Peace be to you.
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By 624 A.D.
, all mosques around the world were supposed to be facing towards Mecca city.
And yet, it took 200 years for Islam to finally get their "unity of direction of prayer" right
and point all their mosques towards Mecca city.
Something is obviously wrong here.
The historical facts are not tying up with the Islamic sources.
That is the reason scholars are now investigating why that is so.
The Qibla literally means "direction", and in Islam refers to the direction in which
every Muslim must pray towards the Kaaba in Mecca otherwise his prayers are voidable to
Allah.
Thus the error in the Qibla implies the practicing Muslim has failed to observe the command of
praying 5 times a day for Sunni Muslims or praying 3 times a day for Shia Muslims.
A Muslim scholar, in response to the question does it matter in a mistake of the direction
of Qibla, quoted al-Tirmidhi (342) and Ibn Maajah (1011) who narrated that Abu Hurayrah
said: The Messenger of Allah said: “Whatever is between the east and the west is the qiblah.
‘ Readers must bear in mind that the person was likely from Medinah and facing north towards
Syria between East and West, is acceptable.
But it will be problematic for Muslims in the East such as Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou,
China have to face West towards Makka.
To face the East or the West is permissible for urinating or defecating, not for prayers!
Al-Bukhaari (144) and Muslim (264) quoted from Abu Ayyoob said that the Prophet said:
“If you need to relieve yourself, then do not face the qiblah or turn your back towards
it, whether you are urinating or defecating, rather face to the East or to the West.”
If facing the direction of prayer, anywhere between East and West is acceptable as the
right Qibla, then the same principle as facing Syria as the Qibla would fall into the path
of Petra city first before reaching Israel.
Imagine, a Muslim who lives in Guangzhou in China may turn his face to Mecca but there
are many temples of idols in the path to Mecca.
The prayers of a Muslim should be void because he is praying towards a church, or Buddhist's
temple along the path to Mecca.
In fact, nowhere in the Torah and the Gospel of Jesus contains an instruction to pray towards
Jerusalem's temple because God foresees an impractical thing to do so.
But in the Quran Chapter Al-Baqarah 2:145, Allah restricts the qibla to the sacred mosque
in the home city of Muhammad, which is pleased to him.
The non-Muslims historians who wrote about early Muslims were facing Petra city as the
first qibla falls within the limits for qibla in the words delivered by Muhammad.
Translation of Malik's Muwatta, Book 14, Number 14.3.7.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed towards the Baytal-Maqdis
for sixteen months after arriving in Madina.
Then the qibla was moved, two months before the battle of Badr.
‘ But Baital Maqdis is not Jerusalem since Sham or Syria was mentioned by Al-Tabari as
the direction of the prayer of Muhammad.
Classic Islamic history tells us that Muhammad first taught Muslims to pray towards Syria
after his migration to Medinah in 622 A.D., but then supposedly received a revelation
from Allah changing the direction of prayer to Mecca instead.
This change was made in 624 A.D.
.
The arrows in this map show where the Qiblas of the mosques were pointing in the earliest
days of Islam to Petra just before the death of Muhammad.
As you can see, they point towards neither Syria nor Mecca, but to Petra city.
Here is a satellite view of the Great Mosque of Guangzhou in China reportedly built in
630 A.D. in the life time of Muhammad, and whose Qibla points the Muslims to pray towards
Petra city.
The Qibla of the Humeima Mosque in southwestern Jordan points toward Petra city.
The Qibla of the Great Mosque Ba'albek in Lebanon points towards Petra city.
The Qibla of the Great Mosque of Sana'a built in Yemen in 705 A.D.
points towards Petra city.
The Qibla of the Al Aqsa Mosque built in Jerusalem in 709 A.D.
points towards Petra city.
The Qibla of the Damascus Mosque built in Syria also in 709 A.D.
points towards Petra city.
The Qibla of the Anjar Mosque built in Beirut in 714 A.D.
points towards Petra city.
The Qibla of the Mosque of Umar built in Syria in 720 A.D.
points towards Petra city.
