The Debate between the Might and the Truth within a Quranist Vision (18):
The So-called Al-Aqsa of Jerusalem Is A Harmful Mosque, and Palestinians Will Never Be Successful as long as they Cling to It
Published in January 9, 2018
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Firstly:
1- The city of Jerusalem is never mentioned at all in the Quran; therefore, it is NEVER part of Quranic facts of Islam. Hence, to perform 'pilgrimage' to the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem has nothing to do with Islam. The only pilgrimage mentioned in the Quran is to the Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca, and this is part of the monotheistic Islamic religion of Abraham, after God has commanded him, and his son Ishmael, to build the Kaaba in this location, to purify its surroundings, and to call all people to perform pilgrimage there.
2- The so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem was built by the Umayyad caliph Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan, who chose its name from the Quranic verse 17:1, in order to distract and divert the people of the Levant region away from performing pilgrimage to Mecca when the Hejaz region was controlled by the rebel Abdullah Ibn Al-Zubayr who proclaimed himself as a caliph. For further information about this historical fact, we refer readers to two articles of ours (in English) on these links: (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=17787 / http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=17773), and we refer readers to our book (in English) titled "The Night-Journey Is The Night of Decree", found on this link: (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=112). Hence, we assert here that the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem is a harmful mosque since day one of its erection during the Umayyad Era; this edifice has been aimed at repelling people away from the Sacred Kaaba Mosque. All real monotheistic believers in God and in His Word must avoid this harmful mosque and to distance themselves from it.
3- Within the earthly, man-made religions of the Muhammadans, the authors Al-Bokhary and Moslem have fabricated this hadith (... No one is to travel for pilgrimage unless to three mosques: The Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca, my Mosque here in Yathreb, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem ...). It is quite impossible that Muhammad would have uttered this silly false hadith; he would not ascribe a mosque to himself; otherwise, this would contradict his words recorded in the Quran when he faced his Meccan people by saying: "The places of worship are for God. So do not call, besides God, upon anyone else." (72:18). Hence, Muhammad would not say the phrase (my mosque in Yathreb), because mosques in Islam are dedicated only to God and never to mortals. Besides, in the rest of the Al-Bokhary false hadith, we find words ascribed to Muhammad talking about his burial place inside the Yathreb mosque and likened it to a garden of Paradise! This is mere nonsense and balderdash of the Sunnite earthly religion. Such myths are found in various versions that differ, and their authors used to argue for and against their fabrications for a long time. This silly hadith about performing pilgrimage to both Yathreb and Jerusalem is NEVER mentioned in the first and oldest Hadiths-book titled (Al-Mowata') by Malik nor in the book titled (Al-Um) by Al-Shafei. Thus, this means that this nonsensical hadith was never known before Al-Bokhary has fabricated it (by the way, Al-Bokhary died in 256 A.H.). Of course, the Shiites reject this hadith merely because it excludes travelling to perform pilgrimage to the 'holy' Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala, among others!
4- Hence, to perform pilgrimage to any location, deemed 'holy', and to worship at it (other than the Sacred Kaaba Mosque) is sheer polytheism and disbelief. This applies to those who worship at the Yathreb abomination; i.e., the mausoleum at the Yathreb mosque ascribed falsely to Muhammad, the abomination of the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem, the abominations of Karbala and Najaf dedicated to Hussein and other household members of Ali and any imams, and the abominations of mausoleums in all other cities dedicated to imams/sheikhs/'saints'. All such abominations are the works of Satan and must be avoided by real Quranists who are monotheistic believers, as per this verse: "O you who believe! wine, gambling, mausoleums, and divination are abominations of Satan's doing. Avoid them, so that you may prosper." (5:90). Within our Quranist viewpoint, the Palestinians will never be successful in their struggle to have their own Palestinian State as long as they sanctify the abomination called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem. "And wait; we too are waiting." (11:122).
Secondly: the outright false claim and the flagrant lie that the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem is the first of two Qiblas and the third of two sacred mosques:
The Muhammadans, in their sanctification and worship of the abomination called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem, have fabricated many hadiths making it the first of two Qiblas. This is flagrant ignorance, especially that those ignoramuses quote 2:142-150 to 'prove' their scandalous falsehood. We refute such nonsensical view in the points below.
