Searching for God in Jerusalem.

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you all,

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are linked together by The Temple Mount, The Dome of the Rock, and Al-Asqa Mosque, but where is God amongst all this diversity?

It is said in Judaism and Christianity, that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son on top of Mount Moriah. It is also said that God commanded Solomon to build the Temple Mount on Mount Moriah, this is a huge structure, a small part of it is what we know as the Wailing Wall, or Western Wall. On top of the Temple Mount, which I can only describe as a massive foundation, God commanded Solomon to build a Temple, that will house ‘The Ark of the Covenant’ better known as the Ten Commandments.

The Temple was destroyed, and the Two Mosques were built on top of the Temple Mount, were the Temple once stood. The Dome is said to be the place where the prophet pbuh, ascended up to heaven on his winged horse.

My question is, Where is God amongst all this diversity, why did he place us all together on this one place?

In the spirit of searching for God

Eric

[Uthman]

:threadapp

[Woodrow]

Peace Eric,

Just my own opinion. None of us need seek to find God(swt) in Jerusalem or any place else on earth as He is not within his creation. However, as a point of agreement I think we can both agree that Jerusalem is an area of great importance to all of us and that Allaah(swt) has listened to the Prophets(PBUT) who spoke to Him from there.

There is no need for any of us to go there to find God(swt) or speak to him. He is never further than a prayer from each of us.

[zakirs]

Very interesting question Eric.. what I think is may be it signifies that all of us ( jews christians muslims ) have the same roots.Instead of celebrating with them and finding a common ground we fight and bully each other.

Regarding where god is among all these confused locations ? I don't that only God can tell you Eric.

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[Al-manar]

Peace ,Eric

The Temple was destroyed, and the Two Mosques were built on top of the Temple Mount, were the Temple once stood. The Dome is said to be the place where the prophet pbuh, ascended up to heaven on his winged horse.

My question is, Where is God amongst all this diversity, why did he place us all together on this one place?



Eric

Yes we should wonder,why God placed a nation that bless Abraham and his family in their prayer 5 times daily in this place?

Holy Quran :If ye turn back (from the straight Path), He will substitute in your stead another people; then they would not be like you!

9:39 Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place.


3:140 If a wound hath touched you, be sure a similar wound hath touched the others. Such days (of varying fortunes) We give to men and men by turns: that Allah may know those that believe.

Regards

[Hugo]

Greetings and peace be with you all, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are linked together by The Temple Mount, The Dome of the Rock, and Al-Asqa Mosque, but where is God amongst all this diversity?

It is said in Judaism and Christianity, that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son on top of Mount Moriah. It is also said that God commanded Solomon to build the Temple Mount on Mount Moriah, this is a huge structure, a small part of it is what we know as the Wailing Wall, or Western Wall. On top of the Temple Mount, which I can only describe as a massive foundation, God commanded Solomon to build a Temple, that will house ‘The Ark of the Covenant’ better known as the Ten Commandments.

The Temple was destroyed, and the Two Mosques were built on top of the Temple Mount, were the Temple once stood. The Dome is said to be the place where the prophet pbuh, ascended up to heaven on his winged horse. My question is, Where is God amongst all this diversity, why did he place us all together on this one place? In the spirit of searching for God.

This seems not quite right, not overly important but:

1. Abraham went into the region called Moriah not the mountain, Genesis Chapter 22

2. It is not the mount that links Judaism, Christianity and Islam its the idea of the oneness of God as revealed in a shared history.

3. With regard to the temple that came late in the story and that idea began life as a tent made to a design revealed to Moses after the exodus from Egypt. That tent lasted up until Solomon's reign when by all accounts a magnificent stone temple was built the only part of which the still exists is the Wailing wall. That temple was destroyed by the Babylonians and later rebuilt on a smaller scale only to be destroyed again and lastly by the Romans in 70AD and it was a further several hundred years before any Mosque appeared in Jerusalem.

4. The Arc of the Covenant is not the ten commandments but rather a box in which they were kept plus a few other things - now of course lost although legend says the Ethiopians have it.

5. Where is God? It is not a question that is easily answered as if in the whole Universe there is some place where he resides. The tent or tabernacle and later the temple were meant to symbolise God's presence amongst his people but all this is in a way summed up in Acts 17 where read:

24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you brother Woodrow;

There is no need for any of us to go there to find God(swt) or speak to him. He is never further than a prayer from each of us.

I agree with you, that God is never further than a prayer away, and we do not have to go to any shrine to search for him.

Maybe I can explain my problem in another way. God had the power to have the Jewish Temple built in one place, he could have placed the Christian and Muslim sites a hundred miles apart in opposite directions. This would leave us each with our own separate sites and we wouldn’t be in the way of each other.

Only God has the power to raise the prophet pbuh, up to heaven on a winged horse, and God chose the place of the Temple Mount for this to happen.

The place where the prophet pbuh rose up, was already sacred to the Jews beforehand, and should also have great meaning for Christians too. The spirit gave very clear instruction on were to build, and how to build the Temple.

It seems that God had very clear plans, when he brought all three faiths together on one site.

But what is God’s purpose for doing this?

In the spirit of searching for God’s purpose for humanity.

