It’s south of the Rock’s nave, that is in the middle of Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is noteworthy that Hajj Ali built this dome by order of Yusuf Agha and dedicated it to Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Salah al-Din). Its building dates back to the Ottoman times, where the Ottoman governor gave the orders of that in 1681 AD/ 1902 AH, in honor of Salah Adin.
It is a semi-open building; since its southern side is closed by the southern wall of the Dome of the Rock’s nave. On this wall, there is an inscription, inside the dome, and above it is a mihrab. The building resembles a small prayer hall, and above it is a dome built on 4 pillars. The dome is topped by a crescent in the Ottoman style. Its dimensions are 3.5×2.8 meters. Its base consists of two marble pillars.
It is widely, but wrongly, known that the dome was named after Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) peace be upon him. There is an Ayyubids inscription Al-Nassir Salah Adin Yusuf bin Ayyub has put it in the wall of Jerusalem city at this dome that shows that it was likely built to preserve this inscription, after rebuilding the wall by the Ottomans, hence; the intended “Yusuf” is the first name of Sultan Salah Adin.
It was targeted by the Zionist occupation’s machine and it is the case for all parts of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Whenever the occupation forces storm the courtyard of the sacred Rock in the heart of Al-Aqsa mosque, they are stationed at the Dome of Yusuf, to control the squares in front of Al-Qibli Mosque.
It seems that the Ottomans, when they re-built the shattered wall of Jerusalem, found a painting belonging to the Ayyubids referring to the construction of the wall and the trench. So Yusuf Agha ordered a memorial dome to be erected in honor of the liberation of Salah al-Din of Jerusalem. On the front exterior of the dome, there are two small inscriptions, one in Arabic and the other is in the Ottoman language. It is noteworthy that Hajj Ali built this dome by order of Yusuf Agha and dedicated it to Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Salah al-Din).