Is Bakkata the same as Makkata?

Salam,

 

Most of the Muslim scholars claimed that the place Bakkata in the Quran at Surah 3:96-97 is referring to the presence Mekah or  Makkata  which is being quoted in the Quran at Surah 48:24 as stated below:-----

 

The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakkata: Full of blessing and of guidance for all kinds of beings: In it are Signs Manifest; (for example), the Station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security; Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah, those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures.” (3:96-97).

 

And it is He Who has restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the midst of Makkata, after that He gave you the victory over them. And Allah sees well all that ye do. (48:24)

 

However nowadays many skeptics cast their doubt on the above being so as there is no evidence in the Quran or any other sources of Muslims authentic hadiths showing a recording of a change of name from the original Bakkata to Makkata. Bakkata is Makkata to them is mere speculation to justify the place as the original place of pilgrimage to date back to the story of Abraham (Pbuh).

 

Actually if we study the Quran in earnest we will come to the conclusion that Makkata is Bakkata but Bakkata is not equal to Makkata. This is because Makkata or Mekah as a city is ever growing and expanding its size areas as new development set in motion to an expanding economy and infrastructure of a modern city.

 

On the contrary the area of Bakkata remained intact with it boundary well defined as a blessed precinct for pilgrimage to be traced back to the time of Abraham (Pbuh) until present time. The Blessed Precinct is clearly stated in the Quran as the area between two mosques and the description fit well to be in similarity to that of the Blessed area of Bakkata The Blessed Precinct as stated:-----

 

Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless, in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). (Surah 17:1)

 

In the above verse many Muslim exegesis claimed that the Furthest Mosque refer to the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem on the hill of Moriah at or near which stands the Dome of the Rock. But this is just not possible as the mosque was never built during the time the Prophet (Pbuh) but was built and completed by the Amir “Abd al Malik in A.H. 68 which is about A.D. 691 in the Gregorian calendar. And the other technical error those who take the Furthest Mosque to be in Jerusalem is the distance between Makkata and Jerusalem a night journey cannot be done in those days.  Makkah is located around 1239 KM away from Jerusalem so if you travel at the constant speed of 50 KM per hour you can reach Jerusalem in 24.79 hours. Your Jerusalem travel time may vary due to your bus speed, train speed or depending upon the vehicle you use. Thus if one is to take a night journey in those time when the Quran was revealed as stated in Surah 17:1 to reach one another of the two mosques then the likelihood is that the Furthest Mosque was not in Jerusalem but located within the boundary of the Blessed Precinct in Makkata itself.

 

The evidences shown in the Quran the pilgrimage is done in Bakkata the Blessed Precinct (Surah 17:1) is an area flanked by two mosques the Sacred Mosque on one side and the other by the Furthest Mosque. The Sacred Mosque is where the Station of Abraham (Pbuh) is located as stated in 3:97 and substantiated by the verse which says “Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer;” (Surah 2:125). So this is the Sacred Mosque.

 

The other end of the Blessed Precinct of Surah 17:1 is mentioned the area of Arafat where the pilgrims were also to fulfill their rituals during pilgrimage season as the verse says “It is no crime in you if ye seek of the bounty of your Lord (during pilgrimage). Then when ye pour down from (Mount) Arafat, celebrate the praises of Allah at the Sacred Monument, and celebrate His praises as He has directed you, even though, before this, ye went astray.” (Surah 2:198). The Sacred Monument at Arafat is where the pilgrims do their prayer and this is the Furthest Mosque mentioned in Surah 17:1. The distance between the Sacred Mosque at the Station of Abraham to the Furthest Mosque at the Sacred Monument in Arafat is 21 KM and it is about 30 minutes cruise by car but a ride on a camel will take about 4 hours thus the Prophet’s night journey was between these two places mentioned above.

