Most Muslims are confused about what is Al-Aqsa Mosque, it is the entire walled sanctuary where Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) built it and not just the Golden Dome or the Grey Domed Prayerhall.
The two structures, the Golden Dome of the Rock (marked ‘A’ in the photo) built by Caliph Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan and the Grey Domed Prayerhall (marked ‘B’ in the photo) built by Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) are within the confines of Al-Aqsa Mosque but they are not the complete Mosque in themselves, building or no building the entire walled sanctuary (highlighted by green line in the photo) where Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) built the Mosque is considered Al-Aqsa Mosque.
From what I have read the rock has no religious or spiritual significance in itself, the golden dome was built over it much later by Caliph Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan, before that it was open to air, in fact the reason the Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) designated the place of prayer in front of it was to be different from the Jews of that time who venerated the rock so it is better to say ones prayers in the area designated by Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) when there is space, but remember the entire walled plateau (as highlighted in the photo) is the considered Al-Aqsa Mosque, it is the land which was made sacred and blessed by Allah/Elohim, structures don’t have much significance in Islam, just as the spot where the Kaabah is was the direction of prayer and the most sacred place of pilgrimage even at the time it was demolished for reconstruction, so the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque built by King Solomon (peace be upon him) is sacred regardless of whether there is a building over it or not.
Dear Smurf
AOA
Thanks for sharing this information with us. I may add that that the whole sanctuary is not called Masjid-e-Aqsa. It is actually called “Bait-ul-Muqaddas” ie, “A Sacred House”. The point marked as B is ofcourse the Aqsa Mosque (as rightly pointed out by you). The Golden dome is actually called the the Dome of the Rock as it was built by Caliph Abdul Malik and it was built on the same rock from where Holy Prophet Muhammad, (MPBUH) ascended to heavens. For the knowledge of others, I am sending the photo of the actual Aqsa Mosque.
Wassalam.