1- Pilgrimage, zakat, prayers, and fasting are the main rituals of Islam inherited from the religion of Abraham. Pilgrimage ordained by God is ONLY to Kaaba House in Mecca, and prayers are performed in the direction of the Kaaba as the Qibla. When pilgrims circle or circumambulate the Kaaba, it is prohibited to touch it so as not to turn it into a pagan idol. For further information about pilgrimage in the Quran, we refer readers to our book (in English) titled "Pilgrimage between Islam and the Muhammadans", found on this link (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=90). Before the descent/revelation of the Quran, the Kaaba was turned into a pagan idol within polytheistic rituals and practices; some companions of Muhammad, after settling in Yathreb, harbored in their hearts the polytheistic feelings of sanctification of the Kaaba as an edifice, and this ascribing sanctity or holiness to things/items/buildings is sheer polytheism. God has tested the angels by commanding them to prostrate before Adam; this command apparently seems strange, but all of the angels obeyed the divine command of Almighty God, except Iblis/Satan, and thus, the angels passed the test while Satan failed it. Likewise, real monotheistic believers obey God's commands without arguing about them; they would not, for instance, pose questions like: why are we to circle the Kaaba seven times?! Why are we commanded to consume food and then to fast?!
2- The Kaaba is merely a building made of stone and other building materials like the ones trodden with our feet; the Kaaba is not 'holy' or 'sanctified', because in real Islam, sanctification is dedicated only to God, and never to mortals or items/things. By the way, the Kaaba is a building that has been erected, demolished, and rebuilt several times in history; it is an edifice that defines a certain site and location on Planet Earth, mentioned by God in this verse: "We showed Abraham the location of the House..." (22:26), so that we perform pilgrimage there and perform prayers toward its direction as Qibla.
3- Hence, when God wanted the early believers who settled in Yathreb to remove the polytheistic feelings of sanctification toward the Kaaba, as they felt nostalgia to their homeland (i.e., Mecca) as well and focused such feelings on sanctifying the Kaaba as the Qibla direction of their daily prayers, He tested them by changing the Qibla direction temporarily to somewhere else, which is never mentioned by God in the Quran. After passing this test, God commanded them once more to return to the original Qibla: the Kaaba in Mecca.
4- God in the Quran never mentions the location of this temporary Qibla in this test for Muhammad and those believers with him in Yathreb. The focus of the Quranic text is on the reactions of others toward this divine command: "The ignorant among the people will say, "What has turned them away from the direction of prayer they once followed?" Say, "To God belong the East and the West. He guides whoever is willing to be guided to a Straight Path."" (2:142). The Qibla they were following was, of course, the Kaaba itself, and then, God commanded them to change the Qibla to another direction never mentioned in the Quran, because it is not important to be known by Quran-believing people; it is a temporary event anyway for the purpose of this test imposed on the early believers in Yathreb. After they passed this test, they returned to the original Qibla of the Kaaba as per God's command. Thus, the first Qibla they once followed is the Kaaba, the second, temporary one is unknown to us, and the third, last one is the first, original one, the Kaaba, as God commanded them later on to perform prayers toward its direction once more.
5- The aim of this test of changing the Qibla has been to distinguish those who obey God's holy command and those who disobeyed. God is the Owner of the Kaaba and Qibla, and He has the right to change the Qibla; the real believers obeyed God without questioning the divine command, so as not to be among the ignorant once who said: "...What has turned them away from the direction of prayer they once followed?...". God has refuted them in the same verse by commanding Muhammad to say the following to them: "...Say, "To God belong the East and the West. He guides whoever is willing to be guided to a Straight Path."" (2:142).
6- God asserts in the Quran that changing the Qibla (to a new location which we do not know, since it is never mentioned in the Quran) has been a test to distinguish between those believers who obey God's command and those disobedient ones who have been adamant in sticking to sanctifying the edifice of the Kaaba. "...We only established the direction of prayer, which you once followed, that We may distinguish those who follow the Messenger from those who turn on their heels. It is indeed difficult, except for those whom God has guided. But God would never let your faith go to waste. God is Kind towards the people, Merciful." (2:143).
7- The temporary changing of the direction/Qibla of the Kaaba to somewhere else saddened Muhammad, for he was a Meccan man who witnessed in his homeland, since his childhood, the events around and inside the Sacred Kaaba Mosque, the center of worship for all Arabs of Arabia. Yet, Muhammad had no other choice but to obey God's holy command, and he prayed toward the new direction/Qibla (we assert that the Quran never mentions its location, and we are never to surmise about things related to the metaphysical realm of the past never revealed by God in the Quran). Muhammad kept imploring and supplicating to God, until God answered his prayers and commanded him and the early believers in Yathreb to pray toward the Qibla of the Kaaba in Mecca once again; God has addressed Muhammad and the early believers directly in these verses, with emphasis on restoring the original Qibla of prayers: "And wherever you come from, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque. This is the Truth from your Lord, and God is not heedless of what you do. And wherever you come from, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque. And wherever you may be, turn your faces towards it. So that the people may not have any argument against you - except those who commit injustices among them. So do not fear them, but fear Me, that I may complete My Bounty upon you, and that you may be guided." (2:149-150).