 

 

There is however a claim that the servant of Allah mentioned in the Surah 17:1 does not refers to Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) but it refers to Prophet Moses (Pbuh) as the immediate verse after it is tied with the conjunction “wa or and” which make it looks like The Quran is talking about Moses (Pbuh) rather than Muhammad (Pbuh). However the argument can be discarded as it was during the Prophet Muhammad’s time that there is command to face the Sacred Mosque as stated:- “Turn then Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque: Wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction.” (Surah 2:144) Whereas Prophet Moses was commanded to face a different kind of Qiblah as stated:- We inspired Moses and his brother with this Message: "Provide dwellings for your people in Egypt, make your dwellings into Qiblah and establish regular prayers: and give glad tidings to those who believe!" (Surah 10:87)

 

 

It is therefore crystal clear the two mosques known as the Sacred Mosque and the Furthest Mosque are within the boundary of the Blessed Precinct in Bakkata and this boundary for pilgrimage has not changed since the time of Abraham (Pbuh) but Makkata as a city is ever progressing and expanding its boundary. Thus there is no necessity of a change of name from Bakkata to Makkata because Bakkata is an area in Makkata and is known as the Blessed Precinct.

 

Asar   

 

What and where is the location of the Sacred Mosque (Masjidil Haram)

 

A mosque is a place of worship for Allah alone and it is based on piety.

"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah; (72:18) and the preferable mosque is where one is supposed to worship Allah by remembering Him, praising, magnified and glorying Him with a firm commitment to obey all His command regarding the salat  or the prayer in the Quran.

 

To congregate in a mosque one must be aware of the following.

And there are those who put up a mosque by way of mischief and infidelity - to disunite the Believers - and in preparation for one who warred against Allah and His Messenger aforetime. They will indeed swear that their intention is nothing but good; But Allah doth declare that they are certainly liars. Never stand thou forth therein. There is a mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety; it is more worthy of the standing forth (for prayer) therein. In it are men who love to be purified; and Allah loveth those who make themselves pure. (9:107-108)

 

Earlier place of worship by Abraham and Ishmael during their pilgrimage.

Abraham and Ismael were commanded to make the surroundings of God’s House a place of worship (musalla) by offering the salat or prayer as stated:-----

 

Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer (musalla); and We covenanted with Abraham and Ishmael that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or use it as a retreat and bow to prostrate themselves (therein in prayer). (2:125)

 

And in another verse Allah commanded those who believe to bow and prostrate and to circumambulate around His House:-

 

Behold! We gave the site, to Abraham, of the House, (saying): "Associate not anything (in worship) with Me and sanctify My House for those who compass it round, and stand up and bow to prostrate themselves (therein in prayer). (22:26)

 

Kaabah the Sacred House

And Allah made His House (2:125 My House) sacred and He called it The Sacred House and named it as the Kaabah where Muslims do their circumambulating, do salat and as a place of pilgrimage as stated:- Allah made the Kaabah, the Sacred House, an asylum of security for men (5:97).

 

The Kaabah as the Sacred House is the first House appointed for men

The Kaabah as the Sacred House being the first House is also known as the Ancient House where the circumambulating takes place for the pilgrimage season as stated:-

 

"Then let them complete the rites prescribed for them, perform their vows, and (again) circumambulate the Ancient House." (22:29) and the Ancient House being the Sacred House is located in Bakkata in an area in Makkah as confirmed by the Quran in the following verses:-

 

The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakkata: Full of blessing and of guidance for all kinds of beings: In it (Bakkata) are Signs Manifest; (for example), the Station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security; Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah, those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures. (3:96-97)

 

And this place of prayer or “musalla” (2:125) which is surrounding the Sacred House the Kaabah (5:97) was declared as the Sacred Mosque when Allah commanded the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) to turn his face towards it in the following verse of the Quran as stated:-

 

We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens: now shall We turn thee to a Qiblah that shall please thee. Turn then Thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque: Wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction. The people of the Book know well that that is the truth from their Lord. Nor is Allah unmindful of what they do. (2:144)

