Makkah Al-Mukarramah :: demise of mountains
Jan 26th, 2010 by almiskeenah
Ginormous, humongous. Such emotive words barely describe the scope of this hubristic project that supposedly will be completed within a year.
An entire city growing from the bowels of what once was a majestic mountain. How many mountains that adorned one of the holiest places on earth have been sacrificed, will be sacrificed? What sobbing will echo across the plains on the Day of Judgement? If rocks and stones weep because they have been removed from Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Madinah Al-Munawwarah, what will be heard from these massive outcrops? These very monoliths that were so esteemed by Allah Ta’ala:
Had We sent down this Qur’an to a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, burst apart out of awe for Allah. (59:21)
Some scholars, according to the tafseer in Ma’ariful Qur’an, have stated that reason and revelation both bear testimony to the fact that everything in nature has sense, perception and intelligence, be it mountain or a tree. Therefore this verse is not merely a hypothetical example but a stark reality! There are so many examples of so-called inanimate things bearing witness to our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. (An example to follow, Insha’Allah in a subsequent post related to this time just spent in Makkah.)
Now we see the mountains, and not just any ordinary mountains, bursting apart at the hand of man. I am not against development, and agreeing to the need of accommodation for pilgrims, but at this expense? Surely far more humble alternative solutions could have intelligently been designed without this mass destruction. And Allah Ta’ala knows best.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud RadhiAllahu anhu reported that a Jewish scholar came to Allah’s Apostle SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and said, ‘Muhammad, or Abu al-Qasim, verify, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious would carry the Heavens on the Day of Judgment upon one finger and earths upon one finger and the mountains and trees upon one finger and the ocean and moist earth upon one finger-in fact the whole of the creation upon one finger, and then He would stir them and say: ‘I am your Lord, I am your Lord.’ Thereupon Allah’s Messenger SallAllahu alaihi wasallam smiled testifying what that scholar had said. He then recited this verse:
And they honour not Allah with the honour due to Him; and the whole earth will be in His grip on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens are folded up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! He is far above the partners they ascribe to Him! (39:67)
And they honour not Allah with the honour due to Him
Do you too search for the justification for such destruction? These huge drilling pillars seem to rape and abuse what Allah Ta’ala honoured this sacred land with, jamming deep into the very ‘pegs’ that clench the Earth’s crust together:
Have we no made the earth as a bed and the mountains as its pegs? (78:6-7)
We placed firmly embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under them…(21:31)
Desecration above and incisive excavations below.
Compare the progress with this post on the Jabal Omar project from October 2007.
Wandering past these gigantic chasms the enormity of the following Salawaat from the Dala’il Al-Khayrat took on a powerfully new dimension:
And bless our master Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and the family of our master Muhammad RadhiAllahu anhum as much as the weight of all mountains and all rocks!
The sun sets over the current silhouette of Jabal Omar, which will soon be a vista of numerous tall buildings.
Turning away from the Jabal Omar project towards the north-west side of Masjid Al-Haram is the just as humongous devouring of another mountain for the Shamia project, preparing for the next expansion of the Haram.
Nafi’ reported that Abdullah ibn ‘Umar RadhiAllahu anhu informed him that Allah’s Messenger SallAllahu alaihi wasallam turned his face to the two hillocks which intervened between him and the long mountain by the side of the Ka’ba, and the mosque which had been built there was thus on the left of the hillock. Allah’s Messenger SallAllahu alaihi wasallam’s place of prayer was lower than the black hillock, at a distance of ten cubits or near it. He SallAllahu alaihi wasallam would then observe prayer facing these two hillocks of the long mountain that is intervening between you and the Ka’ba. (Muslim)
Allahu ‘Alum if this was the mountain referred to in this narration.
With the flattening and laying of stones on the bed of this excavation it appears they have reached the depth required for beginning foundations.
Apart from the obvious mountains being attacked, there are dozens more within the established residential areas also being razed.
~*~
O Allah bless our master Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and the family of our master Muhammad RadhiAllahu anhum as much as the dust particles that have swirled, that swirl and will swirl in the sacred precincts of Haramain till the end of time, and as much as the wind that carries them, and as much as every eye that has ever looked upon them, and as much as every footprint that has ever settled on them and multiply this number a thousand times again.
All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.
AA-
I must admit that I’m internally torn when it comes to these developments. I agree that the natural landscape surrounding Mecca (and Madina) is being destroyed, but at the same time I secretly admire the beauty that is being built up…such as the white marble floor surrounding the Haramain, the new umbrellas in Madina, the super tower complex (Burj al-Bait) in Mecca, the amazing multi-story Jamarat in Mina, and so on.
Sure, the oldstyle souks being replaced by western-style supermalls is quite reprehensible, but such is the price for living in the age post-Modernity. Either we accept it and look for the beauty in these replacements or sulk over the lost past. The latter would make us spiteful and full of negativity. I am *s l o w l y* choosing to go with the former.
Inna lilAllahe wa inna alaihe rajeoon.could not bring myself to believe how the concrete mamoth of jable umar project has risen so fast!! had to walk past this during my last trip.
wish could look at things as brother naeem does
wassalaam
Slm,make dua we come for umrah soon,the photos u put make me wish even more.would love to meet you,and go with you to visit the poor areas around Madinah,to meet the people and give some sadaqah.also want to see the girls hifz madressa u mentiond b4,i think its in Awali,wil they allow me?who runs it?saudis? And last post u mentiond the food franchises?heard they not halal,cos they import meat from non.muslim countries-it this true?
Wa ‘alaikumus Salam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,
Maybe others can share their views on this?
Dear Brother Naeem,
JazakumuLlahu khaira for stopping by and sharing your views on these massive changes. I am not against change, and of course change there has to be with the push to draw in up to 10 million pilgrims in a year, compared to the current approx 4 million, but my heart feels not at the expense of all these magnificent mountains that directly surround Ka’abah…yes, too late, the most significant one, Abu Qubays has the palace on it, and now four others gone, going.
I am not sulking :), having to accept what Allah Ta’ala has ‘allowed’ to happen, but having seen how the Haramain was 20 years ago the style of these luxurious projects just doesn’t seem to fit what Makkah and Madinah mean for the Ummah. Sure, I admire the beauty of some of these buildings, and incredible skills that Allah Ta’ala has gifted man with, but personally I feel such lavish places are not for Makkah and Madinah, but for LA or Paris…or NY or London, or or….
One cannot ignore the Hadith saying that the market place is the place of the Shaytan, who with all these ritzy glamorous projects seems to be having a field day with the malls and shops competing with any major capitol in the world…all that seems to be a huge distraction from what our sacred places are for us.
Other developments like the umbrellas, Jamarat etc certainly make for comfort…but then again I wonder how much comfort and ease we should be experiencing compared to our predecessors…how much reward do we get compared to their struggles and sacrifices…a very interesting topic indeed
May Allah Ta’ala guide and save us all, Ameen.
Yes there are thousands working three shifts on that project Dear Sister Saimah…and to think they are aiming for less than a year to be done…such is the speed of things in these times, Ya Rabb, everything zooming along so fast! Scary really.
Dear Muslimah min Junoobi afreeqa, Ameen for you to be here for Umrah, Ameen. Insha’Allah you can visit the Madrassah in Awali, meet some of the poorer neighbours. It is run by an elderly couple from your home country who have been opening their tiny home day in and day out for more than thirty years. SubhanAllah so many girls who have become Hafizah in their books! Insha’Allah I intend to post more on it after I finish this Makkah series.
Allahu ‘Alum re the fast food chains, and the chicken broast places…many do avoid them as they feel ingredients are doubtful and Allah knows best, and each to their own Iman. The Saudi Al-Baik and Tazaj are considered 100% Halal.
