Response to the claim that Muslims’ veneration of the Kaaba and the Black Stone is pagan worship
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
, and with Him we seek help.
At the end of this post, the Christian response says: God Almighty says : {For the security of the Quraysh (1) Their security in winter and summer journeys (2) So let them worship the Lord of this House (3) Who has fed them, against hunger, and made them safe, against fear (4)} (Quraysh) and from the interpretation of Ibn Kathir : So let them worship the Lord of this House (3) Then He guided them to thank Him for this great blessing, saying: (So let them worship the Lord of this House) meaning: So let them unify Him in worship, as He made for them a safe sanctuary and a sacred house, as God Almighty said: (I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this city, who has made it sacred, and to Him belongs all things, and I have been commanded to be of the Muslims) [An-Naml: 91] His statement: (Who fed them when they were hungry) means: He is the Lord of the House, and He is “Who fed them when they were hungry and made them safe from fear” means: He favored them with security and concessions, so they should worship Him alone, with no partner for Him, and they should not worship an idol, a rival, or a statue besides Him. Therefore, whoever responds to this command, Allah will combine for him the security of this world and the security of the Hereafter, and whoever disobeys Him, He will take them both away from him ... We do not pray towards the Kaaba , but we pray to Allah in the direction of the Kaaba, and there is a big difference {So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it. And indeed, those who were given the Scripture know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.} (Al-Baqarah: 144) The response at the end of the post is a Christian
The claim that the veneration of the Black Stone is pagan worship (*)
The content of the doubt:
Some sophists claim that the Muslims’ veneration of the Kaaba (by circumambulating it) and their veneration of the Black Stone (by kissing and touching it) is a type of paganism and idolatry; because in their opinion the Black Stone was an idol among the idols that were in the Kaaba, but it remained like the other idols in the year of the conquest. With this veneration - of the Kaaba and the Black Stone - the Muslims’ worship of stones is equal to the worship of the ignorant infidels who thought that it brought them closer to Allah. Muhammad adopted this custom when he established the rituals of his religion, and made the Kaaba the center of these rituals when facing it in every prayer. They ask: If Islam is a religion of monotheism, then why did it maintain the veneration of the Kaaba, the Black Stone, and all the rituals of Hajj that are of pagan origin?! Two ways to refute the doubt:
Details:
First. The rituals of Hajj are compliance with the command of Allah - the Almighty - not the worship of the Kaaba:
Worship in the Islamic concept includes the meaning of submission, humiliation, obedience, and submission. When a servant worships something, he must submit and humble himself before it, and stand before it weak and humiliated, not having control over anything. Whoever worships something, regardless of its nature, believes that it has a supernatural power whose effect is reflected in reality. Thus, the worshipper draws closer to his deity in the hope of benefit or to ward off harm, and at the same time he believes that neglecting the rights of this deity, or abandoning his worship, will result in harm and its occurrence as a type of punishment. His command is answered, and so is his prohibition, meaning that he obeys what he commands him to do and leaves what he prohibits him from doing.
Appreciation and respect, not submission and humiliation:
From the above brief concept of worship, we can realize that Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or the Black Stone . They do not submit to them or humiliate themselves, but rather they appreciate and respect them. They do not receive any orders or prohibitions from the Kaaba or the Black Stone, because they do not harm or benefit, and nothing comes from them that could be guidance or direction. Rather, kissing and appreciating this stone is to achieve following the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and it has no connection to worship in any way. Rather, Muslims who kiss the Black Stone believe that no one has the power to harm or benefit except God Almighty. They deny the existence of any intrinsic authority in creatures, whatever it may be. They also believe that the relationship between the creature and the Creator is a direct relationship in which there is no intermediary, and that the servants do not need an intercessor to whom they may turn to in order to draw closer to God - the Almighty - rather, they consider this to be major polytheism that takes one out of the fold of Islam. The rituals of Hajj are from the religion of Abraham - peace be upon him - the destroyer of idols: Hajj is from the religion of Abraham - peace be upon him - for he began the Hajj to the Sacred House of God, since God commanded him to announce the Hajj to the people: “And proclaim to the people the Hajj. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every distant pass (27) that they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of God on known days over what He has provided for them of sacrificial animals” (Al-Hajj). Abraham - peace be upon him - is the one who began the Hajj, and someone like him is not accused of worshipping idols; because he is the one who destroyed them and turned them into pieces, and thus revived the pure religion, the religion of monotheism: “Then We revealed to you, [O Muhammad], to follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists” (123) (Al-Nahl). Pagan rituals forbidden by Islam:
Moreover, when the people of ignorance introduced some pagan rituals and some unacceptable rites into the Hajj, such as circumambulating the Kaaba naked, Islam came and abolished them and prohibited circumambulating the Kaaba naked. This was in the ninth year of the Hijra, when our master Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, announced: “No polytheist shall perform Hajj after this year, and no one shall circumambulate the Kaaba naked.”[1]
Among their rituals was that each tribe had a Talbiyah, such as their saying: “Here I am, O God, here I am. Here I am, you have no partner, except a partner who is yours, you own him and what owns you.” By this partner they meant “idols.” Islam came and kept the essence of all the Talbiyahs and united them in the customary Talbiyah: “Here I am, O God, here I am, here I am, you have no partner, here I am. Indeed, all praise and blessings are yours and
all dominion, you have no partner.”[2] The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to say: “The best thing that I and the prophets before me have said is: There is no god but God, alone, with no partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is over all things omnipotent.”[3]
This is one of the objectives of Islam in Hajj, as it decided to establish monotheism and eliminate the rituals of polytheism, so Hajj was sincere and completely purified from all manifestations of polytheism. Likewise, we find that the pre-Islamic people believed that the idols and statues they worshipped brought them closer to Allah - the Almighty - and interceded for them with Him. Allah the Almighty says, explaining this: “ And those who take protectors besides Him [saying], ‘We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah.’” ( Az-Zumar: 3), and Allah the Almighty says: “ And they worship besides Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, ‘These are our intercessors with Allah.’” (Yunus: 18).
This is a form of pagan sanctification that descends from explicit, direct worship to the rank of seeking intercession with an idol as a way of drawing closer to Allah the Almighty. Islam, however, does not approve of it or accept it, and condemns them for this form of reprehensible glorification and fabricated worship.
There is no better evidence of Islam’s position on paganism and its fight against its manifestations in every way than the testimony of a group of non-Muslims to this fact, such as Gustave Le Bon, who said: “Islam alone can boast that it was the first religion to introduce monotheism to the world.”[4]
The gist of the matter is that The millstone of worship revolves around two basic issues: complete love with utmost humility and submission. Whoever loves something but does not submit to it is not a worshipper of it, and whoever submits to something without loving it is also not a worshipper of it. It is known that the rituals of Hajj direct all love and humility to Allah - the Almighty - not to the Black Stone or the built Kaaba. It is appropriate to say: Whoever worships something undoubtedly sees in his deity that he is higher and better than it. We know that the sanctity of the believer is greater than the sanctity of the Kaaba, and even greater than the sanctity of the entire world, as came in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar - may Allah be pleased with them - that he said about the Kaaba: “How great you are and how great is your sanctity, and the believer is more sacred to Allah than you” [5]. This is worthy of clarifying the truth of the Islamic idea about these rituals and the meaning of Muslims performing them. Let us pause to ponder, did not the Arabs in their pre-Islamic era take many gods from different things, and yet they did not take the Black Stone as a god besides God, but they gave it sanctity and status, considering it one of the inherited remains of the Kaaba that was built by Abraham and Ishmael - peace be upon them - so if this was the state of the Arabs in their pre-Islamic era, then where is the mind when this is attributed to the Muslims?! The Black Stone is a block of stone
Blackish, oval in shape, located at the base of the Kaaba’s structure in its southeastern corner. It is recommended to touch and kiss it when performing Tawaf. Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “ The Black Stone descended from Paradise, and it was whiter than milk, but the sins of the sons of Adam blackened it.”[6] Some texts have also proven the encouragement to kiss it and the statement that it will testify on the Day of Resurrection for whoever touched it in truth, and that sins will be erased by it. In the hadith: “Touching the Stone and the Yemeni Corner will erase sins completely.”[7] And in the hadith: “By God, God will resurrect it on the Day of Resurrection with two eyes with which he sees, and a tongue with which he speaks, testifying for whoever touched it in truth.”[8] Secondly. The reality of the Black Stone and its status in Islam: The Black Stone acquired this distinction - the distinction of its veneration - because God Almighty commanded it to be kissed. If that command had not been intended, no one would have kissed it. The Sharia commands submission to Allah and acceptance of what the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - brought with submission and the absence of embarrassment. God Almighty says: “And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from” (Al-Hashr: 7). God Almighty also says: “And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any option in their decision” (Al-Ahzab: 36). Kissing the Black Stone was reported from the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and it is as God Almighty said: “Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination (3). It is only a revelation revealed (4) taught to him by one mighty in strength (5)” (An-Najm). So the wisdom behind the permissibility of kissing the Black Stone, circumambulation, and stoning is to test the servants and show servitude; so that the Muslim knows that there is no choice with the command of God and the command of His Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - for the Sharia of God is what forbade the worship of stones, trees, and idols and forbade drawing near to Him by anything other than that. It is the Sharia of God that commanded circumambulation around the Sacred House and prescribed kissing the Black Stone . This is why the statement of Omar - may God be pleased with him - came: “Had I not seen the Messenger of God kissing you, I would not have kissed you.”[9] Kissing the Black Stone is a symbolic language: This kiss is in fact a symbolic act. Hajj is distinguished by its symbolic language. For example, throwing stones at the Jamarat is a symbol of resisting evil represented by Satan. The Muslim follows the example of Abraham, peace be upon him, when he threw stones at Satan when he tried to dissuade him from slaughtering his son, so he threw stones at him. Likewise, when we throw stones at the Jamarat, we imagine that we are throwing stones at Satan and resisting evil. Even the common Muslims almost imagine that the one they are throwing stones at is Satan, “as if they see him,” and they say: This is the big Satan, the medium Satan, and the small Satan. This is a symbolic act. Man, by his nature and instinct, needs to represent meanings in a tangible image, and God - the Almighty - knows best about His creation. Did He not say: “Does He not know who created, while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted?” (14) (Al-Mulk). So the servant’s glorification of God and his declaration of his submission to Him and his acquiescence to His command, He - the Almighty - made it in tangible images; so that its symbolic significance would achieve the meaning of servitude, and satisfy the human emotion and inclination to express these meanings in a tangible image.
The Kaaba, the Sacred House, and others are symbolic tangible images of spiritual truths. The Kaaba was made in worship, and in prayer in particular, a center of glorification, reverence, and veneration, not for itself, but for the worship of God. It was made one in one place; to give - also - along with the meaning of worship, the meaning of indicating the method of the Oneness of God Almighty.
In short, worship is not for the Kaaba, nor for the Black Stone , but for God. And from His mercy and wisdom, He made some of the meanings of this servitude manifest in a tangible image; so that this would be consistent with the nature and instinct of man in expressing meanings and feelings in tangible images. It may be said - after all of this - that the wisdom behind this kiss lies in the connection between the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and his nation. It is a connection of a special kind, a spiritual and existential connection, as if he - may God bless him and grant him peace - kissed the Black Stone so that this would be like a physical and sensory connection between him and his nation. Wasn’t he the one who said: “I wish I had met my brothers” [10], and in another narration: “I wish I had seen our brothers” [11]. However, the Orientalists who consider kissing the Black Stone to be a remnant of paganism do not know the wisdom behind it, which is the love of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - for his beloved ones whom he did not see and who did not see him, and who believed in him, and those who would come after him. The Companions - may God be pleased with them - saw the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - and shook hands with him and heard the revelation sent down to him from his noble mouth. As for the believers after them, they did not keep up with these tangible events, and they believed in them despite not seeing them. Perhaps the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - wanted to imprint on the forehead of everyone One of them is like a medal; honoring them for their faith and love for this religion by kissing the Black Stone , as if this stone became a mediator between them to convey these feelings and give them this high medal. From the above we realize that Muslims did not worship the Black Stone or sanctify it, but rather they follow the Sunnah of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and appreciate and respect it. Conclusion:
- Worship includes the meaning of submission, humility and obedience. The servant should submit and humble himself before his God and draw near to Him in the hope of benefit or to ward off harm. Muslims do not humble themselves or submit to the Kaaba or the Black Stone, because they do not harm or benefit. Rather, they appreciate and respect them in compliance with the command of God and His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace.
- The pilgrimage to the Sacred House of God began when God commanded Abraham, peace be upon him, to call people to perform the pilgrimage. He, peace be upon him, was the one who initiated the pilgrimage, and Abraham cannot be accused of worshipping idols, as he was the one who destroyed them and the founder of the pure religion that the monotheists followed after him.