The location of the Sacred Mosque or earlier known as the “musalla” (2:125) during Prophet Abraham (Pbuh) time is supported by the following verse to show that it is an area located in presence day Makkah where Muslims make their pilgrimage:-

 

And it is He Who has restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the midst of Makkah, after that He gave you the victory over them. And Allah sees well all that ye do. They are the ones who denied Revelation and hindered you from the Sacred Mosque and the sacrificial animals, detained from reaching their place of sacrifice. (48:24-25)

 

Since Makkah is a city and still growing the original area of Bakkata reminds unchanged

and this blessed area is where the Sacred Mosque is located the qiblah for Muslims to turn to as a common direction. In the Quran Makkah is known as the Mother of Cities and the Quraish Arab have a covenant to fulfill with Allah as stated in the following verses:-

 

And call in remembrance the favor of Allah unto you, and His covenant, which He ratified with you, when ye said: "We hear and we obey": And fear Allah, for Allah knoweth well the secrets of your hearts. (5:7)

 

And this is a Book which We have sent down, bringing blessings, and confirming (the revelations) which came before it: that thou mayest warn the mother of cities and all around her. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in this (Book), and they are constant in guarding their prayers. (6:92)

 

For the covenants (of security and safeguard enjoyed) by the Quraish, Their covenants (covering) journeys by winter and summer, Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who provides them with food against hunger, and with security against fear (of danger). (Surah Quraish)

 

Asar



Salatil Fajri and Salatil Ishaa are not names of obligatory salat in the Quran

 

Obligatory prayers is commanded at specific times

 

In the Quran it is stated that the command to establish obligatory prayers or “As Salat” Is based on the timing and the timing is be done at specific  and not a span of time as most scholar claimed as seen by this verse will verify as stated:----- “but when you are free from danger set up regular prayers: For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.(Surah 4:103).

 

The following verses are the specific times being mentioned in the Quran:-

And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: For those things, that are good remove those that are evil: Be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord): (Surah 11:114).

 

In the above verse since it is mentioned the day at its two ends will give the meaning that it qualifies the time at sunrise and the time of sunset as both timings are in the daytime with sunrise being just turning bright at the early morning part of the day while the other end at sunset still has its brightness but moving towards darkness during the late part of the day. The time of early night has no problem to be defined it is the situation when there is no sun can be seen and total darkness had prevailed. Thus from Surah 11:114 alone the prayers that is to be established are at sunrise, sunset and at early night.

 

The next clear verse mentioning a specific time is as follows:-

Establish regular prayers at the sun's decline towards (ila) the darkness of the night (Surah 17:78) this is the time of the sun’s decline at noon from its zenith. Although some translators uses the Arabic “ila” to mean “until the darkness of the night” it is inaccurate as no one can establish the prayer continuously until night time so it is more prudent to describe it is the sun which is turning towards the darkness of the night to indicate a specific time to establish the prayer. And there are others who claimed that this time “dulukish shamsi” at Surah 17:78 is not noon but sun set then again the argument can be dispelled as there is the Arabic “maghribas shamsi” at Surah 18:86 to mean sunset. The Surah 17:78 cannot be other than a specific time at noon.

 

Thus so far the specific times extracted are sunrise (11:114), noon (17:78), sunset (11:114) and early night (11:114) and the next specific time can be deduced from the verse mentioning a specific time to be in the middle of the above four timings in the following verse of the Quran as stated:-

 

O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew! (Surah 62:9)

 

The above prayer is also to be done at a specific time which is clearly defined in the Quran as the time when the sun settled at the middle point between the time of the sun’s decline at noon and sunset. This specific time in the Quran is known as “business or trading time” and this specific timing is at late noon but before sunset and is also known as the Middle Prayer. This time is the only specific time that can be done in congregation prayer as the other four times are not suitable as it fall under the category of privacy time as stated:-

