I say: The Prophet’s—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—prayer in the mosque of Jerusalem on the Night Journey was transmitted by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ, through the narration of Ḥammād ibn Salamah from Thābit (1) from Anas, who reported that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“I was brought the Burāq, a white, tall beast—bigger than a donkey yet smaller than a mule—placing its hoof at the point where its gaze ended. I mounted it until I reached the Holy Sanctuary. There I tethered it to the ring by which the prophets used to tie their mounts. Then I entered the mosque and prayed two rakʿahs therein, after which I came out. Gabriel, peace be upon him, brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk, and I chose the milk. Gabriel, peace be upon him, said, ‘You have chosen the natural disposition (fiṭrah).’ We were then taken up to the heavens.” (2) He went on to relate the rest of the report.

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān—may Allah be pleased with him—used to deny that the Prophet prayed there, because the report had not reached him, and he held that if the Prophet had indeed prayed there, the whole community would be obliged to do so as well.

ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—reproached Kaʿb (3) for imitating the Jews, namely for merely facing the Rock, for that resembles those who regard it as an enduring qiblah, even though a Muslim does not intend to pray toward it.

In this regard ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—formulated sound policies consistent with the rest of his praiseworthy conduct; for it was he—may Allah be pleased with him—who drove the currents of Islam westward with his own hand, and no redoubtable foe escaped his grasp, until the people dispersed.