IQNA – An Algerian scholar of Quranic studies argues that Al-Aqsa Mosque should be understood as far more than a geopolitical issue.
Abdul Majid bin Habib, who holds a doctorate in social sciences and teaches at the University of Tlemcen in Algeria, says the holy site in al-Quds is a meeting point of prophetic history and a unifying symbol of justice for the Islamic world.
The researcher in Islamic sciences and Quranic studies made the remarks in an interview with the International Quran News Agency (IQNA).
His remarks come amid repeated incursions by Israeli regime forces into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East al-Quds. Zionist settlers have also been permitted to conduct Talmudic rituals at the site while Palestinians face severe restrictions on entering al-Quds. Despite these limits, tens of thousands of Palestinians continue to attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa every week.
Bin Habib frames these developments as part of a broader attempt by the Zionist regime at “civilizational erasure”
He argues that reexamining the mosque’s civilizational role is no longer a theoretical exercise. It is, he says, a vital necessity for defending justice and Islamic identity.
The Mosque as a Site of Both Worship and Justice
IQNA asked bin Habib whether the mosque, from a Quranic perspective, is only a place for worship or can also serve as a base for defending the oppressed.
He answered that the Arabic word for mosque, masjid, comes from the root s-j-d, which means submission. A mosque, therefore, cannot be a space of self-enclosed submission. “Submission to God, in its essence, means ceasing to commit injustice against others,” he said.
He pointed to a structural link in the Quran between justice and turning one’s face toward Qibla in every place of worship. Vertical submission to God, he argued, is precisely what produces horizontal justice among people.
“If submission does not lead to justice, it is merely incomplete or superficial,” he said.
He added that the mosque is not socially neutral. It is a place where power relations and societal injustices are reevaluated in light of submission to God. “This submission is precisely what prevents people from submitting to the domination of tyrants,” he said.
He cited a Quranic verse (Al-Hajj 22:40) that mentions “monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which God's name is remembered much.” That verse, he noted, was revealed in the context of granting permission to fight in defense of those unjustly expelled from their homes. “Protecting the mosque and supporting the oppressed is one continuous act,” he said.
Practical Steps for Solidarity
IQNA asked what mosques worldwide can do to show solidarity with Al-Aqsa and raise awareness about al-Quds.
Bin Habib said that if the mosque’s identity is built on both horizontal and vertical connections, then any honoring of the mosque’s sanctity must put that dual nature into practice rather than settle for slogans.
He suggested that preachers across the Islamic world could link a Quranic verse or hadith about Al-Aqsa to their weekly sermons. This, he said, would ensure al-Quds remains present in both public discourse and in the remembrance of God.
Another step, he said, is educational initiatives for children and youth. These would connect Al-Aqsa’s history to the lineage of the family of Prophet Abraham (AS). That lineage extends from Abraham and Ishmael at the Grand Mosque in Mecca to Jacob and his sons, and to Zechariah and Mary, who are associated with Al-Aqsa. This framing, he argued, presents Al-Aqsa not as a single geostrategic issue but as a link in a chain of righteous generations.
He also called for activating the Quranic tradition of “enjoining one another to truth” (Al-Asr 103:3) through communication networks among imams and mosques worldwide. The aim would be to make the honoring of al-Quds a continuous, coordinated effort rather than a seasonal or occasional one.
He added that fundraising or symbolic messages of support to the people of al-Quds and the murabitin — those who remain stationed at Al-Aqsa — play an important role as a practical expression of solidarity. This, he said, expands the concept of collective gathering, which is a fundamental function of the mosque.
The Night Journey and the First Qibla
IQNA asked about the connection between Al-Aqsa, civilizational identity, and the first qibla — the original direction of prayer for Muslims before it was changed to Mecca.
Bin Habib referred to the opening verse of Surah Al-Isra (17:1), which describes Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) night journey from the Grand Mosque in Mecca to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He said this verse does not describe an arbitrary journey between two locations. Rather, it links two ends of a single chain: from the Grand Mosque, the home of the family of Abraham, to Al-Aqsa, the home of the family of Imran — Zechariah, John, Mary, and Jesus.
He cited another verse (Al Imran 3:33): “God chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of Imran above all the worlds.” The night journey, he said, is a prophetic embodiment of that bond.
“The sacredness of this place does not come from stone and structure,” he said. “It comes from the legacy of a righteous lineage that formed and accumulated in that land across generations.”
On the relationship between Al-Aqsa and the first qibla, he said the connection is one of continuity, not rupture. The transition from the first qibla (Al-Aqsa) to the final qibla (the Grand Mosque in Mecca) was an extension of the same lineage, he said. That lineage belongs to the family of Abraham and links his two sons: Ishmael, associated with the Grand Mosque, and Isaac and Jacob, associated with Al-Aqsa.
“The two mosques are not rivals,” he said. “They are two links in one chain.” He described this as the source of an “inclusive civilizational identity” rooted in Al-Aqsa.
He also noted that movement between the two mosques was not one-directional. The night journey went from Mecca to Al-Aqsa, reflecting the historical transmission of divine monotheism from the line of Abraham to the line of Imran. But the later return of the qibla from Al-Aqsa to Mecca, he said, directs Quranic audiences toward the centrality of monotheism on a global scale for all humanity.
A Symbol for Unity
IQNA asked whether Al-Aqsa can become a focal point for Islamic unity amid modern divisions, and what Quranic signs support this.
Bin Habib said that because Al-Aqsa represents a lineage of righteous descendants through multiple prophets — not just one — it symbolically serves as a “meeting place” rather than the “private property” of one group over another. This, he said, makes it a more suitable symbol for unity than any sectarian or narrowly nationalist symbol.
“Defending Al-Aqsa is not merely defending a geographic area,” he said. “It is a continuation of the monotheism that united the family of Abraham and the family of Imran above all the worlds.”
He added that the fractures of the modern age, which manifest mainly as identity fragmentation, find their remedy in this inclusive concept. “The issue is not about one faction,” he said. “It is about the continuity of the prophetic lineage itself, from fathers to sons.”
Reframing Al-Quds Beyond Geopolitics
IQNA asked how, from a Quranic perspective, the cause of Al-Aqsa can be restored as a matter of deep faith and conviction — one capable of mobilizing public opinion and stirring emotions — rather than being reduced to a purely geopolitical dimension in media and politics.
Bin Habib applied the same logic he used for the mosque as a space for “rethinking”. He said al-Quds, instead of being presented merely as a negotiation file or a passing news item, should be reframed within the mosque itself as a subject of “faith-based exploration”.
Each prayer, as a vertical conversation with God, becomes an opportunity for individuals to question their own relationship with both the Grand Mosque and Al-Aqsa, he said. He referenced a verse from Surah Al-A’raf in which the self is asked to examine its relationship with justice.
“When the Grand Mosque and Al-Aqsa become symbolic dimensions reflecting a single structure of daily worship — in the existential sense of the term — each believing self forms its own identity,” he said. “And it is this process that awakens the conscience before any symbolic or slogan-driven action.”
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