Did the Bible mention Makkah = Mecca?

๐ƒ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ข๐›๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ค๐š๐ก = ๐Œ๐ž๐œ๐œ๐š?

Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR

The Bible, the Divine Book of Christians, was revealed over thousands of years. Although the writers of the Bible are said to be divinely inspired, they purported God, like human beings, to need to have rest, to regret and to have a son.

Likewise, the prophets and messengers of God, who are supposed to be good examples for their people and were divinely guided, are purported to have drunk alcohol, got intoxicated and committed adultery.

On the other hand, most Biblical prophecies about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him, PBUH) were obliterated and the relics of the remaining prophecies are denied and misinterpreted.

Nonetheless, we still can find in todayโ€™s Bible some relics of the prophecies about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)1, Muslims, Kaโ€™bah, and Makkah.

๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ค๐š๐ก ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ค๐š ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ข๐›๐ฅ๐ž

The name Baka is specifically mentioned in the Bible in Chapter eighty-four of Psalms. This chapter tells us about a sacred place for which souls yearn, hearts and flesh sing for joy to the living God, and Godโ€™s praise is sung. This place is called โ€œthe Valley of Bacaโ€. Baca is described as a dry place that was made into a place of springs in the vicinity of tents. A day there is better than a thousand elsewhere.

โ€œHow lovely is your dwelling place, Lordย Almighty?ย My soul yearns,ย even faints, for the courts of theย Lord; my heart and my flesh cry outย for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home,ย and the swallow a nest for herself,ย where she may have her youngโ€”a place near your altar, Lord Almighty,ย my King,ย and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhereโ€ (Psalms 84: 1-10).

๐๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐‘๐ž๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ž๐ง ๐…๐ข๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐ž (๐๐ก๐), ๐๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ข๐ž๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ ๐‰๐ž๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ˆ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐œ ๐’๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐ž๐œ๐œ๐š ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ข๐›๐ฅ๐ž.

๐‹๐ž๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐๐ฌ๐š๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฌโ€™ ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ.

1.ย ย ย ย  โ€œMy soul yearns,ย even faints, for the courts of theย Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living Godโ€:

โ€œOur Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your Sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So, make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be gratefulโ€ (Qurโ€™an 14:37).

2.     โ€œThe sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nestโ€œ:

Makkah is a place where birds and all animals are safe because hunting and killing are forbidden. Anyone who hunts or kills an animal in Makkah has to expiate for his sins.

3.     Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you: Millions of Muslims go to Makkah every year for Umrah and pilgrimage. They spend several days occupying all their time praising God and fully submitting to Him. They are blessed because they sacrifice money and everything to visit and dwell in the House of God.

Muslims are ever praising and glorifying God in their prayers, and supplications. They also start anything in His name. During their visits to His house for pilgrimage they sing:

O, my Lord, here I am. Here I am associating no partners to You. Verily, all praise is for You. Every bounty is from You and all Sovereignty is Yours. You have no partner.

4.    Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

Muslim pilgrims dwelling in the Holy House of God in Makkah, ask God for forgiveness. They drive their strength by fully relying on Him.

5.     โ€œAs they pass through the Valley of Baka โ€œ:

Baka is one of the various names of Makkah as we read in the Qurโ€™an:

โ€œIndeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Baka โ€“ blessed and guidance for the worldsโ€ (Qurโ€™an 3:96).

6.     โ€œThey make it a place of springs โ€œ:

The spring of โ€œZamzamโ€ is beside the Kaโ€™bah in the Holy Mosque in Makkah. This spring has been continuously producing water for thousands of years since the time of Abraham (PBUH). It has turned Makkah to an inhabited place in the arid desert.

7.     โ€œBetter is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere โ€œ:

The reward of the pilgrims who visit the Holy Mosque of God in Makkah is great. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

โ€œOne prayer in my Mosque (in Madinah) is better than one thousand prayers in any other mosque excepting the Sacred Mosque (in Makkah) and one prayer in the Sacred Mosque is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhereโ€ (Narrated Ahmad and Ibn Majah).

Paran refers to Makkah in the Bible

๐๐š๐ซ๐š๐ง ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ก๐š๐›๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‡๐š๐ ๐š๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ˆ๐ฌ๐ก๐ฆ๐š๐ž๐ฅ

Makkah is also referred to as โ€œParanโ€ in the Bible. Ishmael and his mother Hagar settled in the desert of Paran after Abraham left them.

