Overview
The significance of this site is derived from a number of Hadiths of prophet Muhammad, which mention that the slaying of Dajjal will happen at a site called Bab Ludd (possibly a gate of ancient city of Lod).
In a tradition quoted by Ibn Murajja, dating back to at least middle of the 8th century CE, handed down through the Jerusalem family of Salam bin Qaysar, it is mentioned: "I heard my father say that Lod Gate, about which the prophet "peace be upon him" said that here Jesus, the son of May, would kill al-Dajjal [the Antichrist], is not the church gate near Ramla, but the western gate David, close ('inda) to Mihrab Dawud "peace be upon him" and known as the Lod Gate (Bab Ludd)". [See N1]
Many traditions describe the death of al-Dajjal at the hands of Jesus at the gate of Lod (Ludd) [see N2], near Lod [see N3] or near the eastern gate of Lod, as well as other places in Palestione. It should be noted that in the afore-mentioned Jerusalem tradition, Bab Ludd is also referred to as the gate of the church close to Ramla. Does the transmitter mean the Church of Saint George in Lod? This is apparently the case, though one cannot help but wonder he does not mention the church specifically or even Lod as the site of the Church.
The identification of this site as "the Bab Ludd" is speculative at best, since the traditions about the slaying of al-Dajjal at Bab Ludd make no mention of a church, but only of Lod Gate or a gate close to Lod or the eastern Lod Gate. Saint George's church is described in the mid-10th century CE by the Muslim historian/scholar al-Muqaddasi as a splended church, at the gate of which Jesus was to kill al-Dajjal.
Structure
circa
It is a small nearly-square structure built over a now defunct water-well. Constructed out of ashlar stones, it was originally built during the Mamluk era and later reconstructed in the Ottoman times. The mouth of the wall itself is constructed out of limestone, dating back to sirca 13-14th century CE. The structre can be entered from an arched portal on the eastern side. There is a mihrab (inspect) in the southern wall.
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