๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter@NassarMohamadMR
The enemies of Islam have waged massive campaigns which aim at stirring doubts about the Islamic Shariโah through impugning the Prophet peace be upon him and his Sirah (biography) either by degradation and defamation or by fabrication and deceit.
Today, we face a new method of their crooked attempts to mar the impeccable reputation of the Prophet peace be upon him. This time they cast doubts about some practices and acts of worship of the Islamic Shariโah, stripping them of their real entities.
First The Noble Quran states Muslims worship THE LORD OF THE HOUSE in Mecca and NOT the House in Mecca ITSELF – it just a DIRECTION= GLOBAL COMPASS for all Muslims around the world as states in Quran Chapter 106:
Sadly, many non-Muslims have NO idea, what is in the Bible:
(“went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously” (cf. Daniel 6:10)
In this context, the writings of the orientalists and those who followed their course have raised malicious allegations as to kissing the Black Stone, considering it a pagan rite that penetrated the Islamic Dawah (call) by virtue of its surrounding environment. Some of them interpret this as a way of showing courtesy towards the idolaters in the method of worship which was prevalent among them.
We are not going to refute this interpretation here, for the Prophet peace be upon him clearly opposed Shirk (association with Allah) and polytheists from the first moment he declared his Dawah. However, we will explain the falsehood of their allegations concerning Muslimsโ glorification of the Black Stone and will reveal the truth in this regard.
Since those orientalists consider kissing the Black Stone a form of worshipping others besides Allah The Almighty, let us start with explaining the real meaning and essence of worship.
Anyone who worships anything, no matter what its nature is, believes that it has an unseen authority whose effect is reflected in reality. Consequently, a worshipper tries to draw closer to the worshipped for the sake of gaining benefit or warding off harm. At the same time, he believes that falling short of or neglecting this worship will end in harm that afflicts him as a way of punishment.
This attitude is manifest even in those who follow the pagan religions which are spread throughout the world today. It is noticed that the followers of these religions submit to their deities for the sake of reaping various benefits or warding off harms, such as aridity, drought, and the like. Moreover, their hearts cling to those gods in fear of their power.
On one hand, they may believe that the unseen authority which they fear is a self-authority, which means that the worshipper considers his god the only one who can independently benefit and harm. This applies to those who worship the sun and the stars believing in their effect on the laws of the universe and management of the creation.
On the other hand, they may believe that this unseen authority is not a self-authority, which means that they consider what they worship an intermediary between them and a superior power which has an independent self-authority of inflicting harm and bringing about benefits.
This drives them to worship this deity to intercede for them with the one who possesses the power to benefit and harm. This applies to the Qurayshi polytheists who believed that their worshipped idols got them closer to Allah The Almighty and interceded for them.
Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
*{And those who take protectors besides Him [say]: โWe only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position.โ} [Quran 39:3]
* {And they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say: โThese are our intercessors with Allah.โ} [Quran 10:18]
Accordingly, Muslims do not worship the Black Stone, for they do not believe that anyone brings or wards off harm except Allah The Exalted. They negate the existence of any self-authority among the creation, no matter what it may be.
They also believe that the relation between Allah The Almighty and His people is direct, with no intermediaries. Furthermore, they believe that the worshippers do not need any intercessor to which they try to draw close to other than Allah The Exalted.
They even consider this act a major form of Shirk which causes apostasy. They believe that it is impermissible to perform acts of worship for the sake of any creature be it an angel, a prophet, or a messenger, let alone a stone which neither brings benefit nor wards off harm.
This is confirmed by โUmar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, in his famous saying to the Black Stone, โI know that you are a stone which causes neither benefit nor harm. Had I not seen the Prophet peace be upon him. kissing you, I would not have kissed you.โ
โUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, wanted to explain to the people that his act of kissing was purely in imitation of the Prophet peace be upon him. not because the stone causes benefit or harm.
Consequently, the stones of the Kaโbah are not intrinsically sacred. The Black Stone, however, acquired this merit because Allah The Almighty has ordered us to kiss it. If there had been no order, no one would have glorified or kissed it.
Generally speaking acts of worship must fulfill two major purposes: perfect love and total submission. If someone loves something but does not submit to it, he is not a worshipper of it. Similarly, if someone submits to something without loving it, he is not a worshipper of it. Kissing the Black Stone is an act which is void of submission and humility.
In addition, Muslims believe in the merit of the Yemeni Corner just as they believe in the merit of the Black Stone. It was narrated on the authority of โAbdullah ibn โUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet peace be upon him said: โRubbing the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone removes sins.โ Despite that, Muslims do not consider kissing the Yemeni Corner permissible, even though some ignorant Muslims do it.
It is relevant to add that anyone who worships anything considers it superior to and better than himself, for a worshipper does not worship anything which he deems equal or inferior to him. We know that the sanctity of a Muslim is greater than the sanctity of the Kaโbah.
