Religious significance of Jerusalem: Difference between revisions
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
==In Christianity== |
==In Christianity== |
||
Panini |
|||
{{Main|Jerusalem in Christianity}} |
|||
{{see also|List of Christian holy sites in the Holy Land}} |
|||
For [[Christianity|Christians]], Jerusalem's place in the life of [[Jesus]] gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the [[Old Testament]], the [[Bible]], as described above. |
|||
Jerusalem is the place where Jesus was brought as a child, to be "presented" at the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 2:22) and to attend festivals (Luke 2:41). According to the [[Gospel]]s, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem, especially in the Temple courts. There is also an account of Jesus' "cleansing" of the Temple, chasing various traders out of the sacred precincts ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] 11:15). At the end of each of the Gospels, there are accounts of Jesus' [[Last Supper]] in an "upper room" in Jerusalem, his arrest in [[Gethsemane]], his trial, his crucifixion at [[Golgotha]], his burial nearby and his [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] and [[Ascension of Jesus Christ|ascension]]. |
|||
In Christianity, the Jewish connection with the city is considered as the account of God's relationship with His [[chosen people]]—the original [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]]—and the essential prelude to the events narrated in the [[New Testament]], including both universal commandments (e.g. the [[Ten Commandments]]) and [[supersessionism|obsolete]] or Judaism-specific ones (see [[Biblical law in Christianity]] for details). |
|||
In medieval times Christians thought Jerusalem was the center of the world (Latin: ''umbilicus mundi'', Greek: ''Omphalos''), and was so represented in the so-called [[T and O map]]s. Byzantine hymns speak of the Cross being "planted in the center of the earth," and the imagery is tied to the concept of the [[Death and resurrection of Jesus]] being for the benefit of all mankind. Medieval maps of Europe usually placed the east ("orient")—Jerusalem—at the top, and this arrangement led to the use of the term "to orient" to mean to align a map with actual compass directions. |
|||
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> |
|||
File:Jerusalem Holy Sepulchre BW 24.JPG|Main entrance to the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] |
|||
File:Jerusalem Cenacle BW 5.JPG|The [[Cenacle]] on [[Mount Zion]], claimed to be the location of the [[Last Supper]] and [[Pentecost]]. [[Bargil Pixner]]<ref name="Pixner">Bargil Pixner, ''The Church of the Apostles found on Mount Zion'', [[Biblical Archaeology Review]] 16.3 May/June 1990 [http://www.centuryone.org/apostles.html]</ref> claims the original [[Church of the Apostles]] is located under the current structure. |
|||
</gallery> |
|||
==In Islam==<!-- This section is linked from [[Holy Land]] --> |
==In Islam==<!-- This section is linked from [[Holy Land]] --> |
||
Revision as of 06:24, 6 February 2013
| Part of a series on |
| Jerusalem |
|---|
 |
The city of Jerusalem is significant in a number of religious traditions, including the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which consider it a holy city.
In Judaism
Temple Mount: Apparently where god chose the divine spirit to rest.
By the way, Pineapple is tasty, mmmhmm!!!
In Christianity
Panini
In Islam
Jerusalem is considered a sacred site in Sunni Islamic tradition, along with Mecca and Medina. Islamic tradition holds that previous prophets were associated with the city, and that the Islamic prophet Muhammad visited the city on a nocturnal journey. Due to such significance it was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims and the prophet Muhammad designated the Al-Aqsa for pilgrimage.
Glory to He (God) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless .
No journey should be undertaken to visit any mosque but three: this mosque of mine, al-Masjid al-Haraam and Masjid al-Aqsa."
— Narrated from Abu Hurayrah [1]
The most holy spot [al-quds] on earth is Syria; the most holy spot in Syria is Palestine; the most holy spot in Palestine is Jerusalem [Bayt al-maqdis]; the most holy spot in Jerusalem is the Mountain; the most holy spot in Jerusalem is the place of worship [al-masjid], and the most holy spot in the place of worship is the Dome
Muhammad is believed to have been taken by the miraculous steed Buraq to visit Jerusalem, where he prayed, and then to visit heaven, in a single night in the year 610. Jerusalem is not directly mentioned by name in the Qur'an nor is it mentioned by its Arabic translation, "Al Quds". However the Qur'anic verse (17:1) is interpreted by Islamic tafsirs (commentaries) as referring to this journey, with the term "the farthest Mosque" (al-masjid al-Aqsa) referring to the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem, where the mosque stands. There he meets other prophets, Abraham, Moses and Jesus in particular.[5]
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is specified of being in Jerusalem as per numerous hadith:
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: "Then he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "When the people of Quraish did not believe me (i.e. the story of my Night Journey), I stood up in Al-Hijr and Allah displayed Jerusalem in front of me, and I began describing Jerusalem to them while I was looking at it." Sahih Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226.[6]
Part of Jerusalem's significance and holiness to Muslims derives from its strong association with Abraham, David, Solomon, and Jesus. They are all regarded as Prophets of Islam and their stories are mentioned in the Qur'an.
Jerusalem served as the first qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims. Whilst Muslims were in Mecca, and also for 17–18 months in Medina, Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem. Early mosques in Medina were built to face Jerusalem. In 625, The qibla was changed to the Kaaba in Mecca.[7]
After Muhammad, many of his Companions lived in Jerusalem, and upon their death they were buried there.[8]
In Mandaeism
In Mandaeism (an ancient Gnostic-like non-Christian religion, once significant in numbers but now a small group found primarily in parts of southern Iran and Iraq) Jerusalem is considered a city of wickedness, dedicated to the god of Judaism, whom they call Adunay (Adonai) or Yurba (possibly YHWH) and consider to be an evil spirit. According to Sidra d-Yahia 54, Jerusalem is "the stronghold that Adunay built ... [he] brought to it falsehood in plenty, and it meant persecution against my tarmidia (Manda d-Hiia's disciples)." In the Ginza Rba (15.11), it is said to have come into being as a result of the incestuous union of the seven planets with their evil mother Ruha d-Qudsha, who "left lewdness, perversion, and fornication in it. They said: 'Whoever lives in the city of Jerusalem will not mention the name of God.'" (Elsewhere, however, it more prosaically says the city was built by Solomon.) However, Yahya (John the Baptist), an important figure in the religion, is said to have been born there.
Notes
- ^ "Rulings on Mosques," Islam-QA.com.
- ^ As quoted in Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Wasiti's Fada'il Bayt al-Muqaddas (c.1019)
- ^ Jerusalem for the Three Monotheistic Religions. A Theological Synthesis, Alviero Niccacci
- ^ The Ḥaram of Jerusalem, 324-1099: temple, Friday Mosque, area of spiritual power, by Andreas Kaplony, 2002
- ^ Brooke Olson Vuckovic. Heavenly journeys, earthly concerns (2004). Routledge.
- ^ http://haditsbukharionline.blogspot.ca/2010/11/merits-of-helpers-in-madinah-ansaar.html
- ^ Allen, Edgar (2004), States, Nations, and Borders: The Ethics of Making Boundaries, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-52575-6, retrieved 9 June 2008
- ^ Significance of Jerusalem to Jews and Christians, IslamOnline, July 10, 2002.