LET ME TURN THE TABLES!: statue of mary

Why Muslims kiss the blackstone?

One of top-ten questions about Islam and Muslims is about kissing the Black Stone and facing the Holy Ka'ba during prayers. Some say that perhaps Muslims worship Ka'ba or the Black Stone and some tend to make absurd concordances e.g. a <a href="http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-questions.htm">Christian site</a> reads: <blockquote>"My question is do you see any difference between the Muslim practice of kissing showing reverence and venerating the Black Stone and the Catholic practice of pope John Paul II kissing the statute of the Virgin Mary with reverence and veneration?"</blockquote> <div style="text-align: center;">MY RESPONSE </div> What is the Black Stone? Black Stone (al-Hajr al-Aswad) is a Holy Stone placed in the Holy Ka'ba. What is it for? When Muslims go for pilgrimage to Makkah this acts as starting point for circumambulating the Holy Ka'ba and has some symbolic significance. As I mentioned it marks the start point of the circumambulation (tawaaf) of the Holy Ka'ba. Those who circumambulate in the immediate place around Ka'ba kiss it while those who cannot make up-to it just wave their hands towards it while there are people who circle the Ka'ba even from the first, second floors as well. They follow the mark parallel to the Black Stone as the start point of the tawaaf. Had there been something too special in this stone itself than it would have been mandatory for each and every pilgrim to physically touch and kiss which is not the case. As its serves as a mark to something important so its just as if a soldier or some other person returns to his homeland after a long time so he kisses the soil of his land or shows admiration for some landmarks. Its his love, his affection for his homeland and nothing more. For itself soil is nothing, same way Black Stone for itself is nothing. Do Muslims worship the Black Stone? No Muslims don't! The purpose of the Black Stone has been described above. Further there is more historic evidence that its not an object of Worship. In one of most sad events of Islamic history the city of Makkah was sacked by the Qaramatians in the year 930 C.E. They killed many pilgrims, desecrated the holy sites and took away the Black Stone to their seat of Power at Al-Hasa in Bahrayn. It was restored in the year 952 C.E. thus for about quarter of a century the stone was displaced from its location yet neither did Muslims turn to Al-Hasa for prayers during that period neither were the obligations of Salah (ritual prayers) and Hajj (obligatory pilgrimage) suspended. If it were an object of worship much consternation would have followed the unfortunate event. Why kiss it? And we Muslims kiss it just because of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did it. Read the following Hadith, it makes the whole thing crystal clear. <div style="text-align: right;">عَنْ عَابِسِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ عَنْ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ </div><div style="text-align: right;">أَنَّهُ جَاءَ إِلَى الْحَجَرِ الْأَسْوَدِ فَقَبَّلَهُ فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ حَجَرٌ لَا تَضُرُّ وَلَا تَنْفَعُ وَلَوْلَا أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُقَبِّلُكَ مَا قَبَّلْتُكَ </div> Narrated 'Abis bin Rabia: 'Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you." (Bukhari Hadith 1494) Similar has been narrated about the First Caliph, Abu Bakr (RA). See Suyuti's Tarikh Al-Khulafa 1/35 cf. Ilal al-Darqutni Catholic concept of Mary: Contrary to the Islamic concept of showing respect to this stone what the Christians do is much more than this. Firstly, making the idols of any holy person and its revering is no way comparable to Muslim's kissing the shapeless stone which for itself signifies nothing. Secondly, Catholics do pray 'To Jesus through Mary' thus believing in her as at least an intercessor. See <a href="http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu67.htm">THIS</a> I am saying 'at least' because this is something no catholic would ever deny. There were and still are people who openly called Mary, 'the Mother God', not merely 'Mother of God'. And even today there are people still who revere and venerate her as "GOD". And such people claim to be Catholics . So showing veneration to the statue of Mary (May ALLAH bestow His blessings upon her) is nothing less than idol worship. No Muslims, even the most lunatic of them has any such belief about the Black Stone or the Holy Ka'ba. Thus such a concordance is nothing but mere absurdity. INDEED ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST!

One of top-ten questions about Islam and Muslims is about kissing the Black Stone and facing the Holy Ka'ba during prayers. Some say tha... Read More »

Why Quran calls Mary, a Sister of Aaron ?

The verse in question is; 
 
"O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!" (Al-Qur’an 19:28) 
 
It does not mean that here Qur’an calls Mary, the real sister of Aaron, the Prophet who was hundreds of years before her. Here she is only being called a female person of the family, from the Noble lineage of Prophet Aaron. 
 
The Qur’anic usage: 
 
 
In order to understand Qur’anic language one must look into other Qur’anic passages. 
 
Qur’ans calls Prophet Shoaib as the brother of the people of Midian. Qur’an says; 
 
“And unto Midian (We sent) their brother, Shu'eyb." (Al-Qur’an 7:85) 
 
And similarly Qur’an calls Prophet Salih, the brother of the people of Thamud. It says; 
 
"And unto Thamud (We sent) their brother Salih." (Al-Qur’an 11:61) 
 
In both these examples it is never meant that the Prophets were the real brothers of the each and every person of that tribe. It’s only way to address them. It means that Shu'aib was a (male) person from the people of Midian and similarly Salih from the people of Thamud. 
 
So in the very same manner when Qur’an describes Mary, the mother of Christ as 'Sister of Aaron', It means that she is being referred to as a (female) person from the people, the lineage of Prophet Aaron. 
This is infact an Arabic idiom, a way to address. In Arabia a person from the tribe Banu Mudhar may be addressed as Ya Akha Mudhar, meaning 'O the brother of Mudhar'. 
 
The Prophetic answer to this question: 
 
Mughira b. Shu'ba reported: When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read" O sister of Aaron", whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: “The (people of the old age) used to call names (of their persons) after the names of the Prophets and pious persons who had gone before them.” (Sahih Muslim, Book on General Behaviour, Hadith 3962) 
 
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) meant to say that Mary’s relationship with Prophet Aaron was mentioned because she was of his lineage for among Semites it was common to associate a person with his lineage. 
 
This fits the context as well. The people thought that Mary had done something unworthy of a chaste woman and thus as they rebuked her, they first made a reference to her noble ancestry and then testified that even her own father was no wicked person (verse 28). 
 
Observations from the Bible: 
 
1- One thing we need to consider is that Qur’an does not call Mary ‘Sister of Moses’ but ‘Sister of Aaron’. 
 
2- Aaron (PBUH) we know was the first in line for the Israelite priesthood. 
 
3- New Testament clearly tells us that Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist (PBUH) was from the lineage of Aaron (Luke 1:5). Also it tells that Mary was a cousin of Elizabeth (1:36). Therefore we can easily call them both ‘Sisters of Aaron’ i.e. from the lineage of Aaron. 
 
4- Infact we have evidence of the similar usage from the Bible. In Genesis 13:8 Abraham and Lot are called brothers while certainly they did not come from loins of one individual. It reads; 
 
“And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.” 
 
A certain Christian commentator, Adam Clarke says in his commentary to this verse; 
 
 
‘[It means] we are of the same family, worship the same God in the same way, have the same promises, and look for the same end.’ 
 
Was the same not true in case of Mary and Aaron? Were they both not from the same priestly family and of same faith? 
 
 So the conclusion is that this is only a beautiful way of expression in the Arabic language and to try to twist it some other way speaks only of ones inner wickedness and that’s all! 
 
INDEED ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST!

The verse in question is; "O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!" (Al-Qur’an 19... Read More »