Such interpretation is reinforced by discovering an inscription which was engraved in one of the corners of the foundation of the Kaaba during its renovation in 605 A.D. by the people of Quraysh. The mysterious writing was composed in Syriac as relates Ibn Ishaq, and they could not understand it until some Jew read it for them. The text goes as follows: “I am Allah, the Lord of Bakka, I created it on the day that I created heaven and earth and formed the sun and moon, and I surrounded it with seven pious angels. It will stand while its two mountains stand, a blessing to its people with milk and water.” [Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, trans. A. Guillaume, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004), pp. 85-86.]
Ibn Ishaq immediately after citing this amazing inscription have said: “I was told that they found in the maqam a writing: ‘Mecca is God’s holy house…”
As salamu 'alaikum
Subhan Allah!!! I did not know dat. All praises be to Allah, and thank u also bro Idris - this info really made my day!
Wa aleikum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa baraketuh dear brother Mohammad Shoumik Saad
Glad to hear it, all praise to Allah!
Btw, Is there any reliable and authentic hadith of (peace be upon him) regarding any bit of this?
I can’t tell, I guess we have to ask some of our Hadith scholars.
Is there still a chance of survival of the writings on one of the corners of the Kaa'ba's foundation and in the maqam surviving to this day?!! What if, by the incomprehensibly infinite power and wisdom of Allah Almighty, these writings were somehow not eroded and / or otherwise damaged? What if the erosion and / or damage was somehow minimal enough to allow these writings to still be deciphered with significant linguistic accuracy? What if the writings on one of the corners of the Kaa'ba's foundation are covered by the "kiswa" (black cloth), and nobody notices - not even during replacing the "kiswa" annually - bcuz most likely don't know syriac and / or other semitic language (except arabic) alphabets and / or can't recognise the particular script of these writings? Jews and christians aren't allowed entry to Makkah, so they wouldn't be able to translate and or even read these writings, even if they were somehow and somewhat decipherable.
Perhaps there is a chance that this inscription survived in Kaaba, but we do not know. Yes, it is possible that these writings are covered by “kiswa” and that nobody has noticed. Even if Jews or Christians cannot enter Makkah, we can decipher it without their help, we have a various technic methods, I’m sure that there is at least one Muslim scholar who is specializing in Syriac inscriptions.
Shouldn't we launch a full scale archaeological investigation of every nook and cranny of the Kaa'bah and maqam, even if only to look for clues which could possibly indicate whether or not these writings were present at some point in history?
Why not, it is a pretty good idea, but we must to contact some of Muslim scholars living in Makkah who can help us in this particular investigation.
Ma sha' Allah, bro Idris u really seem to know things - and your knowledge seems to be extremely valuable and extremely appreciated on this blog - so in connection to your above research could u please spare some time to look at this: Qur'anic etymologies and etymological connections (http://www.answering-christianity.com/blog/index.php/topic,2369.0.html). It's about the arabic etymology and arabic meaning of the name "Ibraaheem".
Thank you brother, but I’m not a scholar, all we are learning. As to the subject about Qur'anic etymologies and etymological connections of the name Ibrahim I will see what I can do, but I do not promise, since I have some important projects to finish.
Take care, and salam
Ahmed (Poland, Warsaw)