8- We re-assert here that the Sacred Kaaba Mosque is the first and last Qibla for Muslims and that the temporary one of the test is unknown and will remain to be unknown since God has chosen not to tell us about its location in the Quran. Hence, it is a flagrant lie and a scandalous falsehood of the ignoramuses known as the Sunnite imams to assume that their so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem is the first of two Qiblas.
9- In fact, the false claim of the ignoramuses known as the Sunnite imams that their so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem is the third of two sacred mosques reflects truly their being negatively influenced by the notion of 'holy trinity' of Christians. It is sheer polytheism to consider the Kaaba in Mecca as the 'first' sacred mosque, the mausoleum ascribed to Muhammad in Yathreb as the 'second' sacred mosque, and the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem as the 'third' sacred mosque. It is an abomination to assume that Islam has three (or more) locations deemed as 'holy' for pilgrimage; Islam in the Quran has but one location of pilgrimage and one Qibla/direction for prayers: the Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca.
10- In fact, this Sunnite contradiction is laughter-inducing: the Sunnites make the Kaaba as no. 1 and the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem as no. 3 and then contradict their falsehood by making the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem as the no. 1 Qibla and the Kaaba as no. 2 in their silly hadiths! How silly and nonsensical indeed! Shame on those polytheistic Muhammadans!
Lastly: those who sanctify the so-called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem never support or side with the Almighty Lord God:
1- God says in the Quran: "O you who believe! If you support God, He will support you, and will strengthen your foothold." (47:7). To support the Lord God is to face and refute falsehoods and myths fabricated by the enemies of God which have been attributed by them to His Religion of Islam. Thus, the earthly, man-made religions of Sunnites, Shiites, and Sufis are mere fabrications authored by the enemies of God; hence, those believers who really support the Almighty Lord God must disown these earthly religions of Satan and use the Quran as the Only Criterion to judge, refute, and debunk them. This is what Quranists do now on the internet within their website. We personally never care to (dis)please people by our Quranist writings, and we never seek that our Quranist views would appeal to them or not. Again, we never care if most people would accept our Quranist views or would reject them. Thus, we never care for being blamed by others because we support the Almighty Lord God and His Religion of Quranism, which is True Islam.
2- As for the Palestinians, Arabs, and the rest of the Muhammadans, they will never be successful while sanctifying the abominations (i.e., the so-called al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem, the Yathreb mausoleum ascribed falsely to Muhammad, and all 'holy' edifices and sanctified mausoleums anywhere else). God will never support them or make them successful while they sanctify books and hadiths and deify their authors and other mortals (prophets, 'saints', sheikhs, imams, clergymen, etc.). Besides, all clergyman and imams of the Muhammadans are abominations that must be avoided, because they are hypocrites, and hypocrites are abominations and we must distance ourselves from them; see 9:95.
3- God makes it an emphasized general rule or a divine promise repeated in several Quranic verses; e.g., "...God supports whoever supports Him..." (22:40). Would God lend His support to the Palestinians while they support and cling to the abomination called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem?!
4- God has emphasized in the Quran His support for real, monotheistic, sincere believers in this transient world and in the Hereafter: "Most surely We will support Our messengers and those who believe, in this life, and on the Day the witnesses arise. The Day when their excuses will not profit the unjust ones, and the curse will be upon them, and they will have the Home of Misery." (40:51-52). We hope that believers would pose the following question to themselves (while bearing in mind that each person on the Last Day will be evidence against oneself, even if one would offer any excuses [see 75:14-15]): Would God support one in this world and the next while one is deifying and sanctifying mortals and things/items/relics?! Within the daily Calvary and suffering of the Palestinians in the occupied territories, would any of them pose this question to themselves: Would it be possible that God will support them in this world and the next one while they sanctify the abomination called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem, which is a harmful mosque based on myths?!
5- We are not talking here about politics at all; our concern here is to reform the Muhammadans with real Islam (i.e., Quranism). Our refutation of the abomination called Al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem pains them very much; this is a clear proof that they are up to their ears in ignorance and misguidance.
6- Has this article of ours here caused any pain or any mental or physical anguish to some Arab readers?