It is even greater than the sanctity of the whole world, as mentioned in the Prophetic Hadith. It was narrated on the authority of โAbdullah ibn โAmr ibn Al- โAas, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Prophet peace be upon him. said: โThe extinction of the whole world is less severe in the Sight of Allah than the killing of a Muslim.โ [An-Nasaa’i, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah]
It was also narrated on the authority of โAbdullah ibn โUmar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, that the Prophet peace be upon him. addressed the Kaโbah saying: โHow great you are! How great your sanctity is! However, the sanctity of a believer is greater than yours in the Sight of Allah.โ
These Prophetic texts tell us that the sanctity of a Muslim is greater than the sanctity of the Kaโbah including the Black Stone. So, how could it be said that Muslims worship this stone?
Finally, let us reflect a little bit on a final point. In the pre-Islamic era, Arabs would worship many idols which were made of various things. Despite that, they never worshipped the Black Stone.
However, they glorified and sanctified it as an inherited remnant of the Kaโbah, which Ibrahim (Abraham) and Ismail (Ishmael), may Allah exalt their mention, built. Bearing in mind that the pre-Islamic Arabs were truly clear on this point,
How could the orientalists attribute this allegation to Muslims today?
Christian Hypocrisy and the Black Stone in Mecca
Let’s compare between the black stone in Islam and Bible stone -Joshua 24:26-27 it shall be a witness against us, it has heard all the words the Lord said, Isaiah 6:5-7 it KISSED someone and forgave his sins –
We Muslim kiss the black stone, but according to Bible stone itself kissed someone, Christians don’t talk about that, how can a stone kiss others?
-Christians should educate themselves and learn what idolatry is? None of the prophets of Bible practiced Christianity nor worshipped the false TRIUNE God, nor Jesus did that!!! –
Christians are false WORSHIPPERS and false FOLLOWERS of Jesus (John 4:22-24)
The above answers are enough to refute this unfounded malicious allegation. Indeed, all success is from Allah The Almighty.
Mecca Existed before Christianity:
They say that the history of Arabia has no evidence for the existence of Makkah before the advent of Christianity.
In fact, there are references to the city and sanctuary of Makkah even in the Old Testament. But in the following lines I will not bask upon references from the Bible but instead share a secular historical evidence to refute the lie.
Diodorus Siculus, a first century B.C. Greek historian while discussing Arabia writes.
โThe people that inhabit these parts are called Bizomenians and live upon wild beasts taken in hunting. Here is a sacred temple in high veneration among all the Arabians.โ (The Historical Library of the Diodorus the Sicilian, Translated by G. Booth, Esq., J. Davis Military Chronicle Office, London 1814 vol.1 p.184)
This certainly is a reference to Makkah. Georgi Zaidan (d. 1914 C.E.), a Christian Arab from Beirut writes in his book Al- โArab Qabl al-Islam (Arabs before Islam).
โThere is no mention of Makkah or Kaโba in the books of the Greeks of antiquity except what is found in the book of Diodorus Siculus of the first century before Christ in his discussion about the Nabateans. In that he refers to Makkah and he writes, โAnd beyond the land of the Nabateans is the region of Bizomenians. And there is a sacred temple in high veneration among all the Arabs.โโ
And he does not just stop here, he even explains as to whom Diodorus refers to by using the word, โBizomenians.โ He writes (Arabic wording is given in the image above).
โAs to the โBizomeniansโ; sometimes by it are intended the Jurhamites or other Arabian tribes who were the custodians of Makkah.โ (Al-โArab Qabl al-Islam, Al-Hilal publishers Cairo, second ed. vol.1 p.244)
So, we find a Christian testifying for and expounding a historical evidence for Makkah from pre-Christian times.
Similarly, another Arab Christian, Jesuit Louis Cheikho (d. 1927 C.E.) in his work titled, โal-Nasaraniyah wa adaabuha bayn โArab al-Jahaliyyahโ (The Christianity and Its Literature amongst the Arabs of Pre-Islamic Times) also refers to the same quotation from Diodorus Siculus and takes it like Zaidan.
(See al-Nasaraniyah wa adaabuha bayn โArab al-Jahaliyya, Darul Mashriq, Beirut second ed. 1989 p.14)
Hopefully, objective readers will find this piece useful. So, it’s a clear fact that Muslims do not worship the stone, but we are following our prophet peace be upon him who said that stone will be a witness on the day of Judgement.
Allah knows Best
Kissing in reference to the black stone.
Why there is a gender mixing during Hajj and Umrah โ Pilgrimage in Mecca?
Why Muslims Walk Around The โKaabaโ in the Haram Mosque in Mecca
Why do Muslims kiss the Kaaba stone?
Christian hypocrisy regarding Muslims praying facing Mecca.
Black stone in Mecca worship Refutation
Physical Description of the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad)
Black stone in Mecca worship Refutation
Kissing Stone and forgiveness of sins from the Bible!
Idol Worship, the Unforgivable Sin in Islam (if maintained until death)
Does Surah 53:19-23 in the Qurโan tell Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat?
No Paganism in Islam or Hajj=Pligrimage to Mecca
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
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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.