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Imamology

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Mecca or the Mechanical

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Qa'im

Entry posted by Qa'im ·

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Why have we turned Mecca into the Mechanical?

Mecca is the central pinnacle of human assembly, yet its architecture has been modeled after the capitals of individualism: New York, London, Toronto, and Las Vegas.

Its Ottoman heritage is being destroyed, its mountains are being removed, its mosques are being leveled, and all of it is being replaced with gray skyscrapers, McDonalds, Starbucks, cranes, and boxy buildings.

Over the centuries, our civilization has developed an architectural style, beautiful calligraphy, symmetrical patterns, captivating minarets, and iconic domes. Our mosques were designed to remind us of the divine order of the creation and the beauty of our revelation. We built the marvels that are Istanbul and Isfahan. The Taj Mahal, the Alhambra in Spain, the Dome of the Rock, and the Suleymaniye Mosque are some of the most elegant structures in the world.

The Protestant work-ethic cities in the West were designed with only utility in mind. They designed their cities to maximize profits and productivity, and to minimize costs. Anglo-Saxon culture deviated from the traditional beauty of Catholic architectural style, and they continue to deviate in other areas of morality. After British and American imperialism, Muslims are now emulating their worldly masters in an effort to look “modern”. This has led to the monstrosity that is Dubai and Tehran; cities with no heart and soul, only pollution, traffic, and eyesores.

Ethics is but a branch of aesthetics. Winning back our civilization also means returning to our therapeutic artstyle. We have no need for a concrete jungle in our holiest city.

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, "When you see holes pierced through the mountains of Mecca, and when you see the buildings surpass the mountaintops in height, then know that the affair (the Hour) has cast its shadow." (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba)

قال حدثنا غندر عن شعبه عن يعلى بن عطاء عن أبيه عن عمرو بن العاص((إذا رأيت مكة قد بعجت كظائم ، ورأيت البناء يعلو رؤوس الجبال فاعلم أن الأمر قد أضلك ))

Don'tMakeAس, starlight, Heavenly_Silk and 10 others reacted to this
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Qa'im
On ‎2017‎-‎09‎-‎02 at 9:34 PM, Grillz said:

you know how he says the hour has cast a shadow what if that is the clock tower casting a shadow(just a theory)

Ive heard this interpretation from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, very interesting indeed.

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Sumerian

Although we a narration in Al-Kafi which speaks against having buildings higher than the Ka'aba (if I remember correctly) - do we have any narrations, like the Sunni one above, which talks about these buildings in an end times context?

Also, is it true that the Imam (as) when he returns will destroy the Masjid Al-Haram and return it to the way it was before? Does that have something to do with the buildings we see today?

Edited by E.L King

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Grillz
21 hours ago, E.L King said:

Although we a narration in Al-Kafi which speaks against having buildings higher than the Ka'aba (if I remember correctly) - do we have any narrations, like the Sunni one above, which talks about these buildings in an end times context?

Also, is it true that the Imam (as) when he returns will destroy the Masjid Al-Haram and return it to the way it was before? Does that have something to do with the buildings we see today?

I would understand why he would destroy them but wont it cause a big mess and where will the people performing hajj go to sleep. One of the reasons they built those big buildings is to accommodate people going on hajj  

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saas

I totally agree. With the recent tragedies attributed to miscalculated crowd control (and else), your thoughts are the first thing that came to mind.

Saudis issue haj quotas to keep the turn-out in line to avoid over populating the pilgrimage site. Yet, no quota is set on the brick and mortar circus. I see a more sinister plan at play having boxed in the site and leaving little next to zero room for expansion. They can't even manage the current flow of visitors let alone the fast growing numbers expected in the years to come. Then again, it's hardly bad planning, at least the Saudis can enjoy a fillet-o-fish from McDees and maybe a pumpkin spice Latte from Starbucks....what more do they need for a free ticket to heaven.

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User4628568309

Brother, I'm actually confused. I don't wish to come across as overly critical, nor do I wish to go off topic, but you've presented a quote as the words of Rasoolallah (s), yet it's from the musannaf of Ibn Abi Shayba and it's narrated by amr ibn al-aas, an enemy of the ahlulbayt. Surely it's unwise to do this for two reasons, which are:

1) There's a big chance you're attributing words to Rasoolallah (s) which are not his, which has serious consequences.

2) You strengthen what may be a false narrative about the end times for unsuspecting Shi'a who look up to long-time posters such as yourself.

These two are negated if you can find a reliable hadith which reports the same thing in our own sources, but then why didn't you quote that in the first place?

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      [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/emerging-viruses
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         0
      This story is about a tea party, but actually it isn't about the party.
      It isn't about the party that Anna Pavlovna holds, the one that many people know about but about whose subsequent events they remain unfamiliar. In fact if I wanted to I could try really hard and remind myself of the time I attended, but as I said that's not really the purpose of this story.
      You see Sakina many people arrive at Anna Pavlovna's party with high hopes and expectations. They have a self-image of their literary prowess and they want to be able to tell everyone else that not only did they attend but that they experienced everything else that happened afterwards as well.
      I was a bit like that to be honest. The first time I went I was about your age. I'd heard a lot about Anna Pavlovna's world and I wanted to be able to casually mention to friends and associates that I'd been. And so I would try so very very hard to get to know the attendees and to be honest it was impossible. I made many attempts and never got further than the entrance to the party itself.
      So I tried a different tack.
      I'd try less hard.
      Instead of trying to get as far into this world as I could and meet as many people as I could, as quickly as I could, I would take the opposite approach.
      I would only spend so much time at the party and I would stop, no matter how engaging the characters and no matter how interesting the stories that they had to tell.
      And the next day I would come back to where I had left off and the people and the stories would still be there and slowly but surely I'd have the impetus to find out a little more about them and the following day a little bit more and so on.
      In fact their lives became a little soap opera for me that went on for over a year and that's how I finished War & Peace.
    • Abdul-Hadi
      The Revert's Progress (Chasing Islam 4)
      By Abdul-Hadi in Chasing Islam
         6
      [In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful]

      Some people may object to my embrace of Islam. "Oh, Islam is such a difficult and demanding religion" they will say "It's too difficult to be a Muslim, especially in the West". I wholeheartedly disagree.

      Islam is not difficult at all, unless you allow it to be. Submission to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is the natural state that humans were created for, so I have not found it terribly difficult at all thus far and even if it was, that doesn't mean that it's not worth pursuing (actually, challenges are good for us because they force us to persevere and grow in the process of overcoming). Religion and faith are not toys to be played with and put away on a shelf until the next time that you have a job interview, wind up in jail, or face an illness- Religion and faith are aspects of the human experience that should fundamentally change us as people, and always for the better.

      This is the difference between a fulfilling life and a life of constant desire for the cheap thrills of this world (which never satisfy), religion is the difference between heaven & hell; as Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) sees all we do + his judgment of us will ultimately come down to how perfectly we submitted, how closely we followed his commands, and the weight of our sins of both commission & omission in this life (sins of omission would be neglecting salah, charity, or treatment of his creation, etc).

      I honestly never thought I was going to be able to embrace Islam. There are enough posts on SC where I sound apprehensive and lean in that direction. What I have noticed is that within the past week, I have thrown myself into developing my practice of Islam with a much greater sense of mindfulness than I ever did with my Christianity. I believe that this is because in Christianity, we expect God/Jesus/Holy Spirit to "work within us" and change us without having to put in much effort ourselves besides reading the bible and praying daily. If we expect someone else, even our concept of God, to do this work for us it will likely not be done. We have to put forth the effort to change ourselves and develop our religion and Insha'Allah, we will become better, more complete human beings. In just a week, I have gone from near-total ignorance of the Quran, inability to pray without reading off a sheet, and praying "when I remembered" to keeping salah, memorizing the process of offering my five daily prayers, and setting five alarms on my phone (complete with an adhan for added immersion). I've even been able to commit short surahs to memory (in Arabic nonetheless!) so that I can offer my prayers properly as they were modeled by the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). I never in my wildest dreams even two weeks ago, imagined that I would be capable of doing this, so I am both excited and at the same time, feeling a sense of serenity- that this really is "it" and that I have found the path that I belong on in order to develop as a person.

      Today, I received my misbaha (dhikr beads) and have begun to offer dhikr, starting with the tasbih of Fatima (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) this afternoon. I have also ordered a modest prayer rug. Now I find myself wondering what my next steps are to improve my practice of Islam; namely what other parts of my religion can I begin to practice and what parts of myself I can work on improving. Although I am just a "baby Muslim", I truly feel as if I am changing for the better and that perhaps I should give myself just a bit more credit than I do for how far I have personally come in such a short period of time.

      However, as easy as practicing Islam has been for me + as natural as it feels, I realize that my experience is just that- my experience. Brothers and sisters all across the planet, many in this nation of mine (America), may not have such an easy time adhering to their faith. For some (Uyghurs in China, Bosnians), the practice of Islam comes with the very real risk of persecution & death from the unjust & tyrannical, but nonetheless they keep the faith without probably ever making blog posts like this one. I believe that all of us, including the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) can learn something about fidelity, devotion, perseverance and not least of all courage, from these brave brothers and sisters in these countries that are much more hostile to Islam.

      How do you think I can improve my religious practice from here on out?

      How can you improve yours?

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