๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐’๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐.๐.
Powerful proof that Mecca already existed as a city at the time of revealing the Torah to the prophet Moses (pbuh).
[NOTE: the below info are an excerpts from my polish book entitled โZnaki i proroctwa Starego Testamentu o nadejลciu Ostatniego Posลaลca Bogaโ]
Today, very few Muslims and Christians alike are aware of that Mecca – along with Medina โ is explicitly mentioned by name in an early rabbinic translation of the Pentateuch.
๐๐ง ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐:๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ :
โAnd their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, unto the mountain of the east.โ [JPS, 1917]
However, the above passage according to the Judeo-Arabic translation – i.e. the process of reading runs as in Arabic, but the script is written with Hebrew letters –
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ก ๐๐ฅ-๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข (๐๐. ๐๐๐-๐๐๐), ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ง, ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ:
Translation:
โAnd their dwelling was from Mecca towards al-Medina, unto the mountain of the East.โ [ลuvres complรจtes de R. Saadia ben Iosef al-Fayyoรปmรฎ, ed. by J. Darenbourg, vol. 1 (Paris: E. Leroux, 1893), p. 17.]
Everyone who is familiar with Hebrew will not contradict me in this matter (Mekka was marked with blue color, al-Medina with red color).
First of all, Saadia Gaon is one of the most prominent Jewish scholars, and it is said that his translation holds an unchallengeable authority over all other biblical translations since he was the best, especially in scriptural exegesis, Jewish history, and Talmudic knowledge in general, and he is responsible for the first and most important Arabic translation of the Torah which became the standard version for all Jews living in Muslim countries.
๐๐๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐, ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข (๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐) ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐:
โwere it not for Saadia, the Torah would almost have disappeared from the midst of Israel; for it was he who made manifest what was obscure therein made strong what had been weakened, and made it known far and wide by word of mouth and in writing.” [H. Malter,ย Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works, (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1921), p. 279.]
Therefore, as you can see, his translation is a primary source when it comes to the accuracy of Old Testament interpretation. As to the mentioning of Mecca and Medina in Genesis.
Let us recall e.g. the statement of the Rev. Professor William Paul who in his critical interpretation to the Hebrew fragment ืึทืงึถึผืึถื ืึทืจ [#996] from Genesis 10:30, has wrote: โmountain (mountains) of the East.
These are supposed to be those mountains of Arabia running from the neighborhood of Mecca and Medina to the Persian Gulf.โ [Rev. W. Paul,ย Analysis and critical interpretation of the Hebrew text of the Book of Genesis, (Edinburgh: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1852), p. 100.]
Other scholars also share a similar view. This of course explains why rabbi Saadia Gaon has mentioned Mecca and Medina in Genesis 10:30. This is not only his paraphrase concluded from the context as some might think because if you go to the Hebrew text you will notice there such words as ืืืื (baka) which was translated as โas thou goestโ !ย
Other scholars also share a similar view. This of course explains why rabbi Saadia Gaon has mentioned Mecca and Medina in Genesis 10:30. This is not only his paraphrase concluded from the context as some might think because if you go to the Hebrew text you will notice there such words asย ืืืืย (baka) which was translated as โas thou goestโ !ย
ืืืื ืืืฉืืื ืืืฉืื ืืืื ืกืคืจื ืืจ ืืงืื
On that occasion it must be stressed that the Hebrew ืืฉืื (Mesha), that preceds ืืืื, does not stand here for Mecca as some of you would suppose.
Lexicons says that this word is of foreign derivation, and there is no consensus as to whether it refers to a place somewhere in Arabia, or to a region, or to a north Arabian tribe.
In any case, we have to concentrate onย ืืืืย (bakah), and it would be quite preferable to remember this word in its exact Hebrew form for the next portion of information.
The second proof that Allah Almighty let me to discover comes from a rare book calledย The Asatir: The Samaritan Book of the Secrets of Mosesย which was translated and published by Dr. Moses Gaster in 1927.
This ancient document according to Dr. Moses is much older than Josephus or the Palestinian Targum, and after comparing it with the other manuscripts assumes that this book could not have been compiled later than between 250-200 B.C. In Chapter VIII of this book we read:
๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญโฆ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐! ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ. ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ โ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐โ ๐จ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐:
Note:
In the above-mentioned image, there is an error in writing: instead of “nead” read “reading”, the same is with “nead” which stands of course for “read”. and “preserved” for “preserved”, but these spelling errors are not so much significant since every English reader should not have a problem understanding the text.
๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐ (๐๐ก๐), ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐.
Reference:
The Asatir: The Samaritan Book of the Secrets of Moses, together with the Pitron or Samaritan commentary and the Samaritan story of the death of Moses, introduction, translation and notes by M. Gaster, Ph.D. (London: The Royal Asiatic Society, 1927), p. 262.
Notice the same wordย ืืืืย (Baka) which can be found in the Hebrew text of Genesis 10:30 !
Mecca was mentioned among other biblical places, and so in the first and oldest book of the Torah. On the other hand, Ptolemyโs Makoraba – or most probably Makkorabba as some scholars suggested โ is also an intriguing issue, and it seems that this word consists of two separable segments, namely:
1. Makko = Mekka = Bakka
2. Rabba = from Rabb which means in Arabic “The Lord”
Based on this, it can be translated literally as โMekka of the Lordโ or โthe Lord of Mekkaโ. Such interpretation is reinforced by discovering an inscription that was engraved in one of the corners of the foundation of the Kaaba during its renovation in 605 A.D. by the people of Quraysh.
The mysterious writing was composed in Syriac as relates to Ibn Ishaq, and they could not understand it until some Jew read it for them. The text goes as follows:ย โI am Allah,ย the Lord of Bakka, I created it on the day that I created heaven and earth and formed the sun and moon.
And I surrounded it with seven pious angels. It will stand while its two mountains stand, a blessing to its people with milk and water.โ [Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, trans. A. Guillaume, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004), pp. 85-86.]
Ibn Ishaq immediately after citing this amazing inscription said:ย โI was told that they found in theย maqamย a writing: โMecca is Godโs holy houseโฆโ
I believe this is the answer, because if Ptolemy by saying Makorabba has in mind a temple rather than a city it would make sense in relation to what we have just read, i.e. that Mecca according to the writing on maqam was called a โholy house of Godโ.
And in result, this perfectly fits the conception of Ptolemyโs Makkorabba as โThe Lord of Mekkaโ. Some scholars also have proposed the translation โThe Temple of the Lordโ which again leads to the same point.
Anyway, in conclusion, we have at least two strong proofs directly from an ancient source showing that Mecca is a historical location and indeed existed long before the Christian era, as it is testified by ancient versions of the Torah. The Christians of course will try to deny their authority as usual.
Allah knows Best.