Mel continues this series by proving that the Dome of the Rock which we have today, was not the same Dome which is described by the many eye-witnesses who actually saw it over the years, including some as late as the 15th century, between 700 - 800 years after the time of Abd al-Malik, the purported builder of the Dome.
1100s AD: The 'Santo Sepelcro' in the city of Pisa, Italy, was built as a copy of the structure on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (where the Dome sits today), yet the drum is octagonal, while today's Dome is circular, proving that it can't be the same Drum.
1200s (early) AD: Coins help us as we can see the image of the Dome of the Rock on them, and it has a conical shape (almost like a teepee) with a crescent moon displayed on its top.
1160s AD: A German priest, Johann from Wurzburg, Germany visited the dome and described it during the time the Crusaders controlled Jerusalem. He describes 4 doors with 36 windows on the octagonal drum. He also noted detailed inscriptions, which were not the same as today's inscriptions, and were possibly created by the Crusaders.
1163 AD: Baldwin III refers to the Dome, saying that it looks conical in shape and tall with a large crescent moon on the top, similar to the coins which were being minted at this time.
1170s AD: Theodericus, a German, who went to Jerusalem and refers to the Dome, notes identical inscriptions to those mentioned by Johann from Wurzburg 10 years earlier, which had content from the Gospels (i.e. God knocking at the believer's door from the book of Revelations), not the Qur'an. He also refers to Mosaics, but not the ones which are there today. The gates he mentions all have Jewish and Latin inscriptions above them, which are definitely like those which are there today.
1171 AD: Benjamin, a Jew from Tudela, visited the Dome and mentions that it was built by Umar, which contradicts the classical account. He also says nothing about any of the Qur'anic inscriptions.
1183 AD: Baldwin IV and Amalric I (1174 AD) both describe the Drum of the Dome as a conical, almost Teepee shape with a crescent moon on top.
1187 AD: Ali of Herat, a Muslim who would know Arabic mentions that the Dome was undergoing refurbishment at this time, and mentions that there are possible Qur'anic inscriptions, but only above the doors, which contradicts the present Qur'anic inscriptions above the out arcade. Could these be the beginnings of the Arabic inscriptions we are looking for?
12th c. AD (late): Imad ad-Din visits the Dome and refers to statues of people in the Gospels, including the Messiah's foot, as well as carved pigs and other animals. Could these have been put there by the Crusaders. Nonetheless, there are no Qur'anic inscriptions.
1260 AD: Az-Zahir Baibars, a Mamluk, and Muhammad ibn Kala'un (1318 AD) refer to more refurbishments to the Dome during these times.
1300s AD: Ibn Taymiyya is the first to mention that the Dome of the Rock was built by Abd-al-Malik, though he just calls it the 'Dome", yet this is over 600 years too late, while up to this time everyone has said it was built by Umar!
1355 AD: Ibn Batutah talks about the dome by says nothing about any Qur'anic inscriptions.
1420s AD: Hubert Van Eyck draws a picture of the Dome yet it has an 'Onion shape' and with many windows; so it's not rounded like it is today.
1448 AD: The Dome is destroyed by fire and repaired, yet are we to believe that this destruction had to impact on the Qur'anic inscriptions which are there now?
1453 AD: Yazicioglu writes about the Dome claiming it was built by Umar, contradicting Ibn Taymiyya.
1483 AD: Bernhard von Braydenbach also states that the Dome was 'onion shaped', supporting Hubert van Eyck, from 60 years earlier, though he mentions that it had an access hatch, and was octagonal, which is quite different from today's Dome and drum.
1483 AD: Felix Fabri says that the Dome was built by Umar, and refers to mosaics which have trees, and olive trees, as well as Cherubim inside the structure, which contradicts the mosaics which are in the Dome today.
15th c. AD: Mudschir ed-Din in describing the Dome says nothing about the Qur'anic inscriptions, while referring to mosaics which aren't there any more.
Mel concludes that this all proves that the Dome of the Rock went through quite a few refurbishments over the centuries, and from the descriptions of the eye-witness's accounts, up to and including the 15th century, which is almost 800 years after Abd al-Malik, the Dome they describe is not the same as the one we can see today in Jerusalem.
Nor is there an agreement concerning who built the Dome, with most stipulating it was built by Umar, and only Ibn Taymiyya stating it was Abd al-Malik
So, when was our Dome of the Rock actually built, and by whom? More yet to come!
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2022
(65,060) Music: "Townsong" by Alexander Nakarada, from filmmusic-io
16 окт 2024