The Rock: A Tale of Seventh-Century Jerusalem

by Kanan Makiya

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.

Genres: Fiction, Religion, Historical Fiction, Judaism, Islam, Middle East, Ancient

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

is an Iraqi academic, who gained British nationality in 1982. He is the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University. Although he was born in Baghdad, he left Iraq to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, later founding Makiya Associates in order to design and build projects in the Middle East. As a former exile, he was a prominent member of the Iraqi opposition, a "close friend" of Ahmed Chalabi, and an influential proponent of the 2003 Iraq War.His life is documented in British journalist Nick Cohen's book What's Left.

Reviews

[Ernest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely well researched book about the history of the Dome of the Rock, written in historical fiction format. However, it is not an easy read mainly due to the writing style.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating piece of fiction by a young Iraqi idealist who became a part of the ex-patriate community upon whom Cheney and Rumsfeld placed irresponsible reliance in the run up to the war. The story revolves around a follower of the Prophet who led the forces that captured Jerusalum from the Christian forces in the seventh century. It gives many illuminating views into the histories of both Islam and Christianity. The author has evident intellectual gifts and could be a voice in bridging the post-Bush world in which both religions will need to find accommodation.

[J.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conflation, confusion, mixed motives, longing, faith, uncertainty, things strangely felt, and strangely garbled. A positive stew of Midrash and Bible and Quran and poetry and history. I loved this book. I don't think most people will, though, if I'm honest. But I ate it up.

On the surface this book is a fictionalized narrative a Jewish convert (or did he really convert?) to Islam named K'ab, who is a real historical figure. This man is obsessed with the rock of foundation at Mount Moriah, aka the Temple mount, and his son Ishaq with the help of a Christian builder, fashion the Dome of the Rock for the Caliph they serve.

K'ab is a storyteller and a story-seeker. The Rock is the epicenter of his storytelling.

This book takes faith and storytelling very seriously and examines the intertwined beliefs of Jews and Muslims and occasionally Christians as well, all in the 7th Century. It speaks of three Rocks: the rock of the K'aba, the rock of the Temple Mount, and the rock of Cavalry. But the Rock of foundation, of the temple mount, is decidedly the main character among the three.

This takes place during and after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and allows room for both genuine religion AND religious machinations among the three Abrahamic religions.

I found it mesmerizing. But if you don't like to be told dozens of strange stories about rocks and creation and cataclysm, cobbled together from Midrashic and Quranic sources, then you may not enjoy it as much as I did. The sources are like 50 pages long. The author took his time piecing together not only the fragments of history and thought, but even the natural phrasing of the time.

[Momen Bari · Rating 4 out of 5]

الحقيقة مجهود جبااار. الكاتب ملم بكل ما يتعلق بتاريخ واساطير صخرة بيت المقدس ودا كمان خلاه يشرق ويغرب بين تاريخ الاديان وتاريخ السياسة مع مجموعة حكاوي مدهشة.

الرواية دي مفروض تاخد خمس نجوم للمجهود الغير طبيعي. بس انا اديت ٤ علشان دي مش رواية (حتي وان كتبت في شكل روائي). دا كتاب تاريخ محتاج ذهن نشط ومراجع حاضرة لنذهب ونعود (لا نسلم بكل المكتوب نرجع، نقرا، نعرف اصل الحكاية او الاسطورة).

الرواية مترجمة للعربي من منشورات الجمل. والمترجم عامل شغل عالي.

[Akram Salih · Rating 5 out of 5]

- اكملت الرواية في ايام اجتياح ٧ اكتوبر و حرب غزة و ما تلاها..مما اعطلى للرواية لدي اجواء اضافية
- لحظتان اقتنصهما الكاتب وغار في اسبارهما و ما حوتهما من مشاعر و احساسيس و افكار في وقته:
وصول الخليفة عمر بن الخطاب للصخرة
بناء عبد الملك بن مروان للقبة فوق الصخرة
- رواية اثارت الكثير الكثير من الاسئلة و زوايا النظر لقاريء تربى على ثقافات و وعقائد دوغمائية مغلقة

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good history of the people and events involved.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not so much a typical historical novel as it is a lyrical meditation on what makes a place sacred and the common ground (literally) of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, from the perspective of the latter. The story is about the 7th century conquest of Jerusalem by the early Muslim Arabs and the subsequent construction of the Dome of the Rock. The spiritual center of the book is the Rock of Foundation at the summit of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to tradition this is the place where Adam fell to earth after being cast out of Eden, where Abraham was directed to sacrifice his son, where Solomon's temple stood, where Jesus preached, and where Muhammad ascended into heaven. In addition to seamlessly weaving together all three religions' beliefs about the Rock, Makiya also ties in traditions and beliefs about the other rocks that figure in the three religions, specifically the rock of Calvary and the rock enclosed in the Ka'Ba in Mecca.
Perhaps some of what Makiya writes will be considered controversial, but I guess I was pretty oblivious to any of that since I don't adhere to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Despite that, though. I found the novel very interesting and beautiful as an exploration of those three religions, where they intersect, and where they diverge as well as an examination of the Holy Land and it's nature.
Despite the intellectual and even scholarly nature of his book, Makiya's prose reads very smoothly. He also provides a long explanation of the historical sources he drew from, chapter by chapter, at the end. The only thing I think he neglected to include is maps - I would have benefitted from a map of the Middle East as well as a detailed map of 7th century Jerusalem.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most difficult books I have read recently and nearly impossible for me to review. The story is told by the Ishaq son of Ka'b a Jewish scholar in the 7th century. I think the author does a remarkable job of trying to keep the 7th c voice but still readable in the 21st century. The Jewish scholar knew the prophet Mohammed and although remaining Jewish, became a follower and Believer. He also became the confidant of the next several leaders of the faith and moves to Jerusalem with the Believers when they take back the city - peacefully - from the Christians. It then follows Ka'b and the Muslim leaders as they resurrect the Rock in Jerusalem and build the Dome over the Rock.

