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! It is located on a plateau which is four metres higher than the rest of the Blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa sanctuary.
Because this is the site of the Noble Rock, it is believed to be the exact place where the Prophet saw ascended into the heavens. The Dome of the Rock Masjid is octagonal, capped at the centre by the famous golden Dome, approximately 20 metres in diameter. It is topped by a full moon decoration which is aligned so that, if you could look through it, you would be looking towards Makkah. The Dome of the Rock Masjid contains the original mihrab — the oldest mihrab preserved in the Islamic world!
It also has seven mihrabs close to the northern entrance, representing the seven days of the week. These are the three holiest places in Islam:. Did you know? This monument is a major theme in Islamic art, whose fundamental purpose is to express the faith revealed in the Qur'an.
This "art" is decipherable only if one recalls the view of the Islamic faith. The Dome of the Rock presents the first example of the Islamic world-view. The site where it was established, the structure of the building, its dimensions and proportions, the forms to be found within it, and the colors that enliven it are all representative of the faith that inspired its construction.
The craftsmen, and the mosaic artists who took part in the creation of this building came from all regions of the new "Arab empire" and brought to the task their own techniques and their own styles of work.
The Caliph had resolved to consecrate to this building all the tribute levied in Egypt over a period of seven years. There are many theories about why the Caliph wanted the dome built. It could be that he wished to "challenge the World" by building an Islamic monument finer than any built by rival religions, or that he was attempting to divert the stream of pilgrims from Mecca where a rebel, Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, had seized power, or that he wanted to build something better than the cross-town rival Church of the Holy Sepulcher, or perhaps he had some motive that may have been pure.
When he entered Jerusalem in A. The Umayyad, Abd-al-Malik, had the Dome built on this site, close to the dome of the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulcher and resembling it in many ways. The Dome of the Rock was thus the symbol of the oneness and continuity of the Abrahamic, that is, the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith.
It was completed in C. The Dome of the Rock has a striking presence in the holy city of Jerusalem. In this way the Dome of the Rock provides a visual reminder and tangible symbol of not only the underlying unity among the Abrahamic religions but also their discord and rivalry. Its significance stems from the religious beliefs regarding the rock at its heart. The rock is the peak of Mount Moriah which has always been regarded as sacred.
In an ancient Semitic tradition the bare rock at the top was thought to be the mouth of the serpent Tahum and the intersection of the underworld and upper world. It is also called the Foundation Stone.
According to the sages of the Talmud [2] it was from this rock that the world was created, itself being the first part of the Earth to come into existence. It is the center point of the world and on this spot stood the Holy of Holies.
According to the Talmud, it was close to here that God gathered the earth that was formed into Adam. Muslims believe that it was Ismail that God told Abraham to sacrifice. When, according to the Bible, King David purchased a threshing floor owned by Araunah the Jebusite, [4] it is believed that it was upon this rock that he offered the sacrifice mentioned in the verse and where he experienced a revelatory vision of angels ascending a golden ladder into the sky.
The task was left to his son Solomon, who completed the Temple in c. It is traditionally believed that the Holy of Holies was located above the rock.
The site is significant for Christians because, as well as being the Temple, it is also the place where Jesus came as a young boy and later in his life prayed and taught. Cyrus and St.
John, later on enlarged and called the Church of the Holy Wisdom. The reason why Muslims venerate the site is because according to Islamic tradition, the rock is the spot from where Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel.
There they met Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets. Muhammad led them in prayer before climbing to the top of the rock. A ladder of golden light appeared upon which Muhammad ascended through the seven heavens into the presence of God who gave him instructions about prayer for him and his followers.
After the meeting Muhammad was flown back to Makkah. The platform, greatly enlarged under the rule of Herod the Great, was the former site of the Second Jewish Temple that was destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 C. In C. After signing a peace treaty Caliph Umar asked the Patriach to lead him to the place of the old Jewish Temple. Umar was shocked to find the site covered in rubbish, as the Romans had initiated the custom of using it as a dung heap.
Umar knelt down immediately, and began to clear the area with his hands. When the Muslims saw what he was doing, they followed his example, and soon the entire area of approximately 35 acres, was cleaned up. He commissioned the construction of a wooden mosque on the southern end of the site, exactly where the present-day mosque of Al-Aqsa stands. The Dome of the Rock was erected between and C.
0コメント