Ladies and Gentlemen, familiarize yourself with the Black Stone of Islam, located at the Kaaba in Mecca:
Come on, admit it, it kind of looks like the "Little Man in the Boat", doesn't it?
The Black Stone (called الحجر الأسود al-Hajar-ul-Aswad in Arabic) is an Islamic holy relic. It is one of the cornerstones of the Kaaba, the ancient stone building towards which all Muslims pray. The Kaaba is located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where it is surrounded by the enormous Masjid al-Haram, the Grand Mosque.
The Black Stone is comparatively small, being roughly 50 cm (19.7 in.) in diameter. However, it can be recognized instantly by the large silver band that surrounds it.
When pilgrims circle the Kaaba as part of the ritual of the Hajj, many of them try, if possible, to stop and kiss the Black Stone.
The Stone is actually broken into several pieces, damage which occurred when the stone was stolen in 930. Ismaili (Qarmatian) warriors sacked Mecca and carried the Black Stone away. It was returned twenty-two years later. In the process, the Black Stone was cracked. It is now held together by the silver band, which is fastened by silver nails to the Stone.
Significance of the Black Stone
There are various opinions as to the status and meaning of the Black Stone.
Many Muslims regard the Stone as 'just a stone'. When Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph, came to kiss the stone, he said, in front of all assembled: "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither harm anyone nor benefit anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Messenger kissing you, I would not have kissed you."[1] Many Muslims follow Umar: they pay their respects to the Black Stone in a spirit of trust in Muhammad, not with any belief in the Black Stone itself.
Some say that the stone is best considered as a 'marker', useful in keeping count of the ritual circumambulations one has performed (tawaf).
Other Muslims are more willing to believe that the Stone itself has some supernatural powers. They believe that it fell from the sky during the time of Adam and Eve, and that it has the power to cleanse worshippers of their sins by absorbing them into itself. They say that the Black Stone was once a pure and dazzling white; it has turned black because of the sins it has absorbed over the years.
Still others believe that the stone can only erase the believer's minor sins. On the Day of Judgement, the Stone will testify before God (Allah) in favor of those who kissed it.
These last could perhaps be regarded as folk beliefs, not necessarily shared by all Muslims. It is unclear how widely they are held.
The Stone was an object of veneration in pre-Islamic days. Early chroniclers say that the Kaaba was rebuilt during Muhammad's youth, and that there was some contention among the Quraysh, Mecca's ruling clan, as to who should have the honor of raising the Black Stone to its place in the new structure. Muhammad is said to have suggested that the Stone be placed on a cloak and that the various clan heads jointly lift the cloak and put the Stone into place. Secular historians see this tale as a later glorification of Muhammad, but agree that it accurately represents the pre-Islamic status of the Black Stone.
The Black Stone's origin
Just as there are various viewpoints regarding the religious significance of the Stone, there are also various opinions as to the history and nature of the Stone.
Muslims say that the Stone was found by Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Ishmael (Ismail) when they were searching for stones with which to build the Kaaba. They recognized its worth and made it one of the building's cornerstones.
Secular historians point to the history of stone worship, and especially meteorite worship, in pre-Islamic Arabia, and say that it is likely that the Stone is a meteorite. There is no way to test this hypothesis without removing and examining the Stone, which would not be permitted by its guardians
Ain't nothing weird about stone worship.
Have you hugged a rock today? How does this stupid Islam get converts?
ReplyDeleteMuslims continually accuse Christians of polytheism because of the three-fold aspect of the Godhead (Holy Trinity), which they wilfully misrepresent as three separate gods. Devotion to the Virgin Mary is also seen as another form of polytheism, made worse because she's a woman!
ReplyDeleteThey also accuse Christians of idolatry because of veneration of statues, icons, crucifixes and the symbol of the cross.
Yet if you dig into Islam deep enough you'll find lots of real polytheism, like Allah's three daughters (no wonder Salman Rushdie got a five-star fatwa for drawing attention to this little secret that Muslims would rather not have discussed) see:
http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-allahs-daughters.htm
There are other idolatrous and polytheistic tendencies, such as the idolatrous reverence for the Koran (it's only pigment on cellulose) and the cloying reverence for the Pedophile himself as the 'Perfect Man'. Then you've got Mecca-worship five times a day (why do they prostrate to a city? Anglicans don't prostrate to Canterbury or Catholics to Rome)
And when you chuck in the Shia belief in the intercession of dead Mullahs and the immortal Mahdi who lives down a well (this always cracks me up - I can't help thinking of the Simpsons episode) . As I was saying, if you chuck all this lot together with the kissy-face rock-the-kasbah meteorite, you've got a polytheistic pantheon that your average ancient Roman would envy.
Religion of Pieces, why do you know so much about Islam?
ReplyDeleteBecause I visit Jihadwatch/Dhimmiwatch daily.
ReplyDeleteFritz said "I am much more interested in how Islam gets along with the rest of the world, and not at all concerned with counting gods and demigods and devils in various religions."
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately how Islam gets on with the rest of the world is determined by its hypocritical obsession with idolatry and polytheism in other religions while concealing its own pagan (Satanic?) origins.
The Ummah doth protest too much methinks. Remember Bamiyan
Well put, ROP.
ReplyDeleteFritz, I agree that really what matters is whether Islam can get along with the rest of the world, but ROP has the answer right there, in my opinion.
Additionally, I must say, that I don't think this is a "sacred stone," to them. They worship the Kaaba and the Black Stone. Just like they worship Mohammed.
They are pagans, in my opinion.
Gormless: *Snicker* I prefer the sparkley green gods, myself. Sooo pretty. . .
ReplyDeleteReligion of pieces: Satanic?--No doubt about it. One of my few fields of expertise would be in my hobby of angelology. Studying the many accepted encounters with Archangel Gabriel, one finds that among all of them, "one of these is not like the other, one of these does not belong." In fact, that one had far more in common with accounts of demonic possesion than angelophany.
As it is said, the fruit of the tree is how you know. There is no doubt that dear Gabriel was a victim of identity theft.
Gormless,
ReplyDeleteOh, what a tragedy were a lady ever to lose her God.
But then, while there may be some sentimental value attatched, truth is, all Gods can be replaced.
Gee, I'm so offended I think I will go on a worldwide temper tantrum of burning and looting and killing.
ReplyDeleteDoes that sound like a good idea, Mr. Muslim?