CIRA international need a compass; original Qibla to Petra?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

Due its cubical shape, the Kaaba faces several terrestrial and heavenly bodies. This led to the Arabs' use of astronomical phenomenon such as sunrise or sunset during equinoxes, solstices, Pole star, Canopus etc to direct the mosques towards the kaaba. It was in fact the favorite way adopted by religious authorities in medieval times to use astronomical alignments, particularly cardinal and solstitial directions and the rising point of the star Canopus to determine the correct qibla. These astronomical alignments were used by the early Muslims because they were so familiar with the Kaaba that they knew that when they stood in front of the edifice, they were facing a particular astronomical direction.

So in order to face the appropriate part of the Kaaba which was associated with their geographical location, they used the same astronomically-defined direction for the qibla as they would have been standing directly in front of that particular segment of Kaaba.

But to most other Muslims, those that werent natives to Mecca, they werent familiar with those cosmic allignements, but surgical precision isnt required when searching for the qibla anyway. The Quran in 2:144 doesnt simply say to face the Kaaba, as it would be impossible to anyone a few kilometers away from Mecca due to the earth's roundness, but to face SHATR the Kaaba. Shatr means half and when used to mean direction, it implies towards the half of the earth where something is located. The clear ordinance is therefore to "face the direction" where Kaaba is located. Regardless of what the earth's shape is, a particular point on the globe always has at least one direction in relation to another point.

That the Quranic statement isnt meant to be an exact science but rather an approximate orientation is reflected in the practice of early Muslims, as well as a statement from God's prophet that

"between East and West is a qibla".

So one is considered, even today as practiced by many Muslims, as facing the direction of the Kaaba if facing the northern or southern hemispheres with each shoulder directed east and west. This statement is rooted in the pervasive Quranic notion that the spirit of the law must always remain the primary focus of the religion. 

The Quran speaks of specific communities and incidents in relation to Mecca and the Kaaba with no evidence as happening anywhere but in Mecca at the time of revelation.

It in addition names places surrounding Mecca and the Kaaba, well known then and still identified today, like Arafat, Mash'ari haram, Juranah about 6hours walk from Mecca, where was located the farthest mosque in relation to the Kaaba, where the prophet used to stop and pray in the mosque that was by the spring and encouraged the Muslims to begin their minor pilgrimmage (umrah) from that place until they reached Mecca. There were of course wells and springs where the Meccans went for their water supply. Some of these wells were in the city, dug long into the pre-silamic times, others on the city's outskirts, and others further still. One of these relatively distant water sources for instance is the one in the valley of Khumm, between Mecca and Medina, given the same name by Kilab ibn Murrah who dug it long before the prophet according to the Islamic tradition. Water is still available at the place and is called Ghadir Khumm. It was a frequent passing point for the Muslims and the prophet, who according to the Shia tradition, named Ali as his successor at the spot. Water supply was certainly not plentiful and easily available, so much so that those in charge of the siqaya/providing water to pilgrims were highly regarded. Although scarce, rain fell nevertheless on Mecca, even sometimes to the point that the precincts of the Kaaba would be flooded, it happens still nowadays. This in fact is a known factor to have caused degradation to the edifice of the Kaaba throughout time. The Quraysh would gather this water in reservoirs to make sure their water supply wouldnt run dry for themselves and the yearly pilgrims.

The cave of Hira is another of those places found in the early historical records, described in a manner corresponding to a specific location in Mecca. It is about a 2hours walk on the nour mountain, outside of which one can oversee Mecca, as well as Safa and Marwa.

The word "jabal" describing Safa and Marwa in Arabic applies to any rocky elevation, small or big. The Quran for instance speaks of Ibrahim scattering chopped off pieces of a bird on surrounding jabal 2:260. Abraham wasnt going around climbing up mountains and leaving a piece of bird on each. It is also clear from the description of Hagar's ordeal, running between safa and marwa then standing successively on top of one jabal, then the other. She obviously wasnt going along climbing mountains in the desert heat.

No place in the world was refered to as Mecca, other than present day Mecca. That is not to mention the battles of Badr and Uhud, among many other specific locations where battles occured, where native tribes were met, their names and dialogues recorded, as well as the plethora of traditional records, authentic or else, isolated or known, all speaking of places and people that cannot by the furthest strech of the imagination be placed anywhere else than where they are currently located.

There isnt the slightest hint at a conspiracy the scale of which would have been required to put into place such a massive rewrite of history. Neither is there evidence for a large conspiracy to rename Mecca and all these places, nor is there archaeological support for these places being anywhere but in Mecca.

The Quran for example denounces the Arabs' idol worship and practices like animal sacrifice repeatedly, occuring in places it names in and around Mecca 2:256-7,5:3,90,16:36,22:30. All these practices were banned long before Islam by the Byzantines in the northern area of Arabia Petrae, meaning they couldnt have occured there at the time of the revelation of these condemning verses.

This type of claim runs along the same lines as others who argue that the original qibla faced Petra to the north of Arabia, instead of the Kaaba in Mecca. Early Muslims, and those of Mecca in particular had a fair idea about the orientation of several astronomical phenomenon (sunrise or sunset during equinoxes, solstices, Pole star, Canopus etc) in relation to the Kaaba and used them to orient their mosques towards their respective qibla. They knew that when they stood in front of the edifice, they were facing a particular astronomical direction and reproduced the same alignements in their new location as if they stood directly in front of a particular Kaaba segment. Iraqi mosques aligned towards the winter sunset, ie facing the northeast wall of Kaaba. In Fustat, Egypt it faced the winter sunrise, ie facing the northwest wall of Kaaba. None of those mosques faced Jerusalem or northern Arabia.

CIRA international find deeper meanings to Qibla change; a new nation under God?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

The change of qibla indicated to the Israelites they had been definitely deposed from their spiritual leadership over mankind, a leadership that what was for them to honourably carry 2:63-64,3:187,28:5,32:24. This prophecied supplanting, as stated by Jesus in Matt21, meant they werent worthy of carrying the flame anymore, that the geographical center of monotheism has switched to another location, under a new established nation under God 

33:45-46"We have sent you as a witness, and as a bearer of good news and as a warner, And as one inviting to Allah by His permission, and as a light-giving torch". 

This meant that their hopes of seeing the Jerusalem Temple rebuilt for the 3rd time through Divine sanction by their messianic salvific figure was over. The era of prophethood itself has now ceased

33:40"Muhammad..is the Messenger of Allah and the khaatim of the prophets; and Allah is cognizant of all things".

The term khaatim from kh-t-m means to seal something shut so that nothing can get in or out of it. It is used often to mean that something is finished since one seals something when it is over and it is also conceptually used for a well demarcated feature of an entity or person. Jesus' return as a sign of the end of times as reported in some narrations, if taken as true, doesnt deny the finality of prophethood with Muhammad if one considers that he was born before him, did not die in the process of tawfiya/full reception by God. He has outlived the prophet who has ended the era of prophethood. In addition to closing the door to the institution of prophethood, the verse also denies any further revealed scriptures.

