2019-05-27T15:47:00-07:00
Is Mecca the qibla of Muslims?
It is certain that it is a very big question if it were put up for discussion, but I think that the matter will not be a big deal for the Muslim who reads the Qur’an and is guided by it, because the Muslim follows the truth, and because the Qur’an addresses the Muslim on the same topic today.
{And We did not make the direction you used to face except that We might know who follows the Messenger from who turns on his heels, even though it is a hardship, except for those whom Allah has guided. And Allah would not cause your faith to be lost. Indeed, Allah is Most Compassionate and Merciful to people.}
In this verse: Allah addresses the people to follow the Messenger even if the matter is a big deal for the people, except for some of those who are following Allah’s guidance. This does not mean that the people’s faith has been lost, as there is no relationship between faith and this matter that the people think is great and this. The big change that people are not accustomed to.
This is a clear lesson from the Qur’an for everyone. This is a light from the Qur’an that draws a straight and clear path for the Muslim and establishes it. We should not link belief in Allah with realizing something radically different, or knowing a mistake that the Muslim was following, because faith in Allah is an innate nature within you. Whereas any other matter is not innate, and we should not make something that we practice and that our fathers practiced and then we realize its error in the major matter, so that this does not prevent us from correcting the error and following the truth that is supported by material evidence and also supported by the Qur’an.
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I believe that the answer to this question requires us to re-read all the texts of the Islamic religion, and all the texts of heritage and history.
Reading requires precision, care, and a consistent approach when reading, and it also requires drawing a plan, and in this plan there are several columns: a column for all the texts that talk about the subject, arranged in an ascending manner from ancient to modern, and another column for the degree of this. Texts and another column for their time and history.
When dealing with texts, I believe that we must first distinguish three types of texts in our approach:
1- The first type is the basic, central, sacred religious text, which in our case is (the Holy Qur’an).
2- The second type is the explanatory religious text, which is the text that interprets the first text and carries within it an intellectual, doctrinal memory in understanding the basic text. I call this the temporal awareness of the text, and this type is spoken by religious symbols of a second religious rank.
3- The third type is religious texts that come from the mouth of religious symbols without relying on the basic text.
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● Regarding our dealings with the first religious text
When we talk about the basic religious text, we mean the most correct and sacred text, and when we say the most correct, we mean two aspects. The first aspect is the believers’ belief in it that it is the first correct text that is the starting point of a Muslim’s faith, and the second aspect is the authenticity in the process of preserving it and passing it on to a generation. After a generation.
The main reasons why we put it at the top of the list are:
Because the basic, central, sacred religious text cannot come suddenly and out of the blue, there must be an ancient willingness to accept such a linguistic system for the sacred texts, and there must be an absolute, transcendent authority within the cultural system that requires preserving the text and taking great care in transmitting and preserving it, and This makes us assume that the Qur’an is an ancient text that has been carefully preserved.
The other reason… is the existence of a unique phenomenon among Muslims, which is the phenomenon of Muslims memorizing the entire Qur’an by heart, without making a mistake in even a single letter. This phenomenon does not exist in any other religion, and this phenomenon does not exist among Muslims. The Muslim while dealing with other types of religious texts, and this phenomenon makes us believe that we are facing a culture that took great care in preserving its Holy Book. This culture does not appear to us to be an emergency culture, but rather a deeply rooted, established and very ancient culture, with religious values that preserve the sacred text literally because it is the highest sacred text.
● Regarding our dealings with the second religious text
We have to deal with it in a more precise way, because it does not have the same characteristics as the first religious text… especially if these texts appeared for the first time 300 years after the Qur’an.
Regarding our topic today, the biography will be the second text after the Qur’an in terms of its degree…… Because the biography is what provided the Muslim with the first picture of the interpretations of his Holy Book and the environment, time, and circumstances from which his sacred religious text emerged. She gave him the first meaning for Dinah’s appearance.
But we must clarify a very important point, which is that it is very necessary to have a first copy of the book on the Prophet’s biography, because it is impossible to build research or arrive at a truth from a book without an original, or in other words, there must be one book, because we can never guarantee that We research a specific topic in a copy of the book on the Prophet’s biography, and then someone comes to us and says that there is another version that has appeared that speaks otherwise than this… Then the matter will be like a race between the truth and those who are trying to lose it.
