TheWell of Souls (Arabic:بئر الأرواح,romanized: Biʾr al-Arwaḥ; sometimes translatedPit of Souls,Cave of Spirits, orWell of Spirits) is a partly natural, partly man-madecave located inside theFoundation Stone ("Noble Rock" inIslam) under theDome of the Rock shrine on theTemple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) inJerusalem.[1] During theCrusader period, it was known toChristians as the "Holy of Holies",[2] referring to the inner sanctum of the formerJewish Temple, which, according to modern scholarship, was probably located on top of the Foundation Stone.[2]
The name "Well of Souls" derives from a medieval Islamic legend that at this place thespirits of the dead can be heard awaitingJudgment Day,[3] although this is not a mainstream view inSunni Islam. The name has also been applied to a depression in the floor of this cave and a hypothetical chamber that may exist beneath it.
The Well of Souls is located under theFoundation Stone, an exposed bedrock which lies directly under theDome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock stands on the location of the destroyedSecond Jewish Temple (built around 516 BCE to replaceSolomon's Temple), which wasdestroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. In traditional Jewish sources, the Foundation Stone is considered the place from which the creation of the world began,[4] and whereAbraham prepared tosacrifice his sonIsaac.
InIslam, the Foundation Stone is known as the Noble Rock.Al-Tabari, a Muslim writer of the 9th century CE, identified the rock with the place where the Romans had "buried the temple [bayt al-maqdis] at the time of the sons of Israel."[5] Some modern[dubious –discuss] Muslims believe it to be the spot from whichMuhammad ascended to heaven during hisal-'Isrā' wal-Miʿrāj (Isra and Mi'raj, 'Night Journey'). According to a medieval Islamic tradition, the Foundation Stone tried to follow Muhammad as he ascended, leaving his footprint here while pulling up and hollowing out the cave below. The impression of the hand of theArchangel Gabriel, made as he restrained the Stone from rising, is nearby.[3]
Both Jewish and Muslim traditions relate to what may lie beneath the Foundation Stone, the earliest of them found in theTalmud in the former and understood to date to the 12th and 13th centuries in the latter.[3] The Talmud indicates that the Stone marks the center of the world and serves as a cover for the Abyss (Abzu) containing the raging waters of theFlood.[citation needed][dubious –discuss] The cave was venerated as early as 902 according toIbn al-Faqih.[6] Muslim tradition likewise places it at the center of the world and over a bottomless pit with the flowing waters of Paradise underneath. A palm tree is said to grow out of theRiver of Paradise here to support the Stone.Noah is said to have landed here after the Flood. The souls of the dead are said to be audible here as they await the Last Judgment,[3] although this is not a mainstream view in Sunni Islam.
The Foundation Stone and its cave entered fully into the Christian tradition after theCrusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099. These Europeans converted the Dome of the Rock into a church, calling it inLatin:Templum Domini (the 'Temple of the Lord'). They made many radical physical changes to the site at this time, including cutting away much of the rock to make staircases and paving the Stone over with marble slabs. The main entrance of the cave was enlarged, and Europeans of the Crusades are probably also responsible for creating the shaft ascending from the center of the chamber. The Crusaders called the cave the "Holy of Holies" and venerated it as the siteof the archangel's announcement[a] ofJohn the Baptist's birth.[2] Modern scholarship indicates that theHoly of Holies of the Jewish Temple was probably on top of the Foundation Stone, not inside it.[2]: 101–103
In 1871, Jerusalem was visited by the explorer and ArabistSir Richard Francis Burton. Burton's wifeIsabel later described their exploration of the Well of Souls as tourists:[8]
A flight of fifteen steps takes us into the cave under this Rock. This feature has been immensely written about. I shall content myself with saying that Captain Burton holds it to be theoriginal granary of the corn threshed, or rather trodden out, upon the plain on either side, and winnowed from the Rock. If the latter prove to be the greatAltar of Sacrifice, the cave will be the cistern for the blood which ran off by the Bir el Arwáh (Well of Souls) into theValley of Hinnom. My husband did his best to procure the opening of the hollow-sounding slab in the centre, but the time has not yet come. The more ignorant Moslems believe that theSakhrah is suspended in the air, and its only support is a palm tree, held by the mothers of the two greatest prophets, Mohammed and Abraham. The most projecting point is called "the Tongue," because, whenOmar thought he had discovered the stone which wasJacob's pillar in his vision atBethel, he exclaimed, "Es Salámo Alaykúm" ("Peace be unto thee"), and the stone replied, "Alaykúm us Salám, wa Rahmat-Ullahi" ("Peace be to thee, and the mercy of God"). The Shaykhs of the Mosque explained everything to us, even the minutest trifle, and showed us the places where Solomon prayed, and also David, and where Abraham and Elijah and Mohammed met on the occasion of hisnight flight uponEl Borák. They also made an echo for us, and told us that there was a hollow place beneath the Bir el Arwáh before mentioned, where every Friday the departed souls come to adoreAllah.
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The entrance to the cave is at the southeast angle of the Foundation Stone, beside the southeast pier of the Dome of the Rock shrine. Here a set of 16 new marble steps descend through a cut passage thought to date toCrusader times. On the way down, bedrock masses project in towards the stair; the one to the right is called "the tongue". (According to legend, the Stone answered 'Caliph 'Umar I' when he addressed it.)[3]
The cave chamber is roughly square, about 6 meters (20 ft) on a side, and ranges from around 1.5–2.5 meters (4 ft 11 in – 8 ft 2 in) high.[3]
Inside the chamber are four prayer niches.[9] As one descends, next to the staircase there are twomihrabs (prayer niches):[9] to the left (south) is one dedicated to ProphetDawud (David), with atrefoil arch supported by miniature marble twisted-rope columns. To the right (southeast) is a shallower, but ornately decorated, prayer niche dedicated to the prophetSuleiman (Solomon).[3] Thismihrab is certainly one of the oldest in the world, considered to date at least to the late 9th century, with some even suggesting that it dates back to the 7th century and to the time ofAbd al-Malik, builder of the Dome of the Rock—making it the oldest in the world—but this is disputed.[6] To the north is a small shrine dedicated to prophetIbrahim (Abraham) and to the northwest another one dedicated toKhidr-Elijah.[3][9] A depression in the floor of the cave elicits an echo, which may indicate a chamber beneath it.
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The chamber is supplied with electric lighting and fans.[10]
At the center of the ceiling is a shaft, 0.46 meters (1 ft 6 in) in diameter, which penetrates 1.7 meters (5 ft 7 in) up to the surface of the Stone above. It has been proposed that this is the 4,000-year-old remnant of ashaft tomb.[3] Another theory is that it represents a Crusader "chimney" cut for ventilation to accommodate lighted shrine candles.[2]: 103 Still others have tried to make a case that it was part of a drainage system for the blood of sacrifices from the Temple altar.[11] There are no rope marks within the shaft, so it has been concluded that it was never used as a well, with the cave as a cistern. The ceiling of the cave appears natural, while the floor has been long ago paved with marble and carpeted over.
They say that on the night of his Ascension into heaven, the Prophet, prayed first at the Dome of the Rock, laying his hand upon the Rock. As he went out, the Rock, to do him honour, rose up, but he laid his hand on it to keep it in its place and firmly fixed it there. But by reason of this rising up, it is even to this present day partly detached from the ground beneath.
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