Eric

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you zakirs;

what I think is may be it signifies that all of us ( jews christians muslims ) have the same roots.Instead of celebrating with them and finding a common ground we fight and bully each other.

There is only the One God, and I fully agree with you, that our diversity should be a celebration, and a sharing of good deeds.

Blessings and peace be with you

Eric

[Woodrow]

Greetings and peace be with you brother Woodrow;

I agree with you, that God is never further than a prayer away, and we do not have to go to any shrine to search for him.

Maybe I can explain my problem in another way. God had the power to have the Jewish Temple built in one place, he could have placed the Christian and Muslim sites a hundred miles apart in opposite directions. This would leave us each with our own separate sites and we wouldn’t be in the way of each other.

Only God has the power to raise the prophet pbuh, up to heaven on a winged horse, and God chose the place of the Temple Mount for this to happen.

The place where the prophet pbuh rose up, was already sacred to the Jews beforehand, and should also have great meaning for Christians too. The spirit gave very clear instruction on were to build, and how to build the Temple.

It seems that God had very clear plans, when he brought all three faiths together on one site.

But what is God’s purpose for doing this?

In the spirit of searching for God’s purpose for humanity.

Eric

Peace Eric,

I will not attempt to even give any impression I have any insight as to why Allaah(swt) allows or does anything. But, I can see that as a result of this having been done that a lesson and/or legacy has been given to mankind.

Some things I learn from this:

It is evidence that there is only one God(swt) and the same God(swt) revealed himself equally to all people.

There has been only one path to heaven that has been followed by any people, and that path was given to and followed by the Children of Abraham

I am reminded that we all have the same roots and that it is our own choice to either be nourished by the original root stock or break free and grow as weeds.

I also see it as a reminder, we need to live in peace, if any of us is to fully respect and gain from what Allaah(swt) has done in Jerusalem

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you Hugo,

This seems not quite right, not overly important but:

1. Abraham went into the region called Moriah not the mountain, Genesis Chapter 22

Thanks for the correction, I guess I just listened to our Jewish guide, and she called the place Mount Moriah. Having walked over the place, I would call it a large hill in the city of Jerusalem.

2. It is not the mount that links Judaism, Christianity and Islam its the idea of the oneness of God as revealed in a shared history.

I agree with your statement, however my question was not directly intending to debate, the oneness of God.

In Jerusalem there is controversy about a number of sites, and we were shown two places each for the tomb of Christ, and the place of the last supper. There are a number of deep holes around the city, which look like wells. When you look down, you see a wall running down the hole, and the floor is thirty or forty feet down. The floor is were the road was two thousand years ago, so the real history of Jerusalem is about thirty feet below much of the present city.

I appreciate the Temple has been torn down and rebuilt, but my question still troubles me and won’t go away.

I guess my question makes more sense if you actually go there, see the structures, and witness the tensions. So why should God bring all these things together in one place, knowing that we would hold conflicting attachments to this place.

Now it is past my bedtime.

In the spirit of searching for God.

Eric

[zakirs]

I guess my question makes more sense if you actually go there, see the structures, and witness the tensions. So why should God bring all these things together in one place, knowing that we would hold conflicting attachments to this place.

Now it is past my bedtime.

Its a very difficult question to ponder over eric.We will know the truth why it happened once we meet the Creator himself.

i quote quranic verse from surah albaqarah

but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.

[Eric H]

Greetings and peaace be with you zakirs;

Its a very difficult question to ponder over eric.We will know the truth why it happened once we meet the Creator himself.

I often feel that the questions that rouble us the most, are the ones we need to search and pray for answers the most. Although it is a difficult question to ponder over, we can think of some possible options.

Did God put the three religions together in one place in order that we should be in dispute with each other?
Does God want each one of us to battle it out, and strive for supremacy, thereby confirming which the stronger and true faith is?
Or is God trying to make us look childish, is his desire that we should get on with each other, and share in loving kindness with each other?

Can there be other purposes that God might have to put us all together, seemingly in conflict?

but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.

We need to search for, Why God works in this way?

In the spirit of praying for a greater interfaith friendship

Eric

[zakirs]

Note: this just me thinking aloud , i am not claming anything to be true.May Allah pardon me if i sin by guessing the reason.

Did God put the three religions together in one place in order that we should be in dispute with each other?
Does God want each one of us to battle it out, and strive for supremacy, thereby confirming which the stronger and true faith is?
Or is God trying to make us look childish, is his desire that we should get on with each other, and share in loving kindness with each other?

May be putting us in the most difficult of situations ( fighting, feuds, battles) the best among the people can be known,Because being a good muslim in easy places like Saudi or may be UAE is relatively easy , but being a good muslim in places where there is continuous oppression, battles , hatred is faaar more difficult.

[Uthman]

Brother adriatic82, please create a thread over in the Clarifications about Islam section and voice your concerns about Islam over there so that you may get your doubts clarified Inshaa'Allah.

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/Peace

...I fully agree with you, that our diversity should be a celebration, and a sharing of good deeds.

O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa (i.e. one of the Muttaqoon (pious ). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.

( سورة الحجرات , Al-Hujraat, Chapter #49, Verse #13)

[Supreme]

Jerusalem truly is the city of God! Holy to so many faiths- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bahais... God has blessed such a piece of land with sacredness.