kissing

It’s an undeniable fact that if the “two tablets” on which God inscribed with his finger (Exodus 31:18) the 10 commandments were found, Jews from around the world would pay homage to it.  They would touch the stone, kiss the stone out of reverence since it was given to Moses on mount Sinai and inscribed by the finger of God. Kissing or touching sacred objects is nothing new for Jews. Take for example the western wall, Jews from around the world go visit the destroyed temple, pray towards it and kiss it all out of reverence. How about if the Rod of Moses/Aaron was found the same respect would be shown.

Kissing  is a widespread practice among Jews. In the Torah, a kiss was deemed more than a welcoming. To kiss a holy object displays veneration. This symbolically represents one’s devotion to Judaism and loyalty to God. Examples of kissing holy objects include:

• The two ends of the atarah of the tallit are kissed just before putting on the prayer shawl.

• The tefillin are kissed when taken out and returned to their bag.

• The tzitzit (fringes) are kissed at the end of Baruch she-Amar and during the recitation of the Shema.

• The curtain of the ark (parochet) is kissed before opening and after closing (when the Torah is taken out and then returned).

• The Torah mantle is kissed when it passes by in procession in the synagogue.

• The Torah scroll is kissed before one recites the blessings over it, either with the intermediary of the edge of the tallit or the sash used to tie the scroll together, but never with the bare hand.

• A siddur (prayer book) and Chumash are kissed before putting them away; they also are kissed if accidentally dropped on the floor. 

• The mezuzah on the doorpost is kissed when entering or leaving a house.

As you can see, kissing is not a taboo as considered by many Christians. We can also elaborate this by adding tefillin which Jews wear around their forehead and arm. The strap around their arm is wrapped 7 times, again this is purely for religious reverence purpose. If devote Jew voluntarily Kiss the western wall and pray towards it and some even write prayer notes and put it in between the cracks of the wall for religious and reverence purpose, why then is kissing the Black stone out of reverence so hard to take in? what difference is there between kissing the black stone and kissing the bricks of the temple? I’ll leave that up to you to decide.


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You shall not make idols for yourselves, or set up for yourselves carved images or pillars, or place figured stones in your land to worship upon, for I the LORD am your God. (Leviticus 26:1)

Notice how the verse in question is taken out of proportion by Christians. They claim Muslims worship the Black Stone? This is false! Muslims do not worship the Black Stone, rather we kiss the Black Stone out of reverence, just like what the Jews do at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. They bow and kiss the western wall bricks, purely out of reverence.

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Talmudic commentary on Leviticus 26:1

The Gemara answers: It was a stone floor, and it was taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “Nor shall you install any figured stone in your land, to bow down upon it” (Leviticus 26:1), that, upon it, i.e., any type of figured stone, you shall not bow down in your land,i.e., anywhere in your land other than in the Temple; but you shall bow down upon the stones of the Temple. This is in accordance with the opinion of Ulla, as Ulla said: The Torah prohibited bowing down only upon a stone floor. (Talmud Megillah 22b:11)

The Talmud commentary on Leviticus 26:1 is explicit that bowing down upon the stones of the Temple permissible.

 "but you shall bow down upon the stones of the Temple."

The same cannot be said about Christians

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Just inside the entrance to the church is the Stone of Anointing (also Stone of the Anointing or Stone of Unction), which tradition believes to be the spot where Jesus' body was prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea. Christians visit this site in Jerusalem. They not only place their hands, prayer beads, garment and cross on the stone slab. They also worship by prostrating their head on the slab.  This completely goes against what the Talmud says,

"The Torah prohibited bowing down only upon a stone floor."

We conclude from the above Jewish Talmudic commentary, bowing down upon the stones of the Temple (Sacred building) is permissible, rather bowing down to stone floor as Christians do is prohibited.

Christians can dismiss what the Talmud says, it's not like they believe what Islam say's also. Either way Christians must stop being ignorant by calling Muslims stone worshippers. Unless they feel the same about the Jews and themselves.

Interesting, Isaiah has a vision where a seraphim (majestic beings with 6 wings, human hands) takes a rizpah (glowing stone/coal) makes his mouth touch it (the glowing stone) which atones for his sins. Yes Isaiah kisses that stone and boom his sins are forgiven. What a vision by Isaiah. (Isaiah 6:6-7)

Moving following Rock. Walking rock stone?

 

and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 corinthians 10:4)

 

 

Where in the OT is such a passage found where the jews had a rock accompanying them (travelling with them)? Was Paul making up stories again, or was he was reading from a different torah? 

 

Exodus 17:6

 

"How was the well constructed? It was rock-shaped like a kind of bee-hive, and wherever they journeyed it rolled along and came with them. When the standards [under which the tribes journeyed] halted and the tabernacle was set up, that same rock would come and settle down in the court of the Tent of Meeting and the princes would come and stand upon it and say, Rise up, O well, and it would rise."

 

Midrash Numbers Bemidbar Rabbah 1.2

 

 

The targums were early Aramaic paraphrases of the Bible; Etheridge, The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, (London: 1865), p.300

 

 

Babylonian Talmud, Ta'anith 9a; Shabbath 35a. Cf. Mishnah, Aboth, 5.6; Midrash Numbers, 19.26

 

Can you test God?

 

The boy said to him: And is it permitted to test the Holy One, Blessed be He? But isn’t it written: “You shall not test the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16)? Rabbi Yoḥanan said to the boy that Rabbi Hoshaya said as follows: It is prohibited to test God in any way, except in this case of tithes, as it is stated: “Bring the whole tithe into the storeroom, that there may be food in My house, and test Me now by this, said the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing that there shall be more than sufficiency” (Malachi 3:10).

 

 

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And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4 )

 

"Rock that followed them"

 

There was a Jewish tradition that the Rock—i.e., a fragment broken off from the rock smitten by Moses—followed the Israelites through their journey (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers)

 

Babylonian Talmud, Ta'anith 9a; Shabbath 35a, Midrash Numbers Bemidbar Rabbah 1.2,Mishnah, Aboth, 5.6; Midrash Numbers, 19.26

 

Paul relying on the oral tradition

 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:6-7)

Praise be to Allah.

There are a number of ahaadeeth etc. about the Black Stone which we will quote for our brother so that he may learn from them.

1.     The Black Stone was sent down by Allah to this earth from Paradise.

 It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The Black Stone came down from Paradise.”

 (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 877; al-Nasaa’i, 2935. The hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi).

  2.     The Stone was whiter than milk, but the sins of the sons of Adam made it black.

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaa said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When the Black Stone came down from Paradise, it was whiter than milk, but the sins of the sons of Adam made it black.”

(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 877; Ahmad, 2792. Classed as saheeh by Ibn Khuzaymah, 4/219. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar classed it as qawiy (strong) in Fath al-Baari, 3/462).

(a)     Al-Mubaarakfoori said in al-Marqaah: This means, the sins of the sons of Adam who touched the stone, caused it to turn black. The hadeeth should be taken at face value, because there is no reason not to, either narrated in a report or by virtue of common sense.

(Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 3/525)

(b)    Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: Some heretics tried to criticize this hadeeth by saying: How come the sins of the mushrikeen turned it black and the worship of the people of Tawheed did not make it white?

I answer by quoting what Ibn Qutaybah said: If Allah had willed, that would have happened. But Allah has caused it to be the case that black usually changes other colours and its not itself changed, which is the opposite to what happens with white.

(c)     Al-Muhibb al-Tabari said: The fact that it is black is a lesson for those who have insight. If sins can have this effect on an inanimate rock, then the effect they have on the heart is greater.

See Fath al-Baari, 3/463

  3.     The Black Stone will come forth on the Day of Resurrection and will testify in favour of those who touched it in truth.

  It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said concerning the Stone: “By Allah, Allah will bring it forth on the Day of Resurrection, and it will have two eyes with which it will see and a tongue with which it will speak, and it will testify in favour of those who touched it in sincerity.”

  Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 961; Ibn Maajah, 2944

  This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi, and as qawiy by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari, 3/462

  (4)         Touching, kissing or pointing to the Black Stone – this is the first thing to be done when starting Tawaaf, whether it is for Hajj or ‘Umrah, or voluntary Tawaaf.

It was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allah (may Allah be pleased  with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to Makkaah, he came to the Black Stone and touched it, then he walked to the right of it and ran three times and walked four times [around the Ka’bah].

  (narrated by Muslim, 1218).

(5)              The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) kissed the Black Stone, and his ummah followed his lead in doing so.

  It was narrated that ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Black Stone and kissed it, then he said: “I know that you are only a stone which can neither bring benefit nor cause harm. Were it not that I had seen the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) kiss you, I would not have kissed you.”

  (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1520; Muslim, 1720)

  (6)          If a person is unable to kiss the Stone, he should touch it with his hand or something else, then he can kiss the thing with which he touched it.

(a)    It was narrated that Naafi’ said: I saw Ibn ‘Umar touch the Stone with his hand then he kissed his hand. I said, I have never ceased to do this since I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) do it.

(Narrated by Muslim, 1268)

(b)    It was narrated that Abu Tufayl (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performing Tawaaf around the House, touching the corner [where the Stone is] with a crooked staff which he had with him, then kissing the staff.

(Narrated by Muslim, 1275).

(7)   If a person is unable to do the above, then he can point to it with his hand and say “Allahu akbar”.

  It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed Tawaaf on his camel, and every time he came to the corner [where the Stone is] he would point to it and say “Allahu akbar.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4987).

  (8)  Touching the Stone is one of the things by means of which Allah expiates for sins

  It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “Touching them both [the Black Stone and al-Rukn al-Yamani] is an expiation for sins.”

  (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 959. This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi and as saheeh by al-Haakim (1/664). Al-Dhahabi agreed with him).

  It is not permissible for a Muslim to annoy other Muslims at the Stone by hitting or fighting. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us that the Stone will testify in favour of those who touched it in sincerity, which is not the case when a person touches it by disturbing the slaves of Allah.

  And Allah knows best.

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