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This is the place where the Caliph Umar (r.a.) performed salat after the conquest of Jerusalem. The Patriarch of Jerusalem was showing Umar (r.a.) around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during which the time for salat occurred. The Patriarch offered a place for him to pray in the church but Umar (r.a.) refused, explaining to the Patriarch, “Had I prayed inside the church, the Muslims coming after me would take possession of it, saying that I had prayed in it.” Tradition has it that he picked up a stone, threw it outside and prayed at the spot it landed. The present Mosque of Umar was built over this place by Salahuddin Ayyubi’s son Afdhal Ali in 1193 CE.
- At the time when the Muslims first conquered Jerusalem, the Jews had long been banned from Jerusalem and the surrounding areas by the Christian rulers. Umar (r.a.) agreed with Sophronius (the Patriarch of Jerusalem) that the Jews would not be permitted to reside but later revoked this arrangement. Umar (r.a.) invited 70 Jewish families from Tiberias to settle in Jerusalem, allowing them to also build a synagogue.
- Several eminent Companions of the Prophet (s.a.w.) settled in Jerusalem, drawn by the holiness of the city. Ubaidah ibn al-Samit (r.a.), one of the leading experts in the Quran, became the first qadi (Islamic judge) of Jerusalem.
- A copy of the Covenant which Umar (r.a.) had drawn up giving assurances of safety to the (non-Muslim) people of Jerusalem is displayed in the mosque.
- This mosque is not to be confused with the Dome of the Rock which is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Mosque of Umar. There is also a small mosque adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque known as the Mosque of Umar.
References:
A history of Jerusalem – Karen Armstrong
Wikipedia
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