Singnificance of done of rock.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
assalam-o-alikum
how r u...i just want to know about historical significance of Dome of Rock (or
the site where it is built site) and from where our Holy Prophet (S.A.W) went
to Mirage (heavens), was it Masjid-al-aqsa or Dome of rock.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Singnificance of
done of rock
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah
Israa verse 1:
1 Glory to (Allah) Who did take His slave-servant (Prophet Mohamed
(saws)) for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque (in Makkah) to the Farthest
Mosque (in Jerusalem) whose precincts We did Bless in order that We might show
him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who Hears and Sees (all things).
Although the Glorious Quran only mentions the Night
Journey of the Prophet Mohamed (saws) from the Sacred Sanctuary in Makkah to
the Masjid-al-Aqsa in
The ‘rock’ over which the ‘Dome of the Rock’
is built was considered ‘holy’ by the People of the Book before the Revelation
of the Glorious Quran and the advent of the Prophet Mohamed (saws). Jews
erroneously believed, and still believe, the ‘rock’ to be the place where Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) prepared to sacrifice his
second-born son Ishaaq (a.s.), whereas the Truth is confirmed by Allah Subhanah
in His Glorious Quran that Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) did not prepare to sacrifice
his second-born son and Prophet Ishaaq (a.s.) in Jerusalem, but rather it was
his first-born son and the Prophet Ismail (a.s.) who was prepared for sacrifice
under the Command and guidance of the Lord Most High in Makkah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 37 Surah
Saafaat verses 100-112:
100 …(And Ibraheem (a.s.) prayed;;) "O my
Lord! grant me a righteous (son)!"
101 So We gave him the good news of a boy (Ismail (a.s.), ready to
suffer and forbear.
102 Then when (Ismail (a.s.)) reached (the age of serious) work with him
he (Ibraheem (a.s.)) said: "O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in
sacrifice: now see what is thy view!" (Ismail (a.s.)) said: "O my
father! Do as thou art commanded: thou will find me if Allah so wills one
practicing patience and constancy!"
103 So when they had both (Ibraheem (a.s.) and Ismail (a.s.)) submitted
their wills (to Allah), and he (Ibraheem (a.s.)) had laid him (Ismail (a.s.))
prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice),
104 We called out to him "O Ibraheem!
105 Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!"; thus indeed do We
reward those who do right.
106 For this was obviously a trial
107 And We ransomed him (Ismail (a.s.)) with
a momentous sacrifice:
108 And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in
later times:
109 "Peace and salutation to
Ibraheem!"
110 Thus indeed do We reward those who do
right.
111 For he was one of Our believing servants.
112 And We gave him the good news of Ishaaq, a Prophet, one of the
Righteous.
In light of the above absolutely clear guidance of the
Holy Quran, without an iota of a doubt, the incident regarding the ransoming of
the sacrifice was between Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) and his first-born and eldest
son born of Hadrat Hajrah, Prophet Ismail (a.s.).
When this incident between Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) and his
first-born Prophet Ismail (a.s.) took place in Makkah, Prophet Ishaaq (a.s.)
the second son of Prophet Ibraheem was not even born! It was only after this incident of ransoming
the sacrifice of Prophet Ismail (a.s.) with a ram, that the Lord Most High
Declares in His Glorious Quran (in verse 112 quoted above) that Allah gave the
good news of the birth of Prophet Ishaaq (a.s.) to Prophet Ibraheem
(a.s.)!
The ‘rock’ over which the ‘Dome of the Rock’ is built is
still believed by the Jews to stand directly over the site which they term the
‘Holy of the Holies’, the place upon which once stood the ‘Temple of Solomon’
and ‘Herod’s Temple’. The Jews believe
that this was the ‘rock’ upon which the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ was placed in the
first Temple of Solomon; and it was on this very ‘rock’ during the second
Temple upon which their High Priest offered the incense and sprinkled the blood
of the sacrifices during the ‘Yom Kippur’ services. Jewish Rabbinic legend also alleges that the
entire world was created from this very ‘rock’, hence they also call it the
‘Foundation Stone’!
In Christianity,
in addition to the several incidents of Prophet Jesus (a.s.) in the ‘Temple of
Solomon’ which are recorded in the present day Bible, it is believed that
during the time of the Byzantine Empire, the spot where the ‘Dome’ was later
constructed was where Constantine's mother built a small church, calling
it the ‘Church of St. Cyrus and St. John’, later on enlarged and called the ‘Church
of the Holy Wisdom.’
Thus it would be safe to
assume that the ‘Dome of the Rock’ holds a religious significance in the Jewish
and Chrisitan faith rather than in Islam.
Although it cannot be authenticated, some muslims believe
that the ‘rock’ over which the ‘Dome of the Rock’ was later built was the very
site from where the Prophet Mohamed (saws) ascended to the heavens with
Arch-Angel Jibrael (a.s.)….And Allah Alone Knows Best.
The Dome of the Rock was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd
al-Malik from 688 to 691 AD. It was not intended to be a
mosque, but rather only a monument to the site from which Prophet Mohamed
(saws) ascended to the heavens.
Beloved Sister, even if the claim of some muslims that the
‘rock’ over which the ‘Dome of the Rock’ was later built is the very site from
which Prophet Mohamed (saws) ascended towards the heavens is to be believed,
then this site of the ‘Dome of the Rock’ would hold only a historical
significance in Islam; for without an iota of a doubt, the ‘rock’ or the ‘Dome
of the Rock’ holds absolutely no religious significance in the deen of Islam.
What is of enormous religious significance to the
believers and in Islam is the actual site of the ‘Masjid-al-Aqsa’ which is
found adjacent and to the South of the place where the ‘Dome of the Rock’ is
built, and it is this ‘Masjid al-Aqsa’ which is considered the third most
holiest Masjid in Islam after the Holy Sanctuary in Makkah and the Prophet’s
Masjid in Madinah.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister