Words that bring the place into focus.

A dynastic period associated with rebuilding of the southern mosque, including work under al-Mahdi.[1]

The mount described in the Night Journey report in Sahih Muslim 162a.[2]

Also encountered as: Noble Sanctuary

A widely used name for the precinct, commonly translated as the Noble Sanctuary. The custodial guide qualifies its theological equivalence with the harams of Mecca and Medina.[3]

Also encountered as: Al Kaas

The cup or bowl; the name of the round ablution fountain before Al-Qibli Mosque.[4]

Also encountered as: Al Aqsa, Al-Aqsa Mosque

Name associated with the whole sanctuary and also used in architectural literature for the southern congregational mosque. Context determines the intended scope.[1]

Also encountered as: Qibly, Qibli Mosque

The name used for the southern congregational prayer hall, distinguishing that building from the whole enclosure.[5]

Also encountered as: Jerusalem, Al-Quds al-Sharif

The Arabic name of the city known in English as Jerusalem. This site uses Al-Quds as its primary city name. The longer form Al-Quds al-Sharif also appears in Islamic institutional usage. The name identifies the city, while Al-Aqsa identifies the sanctuary within its Old City.[6][7]

Also encountered as: Chain

“The Chain,” found in the names of both a dome and a western gateway. The shared name does not identify one structure.[8]

The dynasty associated with Saladin and subsequent rulers; its period includes renewed Muslim use of the sanctuary after 1187.[9]

Gate; a common first word in the names of the sanctuary’s perimeter entrances.[10]

Also encountered as: Cotton Gate

The Cotton Merchants’ Gate, linking the western sanctuary to the covered market.[11]

Also encountered as: Baitul Maqdis

A name used for Al-Quds in the cited hadith concerning prayer direction and the Night Journey.[12]

The dynasty associated with an eleventh-century reconstruction of Al-Qibli in the architectural account.[1]

Also encountered as: Night Journey

The Night Journey, associated with the movement from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Qur’an 17:1.[13]

A hall open on one side. The Ashrafiyya record describes four iwans arranged around a central court.[14]

Also encountered as: Madrasah

An educational institution; historic complexes may include teaching, residential and prayer spaces.[15]

A period of major patronage of educational and religious institutions, represented around Al-Aqsa by Ashrafiyya and Qaytbay’s sabil.[16]

Also encountered as: Mastabah

A raised platform; the sanctuary’s open platforms are described in connection with prayer and teaching.[17]

A prayer niche associated with the qibla direction, distinct from the pulpit or minbar.[18]

A tower associated with the mosque; the sanctuary’s four minarets have different profiles and building histories.[19]

Also encountered as: Pulpit

A pulpit from which the sermon is delivered. Nur al-Din’s minbar is known through its surviving fragments and records.[20]

Also encountered as: Miraj, Ascension

The Ascension, described in hadith accounts associated with the Night Journey. It is distinct from the architectural date of a commemorative dome.[2]

The imperial period associated here with later tile campaigns, commemorative structures and repairs to inherited monuments.[21]

The documented history connecting an object with its origin, use and later collection. A museum transfer date is different from its manufacture date.[22]

Also encountered as: Qiblah

The direction faced in prayer. The change toward al-Masjid al-Haram is addressed in Qur’an 2:144.[23]

Also encountered as: Qubbat

Dome; the word appears in names such as Qubbat al-Sakhra and Qubbat al-Silsila.[24]

Also encountered as: Dome of the Rock

The Arabic name of the Dome of the Rock, the octagonal monument on the raised platform.[25]

Work addressing the condition or appearance of a historic structure or surface. The Al-Qibli project record distinguishes surviving paint from reconstructed areas.[26]

Also encountered as: Portico, Arcade

A portico or covered arcade, such as the passage along the western side of the sanctuary.[27]

Also encountered as: Sebil

A water-provision structure. Qaytbay’s sabil is a decorated example near Ashrafiyya.[28]

The dynasty dated 661–750 by the Metropolitan Museum; its patronage shaped the Dome of the Rock and the early southern mosque.[29]

Also encountered as: Awqaf

A religious endowment connected with continuing institutional purposes. Waqf documents can also provide evidence for a building’s history.[30]

Also encountered as: Ablution

Ritual washing associated with preparation for prayer; the function connected with Al-Kas in the architectural record.[4]