, the Dome of the Rock, at times called the Mosque of ʿUmar, is the oldest remaining monument of Islamic architecture, and probably the first conscious work of art of Islamic civilisation. Location and description. The Dome of the Rock is located on an artificial platform, roughly but not exactly in the centre of the Ḥaram al-S̲h̲arīf [ q.v.] in Jerusalem. The shape and emplacement of the platform were probably determined by the ruined state of the old Jewish Temple area, together with whatever Roman constructions may have been left; it is also possibl…

“the Noble Sanctuary”, ¶ after Mecca and Medina the acknowledged third holiest Muslim sanctuary, is located in the south-eastern part of the present Old ( i.e., walled) City of Jerusalem. An understanding of the history and significance of the Ḥaram has been complicated by two factors: first, the contrast between an extreme paucity of early sources (written or archaeological) and a systematized explanation of the Ḥaram’s significance in the faḍāʾil or holy guidebooks of the late Mamlūk period; and, second, the lack of any complete archaeolog…

, literally, “the remotest sanctuary.” There are three meanings to these words. 1. The words occur in Ḳurʾān, XVII, 1: “Praise Him who made His servant journey in the night ( asrā ) from the sacred sanctuary ( al-masd̲j̲id al-ḥarām ) to the remotest sanctuary ( al-masd̲j̲id al-aḳṣa ), which we have surrounded with blessings to show him of our signs.” This verse, usually considered to have been revealed during the Prophet’s last year in Mecca before the Hid̲j̲ra, is very difficult to explain within the context of the time. There is no doubt that al-masd̲j̲id al-ḥarām is the then pagan sanct…

, the most common Arabic name for Jerusalem. A. History 1. The Islamic history of Jerusalem clearly falls into three periods. During the first six hundred years, the possession of the city was contested between Islam and Christianity and between many Islamic princes and factions. After the bloodless and poorly-recorded delivery of the town into the hands of an inconspicuous tribal commander, the history of the period was solemnly inaugurated by the erection of the marvellous Dome of the Rock, the majestic testimony ¶ to the Islamic presence in the Holy City; it culminated in t…