Where Was Mohammed? (Part 2)
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Written by Layth (e-mail: laytth@hotmail.com)

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Part II - Mohammed

Now that we have looked at the sequences and clues with regards to the previous messengers, it is time to move on to the seal of the prophets, Mohammed: 

Here we have a number of conclusive points which need to be looked at:

Ø       Revelations are newly being revealed through Mohammed (8:31);

Ø       The Restricted Temple/Sanctuary is at this location/place (8:34-35);

Ø       Mohammed is living amongst these people (8:33);

Taking all the previous information into account, this would mean that Mohammed began his mission in Baca where Abraham originally with Ismail established God’s Restricted Temple/Sanctuary.

Now, according to the Sunnis and Shia, we are told that this location is Mecca (Arabia) where the great Kabaa (cube) is located and where millions of pilgrims have made their way for centuries to visit this shrine while performing the rituals/rites of pilgrimage.

However, we must pause here for a moment and ask some vital questions:

1.   Since the pilgrimage was first called to by Abraham and was known by the prophets who came after him (e.g. Moses making an oath – measured by the years of pilgrimage), then why are the so-called followers of Moses and Jesus (Jews & Nazarenes) unaware of the significance of Mecca or the need to visit the Temple there?

2.   If Mecca was the place where Abraham first raised the Shrine, then why do the Sunnis and Shia claim in their history that the prophet and his followers were facing Jerusalem in their daily Salat before switching to Mecca a few years later?

3.   If the Sunnis and Shia are fabricating the history of the Jerusalem qibla (focal point), then why is there physical evidence found in the form of a mosque with two qiblas located in Medina and dating back to the prophet’s time?

4. What benefit do the Sunnis and Shia have in promoting (to this day) that Jerusalem was the 1^st qibla?

The reason for the above questions and the obvious doubt that is being placed on Mecca’s authenticity is not due to any secret conspiracy or hidden agenda, but is due to the existence of evidence in the Scripture which has been totally ignored by the masses.

Ø       Bakk`a is Jerusalem, not Mecca;

The most obvious and important piece of information that is often overlooked is that God calls the place where His first Sanctuary is located is called "Bakk`a". Now, while Bakka and Mecca may rhyme, they are obviously not the same place as Bakka is still until today known as a name from Jerusalem, not Mecca.

"Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also fills the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appears before God. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. [Psalm 84:4-8]

The name `Baca` has been retained in ancient scriptures and is the given as the name of the area which is reached as pilgrims exited the valley of Rephaim from the south west that led to mount Zion in the heart of Jerusalem (Samuel 5:22-23).

In-fact, the name Baka is still retained for that very same area that approaches the heart of Jerusalem from the south west:

The area of the south west in the above recent map of Jerusalem is still named "Baka" (click map to enlarge)

In realization of this significant fact, some defenders of Mecca have argued (without evidence) that Baca was the ancient name for Mecca - Arabia.

Now, this argument would be worth examining had it not been for the Quran discrediting such a claim by mentioning Mecca by name in a different verse as being a town which was hostile to the prophet and which stood in the way of the pilgrims as they attempted to reach the Restricted Temple (i.e. the Temple is not in Mecca, but rather beyond it, making it clear that Mecca and Baca have never been one in the same):

"And He is the One who withheld their hands against you, and your hands against them in the interior of Mecca, after He had made you victorious over them. God is Seer of what you do. They are the ones who rejected and barred you from the Restricted Temple, and barred your donations from reaching their destination. And there had been believing men and women whom you did not know, and you may have hurt them, and on whose account you would have committed a sin unknowingly. God will admit into His mercy whomever He wills. Had they become separated, We would then have punished those of them who rejected with a painful retribution." (48:24-25)

 Ø       More clues for Jerusalem;

Looking at the verse above which speaks of pilgrimage, it is noted that the location of the pilgrimage is clearly elevated hence people are coming to it ‘from every deep enclosure’. As already pointed out, Jerusalem is located well above sea level (averaging 2,700 ft), making it an ideal description for people which would be approaching it from the low lands.

