The Problem of the Return to the First Qibla

rock of the Jews has been situated there since ancient times. Caliph Abdul Malik ibn Marwan built the dome on this sacred rock in AD 688. It was this sacred rock or Dome of the Rock, the qibla of the Jews, which was made the Muslim qibla temporarily by Prophet Muhammad after he emigrated to Madinah. This Dome of the Rock is known as al-Quds, and, by extension, this entire area of Jerusalem is called al-Quds. Muslims regard al-Masjid al-Aqsa as the first qibla, and it has become a symbol of the Palestinian struggle. But the mosque has nothing to do with the first qibla. If there is any first qibla, it is the Dome of the Rock rather than al-Masjid al-Aqsa. Furthermore, when Prophet Muhammad was in Makkah, he used to say his prayers in the direction of the Kabah. After his emigration, for about sixteen months, he said his prayers in the direction of the Dome of the Rock. Afterwards, obeying God’s command, he again started praying toward the Kabah. In this respect, the Dome of the Rock is the middle qibla, not the first. In light of this, the expression ‘return to the first qibla’ is meaningless. If this supposed return is attributed to alMasjid al-Aqsa, it should be noted that it never was the qibla of Prophet Muhammad. At the time of the Hijrah (AD 622), there was only a vacant site on which a Jewish synagogue had previously stood. There was no mosque in existence at the time of the Prophet. As far as the Dome of