“The first Sanctuary established for the people is the one in Bakka, blessed, and a guidance for the worlds.” (Qur’an 3:96)

According to mainstream Muslim scholars, Bakka is simply an ancient name for Mecca—the most holy city of Islam, and the fact that God can use different names for the same place is not unusual—so, open and shut case.

However, before we surrender completely to this argument of Mecca being Bakka we need to dig a little bit deeper as some things do seem to be off, namely:

  • Abraham was the first to call mankind to the Pilgrimage (22:27), so we should have some record of ancient peoples recognizing Mecca Arabia and its status—yet we don’t!
  • Moses was aware of the Pilgrimage (28:27), yet his followers have no such record of it being Mecca Arabia!
  • Mohammed was sent to a people who were both “gentiles” (62:2) and "pagans" (53:19-20), making it very odd that they would be the custodians of the Abarahamic faith and the Holy Site!

You can already see we are having a serious “does not compute” issue just by scratching the surface with a few simple observations…what happens if we dig deeper?

  1. God makes a Pledge with Abraham and Ishmael to keep the Sanctuary “pure”

“And it was so, that We have made the Sanctuary to be a model for the people and a place of safety. And you shall take the station of Abraham as an orientation for Salat. And We made a pledge to Abraham and Ishmael: “You shall purify My Sanctuary for those who visit, and those who are devoted, and the kneeling, the prostrating.” (Qur’an 2:125)

This verse is problematic for Mecca as, according to Muslims, the Kaaba was filled with idols—a clear violation of the pledge God made with Abraham and Ishmael.

  1. Abraham asks that the land be “Peaceful” for its visitors

“And it was so, that Abram said: “My Lord, make this a land of peace, and provide for its inhabitants of the fruits for whoever believes in God and the Last Day.” He said: “As for he who rejects, I will let him enjoy for a while, then I will force him to the retribution of the Fire. What a miserable destiny!” (Qur’an 2:126)

This is a verse that appears to work for Mecca, but is actually also problematic. God agrees to make the place peaceful and provide for its people on condition that the people do not reject. So if the people reject (which was the case of the Arab Pagans running Mecca) then they should have had wars and destruction—which they didn’t!

  1. Abraham and Ishmael Raise the Foundation of the Sanctuary/House

“And it was so, that Abraham was raising the foundations for the Sanctuary, and Ishmael: “Our Lord accept this from us, You are the Hearer, the Knowledgeable.” (Qur’an 2:127)

This verse seems to be quite simple—that Abraham and his son Ishmael physically raised the Sanctuary/House—so it appears we have no issue here.

  1. Abraham calls all mankind to come and attend the Pilgrimage

“And call out to the people with the Pilgrimage, they will come to you walking and on every transport, they will come from every deep enclosure.” (Qur’an 22:27)

As we mentioned earlier in this paper, the fact that no records are found in any civilization of the Pilgrimage to “Mecca” is very problematic since Abraham would have made this call nearly 4,000 years ago.

  1. The Sanctuary/House has a physical feature—The Maqam of Abraham

“The first Sanctuary established for the people is the one in Bakk’a, blessed, and a guidance for the worlds. In it are clear signs: the station of Abraham. And whoever enters it will have safety. And God is owed from the people to make Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary, whoever can make a way to it. And whoever rejects, then God has no need of the worlds.” (Qur’an 3:96-97)

“Maqam” means “place of action” (e.g. Solomon’s throne is called “Maqam” in 27:39), so for Abraham we know from 37:102-103 that he was about to slaughter his son on a slab or stone—which becomes “Maqam Abraham.”

This is a big problem for the claim of Mecca as the Sanctuary at the “Kaaba” does not have any “Maqam” inside of it—which is a serious violation of the description given in 3:97.

  1. The Sanctuary/House is in a “Blessed” land

“The first Sanctuary established for the people is the one in Bakka, blessed, and a guidance for the worlds.” (Qur’an 3:96)

The fact that God calls the location of the Sanctuary “blessed” is a very revealing detail. The word “blessed” is used for anything that God touches or is involved with directly (e.g. the rain, creation of Jesus, Scripture), with regards to land, there is only one land He has called blessed: the land that Moses led his people towards (7:137)—which was not Mecca.