It is necessary to adopt a version, but the truth is that adopting a version does not prevent one from believing in the validity of another version… and this is what increases the complexity.
Therefore, we will choose the first biography written that exists to this day, and talking about the existence of another biography and that there are those who copied from it has no meaning or value.
As for the most prominent religious symbols found in the religious heritage, we will arrange them according to a specific order starting from:
Prophet
The House and the Companions
But… our reliance on this arrangement does not mean its validity…. In other words, I cannot accept and adopt any text in the words of these symbols to interpret the first religious text without knowing the source of those sayings, because the essence of the issue is where did those sayings come from? Did people memorize and transmit them, or is there some source or reference that mentions these sayings?
Let’s say that the main source is the book of Al-Kulayni and Al-Bukhari.
But we will have the same previous problem repeated, which is that it is very necessary to have the first copy of the book of Al-Kulayni and Al-Bukhari… because it is impossible to build research or reach any truth from the reality of a book without an origin, or in other words, there must be one book. Basically, we make sure and trust that we are proceeding correctly, logically, and scientifically, because we are never guaranteed to rely on the statement of one of the religious figures about a specific topic and build a certain perception on it, and then another person comes to us with a new copy of those books and it contains new amendments or new statements. And another argument contradicts it.
Therefore, we will adopt the accepted version now… and whoever claims that there is a hidden version or other words is not approved.
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Now, how will the degree of Islamic heritage texts be ranked?
The order will be as follows:
1- The Holy Quran
2- The Prophet’s biography
3- Books of interpretations
4- Books of hadiths
We will collect all the texts from the previous books, and put them on a page on an external link, and we will place on the page heritage texts for the following topics:
The story of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj – Biography
The story of changing the qiblah – biography
Interpretation of verses from the Qur’an – Al-Tabari
Texts of the Prophet’s hadiths about the Qiblah – Al-Kulayni Al-Bukhari Muslim
Fatwas of sheikhs – awareness of religious authority
And on this link
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Before discussing all the previous heritage that reached Muslims, let us make a summary of the story in several lines:
¤ A Prophet was born in Mecca, the year a king tried to demolish the Kaaba located in Mecca, the year of the Elephant, in a society that worshiped idols. He was an orphan and lived under the care of his grandfather and then his uncle until he grew up, and when he reached 25 years old, he married a woman and worked in trade. He had children, most of whom were female.
¤ Some time after his marriage, he was worshiping in a cave in Mecca… meditating.
¤ At the age of 40 years… Jebril came to inform his people of religion and Islam. His wife stood beside him, and the Prophet became certain that he was a prophet of Allah through a man (his wife’s cousin) and it was said that he was a Christian.
¤ Between the ages of (40 – 43) for a period of three years, he continued to call to religion secretly and did not invite anyone except those close to him, his relatives and friends close to him.
¤ At the age of 43 years….. he began to call his people to the religion openly, but he faced repulsion, opposition, and great harm from his people, and a few poor and poor people believed in it.
¤ At the age of 51 years… his wife died
¤ At the age of 52 years… the journey of Isra and Mi’raj took place during which prayer was made obligatory.
A summary of the two trips:
He was sleeping and Jebril came to him, woke him up and took him out until they came to an animal called (Al-Buraq) that looked like a mule and had two wings. So Al-Buraq rode until he reached Jerusalem, and he prayed two rak’ahs with all the prophets. This journey from Mecca to Jerusalem is called (Al-Isra).
Allah Almighty said: {Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from Al-Masjid Al Haram to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.}
Then another journey began from Al-Aqsa Mosque to the highest heavens, and it is called (Miraj). After the end of the ascension, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, descended to Jerusalem and rode Al-Buraq back to Mecca.
In the morning, he told his people what had happened, but they disbelieved him and ridiculed his words. The disbelievers wanted to test his sincerity, so they asked him to describe the Holy House – and he had not seen it before – so Allah showed him a picture of the Holy House, so he began to describe it while he saw it while they did not see it, and he told them things. He saw her on the road, with people he passed by on their way to Mecca, so the people went out waiting for them, and they came at their appointed time and testified to his truthfulness.