The Quran repeatedly associates prophethood to scriptures, contrary to messengership which is never explicitly said to have ended. Prior to prophethood when he was a 12 year old boy, it is reported that he was taken on a caravan trip with his uncle to Syria. There, a Christian monk supposedly recognizes several signs of prophethood in him, including what he described as the "seal of prophethood/khatm al nubuwwa" on Muhammad's back. It was a protrusion the size of a pigeon's egg between his shoulder blades. Although the prophet himself never identifies this birth feature as such, it seems that this comment by the monk led to a legend about it among his companions. During his prophethood when a physician noticed it and proposed to treat it, the prophet did not mention the legend, simply relied on Allah for a cure "Its physician is He Who has credit it".

This last change of qibla was also an announcement of the glad tidings of the near conquest of Mecca, a forecast of its cleaning and purification from the idols placed in it over time. It signified the near return of Islam as a fulfilment of Ibrahim's prayers and God's subsequent promise of placing in it, the righteous from among his descendants as the leaders of mankind 2:124-130.

The appointement of the Kaaba as the Muslims' qibla was in honor of Ibrahim and Ismail, a confirmation of the Quran's claim about the Muslims being closer to Ibrahim than any group claiming spiritual descendancy from him 2:135. It was a favor in a series of favors bestowed upon the believers by Allah 2:150, such as the sending of a messenger from among themselves who brought them wisdom and spiritual purification

2:151"We have sent among you a Messenger from among you who recites to you Our communications and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know".

At all times, the believers are told to keep their remembrence of these favors

2:152"Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me". 

However immidiately after annoucing this favor, God warns the Muslims that leadership is not a bed of roses but a bed of thorns. They will be confronted with all kind of difficulties, and trials and that if they went through their ordeals with fortitude and proceeded on in the way of Allah, they would be blessed with countless blessings and rewards by Him 2:153-7 just as their failure would cause their uprooting.

CIRA international find monotheistic discrepency; God is present in a direction?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

As an anticipation to the people's reaction in Medina regarding this last change of qibla the Quran answers

2:142"The East and the West belong only to Allah; He guides whom He likes to the right path".

As similarly stated in 2:115,26:28,73:9 and more particularly in 2:177, Allah is the Omnipresent grasping the universe as a whole, present in all directions one may like to face and therefore Jerusalem, the Kaaba and all other places belong to Allah, Who intrinsically has no house and no place. The prophet Solomon in the Bible similarily conveyed that transcendental notion. After he had erected the Jerusalem Temple where God was to settle and "dwell in forever", the direction where all obedient servants were to face in prayer if they wanted to be hearkened by God in Heaven,

1kings8:27"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You; much less this temple that I have erected".

This reality is also echoed in the book of Isaiah

Isa66:1"So says the Lord, "The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool; which is the house that you will build for Me, and which is the place of My rest?".

Without God's commission, no place has spiritual excellence or preference in its own essence. The direction in itself is therefore not something to be disputed and argued about. If one wishes to remain in a specifc direction as if the place is intrisincly sacred then he may do so, however the core message would be missed; to obey a divine injunction above one's personal desires and preferences, and concentrate one's energy in outdoing one another in good deeds instead of disputing about what the Quran views as a moot point

2:143,148,177"and We did not make that which you would have to be the qiblah but that We might distinguish him who follows the Messenger from him who turns back upon his heels, and this was surely hard except for those whom Allah has guided aright...And every one has a direction to which he should turn, therefore hasten to (do) good works; wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together...It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate; and the performers of their promise when they make a promise, and the patient in distress and affliction and in time of conflicts-- these are they who are true (to themselves) and these are they who guard (against evil)".

CIRA international expose a great conspiracy; people hiding the true qibla?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

Why would the entire Muslims community, a cluster of highly unruly and disunited tribes and clans, linked together only by their religion, living since times immemorial in this unnamed mysterious northern place, suddenly accept to be uprooted from its sacred location, where its prided history, cultural, economic attachments are all found, and accept relocating in a barren and isolated area. How could such a move pass unnoticed in the oral tradition. Even if every Muslim alive at the time of the alleged move vowed to keep it secret, how likely is it that the next generation of Muslims would not have leaked multiple versions of the story into the hadith?

The years following the prophet's death were times of great political and sectarian turmoil. Each group, spread geographically gave religious and legal authority to their figures, rejecting the legitimacy, beliefs, and practices of others.

From the partisans of Ali in Kufa, to the Umayyads in Damascus, to the proto-sunnis that claimed to follow the schools of Mecca, Medina and Iraq or the Omani Kharijites. This led to the development of independent and various traditions. And yet the single thing they all agreed upon was the Quran and the Meccan qibla, the prophet's birth in Mecca, his death in Medina and the vast majority of the essentials of the religion.

This unified tradition can only be rooted at a time where the community was united under their prophet and uncontested leader. Recent archaeology has revealed inscriptions dated to the first and 2nd centuries after hijra around Medina speaking of a Kaaba and masjid-al haram (al maghtawi). There are even earlier open mosques in the Negev area, none of them are oriented towards northern Arabia or Jerusalem and all of them are aligned to Canopus thus facing the northwest wall.

Some more recent polemicists, the likes of Gibson, stubbornly insisting on such flimsy claims have deceptively tried using satellite images of mosques to make them appear as if they face the Petra region. The flaw in that method is that, as anyone familiar with mosques knows, it is impossible to ascertain eachone's mihrab (a niche in the interior of the wall of a mosque denoting the direction of prayer for worshippers in the mosque) except if one sees it from inside the building. One could just as easily align them with Hawaii rather than Petra.

Even today, and within one and the same country, certain mosques face different cardinal points depending on whether they base their direction to Mecca on a flat map, or on the shortest distance around the globe.

Among other flimsier claims are those of Crone and Cook, misquoting Jacob of Edessa so as to make it appear as if the Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem in the early 8th century. The actual quote refutes their distortions and confirms Muslim historical accounts;

"The Jews who live in Egypt, as likewise Mahgraye (the Syriacized form of muhajirun, in reference to the invading Muslim Arab immigrants) there, as I saw with my own eyes and will now set out for you, prayed to the east, and still do, both people - the Jews towards Jerusalem, and the Mahgraye towards the Kʿabah (K‘bt'). And those Jews who are in the south of Jerusalem pray to the north; and those in Babylonia and nhrt' and bwst' pray to the west. And also the Mahgraye who are there pray to the west, towards the Ka‘ba; and those who are to the south of the Ka‘ba pray to the north, towards the place. So from all this it is clear that it is not to the south that the Jews and Mahgraye here in the regions of Syria pray, but towards Jerusalem or Kʿabah, the patriarchial places of their races".

