`` Al-Aqsa Mosque '' means `` the farthest mosque '' . Today , the Old City is under Israeli control , but the mosque remains under the administration of the Palestinian-led Islamic waqf . Masjid al-Aqsa translates from Arabic into English as `` the farthest mosque '' , Its name refers to a chapter of the Qur ` an called `` The Night Journey '' in which it is said that Muhammad traveled from Mecca to `` the farthest mosque '' , and then up to Heaven on a heavenly creature called al-Buraq al-Sharif .