Sabil Sha'lan
Sabil Sha'lan (Arabic : سبيل شعلان )
This fountain is located at the bottom of the stairs of the western pavilion that leads to the courtyard of the Dome of the Rock, opposite Bab al-Nadhir and was used as a water reservoir from the 13th Century until at the end of the British occupation. The Sabil was supplied with water from the well of 'Urwah, which is located underneath the Sabil structure which is a small chamber topped with a beautiful stone dome.
The Sabil was constructed by Muhammad ibn 'Urwah al-Mousali in the year 614 AH/1216 CE in the era of Sharaf ad-Din al-Muadhdham 'Issa al-Ayyubi (refer to inscription No: 25) -a nephew of Salah ad-Din- who was appointed by his father Sultan al-Adil 1 as the governor of Damascus in 1198 (Grabar, Oleg; Ḳedar, B. Z. (2009) Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Jerusalem's Sacred Esplanade University of Texas Press. pp. 163–171. ISBN 978-0-292-72272-9) or 1200 (Littmann, E. (1960). "Aybak". In Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 780. OCLC 495469456).
Then it was renovated in the Mamluk period during the era of Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay in the year 832 AH/1429 CE at the hands of the overseer of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa Shahin as-Shuja'iy (refer to inscription No: 25).
Then the Sabil was ruined and was renovated during the Ottoman period in the year 1037 AH/1627 CE at the hands of Bayram Basha, the governor of Egypt under the supervision of the governor of Al-Quds Muhammad Basha (Min aatharinaa fi Bayt-il-Maqdis by Kamil Jamil al-'Asali, p 238).
There are 3 inscriptions in front of the Sabil, the first from the left refers to the Ayyubi construction, the middle one refers to the Mamluk renovation and the one on the right refers to the Ottoman renovation (refer to inscription No:25). Verily the existence of these 3 inscriptions indicates to the greatness and importance of this Sabil and it's located In front of Bab al-Nadhir which is one of the main gates of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and it's also the place where the overseer of the Masjid sits.
The uniqueness of this Sabil is that it has not been named after Sultans and governors who built it but rather it's named after the Sha'lan family who undertook the responsibility of supplying water to the fountain and the one known from the family is Ibrahim ibn Sha'lan. The fountain was normally full until at the end of the British occupation, as of today it's not functional.
References:
1. Grabar, Oleg; Ḳedar, B. Z. (2009) Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Jerusalem's Sacred Esplanade University of Texas Press. pp. 163–171. ISBN 978-0-292-72272-9
2. Littmann, E. (1960). "Aybak". In Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 780. OCLC 495469456
3. Min aatharinaa fi Bayt-il-Maqdis by Kamil Jamil al-'Asali, p 238
4. Inscriptions in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa.
