Church History · AD 691

The Dome of the Rock Is Built on the Temple Mount

About AD 691 the caliph Abd al Malik finished the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Jewish temples once stood. Its inscriptions speak about Jesus, and the site is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.

Read it in the Bible: 2 Chronicles 3:1 Genesis 22:2 John 4:21-24 Isaiah 56:7

The Dome of the Rock is the golden domed shrine that sits on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It was built by the Muslim caliph Abd al Malik and finished in AD 691 or 692, about sixty years after Muhammad died. It stands on the same hilltop where Solomon's temple and later Herod's temple once stood. That one patch of ground is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, which makes it one of the most important and most sensitive places on earth.

Who Built the Dome of the Rock and When?

Abd al Malik was the fifth caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, which ruled from Damascus. An inscription inside the building gives the Islamic year 72, which matches AD 691 to 692. Most historians take that as the year it was finished.

The building is an eight sided shrine with a high dome over a large bare rock. It is covered inside with rich mosaics. The bright gold covering you see in photos is modern. The shrine is the oldest major Islamic building still standing, and it was meant to impress. Some historians think Abd al Malik wanted Islam to have a monument in Jerusalem that could stand next to the city's grand Christian churches.

Is the Dome of the Rock a Mosque?

Not exactly. People often call it a mosque, but it was built as a shrine over the rock. The main mosque on the Temple Mount is the Al Aqsa Mosque, at the southern end of the platform. It was built a little later, in the early 700s, and has been rebuilt several times after earthquakes. Muslims call the whole walled platform the Noble Sanctuary, and Jews call it the Temple Mount.

What Is the Rock Under the Dome?

The rock is the top of the hill itself. Each faith remembers it differently.

Jews call it the Foundation Stone. Many identify it with the spot of the Holy of Holies in the temple, or very near it. Jewish tradition also links the hill to Mount Moriah, where Abraham bound Isaac.
Christians remember it as the temple hill where Jesus was presented as a baby, taught as a boy, and drove out the money changers.
Muslims connect it with Muhammad's Night Journey. They believe he was carried in one night from Mecca to the farthest mosque and rose from there into heaven. Britannica notes this link to the Dome became widely stressed a few centuries after it was built.

The Bible ties the temple to the same mountain where Abraham's test took place.

Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 Chronicles 3:1

What Do the Inscriptions Say About Jesus?

Running around the inside of the shrine is a long band of Arabic writing in gold mosaic. Much of it quotes or echoes the Quran, and a good part of it speaks directly to Christians, whom the Quran calls the People of the Book.

The inscription calls Jesus, son of Mary, the Messiah, a messenger of God and His word. It then urges Christians not to say three, meaning the Trinity, and says God has no son. So the oldest great monument of Islam carries a message about Jesus written for Christians to read. It honors Him as a prophet, and it also argues against what Christians believe about Him. Christians can read it as a respectful but clear disagreement.

What Happened to the Dome After It Was Built?

When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they turned the shrine into a church and called it the Temple of the Lord. When Saladin took the city back in 1187, he restored it as an Islamic shrine. It has stayed that way ever since, through Ottoman rule, British rule and modern times. You can read more in the article on the Crusades.

Today the site is run by an Islamic trust. Under a long standing arrangement, non Muslims may visit at set times, but Jewish and Christian prayer on the platform is restricted. Many Jews pray instead at the Western Wall below, which is part of the old retaining wall Herod built around the temple platform.

Why Does the Temple Mount Matter to Three Faiths?

For Jews, it is the holiest place in the world, where God chose to put His name. For Muslims, it is the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. For Christians, it is where so much of the life of Jesus and the early church took place. Some Christians and Jews also watch the Temple Mount with great interest because of prophecies about the last days. Believers hold a range of views on those prophecies, and you can explore them in the Revelation article.

How It Points to Jesus

The temple was the place where heaven and earth met, where sacrifices were offered for sin. Jesus told a Samaritan woman that a day was coming when worship would not depend on one mountain.

a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. John 4:21

Christians believe Jesus Himself is the true temple and the final sacrifice. So while we can honor the history of that holy hill, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we don't have to fight over a piece of ground to meet God. Through Jesus, the door to the Father is open anywhere.

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Questions People Ask

Who built the Dome of the Rock?

The Umayyad caliph Abd al Malik built it. An inscription inside gives the Islamic year 72, which is AD 691 to 692, and that is usually taken as the date it was finished.

Is the Dome of the Rock the same as Al Aqsa Mosque?

No. The Dome of the Rock is a shrine built over a large rock in the middle of the Temple Mount. The Al Aqsa Mosque is a separate building at the southern end of the platform, built in the early 700s.

Was the Dome of the Rock built where the Jewish temple stood?

Yes. It stands on the Temple Mount, the platform where Solomon's temple and later Herod's temple stood until the Romans destroyed it in AD 70. Many Jews believe the rock under the dome marks the area of the Holy of Holies.

What do the inscriptions in the Dome of the Rock say?

The Arabic inscriptions quote or echo the Quran. They call Jesus the Messiah, a messenger of God and His word, and they urge Christians not to speak of God as three or to say that God has a son.

Sources

← The Rise of Islam The Council in Trullo and the Orthodox Bible →

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