Topic: Bakkah (Makkah), Mecca

3:98; 14:36; 27:92: 28:58; 29:68; 106:5.

Important Words:

مصیر (destination) is derived from صار meaning, he returned, or he became. مصیر is thus a place or condition to which a person or thing comes or returns; a destination (Aqrab).

Commentary:

When Abraham offered the prayer, there was no town existing near the Ka‘bah. There existed only the House of God. So Abraham prayed that in that wildest of wildernesses there might grow up a town, and that that town might become a place of security, affording peace to mankind. In fulfilment of this prayer, there grew up the town of Mecca which has remained a place of peace and security for thousands of years. The prayer also implied that the Baitullah, would be the means of bringing peace and security to mankind. This was destined to come about in two ways: Firstly, those who accepted and followed Islam were to become secure from all evils and to become recipients of God’s blessings. Secondly, Islam was to be the means of bringing about peace and concord among the different nations of the world.

While praying to God to grant sustenance to the dwellers of Mecca, Abraham restricted his prayer only to its good and righteous dwellers. The reason for this was that when Abraham had previously prayed to God to raise Reformers and Religious Leaders from his progeny, God had replied that such men would be raised from among the righteous only (2:125). So when he prayed a second time to God to grant sustenance to the people of Mecca, he was more careful and confined his prayer to the righteous only. This shows how submissive and careful God’s Prophets are. But Abraham had now evidently become overly cautious, for this time God answered, saying, that He would grant sustenance to all men, irrespective of whether they were righteous or not, because He was the Provider for the whole universe, not for the righteous only. The wicked, however, shall be duly punished for their crimes.

Another reason why Abraham restricted his prayer to the righteous was that he wished Mecca to be the abode of the righteous alone; but God knew that even that sacred town was not going to remain untarnished throughout the long centuries of history.

2:127.

2:129.

Important Words:

الاصنام (idols) is the plural of صنم which means: (1) an idol; (2) an image of a human being or an animal that is worshipped; (3) anything that is worshipped beside God. صنم is said to be an Arabicized word, but the root from which it is formed is found and used in the Arabic language, which dispenses with the necessity of treating it as a word of foreign origin. The Arabs say صنمت الرائحة i.e. the smell became foul. صنم العبد (sanama) means, the slave became strong. صنم الرجل (sanuma) means, the man gave out a sound. As idols or statues generally represented strongly-built men, they were called اصنام.

The proper grammatical form would be صنم (sanim) but the word in actual use is صنم (sanam). There is, however, nothing strange about this, for such exceptional uses are not rare in the Arabic language, e.g. instead of Masjad, the Arabs use the form Masjid (Lane & Aqrab.)

Commentary:

After having dealt with the fact that all the Prophets of antiquity succeeded in their mission without the aid and assistance of material means, the Quran proceeds in this verse to deal with the success of the Holy Prophet’s mission in similar circumstances. The subject is introduced with an account of Abraham, the great ancestor of the Holy Prophet, in order to point out that the foundations for the success of the Prophet of Islam were laid thousands of years back. This is what is intended by making reference to the prayer of Abraham while he was settling Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, in the valley of Mecca. The verse points out that it was necessary that the people of Mecca should have been favoured with a revealed Book and should not have been left in darkness, for a promise to that effect had been made to Abraham long ago and God does not fail in His promises.

Abraham’s prayer, referred to in the present verse, shows that he knew that idolatry would one day prevail in Mecca and the country around it. Hence his anxiety for the protection of his progeny against idol-worship. When the prayer was offered, there was no trace of idolatry in Mecca, which at that time consisted only of the house of Ishmael and his followers.

The verse also hints that idolatry and worship of the One God prevail in the world in cycles. Worshippers of God gradually take to idolatry while those addicted to idolatry become transformed into worshippers of the One God. Even a people who adore God in the fullest and the truest sense of the word cannot be said to become proof against idol-worship; for, by and by, the shades of idol-worship advance and the light of day gives place to the darkness of night. This state of affairs contradicts the theory advanced by students of Comparative Religion, viz. that belief in One God has evolved from belief in, and worship of, many deities. It appears from the Quran that alternate cycles of God-worship and idol-worship come on the world and that the former always precedes the latter. According to this view, belief in the Unity of God is founded on Divine revelation, while idolatry must be regarded as a perverted form of it. As opposed to it, students of Comparative Religion hold that the idea of God is only the outcome of fear and bewilderment and that out of polytheism belief in One God has evolved. There is a basic and interesting difference between these two points of view. According to the one, it is God Who created man; while, according to the other, it was man who created God, i.e. the idea of God originated in the human brain. The truth undoubtedly lies with the first-mentioned point of view.

Another interesting question requires to be answered here viz. why did Abraham pray for personal protection against idol-worship? Says he, keep me and my children away from worshipping idols. Was it at all possible for him to stoop to shirk? The answer to this question is that man has been endowed with two kinds of powers. First, there are powers which are embodied in the nature of man. With regard to these, he offers no prayers to God. For instance, man never prays that his head may ever remain one and may never be transformed into two. Secondly, there are powers which he acquires by his own exertion or which he receives as a special gift from God and which distinguish him from his fellow beings. As these favours are subject to degeneration or diminution, he has to pray to God for their preservation, even though he may have received a promise from God that they will remain intact, for the prayer is also intended to signify that these gifts are not his personal possession but are God’s special favours. It is for this reason that the Prophets never cease to pray to God even with regard to matters pertaining to their position or their function as God’s Messengers. The prayer of the Holy Prophet asking for increase in knowledge (20:115) is a case in point. The prayers of the Prophets for استغفار (forgiveness) or their توبة (repentance) also belong to this class of prayers. These prayers do not show, as has been erroneously supposed, that the Prophets who offered these prayers were sinners. On the contrary, the prayers are offered so that the favours of God may continue to be conferred on them, for it is on the mercy and grace of God that their continuance depends. This is why the Quran repeatedly bids believers to repose their trust in God, for to whatever spiritual heights a man may attain, he must always rely on the help of God and not on his own powers, for there is always the possibility of his fall. Indeed, it is through their trust in God that the Faithful attain to perfection, and the constant confession of their own weaknesses combined with their dependence on God’s help serves to protect them from backsliding.

30:44; 106:4.

Commentary:

One of the major causes of the opposition of Meccans to the Holy Prophet was that they believed that if idol worship disappeared from Arabia, Mecca (or the Ka‘bah) being the repository of all their well-known idols will lose its importance and consequently they will also lose the prestige and influence they had enjoyed in Arabia as the custodians of the Ka‘bah. The present verse disabuses their minds of this false notion and purports to say that being the centre of a world movement and of the last message for all mankind, Mecca, far from losing its importance, will, on the contrary, immeasurably add to its prestige and will continue to be respected and revered till the end of time.

2:127; 14:38.

Commentary:

The verse seeks to dispel the unfounded fears particularly of those Meccans who think that if they accepted the new message, more powerful people will swoop down upon them and deprive them of their possessions and freedom. It purports to say that from time immemorial Mecca (which is now going to be the centre of the new Faith) has remained a safe sanctuary and those whoever sought to interfere with its sacred character themselves met with ruin and destruction. When such is the case why should the Meccans be afraid that if they accepted the new Faith they will suffer economically or politically? The fact that Mecca has remained a safe sanctuary throughout the ages amidst all the great changes that have come over the face of the earth bears a standing testimony to the truth of the prophecy that God has made it a haven of safety.

16:73.

Commentary:

This verse constitutes a standing testimony to Ka‘bah being God’s own Sacred House. Ever since the advent of Islam when it was Divinely declared to be humanity’s everlasting Qiblah and even in the days of Ignorance when the Arabs had no respect for human life, the territory called the Haram—the precincts of the Ka‘bah, remained a haven of safety. While there was no safety outside, complete security and peace reigned in it.

52:5; 95:4.

Commentary:

According to some authorities, the particle لا has been used here to draw pointed attention to the subject which is about to be introduced. According to them, the meaning of the verse is: "Listen! Listen! I call to witness this city." Some other scholars think that the verse signifies that the subject which is going to be introduced is so clear and obvious that it needs no swearing to support it. Yet according to another school the particle is intended to refute an understood objection and the meaning of the verse is: "Not that thou art a forger, as the disbelievers think. Thou art not a forger but a true Prophet of God and this city is called to bear witness to this fact." But more appropriately the verse would mean something like this: "You harbour evil designs about Islam, O, disbelievers! I know what is in your minds, but I tell you that it would never happen as you desire, and I cite this city as a witness to this fact."

90:2.

Commentary.

The Fig, the Olive, Mount Sinai and "this City of Security" have been invoked as witnesses to support and substantiate the claim made in the Surah that the Holy Prophet will succeed in his mission. Various views have been expressed as to what is meant by these things and how they support the above-mentioned claim. Here are some of these views:

1. "The Fig" and "the Olive" are symbolic of Jesus, "Mount Sinai" of Moses; and "this City of Security" of the Holy Prophet. These three verses together point to the well-known Biblical reference, viz. "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir with them; and He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them. (Deut. 33:2).

2. "The Fig" is symbolic of the Mosaic Dispensation and "the Olive" of the Islamic Dispensation. In the Bible good people and the bad among the Israelites have been likened to two baskets of good and bad figs (Jer. chap. 24:1-5); and in the Quran Islamic teaching has been likened to "the oil of a blessed olive tree which is neither of the East nor of the West" (24:36). This simile has been further expressed in more concrete form by the words "Mount Sinai" and "this City of Security." The simile is very apt, since "the Fig" and "the Olive" are both used as medicines and as articles of food, with this difference that the former tastes sweet but rots very soon while the latter is used as fruit, its oil is in general use and when mixed with condiments it preserves and protects pickled articles from rotting and decaying.

3. According to some commentators "the Fig" stands for Buddhism, "the Olive" for Christianity, "Mount Sinai" for Judaism and "this City of Security" for the Holy Prophet of Islam.

4. But perhaps the best explanation of the symbolism used in these verses is the one according to which the four words represent four periods in the history of human evolution, "the Fig" representing the era of Adam, "the Olive" that of Noah, "Mount Sinai" that of Moses and "this City of Security" the Islamic epoch. This explanation finds ample support from the Bible and the Quran. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and found themselves naked, they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (Gen. 3:7). About Noah we read: "And the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo! in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth" (Gen. 8:11) And it is an accepted fact that Moses received the Divine Law on Mount Sinai and that Mecca, the birthplace of Islam was, from time immemorial, regarded as, and proved to be, the "City of Security." These four periods represent the four cycles through which man had to pass to reach the stage of complete development. In the cycle of Adam the foundations of human civilization were laid. Noah was the founder of the Shari‘ah. In the cycle of Moses the details of the Shari‘ah were revealed, while with the advent of the Holy Prophet the Divine Law became complete and perfect in all its manifold aspects, and man attained his complete intellectual, social, moral and spiritual development.

The verse signifies that the circumstances of the Holy Prophet resemble those of Adam, Noah and Moses. Like them he will suffer hardships in the beginning and like them will succeed in the end.