BLACK STONE'S ORIGIN
THE
BLACK STONE IS A MUSLIM OBJECT OF REVERENCE, WHICH ACCORDING TO ISLAMIC
TRADITIONS DATES BACK TO THE TIME OF ADAM AND EVE. MANY CONSIDER IT TO BE A
TEKTITE. IT IS THE EASTERN CORNERSTONE OF THE KAABA, THE ANCIENT SACRED STONE
TOWARDS WHICH MUSLIMS PRAY IN THE CENTER OF THE GRAND MOSQUE IN MECCA, SAUDI
ARABIA. IT IS COVERED WITH AN ELABORATELY GOLD-THREADED EMBROIDERED QURANIC
VERSES ON A BLACK-DRAPED CLOTH. AS ANY NON-MUSLIM IN THE TEMPLE WOULD BE SLAIN
ON SIGHT, AND PHOTOGRAPHY IS GENERALLY PROHIBITED, THIS STONE IS SHROUDED IN
MYSTERY? HOWEVER, IF YOU DO SUCCEED IN TRACKING DOWN THE THREE ACCOUNTS OF THE
PILGRIMAGE OF HAJJ TO MECCA YOU MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A LUCKY ONE!
WHAT
THESE VIEWS REVEAL, IS A POLISHED BLACK STONE OF WHICH LESS THAN TWO FEET IS
VISIBLE… THIS STONE IS SET IN LARGE SOLID SILVER MOUNTINGS. THE WHOLE
RESEMBLES, QUITE DELIBERATELY, FOR REASONS WHICH WILL EMERGE, ‘THE VULVA OF THE
GODDESS’! THERE IS SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE STONE, AS IT WAS TAKEN AWAY BY THE
SACRILEGIOUS QARMATIANS IN 930 CE AND BROKEN INTO A NUMBER OF PIECES BEFORE
RETURNING THE PIECES FOR A GREAT PRICE. THE STONE PIECES ARE HELD TOGETHER BY A
SILVER FRAME, WHICH IS FASTENED BY SILVER NAILS TO THE STONE. THE STONE IS
ROUGHLY 30 CM (12 IN.) IN DIAMETER, AND 1.5 METERS (5 FT.) ABOVE THE GROUND.
WHEN PILGRIMS CIRCLE THE KAABA AS PART OF THE TAWAF RITUAL OF THE HAJJ, MANY OF
THEM TRY, IF POSSIBLE, TO STOP AND KISS THE BLACK STONE, ‘EMULATING THE KISS
THAT IT RECEIVED FROM PROPHET MUHAMMAD.’ IF THEY CANNOT REACH IT, THEN THEY ARE
TO POINT TO IT ON EACH OF THEIR SEVEN CIRCUITS AROUND THE KAABA.
THE
BLACK STONE OF KAABA IN MECCA IS CALLED AL-HAJAR AL-ASWAD IN ARABIC. THE WORD
KAABA (ALSO KA'BA, OR KA'BAH) MEANS ‘THE CUBE’. THAT MUSLIMS NOW REFER TO IT AS
THE ‘HAND OF ALLAH’, WHICH DOES NOT DIMINISH THE URGE FOR ALL THOSE, WHO
COMPLETE THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA TO TOUCH OR KISS THIS SACRED ISLAMIC OBJECT!
:-)
THE
BLACK STONE'S ORIGIN:
'A
PRINCIPAL SACRED OBJECT IN PAGAN ARABIAN RELIGION WAS THE STONE... SUCH STONES
WERE THOUGHT TO BE THE RESIDENCE OF A GOD; HENCE THE TERM APPLIED TO THEM BY
THE BYZANTINE CHRISTIAN WRITERS OF THE FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES: 'BAETYL',
FROM BET'EL, 'THE HOUSE OF GOD'.' [1]
'IN
NORTH ARABIAN TEMPLES THE IMAGE OF THE DEITY SOMETIMES STOOD IN THE OPEN AIR OR
IT COULD BE SHELTERED IN A QUBBAH, A VAULTED NICHE... NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH
THE QUBBAH IS THE WORD FOR KA'BAH, FOR A CUBE-SHAPED WALLED STRUCTURE WHICH...
