مركز النجاح للدراسات الدينية
An-Najah Center for Religious Studies
The Minbar (Platform) of Nur Ed-Din Zengi
It is a famous Minbar, Platform, which represents the beauty of Islamic arts and ornamentation. Nur Ed-Din Zengi ordered to build it twenty years before the liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Crusaders. He hoped to place it inside Al-Aqsa Mosque after liberation. Unfortunately, Nur Ed-Din had passed away before achieving his dream. Later, Saladin ordered to bring the Minbar from Aleppo to Al-Aqsa Mosque. In 1389 AH – 1969 AD, one extremist Jew set a fire in Al-Aqsa Mosque which consequently destroyed the Minbar completely. Once restoration of the Mosque began, an iron Minbar was introduced in its place. in 2007, the Hashemite Kingdom reconstructed a very similar Minbar, and then it was placed on the Qibli Mosque.
A group of experts, craftsmen, and engineers from different Islamic countries such as Jordan, the Arab Maghreb, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia participated in reconstructing the Minbar. It was made of pure ebony wood; all parts of the Minbar were joint together in a particular way without using nails so as to represent the unity of the Islamic nation with its members supporting each other without any pressure from a foreigner or an alien.
