Arab Tales about the present Ka’aba

Perhaps in order to foster their many pagan associations, the religionists gave the square stone structure that they call the ka’aba a history of its own. The Qur’an’s mentioning of the word ka’aba relates only to the washing of one’s ankles in 5:6, and in 5:95 to the restriction of hunting young animals. Clearly, given the prevalent tradition-based interpretation of 5:95 to mean the stone building at Mecca, this elucidation of the text based on itself is going to come as a bit of a shock. Nevertheless, the subject it deals with is the conservation of wildlife stocks. Anyone who kills wildlife on purpose during the restricted period must pay a fine.

The key fact here is that a hunter can distinguish the maturity of animals by observing their movements before deciding whether to shoot. Animal conservation is part of God’s decrees as we shall see, and people are to uphold the decree not to hunt the animals during the restricted months. The ankles show both the way the animal moves when it is alive (and provide conclusive data when it is dead) and the state of maturity of the animal. This very important piece of information is found at 5:2 and repeated in 5:97. The word ka’abata simply means ankle. More is given on this in chapter eleven.

However, to return to the fictions of the Arab religion: according to their own traditions some mullahs (gurus) believe that the ka’aba was built by angels (a myth plagiarised from the Bible), whereas other mullahs say the Ka’aba was built by Adam (common conjectures in the Arab religion), destroyed in the flood of Noah, and rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael. The religionists claim that Abraham’s association with the stone idol in Mecca dates from the pre-Qur’anic period. According to their own tales, it remained a pagan pantheon until Muhammad destroyed all the images it housed except the black stone.

By their own testimony the temple has been subject not only to periodic flooding, but because of the use of lamps in the shrine, to fire as well. In the course of its long history it has been damaged and destroyed by flood and fire scores of times, and has often had to be rebuilt from its foundations up. Many alterations to its shape and size were made centuries before and after Muhammad. This is what the mullahs say. No story of any related sort is mentioned in the Reading.

Since the Reading denounces all kinds of physical rituals and worship, the idea of ‘God’s house’ and the cherishing of a black stone in Mecca are clearly fabrications by the religionists. An illuminating comparison can be made between the present-day pilgrimages at the square rock structure with the apparently older religion of Hinduism. Hinduism has travelled from India to many countries. Its influence can be found as far as Bali in Indonesia. Arabia was considered India’s immediate neighbour (requiring only a relatively short journey across the Arabian Sea). There was a claim by the Hindus that the present day Arab religion has many things in common with them. Among other things they say:

• As the pilgrim proceeds towards Mecca he is asked to shave his head and to don special sacred attire that consists of two seamless sheets of white cloth. One is to be worn round the waist and the other over the shoulders. Both these rites are remnants of the old Vedic practice of entering Hindu temples clean and wearing seamless white sheets.

• Muslim pilgrims visiting the Ka’aba go around it seven times anti clockwise. In no other mosque does such circumambulation prevail. Hindus invariably circumambulate their deities anti clockwise. This is another indication that the Ka’aba shrine is a pre-Qur’anic Indian Shivan temple where the Hindu practice of circumambulation is still meticulously observed.

• Recital of the namaz five times a day is similar to the Hindu Vedic injunction of Panchmahayagna (five daily worship – Panch-Maha-Yagna) which is part of the daily Vedic ritual prescribed for all individuals.

Even without the Hindus claim it is an undeniable fact that the present day pilgrimage observed by the Arabs is the same ancient pagan religious practice focusing on stone and rocks in Mecca, Arafat and Mina. It lasts ten days and is hedged by many taboos of the pagan faith most of which have been retained until today. The rituals and exclamatory formulas as well as the ceremonies observed at the various locations signifying the ‘station‘, can be traced back to pre-Qur’anic times. Before entering the shrine pilgrims must be in a state of sanctity by donning the two seamless sheets of white cloth ihram, the pilgrims announce their readiness to the lord of the cube house. This is called the talbiya. It is demonstrated by the cry of the ihlal an ancient formula called the laa-baik followed by the rituals below:

• Circumambulate (tawaf) the square rock structure anti clockwise seven times.

• Each circuit the pilgrims must kiss the oval ‘Black Stone’ (Hajar Aswat) (some with flying kisses).

• Upon completion of the seven rounds the pilgrims then perform the prayer body movements behind a gilded cage a few meters away from the stone house.

• And then proceed to another location within the mosque precinct to perform the sa’ei Here the pilgrims have to run to and from two rock outcroppings seven times.

• On the sixth day devotees travel to another location a few kilometres away called Arafat (another rock mountain). The wukuf, which is actually a remnant of pagan ritual of worshipping the sun is observed by pilgrims at this place by standing from midday to sunset. The pagan rite of standing is an essential part of the pilgrimage.

