Dome Of The Rock Symbolism

Another physical feature that provides importance are the designs of the mosaics of the Dome of the Rock. More importantly the crowns in the mosaics, which are “symbolic of dynastic rule in Kitdb al-tijd” symbolize the crowned kings of that dynasty (Khoury 62). Not only do the objects and shapes have a meaning in the Dome of the Rock, but also so do the colors on the objects. For example, the Dome of the Rock has the colors blue and gold: “In Islamic art, blue, the color of the sky suggest infinity, while gold is the color of knowledge, while in the Qur’an is the faculty which brings Muslims an apprehension of God” (Armstrong 241). Based on only the physical objects and colors of the objects inside of the Dome of the Rock, one can see just
It is not the monumental edifice itself that is important for the Jewish people, but rather the location of where the Dome of the Rock was built: the Temple Mount. As mentioned in the biblical text Genesis 22, this is the location in Moriah where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac for God. Ultimately though, God stops Abraham from going through with the sacrifice seeing that Abraham is willing to sacrifice his own son for him, which is enough to show God that Abraham is loyal and willing to give up the life of his only son to prove it. In order to commemorate this event, Solomon’s Temple was built here on the Temple Mount. In addition, “the Muslim Dome of the Rock also commemorates Abraham’s sacrifice of his son” (Armstrong 28). For the Jewish people, they “considered the Dome of the Rock to be a metamorphosis of Solomon’s Temple” as Dome of the Rock was built on top of the Temple Mount (Bahat 85). In addition to the important tales of Abraham for the Jewish people, another reason why the location of the Dome of the Rock is important is that it was also was once the site where the Ark of the Covenant used to lie. The Ark of the Covenant was important to Judaism because it represented in essence God’s home in the human world. Located in the Holy of the Holies of Solomon temple, the Ark not only was the spiritual connection for all the Jewish religion, but the Ark also helped create the city of Jerusalem by creating at the time a permanent home for God causing people to migrate near the city and forming the first united monarchy for Israel. Today due to the tensions between Jews and Muslims, the Jews are not permitted to pray at the hilltop site instead they have to pray below nearby the Western Wall. The Dome of the Rock is important to the Jewish people, as it was the site on where their ancient temples once