 

O ye who believe! let those whom your right hands possess, and the (children) among you who have not come of age ask your permission (before they come to your presence), on three occasions: before morning prayer; the while ye doff your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer: these are your three times of privacy: outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move about attending to each other: Thus does Allah make clear the Signs to you: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. (Surah 24:58)

 

It can be seen that morning, noon, and early night are privacy times and that of sunset is also near to privacy time at night or Ishaa as the Surah 62:10 mentioned after prayer there is command to seek bounty but it can only be done during late noon but not after sunset when everybody will be at home with the family.

 

Although this prayer is mentioned to be establish on a weekly basis at Surah 62:9 but in another verse Allah commanded this specific time to be observed as a daily prayer will all the other four prayers as obligatory as the following verse indicated:-

 

Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers, and the Middle Prayer; and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind). (Surah 2:238).

 

From the above verses it is clearly defined in the Quran that Allah ordained five times of salat prayers daily for Muslims to obey as follows:----------

 

Sunrise (11:114), noon (17:78), Middle Salat (2:238 and 62:9), sunset (11:114) and early night (11:114) are the timings for the obligatory prayer.

 

 

 

The names of prayers mentioned in the Quran

There is only one prayer name being mentioned in the Quran not three names as many now claimed. Although there are those who establish three times of prayer because they claimed there are three names mentioned in the Quran this is however a false belief as there is only one salat or prayer name being mentioned in the Quran which is “The Middle Prayer” stated in the Surah 2:238.

 

The claimed that the Surah 24:58 mentioned the other two specific names of daily obligatory salat is misinterpreted:-

 

O ye who believe! let those whom your right hands possess, and the (children) among you who have not come of age ask your permission (before they come to your presence), on three occasions: before morning prayer (salaawatil Fajri); the while ye doff your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer (salaawatil Ishaa): these are your three times of undress: outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move about attending to each other: Thus does Allah make clear the Signs to you: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. (Surah 24:58).

 

The “Salaawatil Fajri” and the “Salaawatil Ishaa” are not specific names of the daily obligatory prayers as the Arabic word “Salaawatun” in the above verse indicate that the word is not singular in meaning but to be plural in activities. There are other verses in the Quran showing similar words with the same spelling and it does not mean the obligatory daily prayer or salat as stated:-

 

They are those on whom descend blessings (salaawatun) from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance. (Surah 2:157).

 

But some of the desert Arabs believe in Allah and the Last Day, and look on their payments as pious gifts bringing them nearer to Allah and obtaining the prayers (salaawati) of the Messenger. Aye, indeed they bring them nearer (to Him): soon will Allah admit them to His Mercy: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surah 9:99).

 

(They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah". Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues (salaawatun), and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. (Surah 22:40)

 

So the word “salaawatun” do not take the meaning of daily obligatory prayer but of other meanings and it is therefore wrong to base on the argument on names of salat mentioned in the Quran. Also to be noted in the Quran all the words indicating to mean the daily obligatory prayer, the Arabic word “salat” must carry the prefix definite article “Al” or “The” in English to denote it is referring to that specific word. This can be shown by several examples in the Quran as follows:-

 

And be steadfast in prayer (Assalat); practice regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship). (Surah 2:43)

 

O ye who believe! When ye prepare for prayer (Assalat), wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. (Surah 5:6)

 

And establish regular prayers (Assalat) at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: (Surah 11:114)

 

Thus the word “salat or prayer” without the definite article “Al” or “The” before the word does not carry the meaning of the daily obligatory salat or prayer it means something else as the various verses above indicated. So the only word salat or prayer to indicate by name is the “AssalatulWusta” or “The Middle Prayer” but the name carry the definite article “Al” or “The” before the word “Salat” to indicate that it refers to the obligatory prayer and it also indicate the specific timing linked to its name “middle”.

 

Asar