Within the Qibli prayer hall of Masjid al-Aqsa is a maqam associated with the graves of forty righteous men. Known in Arabic as Maqam al-Arba‘in (مقام…
Within the Qibli prayer hall of Masjid al-Aqsa is a maqam associated with the graves of forty righteous men. Known in Arabic as Maqam al-Arba‘in (مقام الأربعين), it occupies a chamber in the southern part of the prayer hall, north of Masjid Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) and south of the Mihrab of Prophet Zakariyya (AS). One entrance opens from the Qibli prayer hall, while another connects it with Masjid Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA). Jerusalem tradition holds that forty righteous worshippers were buried here, giving the place its name: “the Maqam of the Forty.” It forms part of the network of chambers, prayer spaces and mihrabs preserved within the Qibli building at the southern end of Masjid al-Aqsa.