• On the setting of the sun at Arafat the pilgrims will rush (another form of ritual call ifada) to Muzalifah an open area three miles away from Mina. The majority of the non-Arabs do not notice another rock tower in the vicinity that is regarded as sacred by the religionists. They follow blindly the ancient pagan ritual by lighting a fire and keep vigil through the night, raising a great shout from time to time like the old Red Indian warriors in the movies. This happens until today.

• The concluding rite of the pilgrimage takes place on the tenth day in the valley of Mina. This is actually an ancient sacrificial site about half way back to Mecca. Here pilgrims will start throwing stones at some stone pillars conceiving mentally these stone pillars are the devils. This rite signifies the end of the state of sanctity and they can now return to normal life.

• The climax to the proceeding is the livestock sacrifice. This is a custom of the ancient Arabs performing animal sacrifice at a granite block on the slope of Mount Thabir, a place falsely claimed as the spot of Abraham’s intended offering-up of his son. (The Reading condemns animal sacrifice 6:136)

• The point of convergence of animal sacrifices is the blood not the meat. The three-day period from the eleventh to the thirteenth day, following the end of the pilgrimage is called ‘tashrik’ literally means ‘associating’ the ‘dry blood’. The drying of the blood signifies that their god has consecrated their pilgrimage for the year.

Words like ihram, talbiya, ihlal, laa-baik, hajar aswat, sa-ei, wukuf and ifada are not found anywhere in the Reading. These are terms used by the pagan Arabs from the pre-Qur’anic period that has crept into Islam. In 22:26 God told Abraham he should la-tushrik or NOT to associate the Supreme God with anything, but the religionists say they must associate (tashrik) God with animal blood.

According to the Reading, Muhammad condemned all forms of idolatry. Therefore, performing rituals around a temple or devoting oneself to any form of rocks or stone was never part of the peacefulness propagated by him. The religionists mischievously portrayed the Last Prophet kissing the black stone. The religionists believe that people are able to communicate with the black stone. They say Caliph Omar whispered to the black stone, “I know you are nothing but a stone that neither can harm nor help.….. If I have not seen the Messenger of Allah kiss you, I would never kiss you myself.” This is meant to imply that the Last Prophet also kissed the black stone. By this and many other methods, the religionists attributed stupidity and idolatry to the Last Prophet.

The way of life promoted by Abraham as preached by the Last Prophet was to call the people to believe in One God, the Hereafter, and to work righteousness. This is the sine qua non of the prescribed way of life. Muhammad came to change the time-honoured elements of native paganism: stone worship and idolatry. He undermined the foundations of the original Arabic paganism and did not make any concession or compromise. He was the first messenger to warn the Arabs. They knew nothing about the monotheistic commitment sanctioned by God in His system pioneered by Abraham and Ishmael. Although the Reading does not go into the details of the idol-worship of the Arab tribes, it confirms the ignorance of the Arab race at that time and that of their forefathers.

A revelation from the Almighty, Most Merciful, to warn a race whose forefathers were not warned before, and they are unaware. Indeed it is truly said (haq-qul-khau-lu) that the majority of them will not believe. (36:4-6)

In no uncertain terms this verse indicates that the Arab community around the Last Prophet was a pagan society following their forefathers’ religion. It also says the majority of them (Arabs) will never believe the Reading after it had been revealed to the Messenger. Such an amazing statement is consistent with the statement in 9:97: that the Arabs were staunch in disbelief and hypocrisy.

The biography of the Last Prophet according to the Reading reveals that the Arabs rejected him soon after he recited the Qur’an to them. The Arabs refused to accept the Reading. They went as far as to say that the Reading was a fabricated falsehood. Instead, they accused the Prophet of trying to divert them from the idols served by their forefathers.

When Our revelations were recited to them they say, “This is a man who wants to divert you from what was served by our forefathers.” They also say, “This is fabricated falsehood.” (34:43)

Today, we observe the religionists praising, cherishing and honouring the very man they treated with such contempt at the time when he called them to demolish their forefathers’ stone idols. Contrary to the belief of those who idolise their messenger, the Last Prophet was not a popular man among the Arabs. The Arabs were hostile towards him and never acknowledged him en masse as the messenger of God. They despised the man, and they oppressed and banished him from his home. The same man who is glorified today was forced to take refuge in the cave to avoid the threat of death at their hands.

This is what is revealed of the life of the Last Prophet in the Reading. The Reading does not mention at all anything about the famous Arab tale of his purported migration to a place named Medina. Medina simply means a ‘city’ and is the same word used to refer to the city in Egypt where Moses lived. At one time, amongst all the people around him there was only one other man who believed him.

When you did not support, God supported him when the non-believers banished him. He was one of the two people in the cave when he said to his companion, “Do not worry, God is with us.” (9:40)

From the above, it is obvious the Arabs did not support him. Instead, during the peaceful period his people betrayed him by pretending to claim obedience but later plotting against him to change what he actually said to them. According to the Reading, God had appointed for every prophets enemies from among the human devils and jinn devils who invent and narrate fancy words in order to deceive the people (6:112). Thus, it becomes a system in God’s deen.

