and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, led the prophets, messengers and angels in prayer. He then went farther forward, and a silver stairway—the means of ascent—was placed before him, by which he ascended to heaven.

Abū Hudhayfah, the caller to prayer at Jerusalem, related from his grandmother that she saw Safiyyah in a dream, with Ka‘b saying to her: “Mother of the Believers, pray here, for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, led the prophets in prayer here.” Abū Hudhayfah gestured towards the farthest dome behind the Rock.

Wahb related: When wickedness and false testimony became widespread, Allah Most High gave David, peace be upon him, a chain of gold—or, it was said, of nawf li-mufaddal al-hattāb. It hung from heaven to earth at the mountains of the Rock, east of the Rock, where stands the dome in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, met the fair, wide-eyed maidens on the night of the Night Journey.

Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, explained Allah Most High’s words, “And when We said, ‘Enter this town’”: it is Jerusalem. “And eat freely therein wherever you wish”—al-Aqsā. His word “Forgiveness” means “There is no god but Allah,” which removes sins.

‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The wall mentioned by Allah Most High—“Then a wall with a gate will be placed between them”—is the eastern gate of Jerusalem. Within it is mercy, and outside it lies punishment: the Valley of Hell.