a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by alpha0
alpha0  ·  4573 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Black Stone
Your friend actually told you that the center of the circle of worshipers is a 'stone'? Well that is entirely incorrect.

The center of that circle is a void. The 'stone' is an 'adornment' of a 'facade' of the 'empty' 'box'. It used to be full of idols, but then the Prophet (SAW) knocked them all into little pieces and swept that box clean of idolatry.

Now this is what you need to picture in your mind:

5 revolving timezones continually sweep the globe. Any Muslim that find himself or herself in one of those timezones is prostrating towards that 'empty' 'box'. This happens all around the globe, and as the globe turns, different radials are activated and others deactivated. So there is this wonderful dynamic arrangement of souls bowing towards one another, each saying in their hearts (if they are indeed faithful) that "There is no god but God" while they prostrate towards one another.

Now 'boxes' are very interesting. In Semitic languages 'box' and 'chest' and 'crib' and 'ark' are all derivatives of the same root letters. Now Noah (SAW) carried the chosen remnant in an 'ark', and then the Israelites carried the Commandments in a 'box' (Ark of Covenant), and then the "word of God" (Salaam is ever upon him) (you know who) spoke as a babe in a 'box' (Crib in the manger), and now here we are, in the final act, where sons and daughters of Adam (SAW) bow to one another arrayed in a living circle towards an 'empty box'.

(You too have a 'box' that you carry with you and it is your 'chest' where this Spiritual organ called the Heart resides. Now, the thing to do is make sure your box is entirely empty and void of any idols just like the Box in Mecca.)





steve  ·  4572 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Please pardon my ignorance when I ask - what are (SAW) and (Salaam is ever upon him) references to?
alpha0  ·  4572 days ago  ·  link  ·  
(Nothing to pardon, Steve.)

These are salutations of Salaam and Blessings of God.

SAW - Blessings of Allah and His Salaam upon him and his progeny. This is applied to Abraham (SAW) and Muhammad (SAW). All believers are progeny of Abraham. All Believers who have 'Surrendered' (i.e. "Muslim") are progeny of Mohammad. So this is a extended family blessing, directed at the head of the family.

SA - Blessings of Allah and His Salaam upon him. This is applied to the Brotherhood of the Messengers and Prophets of God. All of them, as in Isaac (SA). It is also applied to the Ali (SA) and his sons (SA). "The Seers of my community are like the prophets of Israel" (Hadith).

RA - God be Pleased/find-Acceptable with him/her. This is for Disciples of Messengers, and Saints of God e.g. Saint Francis (RA), Peter (RA), Joshua (RA),

Salaam is ever upon him/her: "Salaam is upon me on the day of my birth, the day that I die, and the day I shall be Raised to Life again" - Jesus speaking in crib Q Sura 19 "Mary" - The word of God testifying to the Purity of the womb that bore It when she was questioned by her family.

That last is only for Mary and her son. According to the Prophet, only 2 human beings have ever been (and ever will) come to being in this world untouched by Satan. And they are Mary and her Son. Everyone else -- including the Prophet who was cleansed by Angels and a 'spot' removed from his heart -- needs to go through a cleaning regiment.

Hope that answers your questions, and God Knows Best.

steve  ·  4572 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Thank you for the insight!
steve  ·  4572 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I asked the googles and one commenter in a corner of the interwebs says:

    PBUH = Peace be upon him

    SAW = Sala Allah Alihi Wa salam ( Same meaning in Arabic)

    We are commanded by the Prophet and God to say this after mentioning his name

I think that makes sense in context now... apologies again for my ignorance.

JakobVirgil  ·  4572 days ago  ·  link  ·  
The real message of mono-theism is that there is no God.
thenewgreen  ·  4573 days ago  ·  link  ·  
As I mentioned, my friend simply sent me this photo. It had little in the way of descriptors, but this is to be expected from this friend. He wouldn't dare insult me with a direct and easily digested message, what fun is that?
    5 revolving timezones continually sweep the globe. Any Muslim that find himself or herself in one of those timezones is prostrating towards that 'empty' 'box'. This happens all around the globe, and as the globe turns, different radials are activated and others deactivated. So there is this wonderful dynamic arrangement of souls bowing towards one another, each saying in their hearts (if they are indeed faithful) that "There is no god but God" while they prostrate towards one another.
This is indeed an impressive thing. But to me it's impressive from the standpoint of getting many people to do something in unison. The reasoning behind the gesture is still obscure to me. I realize from what I've read, and from you're comment that the Prophet (SAW) swept the box clean of idolatry and it seems this "purity" is what the followers bow towards. Is this right? If the rock is not the focal point then why do people flock to Mecca for the opportunity to kiss it or be in it's presence? Is it the void that they come to be near? Is it just too tough to kiss a void?

edit: Alright, I feel bad now because the more I think about it the more impressive the gesture is. Not because of the logistics of timing it daily and "time zones" etc, but because getting that many people to do something in a spiritual unification is impressive. This is assuming that the people doing this are in unison on that level. How this could be verified is beyond me.

I wonder if any experiments have ever been done to this end? Having thousands of people focus in unison on some desired outcome?