Mapping Islamicjerusalem : the geographical extent of the Land of Bayt al-Maqdis, the Holy Land and the land of Barakah

This thesis investigates the existence of a region for Islamicjerusalem and its extents throughout Muslim centuries. The initial cause of the study is the neglect of the concept of the region that was once popular in the early Muslim periods and also the vanishing of knowledge on the extent of the region in later centuries. The Study examines critically both direct and general accounts referring to a region for Islamicjerusalem from the early Muslim period. It also distinguishes this region from the administrative political districts that existed alongside this region. Rather it equates its extent with the religious extents of the sacred regions of Makkah and Madinah. The study goes further to discuss the wider framework in which the region of Islamicjerusalem is situated; this investigates the geographical extent of another two entities, the Holy Land and the Land of Barakah, which Islamicjerusalem is a central part of. These have also been subjected to much misunderstanding and distortion. Another aspect of this research is the detailed survey of Muslim literature and their reference to the names of Islamicjerusalem. This clearly reflected a wide spectrum of usage for the names in the different connotations referring to the mosque, city and region. This is besides initiation of new terms such as Ard and Bilad to be placed before the name of the city when referring to the region. The Study clearly sets out that the region of Islamicjerusalem is an essential part of the Qur’anic and Prophetic terminologies. It lies at the heart of the Land of Barakah and has almost identical extents with the Holy Land.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo