Study – Grow – Know

What About Mecca? When Was It Built?

June 20, 2013 at 1:04 PM Leave a comment

Within Islam, there is the belief that Abraham (along with Ishmael) went to Mecca and built the first temple there. We noted previously that Mecca is deep within Saudi Arabia and about 1,000 kilometers south of Mt. Sinai (where the Wilderness of Paran is located). We also learned that after Hagar and Ishmael left Abraham, they settled in the Wilderness of Paran (Genesis 21:20-21). Further, we learned that once the children of Israel left Egypt, they eventually went to the area of Sinai and camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Once they left that area, they relocated to an area called the Desert of Paran (Numbers 10:12). We can assume that this is the exact same location as the one Hagar and Ishmael settled in years before after leaving Abraham.

There is no biblical record that either Abraham or Ishmael went to Mecca. As I pointed out in my previous article, Islam teaches that Paran is the same area as what is known as Mecca today. Yet the two areas are separated by 1,000 kilometers. The linked site wrongly claims that the Bible teaches that Paran is south of Mt. Sinai. They use Deuteronomy 33:2 in their attempt. “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes,” (NIV).

Deuteronomy 33:2 is the beginning of a blessing that Moses says over the children of Israel prior to his death. Please note that the verse is talking about the Lord here. Moses is saying that the Lord came FROM Sinai and He shone forth FROM Paran. Moses also says that He came with His holy angels FROM THE SOUTH. This refers to the direction from which the Lord arrived, the south. It does not mean that Paran is south. The text is saying that the Lord and His angels came from the south, meaning the south of Paran or Mt. Sinai.

But what of Mecca? When was it built? It seems that the furthest south he went from Israel was to Egypt, which is still far north of Mecca. Does archaeology tell us one way or another? In spite of what Islam normally teaches about Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael, the truth is that there is no archaeological evidence supporting the idea that Abraham or Ishmael went there, much less built a temple there.

“Mecca is located 1,000 kilometers – across barren desert – away from the Holy Land. The record of Abraham’s journey as detailed in Scripture and confirmed by archaeology, precludes any notion of Abraham, Hagar or Ishmael ever having been in Mecca. Additionally, they lived almost 1,000 years before the first caravan route was ever established along the Red Sea in Arabia. Indeed Abraham’s journey never brought him within about 1000, to as much as 1500, kilometers of Mecca.”

Archaeologists have uncovered no evidence to support the conclusion that Mecca was a thriving city during Abraham’s time, or that it even existed then (he lived ca 2,000 BC). “If Mecca had been the epicenter of Islam since the time of Adam, it would follow that there would be increasingly more archaeological evidence, the closer one traveled to this focal point of Mohammed’s 7th century religion. It also follows that there would be a greater pre-Mohammed historical record for Mecca than any other Arabian city, but no such record exists. Again, compare that with Jerusalem where the closer one gets to this historical epicenter of Judaism and Christianity, the more abundant artifacts become.”

We tend to forget that Islamic “tradition” along with the Qur’an was not written until around the 7th to 8th centuries AD. Muhammad himself lived during the 600s AD and it was after him that the Qur’an came into existence. Unlike the Bible, which dates back centuries prior to the birth of Jesus, there is nothing related to Islam prior to Muhammad though Islam has certainly tried to show that Islam goes at least as far back as Abraham.

Christians need to be aware of the “fictional” history that wasn’t written until nearly 700-800 AD. “The large volume of contradictions, historical mistakes, and mathematical errors (such as 66 year long generations between Ishmael and Muhammad), contained in Islamic ‘tradition’, further confirm it’s lack of veracity.”

Archaeology tells us that Mecca began in the 4th century, about 300 years prior to Muhammad and well after Abraham and Ishmael had lived and died. “The historical record suggests that Mecca was settled around the 4th century A.D. by the Yemeni tribe of Khuzaa’h, joined later by Mohammed’s tribe the Quraish. The Kaaba was built around the early 5th century likely by Asa’d Abu Karb, for Arabian Star Family worship after the black stone made its way to Mecca, most likely from Yemen.

“Early reporters recounted that prior to the construction of the Kaabah, a tent occupied the site. The Kaaba eventually housed 360 idols dedicated to Arabian moon, sun, star and jinn (demon) worship. It is no secret that the black stone that Muslims still prostrate themselves toward 5 times a day, venerate, and circumambulate, is the same black stone idol that pagan Arabians venerated and circumambulated. In other words, the Quraish established the rituals that Mohammed eventually adopted and then adapted to his religion.”

If God considers Jerusalem the center of the world, why on earth would God decide to have a temple built for him over 1,000 kilometers to the south of Jerusalem? Here is just one verse that testifies to this truth. “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her’,” (Ezekiel 5:5). One commentator asks, “Is it reasonable to believe that Yahweh would consign His temple to be situated 1200 kilometers away from the Holy Land, in a valley where it would be inundated by 5 feet of urban floodwater that is always laced with sewage?” This is Mecca.

Jerusalem sits on a hill. Anyone going to Jerusalem goes “up” to that city because of its incline. Mecca is often flooded with waste water. Would God purposefully choose such a site for worship?

If archaeology is true, Mecca did not begin until the 4th century. If so, then Abraham could not have visited it, much less built a temple there.

Entry filed under: Islam, Islamofascism, israel, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Religious - Christian - Theology. Tags: #ccot, #pjnet, #tcot, #twitchy, abraham and mecca, mecca, mecca began in the 4th century.