 Ø       Location of the Temple (Dome of the Rock?);

Aerial view of the Dome of the Rock that is situated on the Temple Mount area

An architectural masterpiece, the Dome was built in 687 A.D. by AbdulMalik Bin Marwan in what is still a puzzle to historians as the Dome was not constructed like any mosque, but more like a ‘temple/shrine’:

What is so unique is that the Dome of the Rock was never built as a mosque and was never used for this purpose. The character of the building is not that of a typical mosque. No similar building can be found anywhere else in the Islamic world. It was not built facing Mecca but as an octagonal form corresponding to the points of the compass. The main entrance is from the south, not the south-east (the direction of Mecca) as in other mosques. The builders did not build a Michrab (showing the direction of Mecca) in the southern part of the building. Even today, when the Arabs pray on the Temple Mount they do not do it in this building. Only in 1947 did the Mufti Hajamim el Husseini, who made a covenant with Hitler agreeing to kill all the Jews in the land of Israel, decide to build a Michrab. He explained that the Jews were going to rebuild the Temple on the same location of the Dome of the Rock, the site of the First and Second Temples; in this way he believed he would be able to prevent it. However, this act never made the Dome into a mosque and the Moslems continued to pray in the El Aqsa mosque on the southern part of the Temple Mount. (source)

Some historians (such as Al-Yaqubi) have attributed this strange structure to the political situation at the time and the desire of Abdel Malik to retain the power base of Islam in having the pilgrimage located at Jerusalem rather than Mecca:

`Abd al-Malik prevented the people of Sham from the hajj and this is because Ibn al-Zubayr was taking the pledge of allegience from the pilgrims. When `Abd al-Malik had found out about this, he prevented them from setting out to Makkah. But the people protested and said: "Do you prevent us from doing the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah while it is a duty from Allah upon us ?" He said: "Here is Ibn Shihabuddin al-Zuhri narrating to you that the Messenger of Allah said: "The caravans should not be set out except for three mosques, the Sacred Mosque, my present Mosque and the Mosque of Jerusalem" [which] stands for the Sacred Mosque for you. And here is the Rock on [which] it is narrated that the Prophet set his foot before ascending to the heavens, it stands for the Ka`bah. Then he built a Dome on the Rock, suspended silk curtains on it and appointed servants for it. And told the people to revolve around it like they revolve around the Ka`bah and so it was during the rule of Bani Umayyah.[ Ahmad b. Abu Ya`qub Ibn Wadih al-Ya`qubi (Ed. M. T. Houtsma), Tarikh, 1883, Volume II, Leiden, p. 311.1]

Ø       The Kaaba – Jerusalem;

“God has made the Kaaba to be the Restricted Sanctuary, to enforce for the people, and for the restricted month, and for the donations, and for regulation; that is so you know that God knows what is in heavens and what is in Earth, and that God is aware of all things.” (The Message 5:97)

We are told that the word ‘Kaaba’ means a ‘cube shape’ and that the site in Mecca has been constructed in accordance with this design requirement.

A photo of Mecca's Shrine (the Kaba) taken in 1950

However, the meaning of ‘cube’ associated to this word has no basis in the Scripture itself nor even to the Arabic language still in use today (the word for cube is mu’ka’ab, not kaaba or kaab).

The word ‘Kaab/Kaaba’ are associated in Arabic to any feature that is protruding, such as the bones to the side of the ankles as can be seen below:

“O you who believe, if you rise to attend the Salat, then wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles (Kaabain); and if you have had intercourse, then you shall bathe. And if you are ill, or traveling, or you have excreted feces, or you have had sexual contact with the women, and you could not find water, then you shall select from the clean soil; you shall wipe your faces and your hands with it. God does not want to make any hardship over you, but He wants to cleanse you and to complete His blessings upon you that you may be appreciative.” (The Message 5:6)

Thus, any construct, regardless of its shape can be called a ‘Kaaba’ as long as it stands out from the plain.

What we need to ask to be more detailed is: ‘are there any special features that are protruding at the site of the temple of Mecca or Jerusalem that would give it the description of being a Kaaba’

With regards to the temple of Mecca, we have no apparent evidence of any special structure, however, with regards to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, we have as the name indicates, a special feature that is the presence of a Rock Formation that protrudes from the earth as part of the original mount and upon which the Dome was built.

A photo of the Rock within the Dome 

What is interesting to note regarding the stone is that it is attributed as the spot where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son in fulfillment of the vision he had seen. This would technically make the stone the marker given the name by God of “Maqam Ibrahim” (place/location of Abraham) which we are told would be found within the Temple/Sanctuary:

 “The first Sanctuary established for the people is the one in Bakk’a, blessed, and a guidance for the worlds. In it are clear signs: the place of Abraham (maqam Ibrahim). And whoever enters it will be secure. And God is owed from mankind to make Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary, whoever can make a path to it. And whoever rejects, then God has no need of the worlds.” (The Message 3:96-97)

Please note the apparent discrepancy for the site of Mecca where the alleged “Maqam Ibrahim” has been placed outside the alleged sanctuary/temple:

Photo of “Maqam Ibrahim” – Mecca Arabia

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Click here to read: Part III - Mohammed Emigrates.