Islam and the Quran

In today’s age also, ijtihad is a necessity. For example, the Quran says: Call mankind to the Pilgrimage. They will come to you, on foot, and on every kind of lean camel, by every distant track. (Quran 22:27) This verse calls on all Muslims to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah on camelback. In today’s times, this command cannot be followed literally, and is taken to mean: ‘Use the available means of transportation for the pilgrimage.’ In life, situations and circumstances always change and thus there is a need to re-study and re-apply the original teachings of Islam. What is the duty of Muslims towards Al-Aqsa Mosque? According to Islam, there is no duty that Muslims have towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Mosque which can be seen in Jerusalem today with the name of ‘Al-Aqsa’ was actually built many years after the death of Prophet Muhammad by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik and later finished and expanded by his son al-Walid in 705 AD. It was originally erected as a small prayer house by the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. The name ‘Masjid al-Aqsa’ was given to the newly-built monument by Muslims because of the reference found in the following verse of the Quran: Holy is He who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-masjid al-aqsa. (Quran 17:1) The misconception many have today is that they think that the present-day Masjid Al-Aqsa is the same ‘masjid al-aqsa’ mentioned in the Quran. In reality, Masjid al-Aqsa did not have any physical existence at the time of the Prophet. In the verse quoted above,