SERVED AS A SHELTER FOR THE SACRED STONES.' [2]
CAMPHAUSEN,
IN HIS ARTICLE [3], REVEALS THAT THE MISOGYNIC MUSLIM RELIGION HAS ITS ORIGINS
IN THE WORSHIP OF GODDESS. ALLAH IS A REVAMPED VERSION OF THE ANCIENT GODDESS
AL'LAT, AND IT WAS HER SHRINE, WHICH HAS SINCE CONTINUED WITH LITTLE CHANGE, AS
THE KAABA. THE KNOWN HISTORY OF MOHAMMED REVEALS THAT HE WAS BORN AROUND 570 CE
INTO A TRIBE OF THE KOREISHE (QURAYSH), WHO NOT ONLY WORSHIPPED THE GODDESS
Q'RE, BUT WERE THE SWORN GUARDIANS OF HER SHRINE. BY 622, MOHAMMED WAS
PREACHING THE WAYS OF HIS GOD, ALLAH, AND WAS DRIVEN OUT BY HIS OWN TRIBE AS A
RESULT. THERE ARE ALSO VARIOUS OPINIONS AS TO WHAT THE BLACK STONE ACTUALLY IS…
THE 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 (HOUSE OF GOD). THEY RECOGNIZED ITS WORTH AND MADE IT ONE OF THE
BUILDING'S CORNERSTONES.
THE
KAABA AT MECCA DESCRIBES THE SHAPE OF THE BLACK STONE STRUCTURE ON A MARBLE
BASE, WHICH STANDS IN THE CENTRE COURT OF THE GREAT MOSQUE, MASJIDUL HARAM, AT
THE CENTRE OF MECCA. IT STANDS ABOUT 50 FEET HIGH BY ABOUT 35 FEET WIDE. SET
INTO THE EASTERN CORNER IS THE SACRED STONE. THIS KAABA IS A CUBED SHAPED
TEMPLE (ACCORDING TO ISLAM) REBUILT BY ABRAHAM AND HIS SON ISHMAEL. REVERENTLY
DRAPED IN BLACK CLOTH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, IT BECKONS TO EVERY MUSLIM OF THE
WORLD TO COME TO ITS SACRED GROUND AND PERFORM THE RITUAL OF HAJJ.
THE
KAABA IS THE CANONICAL CENTER OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD; EVERY PIOUS ACT,
PARTICULARLY PRAYER, IS DIRECTED TOWARDS IT. ONCE A YEAR IT PLAYS HOST TO THE
GREATEST CONVENTION OF MUSLIM BELIEVERS, AND STANDS READY TO SANCTIFY THE UMRAH
TRAVELERS THROUGH REST OF THE YEAR.
THE
OFFICIAL STARTING POINT OF THE WALK AROUND THE KAABA, THAT FORMS THE CORE OF
THE HOLY PILGRIMAGE (HAJJ). DURING THE TAWAF, THE PILGRIMS KISS OR TOUCH THE
BLACK STONE AS THEY CIRCUMAMBULATE THE KAABA.
SOME
MUSLIMS ARE MORE WILLING TO BELIEVE THAT THE STONE ITSELF HAS SOME SUPERNATURAL
POWERS. THEY BELIEVE THAT THIS ‘STONE 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, AND IT HAS TURNED BLACK BECAUSE OF THE SINS IT HAS ABSORBED
OVER THE AGES.
IT IS
REMARKABLE, HOWEVER, THAT EVEN THOUGH THE TEMPLE CONTAINED 360 IDOLS WORSHIPPED
BEFORE MUHAMMAD'S PROPHETHOOD, THE BLACK STONE WAS NEVER KISSED OR MADE AN IDOL
OF WORSHIP BY THE PAGAN ARABS. IN FACT, THE KAABA WAS NEVER WORSHIPPED BY THE
IDOLATERS PRIOR TO MUHAMMAD'S PROPHETHOOD. THE BUILDING CONTAINED IDOLS OF
WORSHIP BUT THE BUILDING ITSELF WAS NEVER AN OBJECT OF WORSHIP.
THE FACT
THAT THE KAABA WAS REBUILT BY ABRAHAM IS NOT AN HISTORICAL FACT! SINCE THE
STONE HAS BEEN THERE EVER SINCE, THE PAGANS FOUND IT LYING IN THE SANDS OF
ARABIA; IT STANDS TO REASON THAT ABRAHAM PLACED THE STONE IN THE KAABA? THE
BLACK STONE IS IN FACT NOT THE CORNERSTONE OF THE KAABA, AND THERE NEVER WAS AN
EMBLEM OF THE PROGENY OF ABRAHAM THAT WAS REJECTED BY THE ISRAELITES. IT WAS
MUHAMMAD, WHO MADE IT THE CORNER STONE OF THE KINGDOM OF ALLAH.
THE
BLACK STONE, THEREFORE, PASSES FOR THE MITHAQ (PRIMORDIAL COVENANT BETWEEN THE
CREATOR AND HIS CREATED). AND IN THE WHOLE WORLD THERE IS ONLY THIS UNHEWN
STONE, CUT OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS WITHOUT HANDS, AND THAT IS THE CORNER-STONE OF
A BUILDING, WHICH IN POINT OF IMPORTANCE, STANDS UNIQUE IN THE WORLD...???
TOUCHING
OR KISSING THE STONE HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE FAITHFUL, AS IT IS SUPPOSED
TO COUNT IN THEIR FAVOR ON THE ISLAMIC JUDGMENT DAY. [JUDGMENT DAY IS A
METAPHOR FOR THE RETURN TO BALANCE WITH THE DUALITY OF THE REALITY OF MAN.]
IBN
JUBAYR (1145-1217), THE GREAT MUSLIM TRAVELER FROM VALENCIA, DESCRIBES THE
EMOTION HE FELT ON TOUCHING THE STONE, “THE STONE, WHEN ONE KISSES IT, HAS A
SOFTNESS AND FRESHNESS, WHICH DELIGHTS THE MOUTH; SO MUCH SO THAT HE WHO PLACES
HIS LIPS UPON IT WISHES NEVER TO REMOVE THEM”. IT SUFFICES, MOREOVER, THAT THE
PROPHET SAID THAT IT IS THE ‘RIGHT HAND OF GOD ON EARTH’ SO ALLAH HAS A ‘STONED
HAND’ ALSO?
THE
SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR KISSING THE STONE IS THAT PROPHET MUHAMMAD DID
SO! NO DEVOTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, WHATSOEVER, IS ATTACHED TO THE STONE BY THE
PRE-ISLAMIC PAGANS, WHO WORSHIPPED IT. KISSING OR TOUCHING THE BLACK STONE IS A
REVERENTIAL ACT OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT ALLAH'S HAND DIRECTED ITS PLACEMENT AND
IN ITS CONSTRUCTION. THAT ABRAHAM AND MUHAMMAD, ALLAH'S BLESSING UPON THEM, HAD
TOUCHED AND KISSED THE STONE, AND AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT ALLAH HAD ENTRUSTED
THE 'CORNER STONE' OF HIS RELIGIOUS CENTRAL FOCUS FOR MAN UPON THAT HALLOWED,
SACRED PLACE.
RESEARCHERS
HAVE NOTED THAT THE KAABA IS ACCURATELY ALIGNED ON TWO HEAVENLY PHENOMENA: THE
CYCLES OF THE MOON AND THE RISING OF CANOPUS, THE BRIGHTEST STAR AFTER SIRIUS.
THERE ARE VARIOUS OTHER OPINIONS AS TO WHAT THE BLACK STONE ACTUALLY
SYMBOLIZES. MANY MUSLIMS REGARD THE STONE AS 'JUST A STONE'. WHEN UMAR IBN
AL-KHATTAB (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".
MUSLIMS,
THEREFORE, PAY THEIR RESPECT TO THE BLACK STONE IN A SPIRIT OF TRUST IN
MUHAMMAD, NOT WITH ANY BELIEF IN THE BLACK STONE ITSELF.
THE
TRIPLE GODDESSES:
PRE-ISLAMIC
WORSHIP OF THE GODDESS SEEMS TO BE PRIMARILY ASSOCIATED WITH AL'LAT, WHICH
SIMPLY MEANS 'GODDESS'. SHE IS A TRIPLE GODDESS, SIMILAR TO THE GREEK LUNAR
DEITY KORE/DEMETER/HECATE. EACH ASPECT OF THIS TRINITY CORRESPONDS TO A PHASE
OF THE MOON. IN THE SAME WAY AL'LAT HAS THREE NAMES KNOWN TO THE INITIATE:
Q'RE, THE CRESCENT MOON OR THE MAIDEN; AL'UZZA, LITERALLY 'THE STRONG ONE', WHO
IS THE FULL MOON AND THE MOTHER ASPECT; THEN AL'MANAT, THE WANING BUT WISE
GODDESS OF FATE, PROPHECY AND DIVINATION. ISLAMIC TRADITIONS CONTINUE TO
RECOGNIZE THESE THREE, BUT LABELS THEM 'DAUGHTERS OF ALLAH'.
ACCORDING
TO EDWARD RICE [4] “AL'UZZA WAS ESPECIALLY WORSHIPPED AT THE KAABA WHERE SHE
WAS SERVED BY SEVEN PRIESTESSES. HER WORSHIPPERS CIRCLED THE HOLY STONE SEVEN
TIMES - ONCE FOR EACH OF THE ANCIENT SEVEN PLANETS, AND DID SO IN TOTAL NUDITY.
NEAR THE
KAABA IS THE EVER-FLOWING WELL, ZAMZAM, WHICH COOLS THE THROATS OF THE
COUNTLESS MILLIONS OF PILGRIMS. IN AN OASIS OF ALWAYS-FLOWING WATER, THE BLACK
STONE IN ITS MOUNT BECAME AN UNMATCHED IMAGE OF THE GODDESS AS GIVER OF LIFE.
ONLY IN THE INDIAN CONTINENT DO SUCH PHYSICAL SYMBOLS FOR THE MALE AND FEMALE
GENERATIVE POWERS, THE LINGAM AND YONI, CONTINUE TO BE WORSHIPPED WITH THEIR
ORIGINAL FERVOUR.
IT IS
EASY TO IMAGINE THAT IN PRE-MUSLIM TIMES, THE GODDESS'S TEMPLE AT MECCA WAS
PREEMINENT, WHETHER TO CELEBRATE LIFE, ASK PROTECTION, PRAY FOR OFFSPRING. LEGEND
TELLS HOW ABRAHAM, UNABLE TO PRODUCE CHILDREN BY HIS WIFE SARAH, CAME HERE TO
MAKE LOVE TO HIS SLAVE HAGAR. LATER ON, WHEN HAGAR CAME BACK TO GIVE BIRTH, SHE
COULD FIND NO WATER AND ABRAHAM CREATED THE HOLY WELL OF ZAMZAM TO SAVE THE
LIFE OF HIS FIRST SON.
WHEN
MOHAMMED WANTED TO SUPPLANT AL’LAT WITH ALLAH, THIS WAS THE ONE TEMPLE HE MUST
CONQUER. ALTHOUGH MOHAMMED DID CONQUER THE KAABA, LITTLE ELSE CHANGED. THE
FAITHFUL STILL CIRCLE THE HOLY KAABA SEVEN TIMES, (NOWADAYS THE PILGRIMS ONLY
WEAR A WHITE LINEN CLOTH TO COVER THEIR GENITALS AND NOT FULLY CLOTHED)? THE
PRIESTS OF THE SACRED SHRINE ARE STILL KNOWN AS BENI SHAYBAH OR 'SONS OF THE
OLD WOMAN', SHAYBAH BEING, OF COURSE, THE FAMOUS QUEEN SHEBA OF SOLOMON'S TIME.
SHEBA APPEARS UNDER THE GUISE OF LILITH IN THE NEAR EAST, AND AS HAGAR ('THE
EGYPTIAN') IN THE HEBREW MYTHOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. SO, REWRITING THE
LEGEND GIVEN ABOVE, ABRAHAM BEGOT HIS SON, ISHMAEL—THE ANCESTOR OF THE ARABS—BY
THE GODDESS ON THE BLACK STONE OF THE KAABA.
WHILE WE
ARE TRACING NAMES, Q'RE (OR QURE), THE MAIDEN ASPECT OF AL'LAT, SEEMS CERTAIN
TO BE THE ORIGIN OF THE GREEK KORE. CAMPHAUSEN SUGGESTS THAT THE HOLY KORAN IS
THE 'WORD OF QURE'. EVEN MUSLIMS ADMIT THAT THE WORK EXISTED BEFORE THE TIME OF
MOHAMMED. LEGEND HAS IT THAT IT WAS COPIED FROM A DIVINE PROTOTYPE THAT
APPEARED IN HEAVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME, OR THE MOTHER OF THE BOOK [5].
AL'UZZA, THE MOTHER ASPECT OF AL'LAT, MAY GIVE US THE PRE-DYNASTIC EGYPTIAN
SNAKE GODDESS UA ZIT [UADJET], WHO DEVELOPS INTO ISIS.
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. THERE IS NO
INDICATION AS TO WHERE THIS STONE ORIGINATED, BUT SINCE IT PREDATES THE
REVELATION OF THE HOLY QURAN AND MUHAMMAD'S PROPHETHOOD, AND EVEN BEING KISSED,
IT MUST STEM FROM THE TIME OF ABRAHAM SINCE THE HAJJ TRADITIONS ARE TRACEABLE
TO THE PATRIARCH OF MONOTHEISM BY THE PRE-ISLAMIC PAGANS.
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