Robert Hoyland further observes that

"Jacob had studied in Alexandria as a youth and so would have been in a position to observe the Muslims there at first hand, which makes his testimony particularly valuable. His information about Syria is also likely to be accurate, for there were Muslims resident in Edessa while he was bishop of that town. What he makes abundantly clear is that the intention of the Muslims was to direct themselves towards a specific site, which they called the Ka'ba. This is presumably to be identified with the "House of God," "the locality in the south where their sanctuary was," which is mentioned by Jacob's contemporary, John bar Penkaye, a resident of north Mesopotamia".

The list of empty claims, sensational conspiracies and revisionism of established history goes on and on. And yet, the language of the Quran itself, its consonantal text is in the old Hijazi. That Arabic dialect is attested in the Hijaz region from about the 1st to the 7th centuryCE.

Other humorists, have proposed similar massive conspiracies, citing Quran verses describing locations and landscapes apparently nowhere near Mecca's surroundings.

It is well known and established that Mecca was a seasonal city where people flocked in during the pilgrimage period only. 28:57 refers to this fact, that it is a safe sanctuary by God's grace, where people flock in and bring in it thamaraat/produce of all kinds. All year long outside this pilgrimage season where people brought in their goods, the caravans of the Arabs and the Quraysh had to travel outside the Peninsula to the north, to Syria and Jordan to do their trade. They passed through all types of landscapes along the way especially in the more lush areas of the north

23:17-20"..then with that rain We caused vineyards and palmgroves to spring up in which you have plentiful of fruit that you eat. As well as the tree that springs from mt Sinai producing oil and relish for the eaters".

They were also familiar with agriculture and rich farming lands, such as those of Ta'if, famous for its grapes, pomegranates, figs etc, and located less than a 100km from them. It is to be noted that since the earliest revelations, the Quran was a message, not only addressed to the Meccans but to

42:7"the mother city and those around it".

Umm al qura/mother city refers to Mecca being a center point of pilgrimage for the cities around it. There was no mother city in anyway shape or form in northern Arabia at the time, and Petra had gone into decline for long before Islam. These Meccan voyagers also passed through several locations where nations were known, prior to Islam, for having been destroyed. One of those locations was that of the people of Lut. The city of Lut is traditionally believed to be located somewhere along the Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordan, is said to be a frequent passing point of those people addressed by the Quran

37:133-8"And Lut was also of the messengers...you pass by their ruins by day and by night".

On their northern trips, the Meccans passed this location

"by night and by day".

Notice the clear Quranic words, not "daily and nightly". The verse 11:89 as a side note is quoting the prophet Shuayb, the Midianite 11:94,29:36-7 telling his people about the land of Lut not being far away. Midian is to the north of the Hijaz.

CIRA international explore early Muslim dilemma; praying to Jerusalem?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

In Medina, when the prophet and the Muslims prayed northward they could not afford the opportunity of praying with the Kaaba in front of them anymore, like they did in Mecca. In addition their backs were now turned to the Kaaba when facing Jerusalem. This matter greatly disturbed them. They had in addition to contend with the annoying talk of the people of the book who saw in this a proof of themselves being on the right path, and that the Muslims were trying to compete with them in this regard. But they are told

2:145"even if you bring to those who have been given the Book every sign they would not follow your qibla, nor can you be a follower of their qibla, neither are they the followers of each other's qibla, and if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then you shall most surely be among the unjust".

The prophet is told that no sign will make the rejectors among the people of the book follow his qibla since their confusion and prejudice is so deep that, although they read the same scriptures, they follow divergent qibla (ways) and accuse eachother of being misguided 2:113.

This early Medinian period was a means of seperating the obedient from the disobedient just as all the previous hardships and sacrifices seperated the believers from others, the submissive from the arrogant. The Muslims were not only uprooted from their homes but had now lost the comforting sight of what they regarded as their spiritual center

2:144"Indeed We see the turning of your face in heaven, so We shall surely turn you to a qibla which you shall like".

The experience was so difficult that the prophet's face was in heaven, conveying the picture that Muhammad was anxiously awaiting the day the qibla would be restored to its original foundation to the extent that it was as if he was in heaven, awaiting for the command. We can almost feel the restrained desire of the Prophet and his reluctance even to say a prayer that reflected his desire. TSuch a decision is one that is only up to God and the servants cannot but patiently endure that hard trial. After several months of waiting, the command for changing the Qibla was finally revealed. It was while the Prophet was praying the noon prayer and he had already performed only two rak'at of the prayer in Bani-Salim Mosque towards the direction of Jerusalem. According to tradition Gabriel took his arm, turning his body so as to make him face the direction of the Kaaba. At the same time Muslims immediately changed their rows, too. Because they had to face southward, the women had to change place and stand in rows behind the men.

In Medina and aproximately a year after the Hijra, the first Temple of monotheism, the Kaaba, was thus definitively established as the Muslims' qibla

2:144"turn then your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, turn your face towards it, and those who have been given the Book most surely know that it is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not at all heedless of what they do".

This SECOND change of qibla, from Jerusalem towards/ash-Shatr the Kaaba in Mecca was an event of greatest religious significance, and one of the most important commandments given to the Muslims, further cementing their unity and fulfilling the promise made to Ibrahim and Ismail as they were building the Temple long ago. The unity of the divine is thus reflected in the unified manner in which the prayer is performed, which obviously would not be the case if every individual prayed toward a separate direction or in dispersive rows. Wherever Muslims are, they are to turn towards the direction of the sacred Mosque 2:146-150.

This obviously implies during the act of ritual prayers, unless one wants to believe that the verse is telling Muslims to constantly live facing a specific direction. Only one location is said to be dedicated to those performing the ritual prayers, as well as the pilgrimage and it is the Kaaba, Becca, the Ancient House and al masjid al haram, all names referring to one same place with the definite article 2:125,158,196,9:19,22:26,29. This unquestionably links the Kaaba with some of the most important rituals of Islam.

The verses 2:142-152 dealt with all the controversies surrounding the 2 qibla changes, comforting the believers and preparing their minds for the ultimate change of qibla. This was done first by revealing the story of Ibrahim, the various honors bestowed on him by Allah, as well as the honor accorded to his son, Ismail; their prayers for the Kaaba and Mecca, as well as for a prophet and a nation submitted in Islam; their construction of the House and the order then received to cleanse it for the sole worship of Allah, by all the nations, until the Day of Resurrection 5:97,22:25-7.

If Ibrahim's seed was to be blessed in Ismail's progeny, as even stated in the Torah, it was necessary that the new Spiritual Centre should be the house built and purified by Ibrahim and Ismail, and make their nation the inheritors of all those Divine blessings which had been promised to the seed of Abraham.

This ultimate establishement of the Kaaba as the Muslims' Qibla is firstly alluded to in 2:142 (future tense) with an anticipation of the fools' reaction to the command; why would the Muslims turn away from Jerusalem if it was a correct qibla and why had they not always faced the Kaaba if it was the original and true qibla? It then goes back to the past 2:143 with a reminder of how changing the old qibla was a big issue except to the rightly guided and the passage ends with 2:144 establishing the Kaaba as the definite qibla. It is obvious 2:142-144 were revealed at once. It ends the previous test of knowing

2:143"who follows the footsteps of the messenger from who turns upside down on the back of his feet"

by establishing the Kaaba as the final qibla 2:144.

