caliph umar converts dumping ground into a "holy" site

[thegod]

For some reason the jews & christians find jerusalem holy.

And for some reason, the sunnis & shiites find jerusalem "holy". But what is this reason?

The answer seems to lie in 17:1. Almost all popular sunni & shiite interpretations tell us that al-masjid al-aqsa is a location at jerusalem. A good reason to hold jerusalem "dearest of all to their hearts". Of course, nothing in the quraan even remotely suggests this.

Much of the beliefs of sunnis (& shiites) come from ahadith, & much of ahadith is unabashed reproduction of judeo-christian literature. Many popular commentaries provide facts behind a verse, & the facts are simply lifted from the literature of jews & christians. It is not surprising, then, that sunnis & shiites have joined scores of jews & christians in declaring jerusalem to be "holy". To the point that some even recommend zeal comparable to the zionists'.

Far as the quraan goes, there seems to be nothing holy about jerusalem. The place doesn't seem to find even a mention in the length & breadth of the book. One significance the sunnis & shiites attach to is its alleged identification as the location of al-masjid al-aqsa. Let us see how umar identified a garbage-covered rock to be the the location of al-masjid al-aqsa, & turned it's vicinity into a "holy" site. It is an interesting story -- umar asks an ex-rabbi to point out the location of  "the rock" & then establishes the third-holiest site for sunnis (I think shiites have their own preference, not sure). Another sunni caliph then orders pilgrimage to this former dumping site.

The Dome of the Rock was built by the caliph ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwaan in 72 AH.

It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Filasteeniyyah (4/203): “The name al-Masjid al-Aqsa was historically applied to the entire sanctuary (al-Haram al-Shareef) and the buildings in it, the most important of which is the Dome of the Rock which was built by ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwaan in 72 AH/691 CE, which is regarded as one of the greatest Islamic historical buildings. But today the name is applied to the great mosque which is situated in the southern part of the sanctuary plateau.”

It also says in al-Mawsoo’ah (3/23): “The Dome of the Rock is situated in the middle of the plateau of al-Masjid al-Aqsa, which is in the southeastern part of the city of al-Quds (Jerusalem). It is a spacious rectangular plateau which measures 480 meters from north to south, and 300 meters from east to west. This plateau occupies approximately one-fifth of the area of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The mosque which is the place of prayer is not the Dome of the Rock, but because pictures of the Dome are so widespread, many Muslims think when they see it that this is the mosque. This is not in fact the case. The Mosque is situated in the southern portion of the plateau, and the Dome is built on the raised rock that is situated in the middle of the plateau.

We have already seen above that the name of the mosque was historically applied to the whole plateau.

This is supported by the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) in Majmoo’at al-Rasaa’il al-Kubra, 2/61: “Al-Masjid al-Aqsa is the name for the whole of the place of worship built by Sulaymaan (peace be upon him). Some people started to give the name of al-Aqsa to the prayer-place which was built by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab in front of it. Praying in this prayer-place which ‘Umar built for the Muslims is better than praying in the rest of the mosque, because when ‘Umar conquered Jerusalem there was a huge garbage dump on the rock, since the Christians wanted to show their scorn for the place towards which the Jews used to pray. So ‘Umar issued orders that the filth be removed and he said to Ka’b: ‘Where do you think we should build a place of prayer for the Muslims?’ He said, ‘Behind the rock.’ He said, ‘O you son of a Jewish woman! Are influenced by your Jewish ideas! Rather I will build it in front of it.’

Hence when the imams of this ummah entered the mosque, they would go and pray in the prayer-place that was built by ‘Umar. With regard to the Rock, neither ‘Umar nor any of the Sahaabah prayed there, and there was no dome over it during the time of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs. It was open to the sky during the caliphate of ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan, ‘Ali, Mu’aawiyah, Yazeed and Marwaan… The scholars among the Sahaabah and those who followed them in truth did not venerate the rock because it was an abrogated qiblah… rather it was venerated by the Jews and some of the Christians.”

‘Umar denounced Ka’b al-Ahbaar and called him the son of a Jewish woman because Ka’b had been a Jewish scholar and rabbi, so when he suggested to ‘Umar that he should build the mosque behind the rock, that was out of respect for the rock so that the Muslims would face it when praying, and veneration of the rock was part of the religion of the Jews, not the religion of the Muslims.

The Muslims’ fondness for the picture of the Dome may be because of the beauty of this building, but this does not excuse them from the resulting mistake of not distinguishing between the Mosque and the buildings that surround it.

