Since these traditions are wide-spread, and currently believed, it is not at all strange that this rock has imbedded itself in all Jewish and Christian hearts. “But” says the reader, “there is nothing in these stories, be they mythical or historical, to enkindle in the Mohammedan heart a reverence for this rock.” I admit your argument. “Why then,” you ask, “did the Mohammedans build the ‘Dome,’ and why does the Koran teach that one prayer offered here is worth a _thousand_ offered elsewhere?” Your questions are reasonable, and I will solve the mystery for you. According to Moslem belief, Mohammed was an incarnation of deity. From this rock he ascended to heaven. He being a divine personage, the rock did not want to leave him. So, when Mohammed began the ascent, the rock started up also. It would have gone on to heaven with him, but Gabriel happened to be present, and when the rock was only seven feet high, he laid his hand upon it and stopped its upward flight. Since that time the rock has remained just where Gabriel left it. God performs a perpetual miracle by keeping the sacred rock suspended in the air. The superstitious followers of the false prophet really believe these marvelous stories. They show us the imprint that Gabriel’s fingers made on the rock when, with a touch of his hand, he stayed its upward flight. They show us also deep impressions in the rock which, they affirm, were made by Mohammed’s feet as he leaped from the rock into the air! The fact that each impress is as large as a peck measure causes Johnson to remark Mohammed must have had at least a half bushel of feet. The Moslems believe, as before stated, that this rock is suspended in the air, and we shall see how the credulous creatures are taught to believe such absurdities. Underneath the uplifted stone there is an artificial chamber, twenty-four feet square, and eight feet from floor to ceiling. The stone walls are whitewashed, but the floor and ceiling are left bare. This cavern is reached by a flight of stairs which leads down from the edge of the rock above. When devotees of the Arab prophet come into the building, they are shown the famous rock and told that it is suspended in the air. To convince them of the truth of this statement, they are brought down into this underground cavern. Now, waving the burning candle above his head, the attending dignitary says to the stranger: “Behold! See for yourself! The rock above you has no support. It rests on nothing. It is perpetually kept up by the Almighty God in honor of Mohammed, His prophet.”