- The people of the Age of Ignorance introduced some pagan rituals into the Hajj, but Islam came and abolished them and kept the essence of the Talbiyah. They also believed that the idols and statues that they worshipped brought them closer to God Almighty, so Islam came and made the relationship between the creature and the Creator a direct relationship with no intermediary.
- The Black Stone gained its sanctity due to the command of God Almighty to kiss it. If that command had not been wanted, no one would have kissed it, because kissing it is obedience to the command of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, who does not speak from his own desires.
- Kissing the Black Stone is a symbolic act and a spiritual and physical communication with the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - as if he kissed the Stone to be a physical and sensory connection between him and his nation. His kissing it was for a reason; it was his love - may God bless him and grant him peace - for his beloved ones whom he had not seen and who had not seen him and who believed in him. The meaning of this - in any case - is that the Muslims did not worship the Black Stone or sanctify it, but rather this was in adherence to the Sunnah of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and in compliance with the command of God that He revealed to the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace.
(*) Qur’anic Issues in the Encyclopedia Britannica: Critique of Objections and Response to Doubts, Dr. Fadl Hassan Abbas, Dar Al-Basheer, Jordan, 2nd ed., 1410 AH/1989 AD.
[1]. Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih, Book of Hajj, Chapter: No one should circumambulate the House naked and no polytheist should perform Hajj (1543), and by Muslim in his Sahih, Book of Hajj, Chapter: No polytheist should perform Hajj and no one should circumambulate the House naked (3353).
[2]. Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih, Book of Hajj, Chapter: Talbiyah (1474), and in other places, and by Muslim in his Sahih, Book of Hajj, Chapter: Talbiyah, its description and time (2868).
[3]. Hasan: Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, Book of Supplications, Chapter: Supplication on the Day of Arafah (3585), and authenticated by Al-Albani in As-Silsilah As-Sahihah (1503).
[4]. The Civilization of the Arabs, Gustave Le Bon, translated by: Adel Zaiter, Issa Al-Babi Al-Halabi Press, Cairo, n.d., p. 125.
[5]. Sahih: Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, Book of Piety and Kinship, Chapter on Honoring the Believer (2032), and authenticated by Al-Albani in As-Silsilah As-Sahihah (3420).
[6]. Sahih: Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, Book of Fasting, Chapter on the Merits of the Black Stone , the Corner, and the Station (877), and by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih, Book of Rituals, Chapter on the Description of the Corner and the Station (2733), and authenticated by Al-Albani in Sahih Al-Jami’ (6756). [7]. Authentic: It was narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad, Musnad of the Companions who narrated many hadiths, Musnad of Abdullah ibn Umar, may God be pleased with him (5621), and by al-Tabarani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabir (12/389) under the number (13438), and it was authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami’ (2194). [8]. Authentic: It was narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad, from Musnad Bani Hashim, Musnad of Abdullah ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with them both (2215), and by al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, Book of Fasting, Chapter of the Black Stone (961), and it was authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami’ (7098). [9]. Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih, Book of Hajj, Chapter: What was mentioned about the Black Stone (1520), and in other places, and by Muslim in his Sahih, Book of Hajj, Chapter: The desirability of kissing the Black Stone during Tawaf (3126). [10]. Sahih: Narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad, Musnad of the Companions who narrated many hadiths, Musnad of Anas ibn Malik, may God be pleased with him (12601), and authenticated by Al-Albani in Sahih Al-Jami’ (7108). [11]. Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, Book of Purification, Chapter: The desirability of lengthening the forelock and the eyebrows in ablution (607).
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=5][COLOR=Black] 1 Kings 8 26 Now, O God of Israel, let Your word be fulfilled, which You spoke to Your servant David my father. 27 For will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain You, much less this house which I have built? 33 When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn to you and confess your name and pray and make supplication to you toward this house, 38 then every prayer and every supplication that is made by any man of all your people Israel, who know each one the plague of his own heart, and who stretches out his hands toward this house , The House, 44 “When your people go out to fight against their enemy by the way which you send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name,
1 Kings 9
3 And the Lord said to him , “ I have heard your prayer and your supplication which you have made before me. I have sanctified this house which I have built, to put my name there forever ; and my eyes and my heart shall be there always.