Wassalamu alaikum
Salams habibti,
Subhan-Allah what changes! and welcome back to the blessed home of our Beloved sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam!
There must be Some Great Wisdom in all of this; we just don’t know what it is yet - perhaps the dunya is placed so close to the Haram, to tempt and to test the true worshippers. In times past the experiences of sheer hardship were the trials, but now the tests at almost every step of the journey are different. These are the veils that fall away for those who truly seek to behold Allah in their hearts…
Wa ‘alaikumus Salam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,
Dear Sister Sabera,
so wisely stated, Masha’Allah. Recently it has been said that the Hikmah behind trials we are seeing and facing is Allah Ta’ala’s way of sieving, SubhanAllah!
May we be of those whose sincerity does hold Allah Ta’ala firmly in the heart, Ameen.
JazakiLlahu khaira for sharing these words.
Wassalamu alaikum
Alhamdulillah
Its always a joy to visit your website whenever one feels the longing which is always there inside but once in a while crops out as to make it so unbearable that one HAS to see the 2 holy cities even if its just from one’s photo albums or the internet. Your website does indeed help to, a certain extent, to alleviate the longing. It recharges and refreshes and makes us anticipate and pray that we get to visit these places in the nearest future.
I agree with your observations. Progress yes but at to what cost? I wonder with all these 5 or 6 stars buildings coming up close to the Haram, what will happen to the poorer brothers amongst us? Will it come to the point that how close you are to the Masjid depends on how much you can afford? That money and status play a part in one’s physical closeness to the Kaabah. Note…physical…not spiritual.
Assalamu alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,
Dear Mukmin,
JazakumuLlahu for your comments, and yes, money certainly is the issue that determines how close one can ‘physically’ be to our two holiest masjids when here for Umrah and/or Hajj. And as each season comes, so do price hikes to compensate for the addition of yet more new hotels coming on the market, and this current season, to compensate for the losses in revenue from last year when numbers were down. The bottom line is that investors in these new complexes have calculated their returns based on rentals from the thousands of shops within the building and how many pilgrims can be accommodated. During the recent stay in Makkah, the room we were in had two beds, but in the peak seasons another two, if not three are added! Sadly, too much revolves around money and not Deen and therefore the ‘poorer’ do suffer in fulfilling their religious duties. Du’a Du’a Du’a, Insha’Allah.
Wassalamu alaikum
Subhanallah…
Again…your astute comments…
You know…with all those wonderful photos on your site accumulated..you really should compile them into a photo album of sorts for sale…Would make a great addition especially for the children and those to come who will find it hard to grasp that their forebears did their umrah/hajj without the benenfit of fast trains and 6 star hotels….
And on a slightly less religious note…sure would miss those little shops lining the lanes to the Masjid should they all be cleared out one day to make room for development…with their shouts of ‘Marhaba…Marhaba…& ‘Hamsa Riyal…Hamsa Riyal’ also playing a role in making the pilgrim feel that its not just a dream..but that he/she’s here…really here…in Makkah…Masyallah…
Assalamu alaikum Dear Mukmin, sorry for this delay…the net connection is really taxing my patience, it dropped out totally yesterday as I was replying to comments.
Others have made similar suggestions, plus any publishing project needs money 
and then there are the controls on what books are permitted in the market here, very strict codes exist unfortunately.
Uuummmmm re a book…doubt if I have the brains and or energy
Agree re the alley characteristics that are slowly disappearing in favour of the glamour and glitz.
Alhumdulillah for a heart that can choose and define why it is in Haramain.
Wassalamu alaikum
please compile all your photos into albums, i am willing to help with the costs of putting it together.
Assalamu alaikumus Salam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,
Dear Brother Suleiman,
I have been in a real tizz these past days looking at the thousands of files I have accumulated over the past years, so the timing of your suggestion is interesting. I am not sure if you mean online albums? and if so where does the cost come into it? The biggest task seems organizing the files, which requires time I do not seem to have at the moment. Any suggestions are more than welcome.
Wassalamu alaikum