Edward Gibbon writes about the Ka'bah and its existence before the Christian era in his book, Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire:
Each tribe, each family, each independent warrier, created and changed the rites and the object of this fantastic worship; but the nation, in every age, has bowed to the religion as well as to the language of Mecca. The genuine antiquity of Caaba ascends beyond the Christian era: in describing the coast of the Red sea the Greek historian Diodorus has remarked, between the Thamudites and the Sabeans, a famous temple, whose superior sanctity was revered by all the Arabians; the linen of silken veil, which is annually renewed by the Turkish emperor, was first offered by the Homerites, who reigned seven hundred years before the time of Mohammad.
Another interesting connection, which I first read about in Martin Ling's biography of the Prophet, but was reminded of by Sadiq M. Alam over at Inspirations and Creative Thoughts (He also has a lecture by Zaid Shakir on Hajj on his site).
In the Quran, an alternative name given for Mecca is Becca (3:96-97)
Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Becca, blessed and a guidance for the nations. In it are clear signs, the standing place of Ibrahim, and whoever enters it shall be secure, and pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah, (upon) every one who is able to undertake the journey to it; and whoever disbelieves, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, above any need of the worlds.
But then the Bible, in Psalm 84 also seems to contain a possible allusion to the same place:
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.
9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
I don't think Islam needs that kind of validation but it is still fascinating to me to see how certain ideas, themes and practices echo back and forth between Islam and the Bible.
8 comments:
interesting.
nice blog. i like your profile pic.
:)
very cool. thanks!
Martin Lings wrote a really (REALLY) small new book called Mecca. I'm not sure how much details it goes into or how far back in history. I bought it and a relative of mine who follows his tariqa took it from me right away!
Is it really a new (!) book? Published posthumously?
qrswave, thankss
Thanks Abdul for your link back.
Islam doesn't need any validation. but there is no harm to show approach people of the book in a manner which open their eyes better.
In quran also Allah commands us to present Islam in the best way possible and with argument. What could be better argument to prove Islam's place using their own books.
blessings.
Salaams Sadiq, yes that's true. And thinking about similar things is part of what got me thinking about Islam too.
There are a number of passages in the Bible which resonate in quite vivid ways with Islamic concepts. And I agree that it is valuable to point them out.
At the same time, there is also stuff in the Bible which doesn't fit the same way. Which raises the question: How do you address those parts of the Bible?
Oh that part is so easy to talk. infact those parts are needed to show Christians and others that Bible was fabricated, cause when they contradict with Islam, be sure it contradict with Torah and previous scriptures.
and there are a lot of grounds and evidences in the scriptures it self and even in gospel by other sahaba of Prophet Esa.
i'm posting now something on dead Sea scrolls which reveal those contradictory stuff in Bible that even goes contradict to Jesus christ original teachings.
do visit my blog to take a look.
saalam again. peace be upon you and your dear ones. thanks.
Sadiq, that's just it. At some point when I was reading the Bible I saw things in it which seemed contradictory to me and didn't make sense.
And at that point, it is hard to see the Bible as authoritative or credible in the way a scripture really should be.
And so if even if it seems like the Bible has prophecies which seem to support Islam, they are interesting but they only have so much weight.
That's what I was trying to get at with my comment about validation.
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