Chapter 11.12.
Hajj and Kaaba
Most Muslims will know and agree with the following information what is called the Standard Islamic Narrative (SIN). May be the information about Ismael and the Kaaba and what the Bible has to say about all this is less well known.
Welcome to test this information and provide factual corrections and proof of where it is wrong.
1. What is the Hajj?
The Muslim hajj is a Muslim’s pilgrimage to Mecca, and the fifth pillar of Islam.
Every Muslim who is able must go on this pilgrimage to Mecca (the birthplace of Islam) at least once in their lifetime. Pilgrims perform sacred rituals and follow the steps of Muhammad.
It is required of them.
To seek forgiveness of sins and a chance at eternal life.
To have a divine encounter.
Is it possible that there are Pagan Origins in the Hajj Rites?
A very interesting article by John Gilchrist points to the pagan origin of the Hajj ceremonies. It is surely significant that, as they are practiced to this day, these ceremonies are precisely the same as those practiced by the pagan Arabs. Are we to seriously entertain the suggestion that although they worshipped idols and stone images, the Arabs had somehow maintained the pilgrimage rites precisely as Abraham himself had practiced them some millennia earlier? Or is it not far more likely that Muhammad expediently retained the pagan customs, subtly giving them an Abrahamic emphasis? It seems hard to resist the conclusion that this "curious set of ceremonies of pagan Arab origin which Mohammed has incorporated into his religion" (Hurgronje, Mohammedanism, p. 160) is nothing more in Islam than "an extraneous chunk of heathenism" (Bell, The Origin of Islam in its Christian Environment, p.74).
Read more about the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca here.
Kaaba, also spelled Kaʿbah, is a small shrine located near the centre of the Great Mosque in Mecca and considered by Muslims everywhere to be the most sacred spot on Earth. Muslims orient themselves toward this shrine during the five daily prayers, bury their dead facing its meridian, and cherish the ambition of visiting it on pilgrimage, or hajj, in accord with the command set out in the Qurʾān.
The cube-shaped structure is roughly 50 feet (15 metres) high, and it is about 35 by 40 feet (10 by 14 metres) at its base. Constructed of gray stone and marble, it is oriented so that its corners roughly correspond to the points of the compass. The interior contains nothing but the three pillars supporting the roof and a number of suspended silver and gold lamps. During most of the year the Kaaba is covered with an enormous cloth of black brocade, the kiswah. Located in the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone of Mecca, whose now-broken pieces are surrounded by a ring of stone and held together by a heavy silver band. According to tradition, this stone originally came down from heaven or
was given to Adam on his expulsion from paradise in order to obtain forgiveness of his sins. Legend has it that the stone was originally white but has become black by absorbing the sins of the countless thousands of pilgrims who have kissed and touched it.
The tradition that the stone originally came down from heaven seems to account for its origin and eminence.
Burton believed it to be an aerolite and it is highly probable that it was quite simply a meteorite which, because it had fallen out of the sky, was treated with awe by the primitive Arabs. One is reminded of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus which was highly esteemed because it contained, "the sacred stone that fell from the sky" (Acts 19.35).
The Black Stone, in all probability, was simply a meteorite reverenced as a god in the same way by the Arabs. Its retention in Islam, especially the primitive custom of kissing it, speaks volumes for the pagan character of the Hajj Pilgrimage as a whole.
In this publication is also some interesting information about the origins of the Stoning of the Demons at Mina.
3. Can Ismael be the father of Muhammad and the builder of the Kaaba?
According to Muslim tradition, Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba, the cube-like structure in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca. But outside these traditions there is absolutely no evidence for this claim - whether epigraphic, archaelogical, or documentary.
