The Rock: A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem

About this book

Whose rock is enshrined inside the golden Dome of Jerusalem? The rock of Moses or of Muhammad? Kanan Makiya gathers together the stories legends and beliefs that define the Rockthe place where Adam landed in his fall from Paradise and where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his first-born; where Solomons Temple stood and where Jesus preached; the rock from which Muhammad ascended to heavenand transforms them into a narrative of novelistic depth and drama. This brilliantly imagined historically based account of the building of the Dome of the Rock reconstructs the paths of the actual individuals whose spiritual journeys revolved around the seventh-century lore of the Rock. The chief protagonist is Kab al-Ahbar a learned Jew who accepted the prophecy of Muhammad and who accompanied the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab during his conquest of the Holy City. The story is narrated by Kabs son Ishaq who years later is commissioned to design the first monument of Islam the Dome of the Rock. As he imagines the construction of the Domeand the complex reasons behind its creationMakiya gives us a meditation on the common terrain of the worlds three great monotheistic religions and a remarkable investigation into what the Rock symbolizesbeyond its various stories and names beyond even the three faiths at whose heart it sits.