This journey was a comfort for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, an alleviation of the sorrows he went through, an assurance from Allah that He was able to support him, and a test for those who believed until Allah distinguished the good from the bad.
¤ At the age of 53 years…. he migrated from his city of Mecca to another city called Yathrib, and all the residents of Yathrib from the Azd tribe received him, except for a few hypocrites, and they believed in him and he built the first Quba Mosque there, and founded his main mosque, the Prophet’s Mosque.
¤ At the age of 55 years (2 AH)… an order came from Allah to change the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca.
On the seventeenth day of the month of Rajab in the second year after the Prophet’s migration to Medina, prayer was shifted qibla from Al-Aqsa Mosque to Al-Masjid Al Haram. It was also said that this was on the eighth day of Muharram of the same year, during the second rak’ah of the noon prayer.
That is, sixteen months after welcoming Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jebril came down with a revelation to the Prophet, bringing good news about heading to the Kaaba.
That is, after the believers prayed towards Al-Aqsa Mosque for about sixteen months until this thing was abrogated, according to the Almighty’s saying: “We may see the turning of your face in the sky. So, We will turn to you a qiblah that pleases you, so turn your face toward Al-Masjid Al Haram, and whenever you are, then turn your faces toward it.”
Scientists say… that this was the first thing that was abrogated from the Qur’an… it was the qiblah.
Therefore, Allah repeated the command in confirmation and confirmation three times: the first in His Almighty’s saying: {And turn your face towards Al-Masjid Al Haram, and wherever you are, turn your faces towards it} (Al-Baqarah: 144). From your Allah, and Allah is not unaware of what you do} (Al-Baqarah: 149), and the third is in His Almighty’s saying: {And from wherever you emerge, turn your face towards Al-Masjid Al Haram, and wherever you are, turn your faces towards it, so that the people may have no argument against you except those of them who are unjust} (Al-Baqarah: 150) .
People’s reactions to this unusual incident varied.
● As for the believers……they did not hesitate for a moment to turn in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, so Allah praised them and explained to them that this incident was only a test for the people and a test for them, as Allah Almighty said: {And We did not establish the direction of direction that you were facing except that We might distinguish who would follow the Messenger from who would turn against His consequences, even if they are heavy, except for those whom Allah has guided.}
● Some Muslims showed concern for those for whom Allah did not decree the honor of praying to the Kaaba, who died before them, and they feared that their deeds would be in vain, and they said: O Messenger of Allah, how about our brothers who died while praying to the Holy House? So Allah revealed {And Allah would not let your faith be lost} – meaning your prayer
● As for the Al-Yahoud… they blamed the Muslims for returning from Al-Aqsa Mosque to the Kaaba, and they met that with ridicule and disapproval, and they exploited that event cunningly to pass doubts and questions through it, challenging the Sharia and obscuring its facts. Allah Almighty warned the Muslims and informed them of the position of the Al-Yahoud before it happened, so He said “The foolish among the people will say, ‘What has turned them away from the direction of direction they used to follow?’ Say, ‘To Allah belongs the East and the West. He guides whom He wills to a straight path.’”
According to the interpretations of the scholars…that the Muslims in Medina were able to pass this divine test, and thus they obtained Allah’s testimony: {And thus We have made you a moderate nation that you may be witnesses over the people and that the Messenger may be a witness over you}, and that transformation was a sign. With the end of polytheism and the fall of its banner, the Kaaba became a qibla for Muslims until Allah inherits the earth and those on it.
……. We will suffice with the story here……..
We will make another summary, but in numerical form:
0 —– The beginning of the call to a new religion (without prayer or mosques)
13 — Prayer was made obligatory for the new religion (after a trip from a distant mosque to heaven and meeting the Creator, prayer was made obligatory for him)
15 —– An order came to the new religion to change the direction of prayer (after Jebril sent down a message from Allah ordering him to turn the direction of prayer)
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■ Prayer was made obligatory 13 years after the beginning of the call to the new religion, so a verse was revealed confirming this matter (the verse of Al-Isra)…. {Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from Al-Masjid Al Haram to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose circumference We have blessed to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing}
Question: Where is the explicit text that confirms the obligation of prayer in that verse?!