CIRA international do geopolitics; why change Qibla?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

In Mecca before the Hijra, the prophet and his early followers prayed facing the Kaaba which was always regarded as the first temple ever dedicated to the One God, for all mankind 3:96. All previous places of worship were meant for a particular community. The universal character of the Kaaba came to fruition with the rise of the last prophet. It is also mentioned several times as the Ancient House because it was so old that it came to be known throughout Arabia by that name 22:29,33 and its history went back to the days of Ibrahim and Ismail 2:125,14:35-41.

But to the pagans who overtime had transformed this symbol of monotheism by including polytheistic innovations, this stance of the prophet was unacceptable since he was reforming the spiritual meaning of the most sacred pagan shrine.

The first change of Qibla occured in Mecca itself, where the believers were commanded to face Jerusalem in prayer. This means the prophet was facing Jerusalem at a time when the Jewish involvement in his life was totally insignificant. Also, the political, cultural, social and every other interests in Mecca were to stay with the Kaaba as the center of prayer.

The Prophet's purpose from the very beginning was to restore the Abrahamic religion to its purity, which included cleansing the House of God from idolatry. This move, openly declaring a new direction of prayer was contrary to all political wisdom. The Arabs and Muslim hypocrites would argue that those who turned away from the Kaaba were traitors that abandoned the age-old Arabian traditions, customs, heritage, and culture, so intertwined with it.  Some critics argue that at the first stage of his migration to Medina the prophet sought validation from the Jews, but due to their rejection, the qibla to Jerusalem was changed to Mecca. Yet when the prophet arrived in Medina, among the first people to convert and join Muslim ranks was Abdullah ibn Salam, the most respected and knowledgeable religious figure of the local Jewish community. Had the prophet's motivations been what the critics allege, he would have kept Jerusalem as the qibla regardless of the Jewish layman's rejection of him. The revelations as regards the qibla, as will be shown below, were unrelated to these suppositions.

It was, before anything, a tense period of spiritual resolve among the Muslims. The idea that Muhammad would then change the qibla to appease a minority group of people is absurd. The religious, political and economical centers of interest were, as stated earlier, in Mecca and controled by the pagan Arabs, some of whom had recently converted to Islam.

And in fact we read in the Quran that it was the Jews and Christians themselves, out of envy and jealousy, who wanted him to follow their religion and join their ranks, not the other way around 2:109,2:120.

The pagans similarly went out of their way and tried all possible means to make him yield somehow to their position and compromise some of his principles with theirs. It is also interesting to note that, when the second change of qibla was issued in Medina, away from Jerusalem to the Kaaba exclusively, the people of the book took offence and protested.

This is contrary to what one would expect from someone claiming to be on the truth, but everything one would expect from a group of people looking at another out of jealousy

2:109"after the truth has become manifest to them".

Besides basic tribal prejudice, these envious Jews and Christians disliked the Qibla change away from Jerusalem because of a deeper reason. And while some learned men among the Jews and Christians let go of their pride, joining the Muslim ranks, many remained blinded by their prejudice

2:147"Those whom we have given the Book recognize him as they recognize their own sons, and a party of them most surely conceal the truth while being aware".

They could not help but see the unfolding of the divine will infront of their eyes, through the change of qibla, the removal of a group from being the torch bearers of the truth to the nations, in favor of another group which their scriptures despised

2:142-6"..what has turned them from their qibla which they had?...those who have been given the book most surely known that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not at all heedless of what they do...and if you follow their desires after the knowledge has come to you, then you shall surely be among the unjust".  

The Quran then clarifies how this first qibla change, that occurred in Mecca, away from the Kaaba to Jerusalem was extremely difficult, for the Kaaba was the very symbol of the Abrahamic religion that Muhammad was sent to revive. Muhammad was supposed to be the answer to Ibrahim and his son's prayers centuries ago as they raised the Kaaba, praying God to send a prophet from among the inhabitants of the land, to purify them and dedicate them to God 2:129,62:2.

The descendants of Ibrahim and Ismail, Arab Muslims and pagans alike, held the Kaaba in great veneration. This exposed the prophet to more opposition and those who rejected him would argue that he claims to revive the way of Ibrahim through his spiritual claim over the Kaaba, but is now telling his followers to face Jerusalem. The verse 2:143 refers to that incident

"And we did not make the direction of facing/Qibla that you were on, except to know who follows the footsteps of the messenger from who turns upside down on the back of his feet. And it was burdensome except on those that God gifted guidance".

The verse speaks of how this first Qibla change, away from the Kaaba, to Jerusalem was very burdensome to many early followers who started harboring doubts. What history later showed and what the Muslims at the time couldnt have known, was that through this divine command, the Kaaba was being prepared to fulfil its universal role, to be freed from its ancient, immemorial tribal confinement to the Arabs. Islam, and more precisely the ummatan wasatan, the balanced nation as the Quran calls its adherents 2:143, should be above customs, traditions and cultures. The Arabians who became Muslims had to purge their minds of these barriers which the Quran repeatedly brings down. This transfer of the qibla from Mecca to al-Quds was a denationalization test for the Muslims, to show that they could make the transition from culture to covenant, from tradition to taqwa or God-consciousness. They had to shed their “national” pride by abandoning Mecca and embracing al-Quds. All the history and folklore associated with Mecca in the pre-Islamic Arabian mind and conscience had to be left behind.

But the prophet proceeded with that burdensome order while subtly keeping sight of the Kaaba, to the pagans' dislike and to the believers' relief, by facing the southern wall of the Kaaba towards the north, so as to face both the Kaaba and Jerusalem during prayer

"In Makkah, the Messenger of Allah used to pray in the direction of Bayt Al-Maqdis, while the Ka`bah was between him and the Qiblah. When the Messenger migrated to Madinah, he faced Bayt Al-Maqdis for sixteen or seventeen months, and then Allah directed him to face Al-Ka`bah in prayer". 

This situation raised other concerns among the believers regarding their prayers that were performed prior to the change of Qibla, if they were still valid in God's eyes but they were comforted, in terms clearly denoting that the inner condition of the one performing the prayer is superior to the sole ritual

"Allah was not going to make your iman to be fruitless".

Here the Quran subtly answers a question whose subject is about the ritual prayer with an answer whose subject is iman. It goes on allaying their fears concerning the prayers of those that passed away prior to the qibla change

"most surely Allah is Affectionate, Merciful to the people".

After his migration to Medina, the prophet had no choice but to pray exclusively towards Jerusalem as previously ordained in Mecca. The place described as a

17:1"blessed precincts".