The site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque originally contained a Christian church, the Church of Our Lady, built by the Emperor Justinian in the 530s AD and was consecrated to the Virgin Mary. That church was later destroyed by the Persians in the early 7th century and left in ruins. When Jerusalem came under the control of Muslims in 638 AD, Caliph Umar ibn al-Khatta-b (580-644) was given the key to the city by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius. Umar asked Sophronius to show him the "Masjid Dawud" (Mosque of David) and "Mihrab Dawud" (David's sanctuary or prayer niche) in the Qur'an (38:21). The Patriarch took him to the door of the sanctuary which was almost blocked due to the trash that was placed at the door. Umar looked left and right and said: "Allah is Great, I swear by the one who holds my soul in his hand that this is the Mosque of David which the prophet of Allah described to us after his night journey."

Umar started cleaning up the place, using his clothes to remove the rubble and other Muslims imitated him in this. After cleaning up the place, Umar entered the building and started praying, reciting the Quranic sura Sad. Thereby Umar converted the building into a mosque, an Islamic place of prayer which did not infringe on nearby Christian and Jewish sites of worship.

Umar also asked Ka'ab al-Ahbar, a Jewish Rabbi who had converted to Islam and came with Umar from Medina, to guide him to the place of the Rock.

The building currently in existence is a result of different stages of construction and renovations. It is usually agreed upon that Abd al-Malik (685-705), the Umayyad Caliph who was the patron of the Dome of the Rock, started to reconstruct the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the southern end of the precinct. This work was continued by his son and successors al-Walid I (709-715), who renovated and expanded the building. During al-Walid I's time, the mosque was given the name Al-Aqsa Mosque, which means "the farthest mosque".

A garbage-covered rock was pointed out by an ex-rabbi to holier-than-thou umar, who built a mosque near it. And umar's mosque was given the name "al-masjid al-aqsa". Admirable zeal for a "holy" dumping ground.

sub'haana Allaah


ma'a salaam.

God bless all.

al'hamd li Allaah Rabb al'aalameen

[Rami]

Peace,

This is one of the greatest lies in Islamic history. The Dome of the Rock and the Masjid Al-Aqsa was built after the death of the prophet by a long time. This means that the Masjid Al-Aqsa mentioned in the Quran can't be the one in Jerusalem. Then where the hell is it?? And who is the servant who is being taken between the 2 Mosques in one night?

Peace,

Rami

[M_Mehdi]

caliph umar converts dumping ground into a "holy" site

I always thought we should convert holy sites into dumping grounds...
hmm... maybe neither of us should be in charge of any "conversions" 
caliph shmalif..  

[thegod]

Masjid is literally a place of prostration/worship. Then, it can be at jerusalem or it can be at timbuktu. I personally reject the location at jerusalem proposed by sunnis-shiites because its identification by umar & kaab does not serve as evidence. I cannot find reason to consider this location blessed or holy.


My understanding, as of now, is that it is some area near mount lawz, the mount of revelation.

http://free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9597957.0


More specifically, the blessed plain (28:30), the holy valley tuwa (20:12). Needless to say, this is my opinion.


ma'a salaam.

God bless all.

al'hamd li Allaah Rabb al'aalameen

[thegod]

m_mehdi-I always thought we should convert holy sites into dumping grounds...

* The "holy site" was a dumping ground before it became "holy".


ma'a salaam.

God bless all.

al'hamd li Allaah Rabb al'aalameen

[Rajah]

I have a picture of jerusalem taken off a book. It shows jerusalem circa 1910-1920.It is quite an interesting picture that would allow some very interesting discussions.How do I insert it?

[Rami]

Just post the link in between the add image brackets.
If there is no link, upload it somewhere.

[thegod]

rajah-I have a picture of jerusalem taken off a book. It shows jerusalem circa 1910-1920.It is quite an interesting picture that would allow some very interesting discussions.How do I insert it?

I guess u first need to upload it somewhere. I am not aware of another possibility.


ma'a salaam.

God bless all.

al'hamd li Allaah Rabb al'aalameen

[Eid]

I have a picture of jerusalem taken off a book. It shows jerusalem circa 1910-1920.It is quite an interesting picture that would allow some very interesting discussions.How do I insert it?

upload to http://tinypic.com/

then use [img] for url of picture

[Rajah]

Thanks to all those who helped/wanted to help.