QuoteAlso I which is the real mecca. and what is the proof that mecca of today is not that old? any carbon dating evidence?
Carbon dating...you think the Saudis would allow that? You think they would jeopardize the BILLIONS of Dollars they make every year from Hajj and Umrah revenues?
The evidence is found in the maps of the ancient Greek and Roman historians, geographers, as well as the traders who were very familiar with the myrrh and frankincense trade routes. These traders reached as far South as Yemen, and called it
Arabia Felix (meaning: Fortunate Arabia, or Optimistic Arabia) because of those riches. These traders mentioned several important cities on the trade routes, BY NAME. On their maps, you find
Taime (which is Tayma'a),
Lathrippa (Yathrib?), Leuce Kome (Umm Lujj), as well as
Negrana (Najran) and
Aden (Adan). There is also passing reference of a town called
Makoraba, but this was proven to be a small town south of Tayma'a, and nowehere near Makkah.
If Makkah was such an important trade center during the pre-Christian era, it surely would have been mentioned by those historians, and would have appeared on their maps. The fact is it did not.
Even the staunchiest Arab historian will tell you that the first settlers of the desolate valley where Makkah is currently located were the Yemeni tribes of Jurhum and Khuza3a. It was THEY who built the cubical shrine, sometime during the 4th Century A.D, as a replica of similar shrines in their original homeland. The migration of these tribes northwards was in line with the same direction of migrations that had been taking place for thousands of years. The competetion over the water sources and grazing grounds, as well as the destruction or overflowing of dams were always the primary reasons for such northward migrations (This what happened to the Shebans, many centuries earlier, when the famous Ma'rib down was destroyed). Makkah never become a significant center on the trade routes, because the desert areas of central Arabia were completely bypassed later on, as 90% of all trade became MARITIME. Ships arriving from India and China would dock at the ports of Yemen (Qana and Aden), unload part of their cargo there, then continue on their way along the Red Sea towards the port town of Leuce Kome (Umm Lujj), then over land, a short distance until they reached Tayma'a. Then from there to the port of Gaza, where the goods would be carried by ships across the Meditterranean, to Europe.
The Quran tells us that Abraham MIGRATED to the area where the Bayt was located and tells us that the land around it was blessed (meaning it had riches, fruits, rivers, natural resources, etc...). People do not migrate to desert areas. Look at Makkah today, and look at the regions surrounding it in a 200 KM radius. Do you see anything green growing there? Where are the dates, olive trees, pommegranates, grapes, and grazing grounds that the Quran mentions? Nowehere to be seen. Why would Abraham mograte to such a desolate and miserable arid spot?
The valley where the Bayt is located is descriped in the Quran as "A Valley that was UNCULTIVATED". The Arabic term
zar3 clearly means "PLANTINGS", and hence indicates human labor (sowing and reaping). It does not say that the place was an arid desert! It was simply a wilderness place that was never SETTLED by anyone previously. Natural flora is called "nabat", not "zar3".
Fact is, the more south you travel in Arabia, the greener the land becomes, until you reach the mountain slopes of Asir and northern Yemen. There are regions there that are more fertile, receive more rain , and have a wider abundance of natural flora than anywhere else on the penninsula. So where did Abraham migrate to?
Concerning Jinn blocks, they are scattered all over Arabia, from north to south. But the one in Makkah is famous for being covered with the YEMENI KISWAH (That's right. All the books of tradition and "history" tell us that during Muhamad's time, the black veil covering the cubical shrine came from Yemen). Ever wondered why? The simplest explanation is probably the most obvious one: Yemeni pagans built that shrine from the ground up. It has nothing to do wit hAbraham whatsoever.
And the legend you hear of Abraha the Ethiopian, attacking the Kaaba with his elephants, is actually a twisted and corrupted version of the truth. YES, the Ethiopians were known to use Elephants in their wars, and YES they did attack more than one Arabian center of pagan worship, at the behest of Byzantine Rome. But these centers were in Yemen, not in central or North Arabia.
The Quran tells us that the Romans were defeated in a place referred to as "Adna-l- Ardh", meaning: The NEAREST spot of land. The FM translation, however, saw it more fitting to render it as the "lowest" point of land, in order to fit the pre-conceived dogma that Palestine is the land of the prophets and that the battles took place near the Dead Sea.
Well, the fact is that "ADNA" means NEAREST, not "lowest". Its opposite is "AQSA" which means "furthest". (The near-east is called "Sharq Adna").
If Allah meant "lowest point" He would have said "Asfal", not "Adna".
Where did the Byzantine-Arab, Byzantine-Jewish, and later the Byzantine-Persian wars take place for control of the trade routes? They took place along the southern coast of Yemen, in order to control and divert the flow of goods. This area is very close to where Muhammad (P) was preaching the verse, proving that Muhammad originated in south Arabia.
Peace...