The Temple of Solomon once stood there and his people prostrated to God. Very devout Jews even considered the Temple as the only place fit for a complete prostration. The Jews performed rituals and prayers, including prostrations in that area even before the Temple was built 1Sam1. It was a blessed and sacred area, a terminology always associated with the land given to Abraham and those that followed him among the Israelites, including Solomon 5:21,7:137,21:71,81. This is why the Muslims were told to prostrate in that direction when the qibla was first changed. 

CIRA international argue from silence; Mecca was unheard of?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

Mecca was, as shown earlier, an isolated, seasonal city, far from any trading route. Advanced archeological research in Mecca and its surroundings has been very limited. In addition the dynasty of the Saud family that now rules over the area that has become known by its proper name; Saudi Arabia, destroyed old constructions, pretexting it might lead to improper veneration. The prophet however is reported as prohibiting the destruction of ancient edifices 

"do not pull them down, as these are the ornaments of AlMadina". 

Both the Quran and ahadith call upon the observation of the archaelogical remains of past nations to whom prophets were sent, so as to learn from their errors. The Thamudic monuments and their idols were present in the prophet's time but were never destroyed. These sites should therefore be preserved. Most reports of artefacts and rock inscriptions therefore come from amateurs in the field, or during the construction projects the city of Mecca and its environs recently underwent. Some of these findings, spanning different periods of human history, include drawings of hunting and of animals, carvings, writings, scattered on rocks, mountains, caves. Tools were recovered dating to prehistoric times. This pattern is found throughout the peninsula, including in the current Meccan province, all testifying to consistent human presence and activity in the whole peninsula and Mecca's surroundings since ancient times. 

Satellite imagery of the Meccan region has revealed an array of human constructions proving continuous habitation in the area. These structures, observable from altitude, represent gates, kites, triangles, keyholes among other things, and are dated beyond to 9000 years old. Some are believed to have been used for hunting purposes, while others are of unknown function. A burial site with hundreds of tombs was discovered east of Jeddah, at a lava field dated between 4000-1000BCE. 

All these data are no evidence of a town thousands of years ago at Mecca's location but neither does Islamic tradition state so. What Islam says is that when Ibrahim settled his wife Hagar and son Ismail at Mecca's location, the place was uninhabited. Ismail and his mother lived at that site and dedicated themselves to the worship of One God. Nomadic tribes would pass by and interact with them, including the Jurhum with whom Ismail married. 

The prophet narrates 

"The House (i.e. Ka`ba) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they (i.e. the Jurhum people) were coming through the way of Kada'. They landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that had the habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said, 'This bird must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came (towards the water)." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Ishmael's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her, 'Do you allow us to stay with you?" She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that." The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, "Ishmael's mother was pleased with the whole situation as she used to love to enjoy the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents there. The child (i.e. Ishmael) grew up and learnt Arabic from them and (his virtues) caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty they made him marry a woman from amongst them".

With the passage of time idols were introduced by Ismail's descendants, progressively making the small Ishmaelite settlement known throughout pagan Arabia, leading to its development into a town. 

With the passage of time idols were introduced by Ismail's descendants, progressively making the small Ishmaelite settlement known throughout pagan Arabia, leading to its development into a town.

Judeo-Christian critics often point to absence of evidence to undermine Mecca and the Kaaba's antiquity yet no archaeological evidence for Solomon's first temple's existence, let alone its location, has been discovered despite years of excavations, on a scope far surpassing any exploration activity invloving Mecca.

Neither are there extra-biblical records of it that have survived, despite it being a place where much more people flocked in for pilgrimage than to Mecca, bringing in all kinds of offerings, sacrificing thousands of animals according to the Bible. The stone palace uncovered at the foot of Temple Mount in Jerusalem could attest that King David had been there; or it might belong to another era entirely, depending who you ask.

There is no archeological evidence even for the second temple built on the first one's rubbles after the Babylonians sacked it in 587BCE. It was supposedly rebuilt by the Jewish exiles returning from their Babylonian captivity 40 years later, even though in this case we do have extra-biblical written sources attesting to it. The only conclusive archeological evidence that exists is for Herod's temple (started in 20BCE and ended 80years after his death), supposedly built instead of the second temple which the rabbis thought was too modest in comparison to Solomon's first Temple.

In fact no evidence exists for any of the events described in the Book of Genesis, such as the Jericho wall toppled by Joshua. More damning is that despite active digging like never before, from the Temple Mount to the Kidron Stream, via the neighborhood of Silwan, including the so-called City of David, with the exception of a few controversial sites, the imperial capital of a mighty unified kingdom as described in Scripture, of David and Solomon has not been found. Even the Timna copper mines, dubbed “King Solomon’s Mines” could hardly have been under Solomon's control; in the 10th century BC, no trace of powerful enough kingdom, to manage and require that ammount of copper, stretching as far south as Timna exists.

Islam made Mecca and the Kaaba known to the world, obviously as it spread beyond Arabia. Prior to that, its importance, greatness and historicity was confined to the Arabs and their oral tradition. When it was built by Abraham, who had the habit of building worship sites along his journeys as stated throughout Genesis, it wasnt to be the universal qibla from the start. As stated in 3:96 it was the first house dedicated to the One God, for all mankind. All previous places of worship were meant for a particular community. That universal character however came to fruition with the rise of the last prophet. It was initially a monotheistic settlement, from where God would manifest his promises of blessings to Ismail and his seed, the place where per Abraham's words in the Torah Ishmael "might live before the Lord".

It is interesting pointing at this point to a Rabbinical exegisis, by the famous Saadia Gaon in the 10th century. He identifies the mysterious town of Mesha mentioned in Gen10 where some among the Semitic ancestors of Abraham had lived, as Mecca. This could have been among the factors that led Abraham in returning to that location specifically.  And it is known that historically, people from the Arabian Peninsula migrated towards the fertile lands of Iraq where Abraham lived. It isnt far-fetched to suggest that Abraham himself made such migration.

Again, we have a 1st centuryBC author, Diodorus Siculus, writing about ALL Arabs revering a singular Temple. The only one which ever commanded the universal homage in Arabia, was the one in Mecca. If that is the case then the very idea that there was none until a few years prior to Islam is a statement divorced from reality and not grounded in any historical or traditional evidence. We're not speaking of pyramids or some monuments no longer used, but of a living monument kept in high regard by an entire population past, present and future. We're not talking of a single person making a grandiose claim on the origins of a population and its hometown, but of an entire population's claims based on ancestral knowledge. Diodorus places that 1st century BC temple in an area of simple people who hunt land animals, off a particular coast in the Red Sea.

The accounts of those that live by the coast and eat fish are also mentioned, without mention of the Temple being in their area, which gives further evidence that the Temple was located inland. He doesn't equate it with the northern Nabateans and he doesn't do it with the Southern Arabian kingdoms.

