Muslim Responses To Anti-Islam Polemics
-
St. Ephrem The Syrian, “Hymns on Paradise”
The following are the stanzas from the translated work of “Hyms on Paradise” by St. Ephrem the Syrian.St Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on Paradise, trans. Sebastian Brock (Crestwood NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1990). We have retained the page numbers and the strophy paragraphs whenever possible. The background story behind these stanzas is explained in…
-
Luxenberg On Houris
If the Qur’anic verses mentioning houris are carefully placed and critically studied in the order of their revelation, then the following picture emerges — the transition from the more sensual to the more spiritual — be especially noteworthy: Makkan Period First Makkan Period (i.e., from the first to the fifth year of the Prophet’s Mission,…
-
“Virgins of Paradise” in Christianity
It has already pointed out previously that the Arabic word “hur al-ayn” (houris), meaning a beautiful, voluptuous woman, was already well known in the pre-Islamic Arabia and many instances of its usage have been preserved in the pre-Islamic poetry. Some examples may be seen as follows: The Diwan of ‘Abid ibn Al-Abras of Banid, vol…
-
The Confusion Between Masjid al-Aqsa And Qubbat as-Sakhra
We note with regret that many Muslims do not have the proper knowledge about the al-Aqsa mosque and its exact area and buildings. Some believe that the Dome of the Rock is the al-Aqsa Mosque while others are mixed up over the term “al-Aqsa” mosque. Hence, we find it necessary to write on this issue…
-
Did Abd al-Malik Build the Dome of the Rock to Shift the Hajj from Makkah to Jerusalem?
The Jewish Orientalist Ignaz Goldziher claimed that the Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan had built the Dome of the Rock to prevent the people of Syria and Iraq from the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah and in order to religiously justify this act, his friend Al-Zuhri fabricated the hadith of “Do not set out on…
-
The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as-Sakhra)
The most universally recognized symbol of Jerusalem is not a Jewish or Christian holy place but a Muslim one: the Dome of the Rock, or Qubbat as-Sakhra as it is known in Arabic. When people see its golden dome rising above the open expanse of Haram as-Shareef, they think of only one place in the…