Shaky foundations

July 31, 2019

The Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, begins next week on August 9. Saudi Arabia will host around 2 million Muslim pilgrims re-enacting Muhammad’s actions in his “farewell pilgrimage” of 632 AD. “For Muslims, Mecca is the most important city in the world. It is the birthplace of their prophet. They face it five times daily in prayer. To journey there is the dream of a lifetime…they believe a sincere Muslim leaves Mecca…like a newborn baby: sinless and with a fresh start in life” (prayercast.com/love muslims/five pillars/hajj). Some hope they’ll die while participating in the Hajj for the favor it will give them. Google “Hajj 2019: An in-depth look at the sacred journey, Al Jazeera” for an overview of this pillar of Islam.

Islamic history says Muhammad was born in Mecca where, in a shrine rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael (originally built by Adam) called the Ka’aba, hundreds of pagan deities were worshipped by the Arabs as they abandoned monotheism. Muhammad preached the worship of one god; but because he was persecuted for his beliefs, he migrated to Medina where he gained the support of powerful nobles. Then he returned to Mecca, cleansed the Ka’aba of idols, and established the religious and governmental authority of Islam.

On June 18, 2019 a documentary film was uploaded to YouTube, called The Sacred City of Mecca: Have We Got It Wrong? In it, historian Dan Gibson presents some of his research on the geography of the Qur’an. Since there are few, mainly obscure, geographic references in the Qur’an, he “anchors” them to similar references in the Bible, which are more frequent, precise and well known. He also tests them using archaeology, literature and navigation He concludes that Mecca was never the home of Muhammad and birthplace of Islam. Rather, that place was Petra (“Rock”), Jordan, for these reasons:

  • Muhammad worked for and married Khadija, a trader. Mecca was distantly remote from any trade route, while Petra was a significant trading hub.
  • The geographical descriptions (height of mountains, geologic features, vegetation, availability of water, stream bed, soil, buildings, warfare) of the Qur’an and Hadith match Petra, not Mecca.
  • Petra was much more accessible to places mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith than Mecca.
  • The qibla (direction of prayer, when that can be determined from the ruins) in mosques built prior to 725 AD all point to Petra, not Mecca. The qibla in all mosques after 822 AD, when the Abbasid caliphate was beginning to rule, all point to Mecca.

Gibson’s film currently has over 650,000 views and almost 8000 comments. His findings have the potential to shake the foundations of what countless Muslims have believed to be true about the origins of Islam.

Let’s pray for Muslims during Hajj 2019…

  • Thank You Lord for commanding us to worship You with our minds (Mt 22:37). Thank You for stirring Muslims to examine their faith for truth.
  • We pray they will find the solid foundation, the Rock of Christ, on which to build their faith.
  • Holy Spirit, hide them in the cleft of this Rock even during Hajj, and convict them that only He can cleanse their sins and give them a fresh start.
  • Pray for them from the beautiful verses of Psalm 36:5-9.

About Leslie

Leslie knows by faith and experience that our heavenly Father puts His prayers in our hearts and then listens to our hearts’ cry as we pray them back to Him. We hear God, and God hears us.

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No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion.

Nelson Mandela

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. And your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus