The rock : a tale of seventh-century Jerusalem / Kanan Makiya.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Makiya, Kanan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Qubbat al-Ṣakhrah (Mosque : Jerusalem)--Fiction.

Qubbat al-Ṣakhrah (Mosque : Jerusalem).

Islam--Relations--Christianity--Fiction.

Islam.

Islam--Relations--Judaism--Fiction.

Relations.

Judaism.

Christianity.

Jerusalem--Fiction.

Jerusalem.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Religious fiction.

Fiction.

Physical Description:

349 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Pantheon Books, [2001]

Summary:

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 Rock -- the place where Adam landed in his fall from Paradise and where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his first-born; where Solomon's Temple stood and where Jesus preached; the rock from which Muhammad ascended to heaven -- and 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 Ka'b 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 Ka'b's 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 Dome -- and the complex reasons behind its creation -- Makiya gives us a meditation on the common terrain of the world's three great monotheistic religions and a remarkable investigation into what the Rock symbolizes -- beyond its various stories and names, beyond even the three faiths at whose heart it sits.

Contents:

In the Name of God 3

The Rock of Foundation 15

Locusts and Christians 21

Medina 27

The Fundaments of the Universe 37

The Conquest Foretold 41

Coming the Jerusalem 51

The Black Stone 57

The Turmoil of Ka'b 65

The Sins of David 69

The Rock of Sacrifice 77

Sophronius 81

Tour of the City 93

The New Temple 107

Adam's Tomb 113

The Rock of the Cross 119

Finding the Cross 125

Finding the Rock 133

Facing Whose Rock? 143

Growing Up in Jerusalem 151

The Death of Ka'b 161

The Wait in the Grave 169

The Footprint 177

War of the Holy Cities 187

Meeting Abd al-Malik 195

Mecca and Jerusalem 205

A Moment of Decision 215

The Father and the Son 219

The Importance of Eight 225

Stone into Light 233

Building on the Rock 239

All Is Vanity 249

The Rock of Judgment 263

In the Name of God 271

A Historical Note on Ka'b and the Rock 277.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-341).

ISBN:

0375400877

OCLC:

46792747