Al-Buraq Wall is a part of the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The wall was captured by Israel along with the rest of Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel then annexed that part of the city in a move not recognized internationally.
Jewish worshippers pray at the wall, which they revere as part of a biblical temple. It forms part of a raised esplanade that Jews call Temple Mount and regard as their holiest site.
The compound is known as Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (Sacred Sanctuary) and contains the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.
We’d like to quote the following Fatwa issued by Dr. Nasr Farid Wasil, the former Mufti of Egypt: “Al-Buraq Wall is part of Al-Aqsa Mosque and it is an Islamic endowment. Hence, it is not permissible in Shari`ah for any non-Islamic quarter to claim or possess it. The wall would remain part and parcel of Islamic heritage and endowment forever. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon Muslims all over the world and the media to stop referring to the wall as the Wailing Wall. That term is not religiously acceptable. The wall should be called Al-Buraq Wall.
Moreover, there could be no recognition of Israeli control over the wall. The de facto ownership by Israeli authorities is an act of occupation that does not give them any legal power nor does it entitle them to make any legal claim to the wall.”
Shedding more light on the issue, we’d like to assert that the Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ekrima Sabry also rejected the idea of calling the wall “Wailing Wall”, as clear in his following fatwa:
“Al-Buraq Wall is part of Al-Aqsa’s western wall and the whole walls of Al-Aqsa are Islamic endowments. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had honored and blessed the place by tying Al-Buraq (the Prophet’s mount) to the wall, during his Night Journey and Ascension to the Heaven (Al-‘Isra’ wal-Mi’raj).
Hence Al-Buraq Wall belongs to Muslims alone in the four corners of the earth and will remain so till Judgment Day. We neither admit nor acknowledge that Jews possess it (Al-Buraq Wall) and, also we stress that there is no stone there dating back to Hebrew history. Israeli sovereignty over Al-Buraq Wall is due to its occupation. Hence, it is impermissible for any non-Islamic part to restore or possess it.
Calling ‘Al-Buraq wall’ wailing wall is improper and it bears indications against belief. Hence, all Muslims and mass media should abide by the Islamic term, “Al-Buraq Wall” and drop the false calling.”
Refuting the Jewish Claim to the Wall, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the prominent Muslim scholar, states the following:
“The Jews’ claim to Al-Buraq Wall dates back only to recent times. The longest reign of the Jews lasted for 434 years. Their reign in Palestine dates back to the times of Kings Saul, David and Solomon. Solomon’s sons split after his decease: Jude headed for Jerusalem while the state of Israel was established in Shakim, that is Naples. The Jewish state in Naples lasted for 298 years and the former for 434. This is the longest period that the Jews reigned. So those who claim that they have a long history in Israel are liars. That history lasted for only 434 years.
The Arabs, on the other hand, have been present in Palestine since the days of the Jebusites and the Canaanites, that is 30 centuries before the birth of Christ. Their history under the umbrella of Islam lasted for more than 14 centuries or even longer. Before the advent of Islam, there had been no Jews in Palestine because since 70 C.E. there had been no trace of Jews or Israelis in Palestine.
Muslims have not established their state on the debris of any Jewish monument. With the aid of their advanced scientific, technical or engineering equipment, they have been searching for anything as little as a trace of the assumed temple of Solomon for more than 30 years, yet to no avail. Where could this so-called Solomon’s temple possibly be?”