In 727 A.D., a mosque was finally built in Banbhore, Pakistan, the Qibla of which points
towards Mecca city.
That is 103 years after Muhammad's supposed revelation changing the direction from Syria
to Mecca.
But, about a year later, the al-Sharqi Mosque is built in Syria that still points towards
Petra city.
The Mushatte Mosque in Amman was built in 743 A.D., and it was still facing Petra city.
The Ribat Fortress in Tunisia was built in 770 A.D., and it faced neither Petra nor Mecca.
It was the same with the Cordoba Mosque in Spain, built in 784.
Its Qibla pointed towards neither Petra or Mecca.
The same for the Great Mosque of Kairouan, built in 817 AD.
In conclusion, the conflict between history, archaeology and the classical account of Islam's
beginnings is etched in stone, no pun intended.
There is no explanation in the Islamic sources for the original Qibla faced towards Petra
city and closer to Madain Saleh than Medinah and Makka, nor any explanation as to why there
is no valley in Mecca, or a stream, or fields, trees or grass, clay or loam, and no pillar
of salt.
Dan Gibson also points out that there are no olive trees whatsoever in all of Saudi
Arabia.
On the other hand, Petra city has trees, fields and olive trees.
The Bible continues to amaze many with its historical accuracy, attention from scholars,
historians and reliable archaeologists.
But the claims made in the Quran and Islamic sources have nothing to support them.
In fact, the archaeological evidence discredits all claims of Muslim scholars that Makka existed
in Saudi Arabia since the time of Abraham in 2000 BCE.
In 2002, Dan Gibson had asked several leading Jordanian and Saudi archeologists about the
archeological record in and around Mecca.
While not wishing to be quoted or named publicly, they admitted that the Meccan archeological
record before 900 A.D. is basically non-existent.
The Islamic historian such as Al Tabari lived from 839 to 923 A.D., wrote the Biography
of Muhammad about 250 years after his death and described when the subject of qibla came
up during pre-Islamic days, Muhammad directed them to pray towards Syria.
Al Tabari wrote Islamic history according to the hadiths and traditions that had come
down to him, and there was no eye-witness for his verification.
Gibson documents that the Qur'an, early hadiths and early Islamic histories never say that
the qibla was towards Jerusalem.
The qibla of Jerusalem doesn’t appear in Islamic literature until over 300 years after
Muhammad died.
All of the early records simply state that Muhammad prayed towards Syria.
Dan Gibson, author of Quranic Geography, believes that the first qibla pointed towards Petra,
and that this was called “Syria” by most Arabs, because Petra was a city in the Roman
province of Syria.
It would be similar to saying one prayed towards Ontario in one sentence and then towards Toronto
in another.
In this case either Bukhari or perhaps a later unnamed editor inserted Jerusalem into the
text, but failed to change the earlier reference to Sham (Damascus).
By looking at the map of Syria at the time of Roman Empire between year 600 A.D. and
700 A.D., Jordan was then known as Syria or Sham in Arabic.
As Petra City is located in Syria known to the Arabs at the time of Muhammad, it makes
perfect sense that the Qibla was pointing north towards Syria from Medinah and not towards
Jerusalem city as the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed since 70 A.D. and nothing remains
except for the ruins.
The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is believed to be constructed later to mark the boundary
of the Jerusalem Temple.
Islamic scholars several hundred years after Muhammad’s death inform us
that the original qibla pointed to Jerusalem.
They insist that when Muhammad received the revelation of Sura 2 that he
stood in the Medina mosque, and turned, and faced south instead of north (towards Syria).
The Qur'an however, gives us no clue as to the direction of the old qibla, or even of
the new qibla, except that it is towards the sacred mosque.
But Quran Chapter 2 : 143 - 145 says it was a test to use the Qibla of the People of the
Book and then reverted to his original qibla called the sacred mosque.
No mosque has ever existed in Jerusalem city or the Temple Mount until Al Aqsa mosque was
built in 709 A.D.
.
But the qibla of Al Aqsa faced towards Petra city and not towards Makka city as the orientation
of the mosque was built to face Petra city.
