10. THE STORY OF THE BUILDING OF THE TABERNACLE OF TIME
The People of the Scripture said that Allah commanded Moosa (Peace be upon him) to make a tent from cedar wood, leather and sheepskin; and He commanded him to embellish it with dyed silk, gold and silver, using intricate designs, according to the People of the Scripture. This Tabernacle of Time was with the Children of Isra’eel in the wilderness and they used to pray toward it, so it was their Qiblah and their Ka‘bah; and their Imam was Allah’s Kaleem, Moosa (Peace be upon him), while the one who offered the sacrifices was his brother, Haroon (Peace be upon him). When Haroon and then Moosa (peace be upon them both) died, the sons of Haroon (Peace be upon him) continued to follow what their father had practiced with regard to the sacrifice – and they still practice it until this day. They undertook the burden of Prophethood after Moosa (Peace be upon him) and the responsibility of leadership after him was given to his slave, Yoosha‘, and it was he who brought them into Bait Al-Maqdis (the Holy Land).
What is meant here is that when he became ruler of Bait Al-Maqdis, this Tabernacle was erected on the rock of Bait Al-Maqdis and they used to pray toward it. After it had gone, they prayed toward its former place, i.e. the rock. This is why it was the Qiblah of the Prophets who came after him, until the time of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) – and he prayed toward it prior to the migration to Madinah, though he would pray with the Ka‘bah directly in front of him. After he had migrated to Madinah, he was commanded to pray toward Bait Al-Maqdis and he did so for sixteen or seventeen months. Then the Qiblah was changed to the Ka‘bah – and that was the Qiblah of Ibraheem – in the month of Sha‘aban, in the year 2 A.H., at the time of the ‘Asr prayer, or, it was said, the Zuhr prayer.
By Ibn Katheer
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