Bukhari 3366 names al-Masjid al-Haram first and Al-Aqsa next, with forty years between them. The passage concerns sacred origins and does not give a construction date for the present southern hall or golden dome.[1]
The report names two mosques and an interval
Sahih al-Bukhari 3366 reports that al-Masjid al-Haram was established first and Al-Aqsa next, with forty years between them. Learn treats this as a religious source about sacred origins. The answer preserves the report’s content without converting it into a modern archaeological chronology.[2]
It does not name a builder in the cited passage
The passage does not identify who built either mosque, describe their materials or name the Dome of the Rock and Al-Qibli as surviving structures. It therefore cannot serve as direct proof that one named person constructed every building now present in the sanctuary.[2]
Surviving monuments require architectural sources
The Dome of the Rock is dated to 691–692 under Abd al-Malik, while Al-Qibli’s history includes several early and later building phases. These dates answer questions about extant architecture, not the sacred-origin chronology in the hadith. The forty-year interval and an Umayyad completion date should never be combined into a fabricated calendar year. Keeping the two evidence types visible prevents an attributed tradition from being presented as an uncontested construction record.[3][4][1]
Sources & references
References are attached to the passages they support. Dates below record source consultation.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3366 · The two mosques and forty years
Sunnah.com · Sahih al-Bukhari · Consulted 2026-09-14
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3366 · The two mosques and forty years
3366
Sunnah.com · Sahih al-Bukhari · Consulted 2026-09-14
- The Dome of the Rock · Ana Botchkareva
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Consulted 2026-09-14
- Jamiʿ al-Aqsa
Archnet · Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT · Consulted 2026-09-14