Something very important to note is that Diodorus isn't even an authority on Arabia, he didn't venture into Arabia but was simply relating history according to 2nd-3rd hand records. But assuming Diodorus did not mean the Meccan Kaaba as the singular Temple revered by all the Arabs, how does one explain the error of judgment committed by the likes of Muir and Gibbon, the same error, when neither of them are known to be sympathetic to Muslims, meaning they had every reason not to admit to Diodorus' allusion to the Kaaba? Gibbon was known for his accuracy in quoting primary sources, providing in-depth detail regarding his use of sources for his work, which included documents dating back to ancient Rome.

So, again where is the single temple revered by all of Arabia in the 1st centuryBC, if it wasnt the one in Mecca?  Although William Muir viewed the story of Ishmael's settlement in Mecca as "A travestied plagiarism from Scripture" he still could not deny the antiquity of that belief among the Arabs of Hijaz. He maintained that Abraham’s association with the Kaaba “must be regarded as of ancient date even in Mahomet’s time". Others yet like Nöldeke and Schwally, suggested that the Kaaba's Abrahamic connection may have been created before the Prophet by Arabian Jews or Christians who, despite abandoning paganism, would have wanted to continue participating in the Kaaba’s rites. Muir therefore posits that Muhammad could not have invented it, rather that it was brought by the northern Nabateans after they settled in the area of Mecca.

Then there is another Greek writer, Ptolemy, writing in his 2nd century work on geography that also covers the western region of the Arabian Peninsula, of "Macoraba". He puts it at a Latitude of 22 and another city which he calls "Lathrippa" at 23. Historians reading Ptolemy's work know that a margin of error of around 2 degrees was common to him, as happened with other known cities like Byzantium. If we correct the 2 degree margin, we get extremely close to where both Mecca and Yathrib actually are. There is unanimity that Lathrippa stands for Yathrib, or Medina, but the views vary concerning Macoraba, although more scholars lean in favor of it being a reference for Mecca. Many different etymological suggestions were proposed to explain the connection between Mecca and Macoraba, they are all irrelevant to the fact that nothing historically can account for mentioning a city at that location but Mecca. Also, Mecca and Macoraba arent further from oneanother phonetically than “Lathrippa” is from “Yathrib”. The word mkrb, and which sounds close to Macoraba, is known from late Sabaic texts (Old South Arabian language spoken between c. 1000 BC and the 6th century AD) with the meaning “shrine, temple, synagogue, assembly hall”. Ptolemy wasnt an Arab anyway. He was transliterating his own phonetical perception of a word he heard either from an Arab who might have stated the name with a description, in his own dialect, such as Makka al mukarrama, which is close phonetically to Macoraba, or from a non-Arab who reported to him about the city and who was in turn repeating the name as he understood it. To further corroborate, in ancient 7th-8th century Greek and Syriac texts, Christian writers used Magaritai and Mahgraye as cognates for the Arabic "Muhajirun", in reference to the early Muslim conquerors.

Also and throughout time, the name of one and the same place might vary. The Quran itself attests to this with Mecca, formerly known as Becca. Nothing is certain but the simple fact that Macoraba is placed geographically near modern Mecca and the fact that the name itself sounds plausibly close enough, should in and of itself raise eyebrows. And it is evident that almost every thing – apart from longitude which is a general problem with Ptolemy’s Geography-fits well with Mecca and that is where the consensus came from; Yathrib a little to the north and a river bed a little to the south.

CIRA international seek evidence; no trace of Mecca?

In answer to the video "The Unknown History of Islam 04 - Modern Mecca, Ancient Qibla"

There is evidence much prior to Islam or Christianity's advent, of references to a singular Temple in Arabia by Greek historians, which mentions a single Temple venerated by all of Arabia.

For example Muir and other orientalists, as well as Bible scholars quote Diodorus Siculus speaking in the 1st century BC of a

"temple"

in Arabia which was

"greatly revered by all the Arabs"

and all conclude, like anyone aware of the location's historicity that it cannot be anything else than the Meccan Kaaba. The Encyclopaedia Britannica further adds that the first to wrap the shrine in a veil was a pious King of the Homerites, who reigned 700 years before the advent of Islam. There is a reason why the Quran refers to Mecca as umm al qura/the mother of the towns 6:92,42:7.

Edward Gibbon equally recognizes

"the genuine antiquity of Caaba ascends beyond the Christian era". 

The fact is, no other Temple has ever served as a central point of pilgrimage, despite the fact that Arabia, during these days, had temples all throughout the region that were all established subsequently to and in imitation of the Meccan Kaaba. The Yemeni Kaaba is an example. It is because of such prominence of the Meccan Kaaba that Abraha marched towards it to destroy it. Sura Fil refers to this episode.

But none of those shrines were older than the Kaaba, nor was any one of them regarded by the Arabs as of similar antiquity and commanding comparable veneration. The Arabs identified Mecca originally as Becca as corroborated in the Quran in addition that it is the first monument of worship of the One God and that it will remain so 3:95-99. When asked 

"which mosque was set up first on the earth? He said: Al-Masjid al-Haram".

The name itself "kaaba" is attested in ancient south Arabian epigraphy as a word used to describe a shrine for divinities. 

It is also mentionned several times as the Ancient/Atiq House because it was so old that it came to be known throughout Arabia by that name 22:29,33 and its history went back to the days of Ibrahim and Ismail 2:125. The word Atiq conveys also the meaning of honor and reverance since it had been made sacred by God 27:91. The root word rataqa conveys also the deeper sense of freedom from bondage and the Kaaba effectively has always been free from the bond of ownership of the mortals and in no time it had a possessor, save Allah.

Interestingly, when Moses had fled Egypt where he was wanted for man slaughter, and hid in Midian/Madyan, which is nowhere else than in the Arabian Peninsula, a "foreign land" in Moses' own words, from where he had to "return to Egypt" to free the Israelites Ex2:22,4:18, the Quran mentions his encounter with a righteous man in that land of Arabia, saying to him

28:27"I desire to marry one of these two daughters of mine to you on condition that you should serve me for eight hijaj/pilgrimages; but if you complete ten, it will be of your own free will, and I do not wish to be hard to you; if Allah please, you will find me one of the good".

This righteous Arabian man, whom tradition identifies with Shuayb, is quoted as counting the years in terms of pilgrimage, as it happened every year. Also, the valley where God first spoke to Moses is called Tuwa 20:12. The word tuwa means to fold, from the root ta-waw-ya, it is used as a name of the valley because a valley is by definition folded between higher ground, and in this case, figuratively folded with holiness. Dhi tuwa, which is near Mecca might very well be this same Tuwa of Moses where he had been dwelling with his Madian or Arab family prior to his return to Egypt and confrontation with Pharao.

Another interesting observation, linguistically is that Makka and bakka are used once in the Quran, and not randomly; in the context of hajj which involves the mass ingathering of populations, bakka is used since it stems from a word meaning crowd, while makka is employed outside that context.

The Area around Mecca was a completely unexplored area, appart from Arabia Felix. Historians mainly knew and wrote about cities in and close to trade routes, where there was some significant activity. The internal geographical features of Arabia as a whole and its climate prevented any foreign intrusion into it. Mecca was therefore not a passing point of voyagers nor a trade route, hence the scarcity of non-Arab sources mentionning it, besides the lack of inland explorations of the area by either Greek or Roman writers.

Outside the annual pilgrimmage during which all of Arabia flocked in and generated profit to the city and its inhabitants, Meccan was an isolated village and its people had to journey outside their own region to places like Syria and Palestine (in summer) and Yemen (in winter) to sell and buy goods because no trading route passed by or close to them. These long journeys were dangerous at the time and caravans were frequently raided and looted. The Quraysh however benefited from an immunitiy that was not provided to any other tribe, for they were given a special respect as the custodians of the Temple and caretakers of the pilgrims.

It is with all this background that the Quran admonishes the Quraysh not to become inebriated with these worldly successes and forget the Lord of this House and their ancestral duty towards Him

106:1"For the protection of the Quraysh, Their protection during their trading caravans in the winter and the summer, So let them serve the Lord of this House, Who feeds them against hunger and gives them security against fear".

The Quraysh have specifically been pointed out, for it was their primary obligation to become the torch bearers of the truth. An oath has been sworn in 100:1-11 by the feared raiding horses, that testify to the concrete reality of what was a common feature of the pre-Islamic Arabian society, and the sura further pictures the Quraysh's forgetfulness of the true essence of their privileges in that context. As already stated, they commanded great respect in the whole of Arabia and all their caravans and settlements were protected in every part of the country.

In fact, any tribe who became their ally was also treated with similar regard. The Quraysh instead of being thankful to their Lord for this favour became neglectful and rebellious.

Acts17apologetics get tangled in Greek mythology; can God die?

In answer to the video "How Can God Die? (Answering Islam Part 18)"

Besides failing on a historical level for lack of external evidence, the crucifixion story as depicted in the Greek Christian writings fails on an internal, theological level. According to habakkuk1, the everlasting God "will never die". The Quran equally states 

25:58"And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die, and exalt [Allah] with His praise".

Humans have a dual nature, the body and the spirit. Lets call that human being John. John has thus a human body and a spiritual essence. John gets nailed on a cross and dies. His body expires while his spirit transitions to the hereafter. To say that John did not die on the cross because his spiritual essence survived would be false. Similarily God, according to the trinity doctrine has both a human body and a spiritual essence. God gets nailed on a cross and dies. His human nature expires while his spiritual essence transitions. To say that God did not die because his spiritual essence survived would then be as false as in John's case. 

Yet even from a materialistic standpoint, death is the end of life. In religion, death ends life in the present world and begins life in the hereafter. How does the ever-living, eternal God cease living in anyway shape or form? Assuming God did not die when he was crucified. This would then undermine the notion of atoning sacrifice. Death and loss is what validates the atonement. If God did not die, losing nothing in the process, then what did He sacrifice on the cross? Habakkuk1 is a general statement. It excludes death in any way. It doesnt say God's spirit cannot die while his body can. This is an example of what an explicit statement, closed to any misinterpretations, is. It is what is referred to in religious terminology, a firm verse, or as the Quran says, muhkam. A religion based on solid explicit tenets, does not seek ambiguous verses and try to derive isolated meanings upon which to build an entire belief system. Whenever confronted to ambiguous verses, that are open to several contradicting interpretations, we consider the context, the words used and cross reference them with other similar verses. More importantly, whatever the conclusion we come up with, the interpretation may never contradict the explicit, firm, decisive verses. But that is not how Pauline christianity works. In order to circumvent the statement that God "will never die" and make it fit the belief of divine sacrifice, it is said that this sacrificing Christian god didnt really die. Assuming God did not die when he was crucified. This would then undermine the notion of atoning sacrifice. Death and loss is what validates the atonement. If God did not die, losing nothing in the process, then what did He sacrifice on the cross? 

Further, why would God go as far as killing his son (or self) to prove his trustworthiness and capacity to truly forgive, and how is it a proof of love? Only an unjust, deluded criminal, unworthy to be the judge of mankind would think that murder is a proof of love. Why would anyone trust an entity, divine or else, willing to commit suicide (or even worse, kill its own progeny) to prove its love? One would instead try helping such entity out of its delusion. One would not want in anyway to be associated with such demonstration of "passionate love".

 

God, since times immemorial has been demonstrating His love through the prophets, sending promises of mercy and forgiveness before that mythological Greek drama was invented. Believers have always known and trusted this fact attested in scriptures over and over again, which God made contingent on repentance and obedience to His commandements. Nobody thought God would fail His promise, or was incapable of forgiving the servants that wholeheartedly turn to Him. The Quran treats such hopelessness in God as a mark of disbelief

39:53-4"Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful. And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped"
15:56"And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?".

That attribute of mercy is in fact the only one described in the Quran as "written upon" God 6:12,54. Christians on the other hand do not expect God to be merciful, to the point they need him to prove his capacity to forgive by murdering his own self/son. Furthermore, a judge that forgives someone because of the actions of another, Jesus' sacrifice in this case, isnt a merciful judge. Forgiveness wasnt triggered by the mercy of the judge, rather by the price paid by another. So although Christians do believe in their God's absolute mercy, in reality their concept of the divine is far removed from it. The profound difference in relation to that theological aspect between Islam and Christianity goes back to the story of the garden. While in the Quran, the story ends with hope and forgiveness, in Christianity it is misconstrued in a way the Jews who read the same scriptures before them, vehemently dispute.

In the Quran Adam is sent away from the garden with the message that whenever guidance is recognized and acted upon, then mankind "shall not go astray nor be unhappy". There is therefore in the Quranic account of creation no place for unconditional, senseless and indiscriminate condemnation. On the contrary, the incident is concluded with forgiveness and spiritual guidance. The Christian belief on the other hand is that there was no forgiveness, sin became ingrained in human nature and transmitted to Adam's progeny. On top of that, God, instead of sending the solution to that "problem" in the shape of Christ's atoning death, establishes a long line of prophethood and laws to be followed. This divinely decreed deceptive crooked system was bound to fail in the face of human depravity, for several thousands of years, until the issue of salvation was finally resolved with the crucifixion. This theology appeals to people who have despaired of life, themselves and God. It is toxic, as it crushes the person's self esteem, making him yield to dark thoughts of hopelessness in oneself, and it is satanic as it discourages the building of a relationship with a merciless, unloving God. Hope is therefore found elsewhere, neither in God nor man, but in an intercessor that fixes the defects of both so as to reconcile them. He is a sinless man and a merciful, loving God, both in one since the divine cancels sinfulness and the human cancels mercilessness and unlovingness. His divine nature makes this man capable of perfect deeds thus pleasing God and restoring His (God's) hope in man, while his human nature makes this God capable of dying, and through this self-sacrifice, capable of showing love and mercy, thus pleasing man and restoring his hope in God.

That is why the Quran quotes Jesus himself, emphatically denying the man-made, unscriptural notion of sin atonement as understood by those that deified him

5:72"and the messiah said; ...serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Surely whoever associates with Him, then Allah has forbidden to him the garden, and his abode is the Fire; and there shall be no helpers for the unjust".

