There is no mention of Solomon's Temple in the Holy Qur'an; rather, the Qur'an refers to Solomon's (Peace Be Upon Him) palace made of glass, which is a sign of miraculous achievement and beauty. Even the Queen of Sheba submitted to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, after witnessing this miraculous feat. The Almighty said: "It was said to her, 'Enter the palace.' But when she saw it, she thought it was a body of water and uncovered her shins. He said, 'It is a palace paved with glass.' She said, 'My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds.’" (27:44)
Devils and jinn worked for Solomon
The Qur'an also notes that devils and jinn worked for Solomon (Peace Be Upon Him), creating for him whatever he wished of sanctuaries, which are places solely dedicated to worshipping Allah: "They work for him whatever he wishes of sanctuaries." We believe that the construction of places of worship was of utmost beauty, elegance, and precision, unlike the buildings of the Assyrians and Babylonians at that time. Solomon built a state that experienced a comprehensive civilizational renaissance, including superior architectural construction. Naturally, Solomon (Peace Be Upon Him) would construct houses of worship across his vast realm. As for the alleged Solomon’s Temple, and the texts imagined by the writers of Jewish history regarding its location being the Al-Aqsa Mosque today, this is sheer fabrication and distortion of facts.
Clear contradiction
There is a clear contradiction in the narratives of the scriptures that talk about the temple and the determination of the location of the House of God, which confirms that the issue of the temple, from start to finish, cannot be believed. The contradictions and differences found in the scriptures cannot constitute a truthful divine revelation, as true revelation is not contradictory. There is a significant disagreement among Jewish scholars and rabbis regarding the exact location of the temple, which is a strong and conclusive proof that Solomon's Temple is a myth and a legend.
- The Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ottoman relics indicate that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is purely Islamic, with no shared ties to any other religion, which undermines the false claims by Jews regarding any remnants associated with them in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Solomon's Temple in Jewish Belief, Bashir Ismail, p. 357)
- The existence of the Al-Aqsa Mosque long before the alleged temple is one of the strongest historical pieces of evidence that refutes Jewish claims and reveals the credibility of the Islamic perspective concerning Muslims' rights to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestine. (Jerusalem: The Illustrated History, p. 43)
1- The Meaning of the Temple According to the Claims of the Jews:
The Temple: a word that corresponds to the Hebrew "Beit HaMikdash", meaning sacred house, or "Heikal", which in Semitic language means the great house, and is the term used to indicate the dwelling place of God—or so they claim. One of the important names of the temple is "Beit Yahweh". The temple was primarily prepared to serve as a dwelling for God. (Encyclopedia of Jews, 4/159)
In the Book of Kings: "Then Solomon spoke: 'The Lord said He would dwell in the thick darkness; I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for You to dwell in forever.'" (1 Kings 8:12-13).
The Jews believe that the Tent of Meeting, which they call "the Tent of Time," existed before they worshipped the calf, which predated their arrival in Jerusalem, and that it was God's dwelling. It was with the Children of Israel during their wandering; they prayed toward it and it was their qibla. When Joshua ibn Nun entered Jerusalem, he erected this tent over the rock of the Holy Sanctuary, and they prayed toward it. When it faded, they prayed toward its appendage, which is the rock. They see that the land of Al-Aqsa Mosque is the land of the temple and that the Dome of the Rock is the Holy of Holies, inside the temple. (Solomon's Temple in Jewish Belief, p. 334)
The danger of this belief lies here, along with the consequent necessity of demolishing the Al-Aqsa Mosque located on the Temple Mount – according to their claim – in order to build the alleged Temple in its place.
2- Archaeology and the claim of the existence of the Temple beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque:
Since the Jews occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem in 1967 until today, they have been trying to find any evidence pointing to the remains of the alleged Temple and asserting its location beneath the Noble Sanctuary. Successive Israeli governments have conducted excavations and tunnels under the walls of the Temple Mount and beneath both the western and southern sides of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The excavations extended to the internal ground beneath the courtyard of the mosque, and beneath the women's mosque inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The excavations continued with the digging of a long wide tunnel that penetrated the mosque from east to west, where the Jews established a small Jewish synagogue in the tunnel, officially inaugurated by the state president and the Israeli prime minister in 1986. In 1981, Jewish religious groups announced the discovery of a large tunnel beneath the Noble Sanctuary.
The excavation and search processes went through various stages, because their goal is to empty the soil and rocks from beneath the two mosques: Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock, to leave the mosques standing on emptiness; and in case of calamity – God forbid – to make them susceptible to collapse and falling. The Israeli government has opened two tunnels beneath the southern walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which they claim were used to transport water to the alleged Temple.
The first tunnel was opened in 1996 during the tenure of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; while the second tunnel was opened away from the eyes of the media, during the tenure of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. (Source: Yaqeel Suleiman in the Beliefs of Jews, p. 344)
Professor Mansour Abdul Hakim states: The Jewish, European, and American archaeologists who have excavated and worked on the tunneling under the Noble Sanctuary have shown that there is not a single trace of Solomon’s Temple beneath the Noble Sanctuary, nor beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque, nor beneath the Dome of the Rock. Many Jewish and Western researchers share this view, leading some to argue that the Temple is a fairy tale with no existence. Among the most famous of these Jewish scholars is Israel Finkelstein from Tel Aviv University. (Source: Suleiman – peace be upon him – the prophet king, Mansour Abdul Hakim, p. 142)
It is evident that Al-Aqsa Mosque was built long before the time of Solomon (peace be upon him), as previously noted. How can the alleged Temple of Solomon be beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque – as claimed by the Jews?