2 Chronicles 29
[SIZE=5][B]31 Then Hezekiah answered and said , “ Now you have consecrated your hands to the LORD. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” The congregation brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings , and all the generous of heart brought burnt offerings.
Psalm 26
6 I will wash my hands in innocence; I will go around your altar, O Lord,
7 to make a voice of thanksgiving, and to tell of all your wonderful works.
8 O Lord, I have loved the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells .
Psalms 48
8 As we have heard, so we have seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, In the city of our God; God will establish it forever. Selah.
9 We have remembered your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of your temple.
10 As your name is, O God, so is your praise To the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad Because of your judgments.
12 Go around Zion, and circle around her; count her towers .
13 Set your hearts on its ramparts; consider its palaces, that you may tell them to another generation.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever; he will guide us even to death.
[SIZE=5]
11-Chapter Two of the Second Section: The Altar
The Procession Around the Altar: The people in the Old Testament used to process around the
altar . Therefore the psalmist asks God, saying: “I will wash my hands in innocence; I will go around your altar, O Lord, to make known the voice of thanksgiving, and to tell of all your wonderful works” (Psalm 26:6, 7). And it was said of Satan before the fall: “You are the anointed cherub that covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:14). In the New Testament, we also circle the altar in several cycles: cycles of incense, as in the incense of the evening and morning, the Pauline and the practice of the Mass. The cycle of the Annunciation, which is after the Litany of the Gospel, whether in the evening , morning, or Mass. The cycle of the Lamb at the beginning of the Mass. The procession in some of the feasts of the Lord and the feasts of the Cross. The Day of Atonement and cycles of incense : The Day of Atonement is one of the most important days and feasts in Judaism, and it had its own ritual. It is the only day on which the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies. The high priest entered it three times on this day. The first time with incense, “and the cloud of incense covered the mercy seat that was on the testimony, so that he did not die, for God appeared in the cloud over the mercy seat,” and he left the golden censer there[44]. The second time with the blood of the bull to atone for himself. The third time is with the blood of a male goat to make atonement for the people. Then he goes out to the altar of incense to make atonement for it and sprinkles the blood of the bull and the male goat on its horns all around (Lev. 16:13, 19). This is what the priest of the New Testament performs in the same way, whether in the evening prayer, or the morning prayer, or the Mass. He takes the incense and enters with it into the temple three times. In the evening and morning prayer of incense offering, the first time is after the prayer of thanksgiving, and the second is after the offerings, whether for the dead, the sick, or the travelers, and the third is in the mystery of the return. While in the Mass, the first is in the Pauline cycle, the second is in the mystery of the return, and the third is in the Apraxis cycle. We notice that the high priest in the Old Testament sprinkles blood on the face of the cover on the eastern side of the ark, which is the side opposite the high priest when he enters, and then he sprinkles it seven more times in front of him. This is also what the priest of the New Testament does, as he raises the incense while praying the Mystery of Incense, then he prays the three small Awashi in seven times, starting from the west of the altar, which is the side opposite the priest when he enters the altar, and the second in the east as God commanded the high priest, then in the west and so on until the end of the seven times. Then he goes outside the altar in front of the door of the temple where the altar of incense is located, and he offers the incense seven times as well, turning around himself in the four directions as if he is sprinkling blood around the horns of the altar of incense in a circular manner.
It is three times in the east, and he prays the first time: We worship you, O Christ, with your good Father and the Holy Spirit, for you came and saved us. The second time: As for me, in the multitude of your mercy I will enter your house and bow down before your holy temple. The third time: Before the angels I will sing to you and bow down before your holy temple.
The fourth time in the sea side, and he says: We give you peace with the angel Gabriel, saying: Peace be to you, O full of grace, the Lord is with you.
The fifth time in the west side, and he says: Peace be to the ranks of the angels and my masters, the fathers, the apostles, the ranks of the martyrs and all the saints. The
sixth time in the south side, saying: Peace be to John, son of Zacharias, peace be to the priest, son of the priest.
The seventh and final time in the east side, a second time, and he says: Let us bow down to the good lover of mankind, for he had mercy on us and came and saved us.
After the cycle of the apraxis, the priest does not enter the temple, but prays the mystery of the return at the temple door, where the altar of incense is located, as if reminding us of what the high priest used to do in the Old Testament when he left the Holy of Holies: “And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, with all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting that stands among them in the midst of their uncleannesses… and he shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and for all the congregation of Israel” (Lev. 61:61, 71).