There is no….. although there is another verse after it that contains a clear command to change the qiblah.
Is it because the word “mosque” appears in the verse?!
I believe that it is the main entry point from which the narration of the obligation of prayer came, because how can he be consistent with the story of a new religion and a new religious book and then speak the word mosque when he does not even know prayer at all, and that the mosque is a place for prayer.
That is why the idea of enforcing prayer came, and since the word “mosque” started from that trip…so it makes sense.
Also, the usual question is always: How does the Qur’an describe Jerusalem as a mosque when it was not yet a place for prayer?! …Then why does the discourse of the Qur’an go to a place far from its initial, original environment to describe it as a mosque, and is not preoccupied with its original environment from which it emerged to describe places close to it as mosques, for example?!
These questions made some geniuses believe that this verse was written during the reign of Abdul Malik bin Marwan to give the mosque he built value.
But what if the story wasn’t like that at all?!
■ Prayer was imposed 13 years after the beginning of the call, specifically after the ascension journey to the highest heaven and the Prophet’s meeting with his Allah and through reviews from Jebril.
Wouldn’t it have been better to make prayer and the Qiblah obligatory on the same journey as the ascension? Since prayer was made obligatory on that journey, the Qiblah should also be made obligatory… especially since the journey is a great miracle… which requires getting out of it as much as possible. It is one of the obligations and obligations of a Muslim, and it is not limited to the obligation of prayer only. ?!
Why did prayer need to be made obligatory for the journey of the ascension, and why changing the qiblah was not required for another journey?!
Then he noted an important point… that when the Prophet was taken on the journey and arrived at Al-Aqsa Mosque… and before he ascended to the highest heaven and prayer was made obligatory upon him… he prayed there in Al-Aqsa and he was an imam for the prophets.
So how did the Prophet and the mother of the prophets pray… when prayer had not yet been made obligatory… and it is not known what prayer is… and it is not known that collective prayer involves a leader and a successor of worshippers?!
■ Why the Isra trip?
According to biography books, the main reason for the Isra’ and Mi’raj trip was to console the Prophet and console him after he lost his wife and after he was repulsed by the infidels… and that Allah was able to support him.
But this contradicts the clear verse…. Let us show him some of Our signs… and not to comfort him or look at him.
The verse clearly speaks…that Allah took the Messenger captive so that he would make him see one of Allah’s signs…only…and it is not a trip for entertainment, excursion, or entertainment.
■ {Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from Al-Masjid Al Haram to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing}.
Let us agree… that the verse was revealed 13 years after the call… to emphasize the journey of the Night Journey and to confirm the obligation of prayer for Muslims.
correct ?
But the verse was also revealed……to also confirm that the Kaaba or Mecca has become Al-Masjid Al Haram in a completely official and approved manner by Allah.
correct ?
The logical question: Why, after 2 years of learning about Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Masjid Al Haram, was the Messenger turning his face in the sky, and why did the scene show the Prophet’s bewilderment about knowing Al-Masjid Al Haram, and why did Allah address him by saying that he would give him a qiblah that would please him?!
The confusion and confusion of the face indicate that the Messenger…does not know Al-Masjid Al Haram……So how could he be taken on a journey from Al-Masjid Al Haram since he was unable to know Al-Masjid Al Haram?!
Is it possible that the Messenger… lost his memory and no longer knows his place of birth or the place from which he was captured? !
■ According to the story…. The Ascension occurred from Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the first prayer of the Prophet took place in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The logical question is….. Where was the Prophet’s qibla while he was praying with the prophets?!
Logically to Al-Masjid Al Haram
correct ?!
Because it has been defined by Allah as Al-Masjid Al Haram?!
Don’t you notice with me… that the natural image that is drawn in the Muslim’s imagination, as he recites this verse… imagines a scene of the Prophet and the prophets while they were in Al-Aqsa Mosque and praying towards Mecca?!
I believe…..that the writer of the story wants to plant this image in the mind of the Muslim.
■ When was the verse Al-Isra revealed?
After the Prophet’s return from the Night Journey, the verse was revealed to the Prophet.. But didn’t the verse that was revealed to the Prophet call the places Al-Masjid Al Haram and Al-Aqsa Mosque?!
But what is strange is that the environment of the Messenger around him does not recognize these names.. They call the place Bayt al-Maqdis?!
But……there may be a logical answer because people do not believe in the terms of the Qur’an because they are infidels and not people of religion.
But the most important question…. Why does the Messenger, in his biography, not adhere to Allah’s speech when he tells his people about the incident?! …Did he tell them that he was captured from Al-Masjid Al Haram to Al-Aqsa Mosque, or did he tell them from his bed to Jerusalem?!
He told them from his bed to Jerusalem.
The logical question is…. Is it possible that the Messenger did not commit to conveying Allah’s message and words as Allah commanded him?! .. Is it possible that the Messenger, while calling his people and having endured all these hardships and harm… forgot to tell his people Al-Masjid Al Haram and not the Kaaba… Al-Masjid Al Haram… and instead of Jerusalem… the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
■ According to the story….. The Messenger was taken by night from a butterfly to Al-Aqsa Mosque, then he ascended from Al-Aqsa to the highest heaven, and after the end of the ascension, Al-Buraq rode in Al-Aqsa Mosque and returned to Mecca?!
correct ?
Don’t you notice that the picture is contradictory?
Because the Messenger was taken on a journey from his bed in his house to Al-Aqsa Mosque completely, and the Qur’an clearly says… that he was taken on a journey from Al-Masjid Al Haram to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The image drawn in the brain is supposed to be one… mosque for mosque… that is, from Al-Masjid Al Haram itself to Al-Aqsa Mosque itself… The text is clear and explicit… and the Holy Qur’an does not say:
{Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from his house to Al-Aqsa Mosque}
Why was the bed story invented?
Because Allah calls it Al-Masjid Al Haram, not the Kaaba or Mecca, that is, a place reserved for faithful Muslims and around which there are no idols or fetishes… This will lead to a contradiction with the picture painted by the story of Mecca, Quraysh, and the idols.
Because if the writer had made the Messenger at that time in Al-Masjid Al Haram, the image would be in the Muslim’s mind that it was a mosque at that time or that the Messenger was praying towards the Qiblah and he must have been praying towards Jerusalem from Mecca, and this image is strictly forbidden, because it will lead to a contradiction with the image that must be drawn. For the story, because according to the scenario, Allah will command him, two years after the Isra journey, to head towards Al-Masjid Al Haram, which will cause a problem in the story.. Why did he not command him at that time?
And if he was taken on the journey from Al-Masjid Al Haram itself… how can it be possible for it to be a mosque when it is already a place of idols, polytheism, disbelief and fetishes… and it is also impossible for the Prophet to have been asleep inside Al-Masjid Al Haram until he was taken on the journey. .
The story of the bed and the sparkles will help us solve this matter.
■ According to the story….. The Messenger was taken on a night journey from Al-Masjid Al Haram to Al-Aqsa Mosque, then he ascended from Al-Aqsa to the highest heaven, and after the end of the ascension, Al-Buraq rode in Al-Aqsa Mosque and returned to Mecca?!
correct ?!
The logical question…. Should we call it the Isra Journey, or the two journeys of the Night Journey?!
Logic says…. My journey to Isra.
A trip from Al-Masjid Al Haram to Al-Aqsa Mosque, then another trip from Al-Aqsa Mosque to Al-Masjid Al Haram.
But the Qur’an speaks very clearly…that Allah took His servant on captivity from Al-Masjid Al Haram to Al-Aqsa Mosque…only…and the scene stopped at Al-Aqsa Mosque…and without returning to Al-Masjid Al Haram, until he saw some of Allah’s signs.
This point……. is the main reason that made the biographer invent the story of Al-Buraq, because the process requires a return… even if the scene stopped at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Naturally, the completion of the scene in the Muslim mind will be by imagining Al-Buraq returning to the same place.
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He follows
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