Snouck Hurgronje has indeed shown that Muhammad invented the story to give his religion an Arabian origin and setting; with this brilliant improvisation Muhammad established the independence of his religion, at the same time incorporating into Islam the Kaaba with all its historical and religious associations for the Arabs. (Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not A Muslim [Prometheus Books, Amherst NY 1995], p. 131; bold emphasis ours)
According to the Holy Bible Ishmael settled in Paran and married an Egyptian from whom he had twelve sons:
"He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt." Read it in Genesis 21:13-21
The Holy Bible locates Paran near Israel (Canaan) and Egypt, south of Judah. John L. McKenzie in his Dictionary of the Bible notes:
Paran (Hb pa'ran, most frequently the name of a desert region). The place name Elparan (Gn 14:6) no doubt is associated with the desert; this place is thought to be identical with Elath* by some scholars.
The desert of Paran was the home of the Ishmaelites (Gn 21:21). It was, the itinerary according to P (cf. Pentateuch), reached by the Israelites after the desert of Sinai (Nm 10:12), and they camped in this desert for some time (Nm 10:12; 13:3, 26, mission and return of the scouts). In Dt 1:1 Paran is vaguely defined as a place in the desert. Hadad of Edom passed through the desert of Paran on his journey from Midian* to Egypt (1 Kings 11:18). The mountains of Paran are the place from which the theophany* appears (Dt 33:2; Hab. 3:3); like most other names mentioned in the theophanies, Paran reflects the region S of Judah. The desert of Paran is probably that region of the Negeb* which lies S of Kadesh-barnea*. (McKenzie, p. 637)
Former Muslim Ibn Warraq concluded:
We are told that [Abraham] was born in Chaldea, and that he was the son of a poor potter who earned his living by making little clay idols. It is scarcely credible that the son of this potter went to Mecca, 300 leagues away in the tropics, by way of impassable deserts. If he was a conqueror he no doubt aimed at the fine country of Assyria; and if he was only a poor man, as he is depicted, he founded no kingdoms in foreign parts. — Voltaire
For the historian, the Arabs are no more the descendents of Ishmael, son of Abraham, than the French are of Francus, son of Hector. — Maxime Rodinson
It is virtually certain that Abraham never reached Mecca. — Montgomery Watt
The essential point ... is that, where objective fact has been established by sound historical methods, it must be accepted. — Montgomery Watt
Finally, Islamicist Alfred Guillaume notes:
"... there is no historical evidence for the assertion that Abraham or Ishmael was ever in Mecca, and if there had been such a tradition it would have to be explained how all memory of the Old Semitic name Ishmael (which was not in its true Arabian form in Arabian inscriptions and written correctly with an initial consonant Y) came to be lost. The form in the Quran is taken either from Greek or Syriac sources." (Alfred Guillaume, Islam [Penguin Books Inc., Baltimore, 1956], pp. 61-62)
In case Muslims want to claim that the biblical text has been tampered with, it should be pointed out that the Jews would have no reason to distort the location of Paran since there was neither Christians nor Muslims around when these texts were written. Therefore, claiming textual distortion will not solve the problem for the Muslims.
In light of all this confusion, it becomes evident that the biblical data is more precise and accurate since it is much older and closer to these events. Since the Holy Bible indicates that Ishmael never settled in Mecca he therefore cannot be the father of the Arabs that settled there. In other words, Muhammad is not a descendant of Ishmael.
4. Why does this matter to me as a Christian?
Because Jesus loves Muslims and died to save them. Therefore as a Christian I also want to make sure that Muslims know the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth of all this traditional narratives.
I know Muslims doing the Hajj are dedicated in their search for God.
Therefore when Muslims do the Hajj I pray that this becomes an incredible opportunity for Jesus to REVEAL Himself to seeking pilgrims.
There are countless stories of Muslims on Hajj having dreams and visions of Jesus and embracing the Gospel!
Millions of Muslims are seeking forgiveness today through sacred rituals and acts that, sadly, will never be good enough. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
May Muslims encounter Jesus during their Hajj and receive the free gift of salvation Jesus Christ alone offers.
5. Does the Bible say anything about the Hajj and the Kaaba?
No comments:
Post a Comment