Mausoleum of Abu Huraira
The mausoleum of Abu Hurayra, or Rabban Gamaliel's Tomb, is a maqām and synagogue located in HaSanhedrin Park in Yavne, Israel, formerly belonging to the depopulated Palestinian village of Yibna. It has been described as "one of the finest domed mausoleums in Palestine."
The mausoleum is located on a burial ground, northwest of Tel Yavne, that has been used by Yavnehites for burial since at least the Roman period. Since the early 13th century, it has been known to Muslims as a tomb of Abu Hurairah, a companion of Muhammad, although most Arabic sources give Medina as his burial place. The date of the inner tomb chamber is uncertain. In 1274, Mamluk Sultan Baybars ordered the construction of the riwaq featuring a tripartite portal and six tiny domes together with a dedicatory inscription, with the site expanded further in 1292 by Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil.
The tomb is known to Jews as the Tomb of Rabban Gamaliel of Yavne, the first Nasi of the Sanhedrin after the fall of the Second Temple. The tomb is described as being occupied by a Muslim prayer house, in a Hebrew travel guide dated to between 1266 and 1291, and was frequently visited by Jewish medieval pilgrims. Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War the mausoleum was officially designated as a shrine for Jews by the Israeli government.
In all likelihood neither Rabban Gamaliel of Yavne nor Abu Hurairah are buried in the tomb.
Architecture
Until 1948 the building stood within a walled compound containing other graves. There were two inscriptions above the gateway; one in the name of Sultan Baybars dated 673 H. and another dated to 806 H.A cenotaph is located in centre of the tomb chamber. The cenotaph is a rectangular structure with four marble corner posts formed as turbans. The four lower courses are made of ashlar blocks, while the upper course is of marble ornamented with niches in gothic style.
Much of the construction materials of the building are reused Byzantine Marble, mainly columns and Corinthian capitals.
History
Early
The ground on which the structure stands, northwest of tell Yavne, has been used Yavnehites for burial since at least the Roman period. Ali of Herat, followed by Yaqut and the Marasid al-ittila', wrote that in Yubna there was a tomb said to be that of Abu Hurairah, the companion of the Prophet. The Marasid also adds that tomb seen here is also said to be that of ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Sarh, another companion of the Prophet.Yavne's population at the time was a mixture of Samaritans, Christians and Muslims.
A Hebrew travel guide dated between 1266 and 1291 mentioned a tomb of Rabban Gamaliel in Yavne that is used as a Muslim prayer house. The following century, another Jewish traveler, Ishtori Haparchi, described Abu Huraira's mausoleum as 'a very fine memorial to Rabbi Gamliel.’
Ottoman and British Mandate
In 1863 Victor Guérin visited, describing the site as a mosque. In 1882, Conder and Kitchener described it: "The mosque of Abu Hureireh is a handsome building under a dome, and contains two inscriptions, the first in the outer court, the second in the wall of the interior."During the British Mandate of Palestine the porch of the building was used for school rooms.
State of Israel
Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, immigrant Sephardic Jews from Arab countries began to pray at the site due to their belief that the tomb is the burial place of Rabban Gamaliel of Yavne, the first Nasi of the Sanhedrin after the fall of the Second Temple. The identification of the site as Gamaliel's tomb was based on the literature of medieval Jewish pilgrims, who frequently mentioned visits to the site. The claim of previous Jewish origin were based on the argument that such maqams, as many other Muslim sacred tombs, were originally Jewish tombs that had been subsequently Islamized during the later history of the region. The Israeli Ministry of Religious Services has maintained authority over the site since 1948, and the structure was thereafter appropriated by ultra-Orthodox Jews and transformed into a tomb of the righteous. Gideon Bar cites it as one of many cases of the Judaization of Muslim holy places, where the Jewish heritage of a site has been showcased at the expense of other local cultural traditions.Inscriptions
The first inscription, dated 1274, described how Mamluk Sultan Baybars ordered the construction of the riwaq. It also refers to the Wali of Ramleh, Khalil ibn Sawir, who was named by the chronicler Ibn al-Furat as being responsible for instigating the famed attempted assassination of Edward I of England in June 1272 in the Ninth Crusade.The second inscription described further construction ordered in 1292 by Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil.
| Date | Picture | Location | Translation |
| 673AH | Marble slab on door of enclosure | "In the name of the Merciful and Gracious God. Gave the order to begin building the blessed porch, our master, Sultan El-Malek edh-Dhaher, pillar of the world and of religion, Abou'l Fath Beibars, co-sharer with the Emir of the Believers, may God exalt his victories! The completion of it took place in the month Rebi' I, in the year 673. Was entrusted with the building Khalil ibn Shawar, wali of Ramlah, whom may God pardon, him, his father and mother, and all the Mussulmans." | |
| 692AH | Base of doorway and under the lintel | "In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. Began to build this blessed sanctuary of Abu Horeira, may God receive him, companion of the apostle of God, on whom be prayers and salvation, our Lord and our master the very great, learned, and just Sultan, resolute champion and guardian, victorious, El-Malek el-Achraf, prosperity of the world and of religion, Sultan of Islam and of the Mussulmans, lord of Kings and Sultans, Abu'l-Feda Khalil, co-sharer with the Emir of the Believers, may God exalt his victory, son of our master the Sultan, hero of the holy war, El-Malek El-Mansur Kelaun es-Salehy, may God water his reign with the rain of his mercy and his grace and the benefits of his indulgence, may he make him to dwell in the gardens of Eternity, may he come to his aid on the day of resurrection, may he make him a place under a wide shade with abundant water and quantities of fruit without stint, may he grant him the reward and the delights he has deserved, may he raise his places and degrees into the..." "Amen ! The building of it was finished in the months of the year 692, and there was entrusted with its building Aydemir the dewadar Ez,-Zeiny may God pardon him, him and his descendants, as also all Mussulmans." | |
| 806AH | Marble slab | "Renewed this pool, the conduit and the sakia, his Excellency En-Nasery Mohammed Anar, son of Anar, and his Excellency El-'Alay Yelbogha, possessors of the township of Yebna, may god in his grace and mercy grant to both of them Paradise as a reward. Ordered at the date of the month Rebi' I, in the year 806." |