi Arabia). Baitul Maqdis is the third greatest Masjid in the Islamic world, the first being the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah, and the second being the Masjid al-Rasool (the Mosque of the Prophet (S.A.W.)). It is from the surroundings of Baitul Maqdis that Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) ascended to heaven. See Holy Quran, Al-Isra (17:1).