The first Qibla and third most important and holiest site in Islam – Masjid Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock from where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ started his Mairaj Night Journey – share a common compound and are both part of the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem, Palestine.
In The Cambridge Ancient History, Nabataens mentioned by Diodorus in his retelling of events that took place in 312 BC are said to be Qedarites [Boardman et al., 1988, p. 148].
Both sites in the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem have Nabatean Arab pillar motifs. The Dome of the Rock was initially completed in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad king ‘Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna.
Sacred Symbolism at the Dome of the Rock by Sayyid Amiruddin
“…The Dome of the Rock is one of the oldest works of Arab Muslim architecture and is a vault of symbolism. It is located around the highest mountain/rock at the site, and the Dome of the Rock was constructed around the place of the Holy Ascension of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to the Seven Heavens through space. It has four entrances, each symbolizing one of the four letters of the exalted and majestic Name of the Seal of Prophets ﷺ. At the centre, above the Rock is a wooden box, encased in a marble chest, containing two hair strands from the blessed holy beard of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Its four entrances are surrounded by twelve mainstay pillars, symbolizing the twelve sons of Ishmael ‘alaihi salam. Between these twelve mainstay pillars are twenty-four Nabatean motif columns. These symbolize the twelve clans of the Sadaat Quraysh (Lords of Quraysh) and the twelve caliphs of Quraysh as stated in both Sunni and other hadiths – who are as relevant in Islam as are the twenty-four hours of the day. There are fifty-two windows in the building, each symbolizing the fifty-two weeks in the Hijri year. Some believe them to represent the fifty-two Mondays, since the Mawlid took place on a Monday, while others hold them to represent the fifty-two Fridays of the year, the day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was said to have been conceived. Either way, know they are directly related to the Pride of the Arabs and the Choicest of the Children of Adam – the Crown of the Arabs, the Hashemite, Qurayshite from the Sons of Adnan, the Master of Arabs and Ajam (non-Arabs) Sayyidina wa Mawlana Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Alllah – Rasul Allah ﷺ. When you come here, you see first hand why the enemies of Muslims have coveted this holy site for centuries. Every Muslim must visit this holy site and not ignore it. The Night Journey of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the very source for all mystical doctrines of the Sufis and all the hadiths about the merits of Shaam are in fact about Jerusalem – which is Southern Shaam…”
