as reported in the two Sahīh collections (1) from Abū Dharr, who said: I asked the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—which mosque was first established on earth. He replied, “The Sacred Mosque.” I asked, “Then which?” He replied, “Al-Aqsā Mosque.” I asked, “How long was there between them?” He replied, “Forty years.”

This hadith has puzzled those who did not understand its meaning. They said: It is well known that Solomon, son of David, built Al-Aqsā Mosque, and more than a thousand years separated him from Abraham. This objection stems from the speaker’s ignorance: Solomon merely renovated Al-Aqsā Mosque; he did not establish it. It was established by Jacob, son of Isaac—peace and blessings be upon him—that many years after Abraham built the Kaaba.

Another indication of its superiority is that Allah Most High has described it as the Mother of Towns. All other towns are subordinate to it and branch from it, while it is their origin; it must therefore have no equal among them. Similarly, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—described (al-Fātihah) as the Mother of the Quran (2), and thus it has no equal among the divinely revealed scriptures.

Another of its unique characteristics is that no one may enter it without being in a state of ritual consecration, except those whose needs require repeated visits. This is a unique characteristic (3) shared by no other land. People received this ruling from Ibn ‘Abbās. It has also been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās as a saying traced back to the Prophet, through a chain of transmission that cannot serve as evidence: “No one may enter Mecca except in a state of ritual consecration, whether one of its inhabitants or someone from elsewhere.” Abū Ahmad ibn ‘Adī cited it (4), but its chain includes al-Hajjāj ibn Artāh and another weak narrator before him.