Selam everyone
,
Recently I have been pondering very hard on the above things mentioned in the title.. and I have been sifting through the forum with discussions on these ideas, some from Ayman, Wakas, Jafar, etc etc. Obviously I have my own opinions on this but mine match very closely with Ayman.
A few things bug me though.
Al-Masjid-Al-Haram to ME has always been non-physical, because I believe that we do not have to face a certain direction during our prayers and this is quite evident with verses where Allah tells us that piety is not to face to the east or west, and that God encompasses us from everywhere. In the typical usual translations you will see it translated as Sacred Mosque. Then you will see "the inviolable state/institution of obedience". The latter fits better for me, but what puts me off is seeing evidences from previous revelations on how people had places where they turned to i.e. "qibla"'s i.e. focal points or directions. I do not wish to deny a physical place, but from research I've seen how the current Masjid Al Haram was named this AFTER the revelation of the prophet from what I know.. which to me would not make logical sense. I also still have to problem of the fact that you would not technically be facing it... and you are actually said to face it wherever you go and not necessarily during your prayer, EVEN if they may be related, Allah does not make any distinction in his verses about this. I'm just intrigued to know the majority of people's look on this and yes I know it has been discussed multiple times however a lot of the time it goes a bit off topic. My argument is that I pray in any direction because I believe Allah is everywhere and he knows in our hearts who we serve. At the same time I sometimes think maybe it was a physical place just for the prophet and his followers to distinguish them from the people who turned on their heels.
Another thought was the Hajj. When I translated it in a new light (i.e. from the pilgrimage to the feast) everything was making much more sense, and the shaving of heads more being relieving your heads. I do wish to discover the validity of this though, as Allah always says that if we are to seek knowledge we must validate what we hear and I'm an english speaker not an arabic one and my knowledge of arabic is very poor. Also as far as I know, the hajj was for ALL people and not just for "muslims" as Saudi Arabia like to differentiate with their sign posts. There was no mention in the Quran of a black stone, there is no mention of circling the Ka'ba 7 times.... what actually is the Ka'ba? We know it is in the Quran, but this is whilst we are on Hajj, so what can we actually define as the Ka'ba? Do we define it as the one in Mecca? Is the word Mecca used in the reading except for once when really it is translated to "destruction"? All the prophets before never went to Mecca and walked around it... was it even there before the 5th century? Was it influenced by pagan worshipping of Allat, Uzza and Manat? If we go to the supposed Ka'ba today and kiss the stone, go round it 7 times and expect our sins to all be forgiven, can we really justify this and say "don't worry, as long as it's in the name of Allah it's not linked to paganism"... I question why I feel uncomfortable with this since before knowing Islam and knowing Islam...
If someone has any solid views on this I would be fascinated to hear them. I already know Wakas's, Ayman's and Raggingajin's view.. so if anyone else has an opinion on this I would love to discuss it
. Every night I ask for guidance from Allah, and I hope we all can be guided to the one and only straight path
.
Peace everyone