And they claim obedience. Thus, as soon as they move away from you – as of by a system (min-a’in-di-ka-Bay-yaa-ta) a group from among them say things that were not narrated to them. And God records whatever they had systematically (maa-yu-Bayitu-naa) invented. Therefore turn away from them and put your trust in God. God suffices as trustee. (4:81)

On the death of the Last Prophet, the pagan Arabs did not adhere to the peacefulness propagated by him. Instead, the black stone was reinstated as the central object of worship. They withdrew from the true Islam, abandoned the Reading, and then reanimated their ancestral faith focusing on stone idols. They then deceitfully gave Muhammad a prominent place in their forefather’s religion. Muhammad became a victim of their surreptitious designs. They simply worked him into a makeover of the previous cult.

The cornerstone of the Arab religion today is a slavish reliance on what is camouflaged as the custom (sunna) of the Prophet¹. The term sunna was commonly used by the primitive Arabs to describe ancestral usage or model patterns of behaviour established by the forefathers of the tribe. They also introduced the consensus (ijma²) of the tribal assembly, which eventually embodied the beliefs and practices of the whole community.

The information incorporating these former principles and practices were falsely attributed to the Last Prophet along with the claim that they were divinely inspired to him. This ragbag of hearsay was then handed down from generation to generation as described above and now goes by the name of the Hadith of the Prophet. This catalogue of, frankly, fantastic and irrational myth forms the source of (and justification for) the widespread intolerance, fanaticism, terrorism, and extremism now attributed to this man of God. It also is the determining factor in the equally bigoted and pernicious meanings that the ‘scholars’ derive from the Reading (and upon whose pronouncements all popular translations of the Qur’an are based). The Reading anticipates this state of affairs:

God revealed the best message (ahsanal-hadis-thsi) in a form of a scripture that is consistent repeating itself. The skins of those who revered their Lord shudder from them and then the skins and their hearts soften towards remembering God. That (best message) is God’s guidance. He guides whomever He wills with it. But the one who is misguided by God will not be able to find any guidance. (39:23)

These are God’s revelation that we recite to you with the truth; which other stories (Hadis-thseen) besides God and His revelations do they believe? Woe to every inventor, the guilty. He hears God’s revelation recited to him, and then insists on his own way arrogantly, as if he never heard them. Promise him a painful retribution. (45:6-8)

The Creator who revealed the Reading did not leave any room for error. Obviously He knew in advance about His enemies who will invent false Hadith after the Reading was revealed. Like all previous messengers, the Last Prophet’s duty was to deliver God’s message. He had no authority to co-author the message. His job was restricted to delivering God’s message, committing himself to live by it and to conducting his daily life in accordance with it. His duty was to remind the people, call them to God and then take the challenge in promoting God’s consented decrees that had been revealed to him in written form in the Reading. He was warned in the strongest terms not to interfere with the message or utter any personal opinion in the name of God as far as the revelation was concerned.

If he ever made up any utterances and attributed them to Us, We would hold him by his right hand and cut his artery. None of you can protect him. (69:44-47)

Contrary to popular belief, the Last Prophet was forbidden from providing any supplementary guidance to the Reading. But the religionists claim that they have in their possession thousands of utterances of the Prophet, utterances, which represent a catalogue of barbaric and pagan laws. For example, this body of extra-Qur’anic literature includes detailed instruction on all the accoutrement any self-respecting ‘religion’ will need:

• the observance of ritual prayers

• diverse forms of worship

• pilgrimages

• animal sacrifices

• illogical and unfair punishments (e.g. stoning to death for adultery)

• physical mutilation (e.g. male and female circumcision)

• detailed instruction on the minutia of what constitutes the personal hygiene of the righteous

• conduct of rituals to cure sickness

• details of death rites and burials

• restriction of women’s value and freedom (beginning with the mandatory covering of women’s heads and ending with their practical isolation from society)

Of course there is much, much more. But as all rational, intelligent seekers of ultimate truth will be glad to hear, not one of these teachings is to be found in the Reading.

Even the religionists agree there are no details of the ritual prayer – the first pillar of their faith – in the Reading. It seems that God somehow forgot to describe the kingpin of their religion in the Reading. This was quite some oversight on His part which they argue is why we need to give our consent to their priests’ interpretation of a hotchpotch of thousands of old wives’ tales: for how else are they going to know how to pray?

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1 Non-Muslims may not realise quite how the so-called sunna (or ‘example’) of the prophet is used to dictate the pattern of life within ‘Islam’ – no matter how illogical, inappropriate or un-Qur’anic any given ‘example’ may happen to be.

2 Ijma is equivalent to the Jewish Halakhah a consensus of rabbis’ thought of how life should be lived, society should be organized and God should be served.