COMPLETION OF THE MASJII). R5 any spot, the sacred character of which would especially incite the visitor to an act of devotion. Our word mosque is a corruption of masjid, but it is usually misapplied, as the building is never so designated, although the whole area on which it stands may be so spoken of. The Jam'i el Aksa, Jam'i el Maghâribeh, &c, are mosques in our sense of the word, but the entire Haram is a masjid. This will explain what is meant by saying that Omar, after visiting the churches of the Anastasis, Sion, &c, was taken to the " Masjid " of Jerusalem ; and will account for the statement of Ibn el 'Asa'kir and others, that the Masjid el Aksa measured over six hundred cubits in length—that is, the length of the whole Haram area. The name Masjid el Aksa is borrowed from the passage in the Cor'ân (xvii. 1) , where allusion is made to the pretended ascent of Mohammed into heaven from the Temple of Jerusalem: "Praise be unto Him who transported His servant by night from El Masjid el Harâm (i.e., 'the Sacred place of Adoration,' at Mecca) to El Masjid el Aksa (*. e., ' the Remote place of Adoration ' at Jerusalem), the precincts of which we have blessed," &c. The title EÏ Aksa, "the Eemote," according to the Mohammedan doctors, is applied to the Temple of Jerusalem, "either because of its distance from Mecca, or because it is in the centre of the earth." The title Haram, or "sanctuary," it .enjoys in common with those of Mecca, Medina, and Hebron. As M. de Vogué has pointed out, the Cubbet es Sakhrah, notwithstanding its imposing proportions, is not, properly speaking, a mosque, and is not constructed with a view to the celebration of public prayers and services. It is only an oratory, one of the numerous cubbehs with which the Haram es Sherif abounds—domed edifices that mark tbe various spots to which traditions cling. The form is, in fact, almost identical with that of an ordinary Muslim weli, or saint's tomb. El Jâm'i el Aksa is, on the other hand,