Mountains in Islam: the place where the earthly and the heavenly converge
In all religions, cultures and civilizations, there were and are some sacred places. Most often they are associated with hills and mountains, writes Muhammad Yaziji.
Almost all sacred sites in the world are hills or mountains. The Ark of the Covenant was brought by the prophet Davud (peace be upon him) to Jerusalem and placed in a temple built by his son Suleiman (peace be upon him) on the hill that is now known as the Temple Mount. The Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) received his Holy Scriptures, Taurat, on Mount Sinai, where he stayed in solitude for fortydays. Also on this mountain he talked with the Almighty. Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) delivered his famous sermon, called the Sermon on the Mount, on the hill, which became known as the “Mount of Beatitude.” In different parts of the Islamic world there are mountains that are not mentioned in the sources of Islam, but are revered by the local population as sacred. For example, Mount Mukattam in Cairo, the Lebanese mountains. Also, the cult of the mountains occupies an important place in other religions and cultures of different regions of the world.
This is probably due to two circumstances. First, in particular, in the ancient world, God was perceived as power and strength. God is above all, He is the greatest and most powerful. In this sense the mountainstheir greatness and power were best suited as the embodiment of these ideas about the Divine. In the Qur’an, when it comes to what position a person occupies in the world, it is said that Allah offered the mountains to take responsibility (amanat), but they were afraid and refused. And the man took it upon himself. Secondly, heaven is one of the objects of the surrounding world that invariably arouses the admiration of man. They have at all times contained a secret for humanity. The mountains were revered as sacred because they are close to the sky. This understanding was so widespread that some civilizations tried to approach God by erecting towers like mountains. For example, pyramids.
It can be argued that in Islam the sanctity of certain places or periods of time is confirmed by revelation, in particular, by the numerous oaths that sound in the Quran. One of the meanings of an oath is to take something as a witness. Thus, the Almighty attracts some places and periods of time as witnesses of the truth of revelation, since they are a manifestation of the will of Allah on earth. In addition, almost all the places to which the Qur’an attributes sacred status are mountains. The places that are mentioned in the first three verses of the sura “at-Tin” and which Allah swears are those where the prophets received revelation. Figs and olives in the first verse actually mean two mountains where the corresponding trees grow. “Tur-i Xining” mentioned in the 2nd verse is Mount Sinai, and the 3rd verse speaks of Mecca, it is called “a safe city”.
The mountain where the figs grow is the one where Isa (peace be upon him) was born and received the revelation. On a mountain with olive trees, a revelation was first revealed to the prophets of the sons of Israel. Mount Sinai is the place where Musa (peace be upon him) talked with Allah, and the “safe city”, Mecca is the homeland of Muhammad (peace be upon him), where he was born and became a prophet.
It should be noted that if in the case of the prophets Isa and Musa (peace be upon them) an oath is taken, which mentions the mountains where they were given the revelation, then in the case of Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Almighty swears by all Mecca, although the first revelation by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was received on Mount Nur. There are two reasons for this. First, since Mount Nur is very close to Mecca, it was considered part of the city and was not mentioned separately from it. Secondly, if the Holy Scriptures were sent down to other prophets in full and once, then Muhammad (peace be upon him) was given revelation in parts, and each time this happened in different places of Mecca.
Source: sohu.com
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