The caliph Omar had conquered Persia in , and the mosaics symbolize the Persian crowns he sent to hang in Mecca. The founding inscription is a monumental meter long line of Kufic script running along the top of both sides of the octagonal arcade inside the Dome of the Rock. On the outer side of the arcade, the inscription quotes Quranic verses glorifying God.
On the eastern side, an inscription gives credit for the building's construction to the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun in the year 72 AH AD. However, al-Mamun reigned from AD, so the inscription clearly represents an Abbasid effort to claim credit for the achievement of the previous dynasty. Much of the inscription on the inner side of the octagonal arcade exhorts Christians to depart from error of the Trinity and recognize the truth of Islam:.
The columns supporting the inner octagon and the center circle are of different sizes; they were recycled from previous structures. The crosses on some show them to have been taken from churches. The carved ceilings on either side of the inner octagon were not part of the original design; they first appeared in the 14th century and have been restored since then. The Mamluk star is the dominant motif. The small, flat mihrab niche showing the direction of Mecca belongs to the original building, and is the oldest mihrab preserved in the Islamic world.
The wooden screen around the sacred rock was donated by the Ayyubid sultan al-Aziz in The Crusaders protected the rock from relic-snatching pilgrims by erecting a wrought-iron screen between the columns of the circle; it remained in place until and is now on display in the Islamic Museum. The sacred rock that is the central focus of the shrine is a large, ancient rock that may have once stood in the center of Solomon's Temple. For Jews, it is the rock on which Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac.
For Muslims, it is the rock from which Muhammad's winged horse leapt into the sky, accompanied by the Archangel Gabriel, on the "Night Journey" into heaven Qur'an The rock is said to bear the horse's imprint.
Muslim tradition holds that an angel will come to the rock to sound the trumpet call of the Last Judgment at the end of the world. To really understand Israel and the Middle East - subscribe to Haaretz.
Several researches say that the Umayyad caliph, Abdel Malek Ben Marwan, decided to build the dome out of a need for a religious focal point outside of Mecca.
During the period of his reign, Mecca was ruled by his rival, Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr, who had revolted against the Umayyads and conquered that holy city. Other researchers say Abel Malek needed a structure to compete with the palatial churches the Christians had built in Jerusalem, in order to reinforce Muslim rule in the city.
A recent article by Dr. This is why the Muslims depended on the Jewish traditions at the site. Levy-Rubin says the builders of the golden dome saw themselves as followers of David and Solomon, and saw the structure as nothing less than a transformation of the Jewish holy temple. The Dome of the Rock, Levy—Rubin suggests, must be seen not only in terms of the Kaaba in Mecca and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, but also against the backdrop of the rivalry between the Umayyads and Constantinople in the heart of which stood the tremendous church of Hagia Sofia.
The Jerusalem injustice. Between the fourth and seventh centuries Jerusalem was an important Christian focal point for the Byzantine Empire. This is alluded to in the following ayah:. The Noble Rock is particularly significant! They also believe it marks the spiritual junction of Heaven and Earth. Furthermore, it is believed that The Ark of the Covenant was held in this sacred place. Muslims refer to this as the Blessed Masjid Al Aqsa.
Interestingly, Jews and Christians also believe that Prophet Ibrahim as was prepared to sacrifice his son, Ishaq as , on this Noble Rock.
This occurs:. The Noble Rock is therefore the Place of Ascension into the heavens! Scholars explain that this is the reason the Prophet saw ascended from Jerusalem rather than Makkah. As mentioned before, the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa is the second-oldest House of Allah on Earth, and has thus been a sacred site since the earliest days of humankind.
However, the Dome of the Rock Masjid is still in its original structure - and in this sense, it is the longest-standing Masjid in the world! Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns. The outer walls repeat this octagon, each of the eight sides being approximately 60 feet 18 m wide and 36 feet 11 m high.
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