The book is heavily researched and footnoted and I think it presents a fairly accurate picture of relationships between Jews Christians and Muslims in the 7th century. I found this picture quite fascinating.

But what really moved me was the subtext or leitmotif of the biblical story of Abraham and Issac (also the story of Abraham and Ishaq, a story that I find distressing, haunting and one that I have never successfully dealt with (God tells Abraham to take his only son Isaac and kill him; Abraham complies, but at the last minute God substitutes a lamb for Issac). The story comes up over and over as Ishaq also tries - unsuccessfully - to deal with it.

[Alex Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kanan Makiya will be remembered for his passionate hatred of Saddam Hussein, which moved him to sell to a gullible US government the idea that an invasion would be welcomed with flowers by the people of Iraq.
With that in mind, how sceptical should a reader be of a history of 7th century Jerusalem that presents the Muslim conquest as a rather cheerful tour of the holy places?
OK, that isn't fair to this novel, which seems to rest on solid (though mostly Western) scholarship. The storyteller is the son of Ka'b, a Jewish convert and adviser to the Caliph. Many of the stories come from Ka'b's telling and have to do with the origins of the universe and the shared Abrahamic myths.
The Rock is central to the story, as the spot on which the Creation began, on which Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and from which the Night Journey to Heaven started. The story, which culminates with the building of the Dome of the Rock, weaves in much of the history of early Islam and of Jerusalem. It's a fine and very instructive read, except maybe for people who think Jerusalem belongs only to Christians.

[Sarah Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Set in Jerusalem, this tale covers the momentous time from the death of the Prophet Muhammad to the rapid spread of Islam. Told through the eyes of Ishaq, son of a learned Yemeni Jew, this story traces the events that led to the building of Islam’s first monument, the Dome of the Rock, at a holy site for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.

Appeals: Very scholarly account well grounded in both history and lore from multiple religions’ points of view. Good choice for someone with a solid understanding of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic theology and history. Focuses on the history and uses fiction to fill-in the gaps rather than exploring on the interior lives of characters.

[Maximiliano Alejandro]

Excelsa obra que narra un tiempo de buenas relaciones entre los pueblos árabe y hebreo en primera instancia y marca los primeros conflictos entre las religiones del Libro (La Biblia, Torah y Corán) y los problemas sucesorios del Islam. una obra 100% recomendable y que debería no solo estar en español, sino que DEBERÍA ser materia obligada a todo cristiano como prueba de lo históricamente crueles que hemos sido en nuestra "evangelización" para con otros pueblos, desoyendo la meta y mensajes iniciales del dicho libro que se escinde en tres interpretaciones totalmente diferentes.

[Gerson Veldhuizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boeiend boek over de historie van de opkomst van de islam en de rol van de tempelberg en andere voor moslims heilige steden. Het is gebaseerd op een mengsel van islamitische, joodse en christelijke bronnen, oudere en nieuwere. De bronnenbijlage is daarbij erg behulpzaam om te zien waarop het gebaseerd is. Of het allemaal ook daadwerkelijk zo gebeurd is blijft gissen en zal vermoedelijk nooit duidelijk worden maar deze roman is een mooie manier om zaken met elkaar te verbinden, zonder de pretentie te hebben waarheid te zijn. Een mooi verhaal ook sowieso.

[Jean Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. The author has created a work of fiction while borrowing widely from documents available about the rock where various major religious events are said to have occurred. The most interesting chapter to me was the "Historical Note on Ka'b and the Rock. It really clarifies what the author's intent was.

[Daughters Of Abraham]

Historical fiction based on the viewpoint of a Yemenite Jewish man who converts to Islam during the Prophet's lifetime. He witnesses the Islamic takeover of Jerusalem and the building of the Dome of the Rock.
Writing is slow going. We had a good discussion.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about early Islam by reading this book. Not a very exciting story, but exciting to me nonetheless, for its almost poetic explanation of the meaning of the rock for the three monotheistic religions.

[Sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erg interessant voor liefhebbers van geschiedenis en religie. Over het belang van verhalen en betekenis verlenen aan de fysieke omgeving.
Geeft een schokkend beeld van hoe christenen met joden omgingen en hoe moslims met elkaar omgingen. Goed gedocumenteerd maar bevat ook fantasie.

[Anwar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another piece of the puzzle found in this book, must read!

[Aria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just could not get into this book. I didn't make it out of the 2nd chapter before I realized this was just not happening for me, so I stopped.