Summary of Mecca:

Mecca fails each and every test that is administered to it using the Qur’an and even common sense. The site is off in every possible way, with the explanations for why it is off being even more absurd than the issues themselves.

Where is Bakka?

Going back to the original title of this paper, it should be obvious now where Bakka is. However, just in-case you are still guessing, here is a verse from the Jewish Torah which would have saved any student the trouble of all this research:

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” (Psalms 84:5-7)

The Torah brings together the 3 simple words we have been looking for “Pilgrimage, Bakka, Jerusalem”—but since most Muslims only give lip service to believing in the previous Scriptures, no one has bothered to cross-reference the name to know that Bakka is a real place and not a name for Mecca simply because the two rhyme! 

More specifically, it is the “Temple Mount” in Jerusalem which holds the “Dome of the Rock.” The Dome is the true Sanctuary/House which contains “Maqam Ibrahaim” and has been kept pure from idols by its caretakers for over 4,000 years as promised by Abraham and Ishmael.

How did this happen?

There can be many theories on how this mix-up could have happened (civil war, political motives, natural disasters, etc.) but all of this would be “conjecture.” One reason we can propose based on a reading of the Qur’an is that the “change of Qibla” (from Jerusalem to Mecca) would have caused all new entrants into Islam—who came after the change—to have only known Mecca as the center of everything; and, after the death of the Prophet and the wars which caused the deaths of many from the early Muslims, confusion erupted with regards to the Pilgrimage and the role of Mecca Vs. Bakka.

We know that this was an issue because of the records which has a Muslim army (under the order of Abdelmalik Bin Marwan) attacking Mecca and demolishing the walls of the Kaaba in 691 A.D.—which would seem to be a bizarre act to attack the physical location of the Pilgrimage and damage it to the extent it can no longer be used! It is even more telling when we learn that the same ruler “Abdelmalik Bin Marwan,” was the one who commissioned the expansion and improvement of the Temple Mount—upon which sits the sacred “Dome of the Rock!”

What About the Site in Mecca?

Mecca clearly has a place in the Qur’an and it is reasonable to accept such a place as being the birthplace of Mohammed. However, where a Prophet is born or lives does not give the place sanctity or any “special status” as the Muslims give to Mecca and Medina. What we have in Mecca is a Temple/Shrine that seems to have served many purposes (a place originally for idol worship,) but was later dedicated to God and monotheism. It is natural to have multiple “Houses/Temples” that are dedicated to God in different cities and places which are used to gather the people and even administer rules and laws (like a Town Square). The Kaaba certainly can be such a site and Mecca would have been served by it presence.

The Qur’an helps us to understand this by distinguishing the site in Mecca in calling it the “restricted” House (AlBayt AlHaram)—meaning it is a place that has “limited/restricted” features—around which or near which sits the “restricted” Temple (AlMasjid AlHaram)—this reference “restricted” would be given to any and all Houses that are set-up outside of the ancient/original House. This is also exactly why God says in 3:96 the “first” House, meaning there can be multiple Houses that serve lesser purposes.

 What to Do Next?

If this article has opened your eyes to the truth within God’s message, and you are willing to abandon the burdens of the past mistakes and missteps, then it is time to demand that Jerusalem be recognized as an “international city” governed by an independent body free from Israel or Palestine or any other nation—it is the “City of God” for the “People of God”—which we need to reclaim and call out to all mankind to attend the Pilgrimage to share and learn and laugh and feast…until God inherits the Earth and all those on it.

“And call out to the people with the Pilgrimage, they will come to you walking and on every transport, they will come from every deep enclosure. So that they may witness benefits for themselves, and mention the name of God in the appointed days for what He has provided for them of the animal livestock. So eat from it and feed the needy and the poor.” (Qur’an 22:27-28)     


Written for www.free-minds.org