From all the above, it becomes clear:
- That the Temple is a Jewish belief with a specific sanctity in Jewish thought.
- That the Jews are working and planning to rebuild it anew in the same location where they claim Solomon's Temple was built, which is above the plateau of the Noble Sanctuary, where the two Islamic mosques; Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock, are located.
- That the excavations beneath the Noble Sanctuary that the Jews have been conducting since their occupation of Jerusalem have not proven any of the Jews’ claims about the existence of the Temple, and that archaeologists, both Jews and others, have disproven the Jews' claims about the existence of the Temple beneath the Noble Sanctuary. (Source: Solomon's Temple in Jewish belief, p. 345)
The Right of Muslims to the Al-Buraq Wall
When disturbances occurred in Jerusalem between Jews and Muslims, the Jews claimed that the Al-Buraq Wall was part of their ancient temple. This led to various Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic responses, and the unrest persisted for years. In 1930, an international committee was formed to study the issue and write a report about it. The League of Nations approved the formation of this committee on May 14, 1930, led by (Shaw). The committee arrived in Jerusalem on June 19, 1930, and stayed for an entire month. They listened to a large number of testimonies from Arab and Jewish witnesses and reviewed all documents presented to them by both sides, as well as listened to the arguments of the lawyers brought by both parties. They then wrote their report, which included the following:
The ownership of the western wall belongs exclusively to Muslims, and they alone have the legal right to it, as it is an integral part of the sacred area of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which is part of the endowment of the best king, the nephew of Salah al-Din Al-Ayyubi, and belongs to Muslims. Moreover, the property in front of the wall and the neighborhood known as the Mughrabi Quarter is also owned by Muslims, as it is an endowment according to Islamic law. This international report affirms the historical, religious, and legal right of Muslims to the Al-Buraq Wall. (The Jewish Temple, Jewish Narrative, p. 3272)
The British Encyclopedia stated: It is not certain that the temple was within the sanctuary of Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially since Titus, when he destroyed it in 70 CE, left nothing standing and obliterated all its features. Thus, searching for it is futile.
Despite these conclusive historical facts, those who follow the contemporary Jewish movement point to their seriousness in demolishing Al-Aqsa Mosque according to their prevailing beliefs and their attempt to establish a historical connection with Solomon (peace be upon him), who is, in truth, a prophet of God advocating for monotheism and ruling among people with justice—completely distant from the racism and fallacies promoted by the Zionist occupation and its unjust, oppressive practices. All the racist actions perpetrated by Sharon, Ben-Gurion, Netanyahu, Lieberman, Barak, or any Zionist politician have nothing to do with Solomon’s (peace be upon him) methodology, beliefs, or behavior.
It is our right as Muslims to sincerely defend the historical truth, the great biography, and the good example of both David and Solomon, and to rescue them from the lies and false doctrines attributed to them, which have no proof or evidence but rather are based on illusions, myths, and legends. It is also our right to defend their prophethood and refute the accusations and slanders made against their lives. Our pure Islamic belief, as presented in the Holy Quran and authentic prophetic traditions, requires us to do so.
The Holy Quran clarifies some of the most compelling truths about the lives of David and Solomon (peace be upon them), responding to the Jewish distortions of these two great prophets. They have distorted Solomon (peace be upon him) and accused him of disbelief in God, claiming that he was led by idols and that he ruled his kingdom only by magic and the assistance of demons. They also tarnished the image of his father David (peace be upon him), saying he enslaved them and held the sword over their necks, forgetting that he is a sent prophet and a descendant of sent prophets. They claimed he borrowed money and burdened the people with taxes to build their alleged temple. Oh, how strange! Where is this temple that the prophet Solomon allegedly built at the expense of their money and the taxes, he imposed upon them?
Oh, the incredible wonder from you, O Jews, that you say this, and then claim that the Temple is a symbol of your existence and your past state. Why do you disbelieve in Prophet Solomon and dress him in the garb of criminals, polytheists, and sorcerers, and then say that the Temple he built is a symbol of your existence in Palestine?
We oppose your distortion based on lies, and we say that Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) was a messenger sent in the way of those who preceded him among the prophets and messengers such as Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and others (peace be upon them). Allah sent him to establish justice among His creation and to populate the earth according to His law, and he was a gift from Allah to his father, David (peace be upon them).
Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) called people, both kings and common folk, to the doctrine of monotheism and the worship of Allah, the Almighty. He formed a relationship with the Queen of Sheba to turn her and her people away from worshiping others besides Allah and to guide them to the straight path. The book he sent to her began with "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" and did not begin with the name "Jews," or "the Lord of Hosts," or the national "God" of the children of Israel.
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References:
- "The Temple of Solomon in Jewish Belief," Bashir Ismail, Academic Thesis, Islamic University Journal of Islamic Studies – Gaza, 2021.
- "Palestine: The Illustrated History," Dr. Tareq Suwaidan, Creative Thought Company, First Edition, 2011.
- "Encyclopedia of Jews, Judaism, and Zionism," Abdul Wahab Elmessiri, 1999 edition.
- "The Temple of Solomon in Jewish Belief," Bashir Ismail, Academic Thesis, Islamic University Journal of Islamic Studies – Gaza, 2021.
- "Prophet King Solomon," Mansour Abdel Hakim, Dar Al-Kitab Al-Arabi, Damascus – Cairo, First Edition, 2020.
- "The Prophets Kings: David and Solomon, Peace Be Upon Them," Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi.
