The Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, Leading All the Prophets in Prayer at Masjid al-Aqsa
30-10-2025 | IslamWeb
Question:
How did Muhammad (saw) pray with other prophets on israa wal miraj if the prophets died long time ago. Also Bayt al Maqdis was demolished in 70 ad and there was no masjid al aqsa or temple in Jerusalem at the time of Muhammad (saw) so how did the Muhammad saw lead prayer there if there was no masjid al aqsa and also all the prophets were dead long ago?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
A Muslim must accept and submit to what is mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah - whether reports or rulings - and must not oppose them with what is mentioned in other than them of the claims or interpretations which undermines their meanings or cast doubt upon their truth.
A true believer firmly believes that Allah took His servant, Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, on a night journey from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām (in Makkah) to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā (in Jerusalem), and that the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, truly led the other Prophets in prayer there. Their prayer in al-Masjid al-Aqṣā was a real event, as confirmed by the clear religious texts.
Allah the Almighty says: {Glory be to Him Who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We might show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.} [Quran 17:1]
Imam Aḥmad 
narrated with a sound chain of transmission from Ibn ʿAbbās 
both, who said: “When the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, entered al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, he stood and began to pray. Then, as he turned to his right and left, he saw all the Prophets praying along with him.”
The word Masjid (mosque) does not necessarily require the existence of a physical building, as some might assume. The term can refer simply to any place where one performs prayer and prostrates to Allah. Had there been no actual site known as a Masjid at that time, the Quraysh would have hastened to accuse him, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, of lying - especially since they themselves had asked him to describe it to them. Yet his description matched the reality perfectly, as authentically reported by Al-Bukhārī and Muslim from Jābir ibn ʿAbdullah both, who said: “I heard the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, say: ‘When the Quraysh belied me, I stood up in the Hijr (a low semi-circular wall opposite to the north-west wall of the Kaʿbah), and Allah displayed Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) before me, so I began describing it to them while looking at it.’”
Allah knows best.