The 5 Stages of the Hajj are borrowed, & IDOLATROUS!

We have noticed that much of Islam is borrowed from other faiths and other practices, primarily from Judaism and Christianity. The 5 stages of the Hajj pilgrimage is no different. Even the name 'Hajj' comes from the Hebrew 'Hagg' which means pilgrimage, a practice which the Jews made to Jerusalem, and which was then later copied and mimicked in the holy city of Islam, Mecca. Kaaba: To begin with the Kaaba in Mecca, which is a squared 'Cube' (which the word Kaaba means), was borrowed from the 'cube' situated on the 'Temple Mount' of Jerusalem, directly above the 'Holy of Holies' of King David's Temple, on Mount Moriah, where the 'Dome of the Rock' is now situated. Muslims circumambulate 7 times around the Kaaba, walking in a counter-clockwise direction. This is the same practice which the Jews carried out around their Kaaba in Jerusalem, circling 7 times in a counter-clockwise direction to commemorate the cicumambulation of Jericho by the Israelites during the time of Joshua, before the walls of that city fell. After they encircled the Kaaba, the Muslims then run back-and-forth 7 times between two "mountains" named 'Saafa and Marwah', which are located just 100 meters from the Kaaba, to commemorate the place where Hagar searched for water for Ishmael in those two mountains. Today, Saafa and Marwah are no longer mountains, but mere rocks, each about 20-30 feet high, not nearly large enough to find water in. And they are only located 100 meters from the Kaaba, hardly far enough into the desert to force Hagar to search for water, when she could have simply gone to any of the houses surrounding the Kaaba to find it. The original Saafa and Marwah, however, were in Jerusalem. The Jewish historian Josephus refers to them in the 1st century AD, noting that Mount Moriah, where the Temple Mount is located, was known as Mount Marwah (the Arabic equivalent of Moriah), while Mount Scopus, just across the Kidron Valley from Mt Moriah, was referred to as Mt Saafa (its Arabic equivalent). Jewish pilgrims would walk from Mt Marwah, down to the Kidron valley and then back up to Mt Saafa as part of their pilgrimage ritual, to commemorate Hagar looking for water. So, the original ritual practiced in Jerusalem was then copied in Mecca, using only facsimiles of mountains as a replacement. Going to Mt. Arafat to pray in Mecca is probably the only ritual in that pilgrimage which cannot be traced back to a Jerusalem antecedent. Pilgrims in Mecca then go to 3 Jamaraats (three towers) where they throw anywhere from 49 or 72 stones at the towers symbolizing stoning the devil who tempted Abraham, three times. Interestingly, prior to 1980 there was always only 1 Jamaraat, but due to the increased crowds, they had to build another two to accommodate the large overflow of people. Since 1980 the tradition has changed from one temptation to three, proving that even in modern days the traditions are being created and changed anew. The pilgrims then go and drink water from the Zam-Zam well, a well which takes water out of rock again, but this time the water is holy and purified, and enough of it to accommodate the entire Muslim population, proving once again that Muslims have idolized another rock in modern times. Finally, the last stone we will look at is the "Black Rock", probably the most idolatered item in the pilgrimage. Like Mt. Arafat, it also doesn't have an antecedent in Jerusalem, as there are no rocks which can forgive your sin in Judaism. Yet, every pilgrim who comes to Mecca, while circumambulating the Kaaba, tries to kiss the black stone in order to have his/her sins forgiven. It has been kissed so many times that it has changed its color from white to black. The idea that one's sins can be forgiven by a stone is as idolatrous as possible, since how can a stone do what is reserved for God himself, and him alone? This attempt to elevate a stone to the position reserved only for the divine commits the most heinous sin in Islam, that of "Shirk", which means elevating something or someone to the position of God. Yet, this stone and all the other stones are at the very center of Mecca, and at the very center of the pilgrimage rituals, proving just how idolatrous Islam has become. They borrowed the majority of these rituals from Jerusalem, but changed the meaning of those rituals, to circumambulating, running between, climbing, stoning, drinking, and kissing mere stones, in an attempt to get closer to their god, with the hope of rejuvenating themselves, and having their sins forgiven. © Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2022 (63,280) Music: "Justice and Fame" by Rafael Krux, from filmmusic-io