Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Everything is standing in its position by the permission of Allaah,

whether it be the heavens and all that is in them or the earth and all that is on it

– even the rock which you asked about. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):

“Verily, Allaah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move

away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one

that could grasp them after Him…” [Faatir 35:41]

“And among His Signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His

Command…” [al-Room 30:25]

The Rock in Bayt al-Maqdis is not suspended in space with air around it

on all sides; it is attached to the side of the mountain of which it is a part and by

which it is supported; both it and the mountain stand in their positions because of the

well-known physical laws governing the universe; in this regard it is like everything else

that exists. We do not deny that Allaah is Able to hold part of His creation in space; all

of creation is standing in space by the power of Allaah, as stated above. Allaah raised

the mountain above the people of Moosa when they refused to follow the laws that Moosa

brought them. It was held up by the power of Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the

meaning):

“And (remember) when We took your Covenant and We raised above

you the Mount (saying): ‘Hold fast to that which We have given you, and remember that

which is therein so that you may become al-muttaqoon (the pious).” [al-Baqarah 2:63]

“And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had

been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said): ‘Hold

firmly to what We have given you, and remember that which is therein, so that you may fear

Allaah and obey Him.” [al-A’raaf 7:171]

But our point here is to explain what is in fact the case: the rock in

Jerusalem is not suspended in space, completely separate from the mountain; it is attached

to it and is supported by it. And Allaah knows best.