No man can change the foundations alignment of the mosque once it was laid and this important
fact means archaeological evidence is more trustworthy than books.
The conclusion drawn by Dan Gibson is thought provoking that the original Mecca City is
actually Petra City.
He wrote his conclusion as follows:
All of this stands in contrast to the archeological, historical and literary evidence that indicates
the qibla changed seventy years after the Hijra, and that this change was gradually
accepted over the next one hundred years.
There are also strong indicators that later writers tampered with sacred texts and constructed
new histories that supported their theories.
What really happened twelve hundred years ago in Arabia?
When comparing the geography presented to us by the Abbasid writers with archeological
evidence as well as literary and historical records, something doesn’t match up.
The only conclusion I come to is that Islam was founded in northern Arabia in
the city of Petra.
It was there that the first parts of the Qur'an were revealed before the faithful were forced
to flee to Medina.
Thus, the prophet Muhammad never visited Mecca, nor did any of the first four rightly guided
caliphs.
Mecca was never a centre of worship in ancient times, and was not part of the ancient trade
routes in Arabia.
All down through history the Arabs made pilgrimages to the holy sites in the city of Petra, which
had many ancient temples and churches.
It was in Petra that 350 idols were retrieved from the rubble after an earthquake and set
up in a central courtyard.
It was in Petra that Muhammad directed the destruction of all the idols except one, the
Black Stone.
This stone remained in the Ka’ba in Petra until it was later taken by the followers
of Ibn al-Zubayr deep into Arabia to the village of Mecca for safe keeping from the Umayyad
armies.
And today it is to this stone that Muslims face, rather than to their holy city and the
qibla that Muhammad gave them.
I see no other way of interpreting the facts I discovered, be they archeological,
historical, or literary.
But these are my personal conclusions.
I am open to learning more, and discovering what really took place in ancient Arabia.
Unquote.
In fact the change of Qibla is mentioned in Quran Chapter 2 as a test for the followers
of Muhammad if they truly followed his words to face a new Qibla.
And the Qibla was reportedly reverted to his original Qibla before his death.
Quran Chapter The Cow 2 : 145 clearly commands Muhammad and his followers that they should
follow the new Qibla which differs from the Qibla used by the People of the Book.
This makes sense that the original Qibla was located in Petra and Muhammad faced towards
Syria when he was in the south in Medinah.
Muhammad might be asked to face Jerusalem in Israel further east of Petra city for 17
months and then reverted to Petra city.
If the Quran is true about the change of Qibla happened during the life time of Muhammad
and he directed his followers to do likewise, then the mosques facing Petra city prove that
it was the original sacred mosque.
The Black Stone could be removed from Petra or Bakka, by the followers of Ibn al-Zubayr
to a remote place in Saudi Arabia, around 692 A.D. in the village of Mecca for a new
Kaaba.
This may explain as to why there is no mention of Mecca in any literature until 740 AD when
it first appears in the Continuatio Byzantia Arabica.
The earthquake in 713 A.D.
turned Petra city into ruins and rubble.
And Petra city was abandoned after another earthquake in 716 A.D.
. This chain of events could compel Umayyad Dynasty to change their minds to bring the
Black Stone back to the ruined Petra city.
According to Dan Gibson, the archaeological findings show the change of Qibla took place
70 years after the death of Muhammad and it comes as no surprise that the very early Qurans
did not include these verses.
All mosques only aligned their qibla from 822 A.D.
onwards, to face the Makka city.
Two Qibla changes are noted from the Quranic Chapter 2 verses 139 - 145; first change was
towards the holy city of the People of the Book and then it was reverted to his original
qibla called the sacred mosque in Petra as supported by archeological evidence.
If you want to study this subject further, please purchase a copy of
Qur'anic Geography author by Dan Gibson, as it is complete with references, footnotes,
photos, charts, satellite images, time lines, bibliographies, and more.
It will be interesting to see the response from western as well as Islamic scholars as
they study and attempt to answer the material presented in Gibson's book.
Shalom. (07/06/2015)