Legends of the
Dome of the Rock:
5
/ MUHAMMAD'S FOOTPRINT at the Dome of the Rock
A small turret rises at the corner of the Foundation
Stone. Within it may be seen on the Foundation Stone the imprint of Muhammad's
heel. The Arabs call this mark Kadam en-Nabi — Heel of the
Prophet — or Kadam esh-Sharif — Heel of the Noble One,
that is, Muhammad).
A silver box containing three hairs is guarded in this
small turret. It was given to the mosque by the Turkish sultan, Ahmad I, in
1609. Moslems say these hairs are from the beard of Muhammad. Once a year, on
the twenty seventh day of the feast month of Ramadan, these hairs are shown to
the assembled worshipers—and the sight causes great excitement among
them."*
Source:
Palestine Pilgrims Text Society, V, p. 23.
* " An anonymous Christian pilgrim in the twelfth century
attributes the footprint to Jacob the patriarch; others relate it to Jesus.
Seawulf writes in 1102: "There still are seen in the rock the footsteps
.of our Lord."
Culled
from: Zev Vilnay: Legends of Jerusalem, Jewish Publication Society,
1973.
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