โ€œAnd God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, โ€˜What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.โ€™ 

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So, she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. 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 Egyptโ€ (Genesis 21:17-21).

The descendants of Ishmael and his son Kedar are the Arabs, who have lived since that time until now in Paran.

๐๐š๐ซ๐š๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐Œ๐จ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌโ€™ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ž๐œ๐ฒ

โ€œAnd he (Moses) said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for themโ€ (Deuteronomy 33:2, KJV).

โ€œThe Lord came from Sinaiโ€ refers to Godโ€™s revelation unto Moses (PBUH). โ€œHe rose up from Seirโ€ refers to His message from the Nazarene. โ€œHe shined forth from mount Paran โ€œ, refers to Makkah.

Ishmael and his descendants have lived in Paran. Muhammad (PBUH), the descendant of Ishmael and Kedar, is the only prophet who appeared in the wilderness of Paran. Therefore, God shines forth from Paran, through His message of Islam to Muhammad (PBUH).

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had to flee with his followers from Makkah to Madinah. However, he re-entered it again with ten thousand believers (referred to as saints in the above verses) to give the fiery Law of God.

๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ค๐š๐ก ๐ข๐ง ๐ˆ๐ฌ๐š๐ข๐š๐ก (๐Ÿ”๐ŸŽ:๐Ÿ-๐Ÿ•)

โ€œArise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 

Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 

Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. All Kedarโ€™s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious templeโ€ (Isaiah 60:1-7).

In the verses, addresses a prophecy about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He would appear in a time of darkness to fill the world with the light of God. All the flocks and tribes of Kedar and people from the entire world have gathered around him.

โ€œAnd proclaim among men the pilgrimage: they shall come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they shall come from every deep ravineโ€ (Quran 22:27).

Muslims sacrifice animals during Hajj (pilgrimage) and Muslims all over the world sacrifice animals in Eid Al Adha (the feast of sacrifice). People would come seeking the satisfaction of God

๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ค๐š๐ก ๐ข๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐›๐ข๐๐๐ž๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฎ๐ง๐›๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ

โ€œAnd a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on itโ€ (Isaiah 35:8).

Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the Holy City of Makkah, exactly as described above.

โ€œO, you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram (the Sacred House) after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wiseโ€ (Quran 9:28).

๐‰๐ž๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐š ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐†๐จ๐โ€™๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ง ๐‰๐ž๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐ฆ

When Jesus Christ was asked about the place where worship must be conducted, he stated that worship will be conducted at a new place other than Jerusalem. Through the message of Islam, as conveyed by the Prophet, the place of worship of God moved to Makkah.

โ€œThe woman said to him, โ€œSir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.โ€ Jesus said to her, โ€œWoman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Fatherโ€ (John 4:19-21).

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐†๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐›๐ž ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž

According to Jesus (PBUH), the cornerstone of the kingdom of God will be taken away and given to other people.

โ€œJesus said to them, โ€œHave you never read in the Scriptures: โ€˜the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lordโ€™s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyesโ€™? Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruitsโ€ (Matthew 21:42-43).

โ€œThe stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lordโ€™s doing; it is marvelous in our eyesโ€ (Psalm 118:22-23).

The cornerstone of the kingdom of God is his straight Path, Islam. It has been given through the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the Muslims who represent today one-fourth of the population of the world.

 Credit Dr Muhammad Solaiman

Allah knows Best.

Evidence Mecca existed during the time of revealing the Torah to prophet Moses

Kaโ€™bah As A Place Of Worship In The History-Mecca

Did Kabah In Makkah Exist before 4th Century?

Makkah And Hajj (Pilgrimage) In Bible

Was there any evidence NOT from the Quran that Prophet Ibrahim =Abraham was in Mecca and Built the Kaabain Mecca?

Is Becca =Bacca=Baca=Baka in the Bible the same Makkah=Mecca in the Quran ?

Jewish Proof for the existence of Makkah

References:

1- Restore your original religion.

2- The Glorious Qurโ€™an

3- Al-Bukhari

4- The Holy Bible

Almighty Allah is the highest and most knowledgeable, and the attribution of knowledge to him is the safest.

Right from Almighty Allah and wrong from me and Satan

Prepared by Mohamad Mostafa Nassar

www.IslamCompass.com 

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Arrogance is not only a sign of insecurity, but also a sign of immaturity. Mature and fully realised persons can get their points across, even emphatically without demeaning or intimidating others.