In this short statement, Jesus nullifies everything Trinitarian Christianity stands for, the idea of a divine entity other than God being the means by which one's eternal felicity and freedom from sins depends. 

In another place, Jesus, instead of taking upon himself the sins of mankind, denies even the sins of his own followers that began deifying him. He washes his hands from their deviations and submits to God's justice, leaving the entire prerogative of salvation in God's hands 

5:116-118"If You should chastise them, then surely they are Your servants; and if You Should forgive them, then surely You are the Mighty, the Wise".

In the monotheistic faith, the prominence of God's attribute of mercy does not mean it comes freely. It is earned, through concrete, repeated, steadfast actions proving one's sincere penitent resolve. This however is only beneficial in relation to God's rights. But if a sin includes infringing on other people's rights then the divine law has declared it an injustice to deprive a victim of its due rights. In that case it is upon the victim to either benevolently forgive and turn away, or demand restitution for the harm done. No human sacrifice was needed before Jesus for people to known and trust in those things which the prophets said. It is ironic that in the book of Isaiah, the one most appealed to and distorted to prove the abhorrent notion of human sacrifice as the only prerequisite for sin atonement, God says

Isa55"my ways are different from yours".

This comes right after the reassuring statement that God is near and hearer of prayers so

"Let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking. Let them turn to the LORD, our God; He is merciful and quick to forgive".

God's nature is contrary to human's who need and ask their debt to be settled in case of foul play. There are no debts between men and God, He doesnt lose anything from people transgressing His commands neither does He gain from their worship. His glory remains unchanged in both cases. That is why he does not need to be propitiated. 

For His mercy to be released, the sinner does not need to act in relation to God but to his own self, through repentance and mending of ways. This deed is one that has no effect on God but on the sinner, cleansing his own soul. It is as a result of the person taking action to cleanse his self, that God releases His mercy, blotting out the sin completely and forgives Isa43. This is the main, among many other avenues for forgiveness which the HB gives besides blood atonement. 

The concept of atoning sacrifice is nowhere to be found in Jesus' words anyway. He nowhere speaks of his own death as an atonement for sin. He is instead depicted as talking of his life as being a ransom Mk10:45, but in a clear context of dedication and humility. He is dedicating his life for the sake of others, like all selfless people should. It is Paul who connected these words with expiation for sins in 1Tim2. This spin caused intense debates and disagreements throughout the ages among all branches of Christianity; ranging from the notion of Jesus' life being the ransom paid back to Satan who held humanity in hostage, to the idea that God the Father was the one to receive the payment, and many other nuances in between. The inherent problems to every proposition, the contradictions each of them create with various Christian doctrines such as God literally ransoming himself to himself, is what led the Roman Catholic Church to describe the ransom theory as a "mystery of universal redemption".

Apostate prophet delves into the Bible; where is David's Becca?

In answer to the video "The Kaaba in the Bible: Debunked"

In Psalms84, David speaks in his prayers to the Lord of hosts -the Lord of all nations-, of pilgrims frequently going through the valley of Beca to pray at the altar. Some attribute this psalm to David, others to Korah's 3 sons who lived in Moses' time. Jewish oral tradition states that the book is entirely David's who took the earlier works and melded them with his own ideas. In that passage Becca is identified by a definite article meaning a specific place. That place could not be the Jerusalem Temple, which was not even constructed at the time (neither in Moses' time). 

Of course, later in Jewish history Zion became affiliated with Jerusalem, but it couldnt have been during the time of David, or Moses for that matter. Jerusalem in the sense of the Holy City and place of pilgrimage was not built yet in David's days who was in addition referring to a place far away that required strenuous effort. The context of Ps84 is that of difficulty as one engages in a dry and barren valley then gaining spiritual strength upon strength. Clearly the meaning as noted by all commentators cannot be anything than the "valley of lamentation/weeping". The root word, bacca is used for types of trees that grow in arid places, like balsam, mulberry, or aspen that drip resin like tears. The balsam tree itself is found in southern Arabia, as well as on the mountains of Mecca and Medina.

So then which valley in Jerusalem is the ground so hard that the rain collects in pools? The valley of Becca has this particularity and the passage is meant to demonstrate its aridity. A valley of trees and lush vegetation doesnt fit this description. Which valley in or around Jerusalem do people take rest in and make it a well, when they go through to "Zion"? The fact that they make it a well, show that they take their rest there as well, another specificity of the place.

David laments that this place is far from the people and much hardship has to be taken to get there and despite the hardship, as they proceed to it and get closer to the court of the Lord in 'Zion", they move with strength upon strength. So where is that arid valley that pilgrims ever took on their way to Zion?

None of this was applicable to Jerusalem, nor is any valley affiliated with the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, besides the fact that the Temple didnt even exist then.

David speaks of Becca as a frequently journeyed site by pilgrims and there was no place in his days nor before, to the point that certain commentators argue that what David is referring to is a place in heaven. This is ruled out by the fact it is refered to as a geographical location which Bible scholars have not been able to identify until now. Since pre-islamic times, Arabs identified Mecca originally as Becca as corroborated in the Quran.

One of the Becca's defining characteristics, per the Psalms is that rain collects in pools when it rains because of the hardness of the grounds, which isnt Jerusalem's case, besides the fact that people journey to it through valleys

"Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools".

Mecca is enclosed between valleys and Jerusalem, which is on a small range of mountain tops in no way can be said to fulfill these qualities. The Zamzam well is what made the location hospitable to the pilgrims. This is where the HB states that God openned Hagar's eyes to a well, in answer to her supplications

Gen21:18-9"Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink".

This was God's gift to her, a means of sustenance for her settlement there in accordance with His plan and promise to make a great nation out of Ismail. As a side note, none of the wells of Beerseba or anywhere near it are mentionned as God-given. They are very distinctly described as the work of human hand. Nor is there any local tradition pointing to the existence there, now or in the past, of any divinely caused well. The only well made to gush miraculously in connection to Hagar and Ismail is in Mecca.

It is interesting to note also that by the time of the great rabbinic scholar and Torah commentator ibn Ezra, when every historian and religious scholarly authority agreed that the inhabitants of hijaz are descendants of Ishmael, he comments that the well which Hagar was miraculously pointed to prior to Ishmael's birth in Gen16:14 was originally called Beer Lahai, meaning 

"the well of him who will be alive next year..The well was so called because the Ishmaelites held annual festivities at this well. It is still in existence and is called the well of zamum". 

This well, present in his time and known accross cultures, is mispronounced as Zamum. Obviously no other well than that of Zamzam exists, where Ishmaelites ever held festivities prior to Islam. 

Some Bible versions say "Valley of Tears/ Weeping", and Beca means "crying" in Arabic as a reference to Hagar crying for Allah's help in the wilderness fearing for her son Ismail's life, as related in both the Torah and Islamic tradition.