* The Book of the Ritual between the Eucharist and the Old Testament Sacrifices - Father Youannis Anba Paula 36- Incense in the Prayers and Rituals of the Church The Ritual of Raising Incense: * The priest opens the curtain while saying "Alyson Emas... and prays our Father who... and prostrates before the altar and says "We prostrate before you, O Christ... and performs a metanoia for the priests and the people while saying bless this metanoia. Forgive me" then the priests present kiss it as a sign of shaking hands and love then takes forgiveness from the people by saying "I have sinned forgive me" then the priest returns and stands before the altar in reverence and extends his hands and in his right hand the cross and the deacon stands behind him to the right then he begins the prayer of thanksgiving aloud until "and all the power of the enemy. * After the prayer of thanksgiving the priest prostrates and kisses the threshold of the altar then enters the altar with his right foot then prostrates before the threshold of the altar then kisses the altar. The deacon brings him the censer while he stands with it and stands to the right of the altar. The priest places five hands of incense with the three known signs. Then the priest takes the censer from the deacon and begins to burn incense on the altar while saying the Mystery of Incense or the Vespers. After the priest finishes reciting the Mystery of Incense while standing in front of the altar from the west and facing the east, he prays the Litany of the Departed. As for the early incense offering, the priest prays the Litany of the Sick and Travelers on weekdays and the Litany of the Sick and the Offerings on Sundays and Lord’s feasts. On the early Sabbath, he prays the Litany of the Departed. *Introduction to Liturgical Theology - Father Isaiah Abdel Sayed Farag
Matthew 7:5
You hypocrite, first remove the plank from your own eye , and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
If the objecting Christian had done the commandments of the Bible, he would have found amazing things!!!!
John 5:39 " Search the Scriptures "!
--------------
Genesis 28:18
And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone which he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city at first was Luz.
20 And Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I am going, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
21 and I return to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord will be my God.
22 And this stone , which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you give me, I will give a tenth to you.
They object to our circumambulating the Kaaba and kissing the Black Stone. They are:
1- They worship skulls:
 | This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 800x601. |
2- They go around, kiss and prostrate themselves before the rotting bodies of their saints, thinking that they have the ability to heal the sick and revive the dead !
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 679x300. |
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 708x367. |
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 699x216. |
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 661x379. |
They deny that our hearts are attached to the Holy Kaaba and that we receive and kiss the Black Stone, while they themselves wipe themselves with a deaf stone that neither benefits nor harms, claiming that (the Lord), the god/child walked and left his footprints on it!
To every objecting charlatan, we raise our voices and say: You hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye!!
We read in an article published on the Catholic website Aleteia:
What is the truth about the footprints of the child Jesus on a stone in Egypt?
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 953x612. |
Egypt/Aleteia (aleteia.org/ar) The Holy Family was forced to flee to Egypt and remained there for about four years until Herod died and they returned to Palestine. The Patriarch of Alexandria Theophilus (died 412) recounted in his book the journey of the Holy Family. The family walked from Bethlehem to Al-Falama, then to Tell Basta, then to Balbi, then to Menia Janah, then to Burullus, then to Sakha near Kafr El-Sheikh, where the baby Jesus placed his foot on a stone and it left an imprint on it.
This stone was hidden for fear of being stolen, and it was not found until 1986. Today, it is preserved in the Church of the Virgin Mary in Sakha, which is considered one of the most beautiful and important churches in Egypt.
Tracing the footsteps of the Holy Family to Egypt is one of the most important projects of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, especially since the Pope’s visit to Egypt in April 2017; and also after UNESCO declared the “Holy Family Trail” a World Heritage Site.
In October 2017, Pope Francis blessed the Holy Family's journey to Egypt with the participation of Egyptian Minister of Tourism Yehia Rashed. The Pope's blessing is an invitation to Catholic pilgrims around the world to perform their religious rituals in Egypt.
Source:
Aleteia - Arabic
The priest (one of the soldiers of God according to the Holy Bible) who is in charge of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem beats the stones of the grotto and presents them mixed with a cup of milk or juice to Christian women seeking the dream of motherhood!
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 800x452. |
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 800x448. |
| This image is in another size. Click here to view the image in its correct form. The image dimensions are 800x447. |
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment