The contrast between the frenzy of the Old City
and the
tranquillity of the Haram Al-sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, is striking.
However, this reverential calm is not surprising in that the location,
on the summit of Mount Moriah, is deeply significant to each of the
world's three great monotheistic faiths.
According to Jewish tradition, Mount Moriah is the
spot
where Abraham prepard to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22). (In
Islam, it was Ishmael, Isaac's elder brother who was prepared for
sacrifice by Abraham.) Several millennia later, King David bought the
side, then a threshing floor, for six hundred shekels of gold to be the
location for a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. The temple was
built by his son, Solomon, in circa 960 BC. The Temple formed the focal
point of the Jewish faith until it was demolished along with the rest
of the city by Nebuchadneezzar's forces in 587 BC. When the Jews
returned from exile the Temple was rebuilt in 535 BC, although it
lacked the luxuriance and ostentation of Solomon's original. Five
hundred years later, Herod refurbished the temple in an attempt to
match the original glory of Solomon's masterpiece, hoping to win
approval from his Jewish subjects, not to mention from his Jewish wife.
It is Herod's temple which figures frequently in
the
life of Jesus. For this reason the Temple Mount has great significance
for Christians too. His parents found Him praying there as a young boy
(Luke 2:41-51). The Devil set Him upon the highest point of the Temple
to showe Him the world and tempt Him with earthly goods (Matthew 4:5).
It was in this temple that He upset the tables of the money changers
(Matthew 21: 12-17). At the hour of His crucifixion the Babylonian veil
separating the Temple's nave from the Holy of Holies was mysteriously
torn completely in two (Mark 15:38). Before He died, Jesus prophesied
that the Temple would be destroyed so that 'there shall not be left one
stone upon another', which was fulfilled to the letter by the Romans in
70 AD.
The Islamic reverence for the site is derived from
the
17th Sure (chapter) of the Koran, which concerns the Prophet's "Night
Flight". Having fallen asleep while praying to God in his home town of
Mecca, Mohammed was awakened by the archangel Gabriel and, mounting a
winged steed named Al-Buraq, was taken to the 'furthermost place'. Once
there, he ascended to Heaven to pray with Abraham, Moses, Jesus and
other prophets, and received instructions that form the five pillars of
Islam. Muslems have identified this furthermost place as Jerusalem and
the place from which he ascended to Heaven as the Temple Mount.
Accordingly, Muslims refer to the entire side as the Haram Al-Aqsa, the
'Furthermost Sanctuary'. The second Muslim Caliph, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab,
who conquered Jerusalem in AD 637, four years after Mohammed's death
and 17 years after the Night Flight, cleared the debris from the site
and built a wooden mosque that held 3,000 worshippers. In AD 685 the
Ommayad Caliph Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan began work on the Dome of the
Rock. A few years later, Al-Khattab's wooden mosque was replaced by a
more permanent structure capable of holding over 5,000 worshippers.
Save for a brief interim of 88 years during the
Crusader
era, the mount has been occupied by the Muslims ever since. Since the
start of the Second Intifada, only Muslims coming to pray may visit the
Haram Al-Aqsa. We were extremely fortunate to have been allowed to
visit these Holy sites.
Some views of the Haram Al-Sharif.
Click with the right mouse button to see the full-size photo.
Dome of the Rock
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Dome of the Rock
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Dome of the Rock
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In the Noble Sanctuary, beside the Dome of the Rock
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In the Noble Sanctuary, beside the Dome of the Rock
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Going up the stairs toward the Dome of the Rock
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Looking toward the Al Aqsa Mosque
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Interior of the Al-Aqsa Mosque
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Interior of the Al Aqsa dome
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Interior of the Al Aqsa Mosque
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Weapons taken from Jewish terrorists attempting to
destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque
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Dome of the Rock.
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Interior of the Dome of the Rock
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Interior of the Dome of the Rock
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Dome of the Rock
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This page was updated on 26 November 2007.
This site was edited using Nvu and Style Master.
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Al-Haram al Sharif
Al-Haram al Sharif
