Editing Screen: Surah Ale-Imran 3 : 96

Editing: Ale-Imran

Description <p><strong>Explanatory Note</strong></p> <p>This is part of the honour and blessings God has given to this House of His, even when people around it lived in total ignorance. He reminds the Arabs of this great favour He has done them:<strong> ‘Are they not aware that We have set up a secure sanctuary while people are snatched away all around them?”</strong> (Al`Ankabūt 29: 67) Its sanctity is even extended to animals. Hunting is forbidden in its vicinity and no animals are scared out of their abodes in order to be captured. It is also forbidden to cut down the trees in its vicinity. An authentic ĥadīth, related by Al- Bukhārī and Muslim on the authority of Ibn `Abbās, mentions that the Prophet (peace be upon him), said on the day when Makkah was liberated by the Muslims: “God has made this city a sacred one ever since the day He created the heavens and the earth. It remains, therefore, inviolable by virtue of the sanctity imparted to it by God till the Day of Resurrection. Fighting in this city was never made lawful to anyone before me. It has only been made lawful to me for an hour of one day. It continues to be sanctified by God’s order till the Day of Resurrection. Its plants may not be cut, its game may not be scared. No one may pick up something dropped by other people unless he recognizes its owner, etc.”<br />  <br /> This is, then, the House God has chosen to be the qiblah, or direction of Prayer, for Muslims. It is God’s House which He has made so rich in blessings. It is the first House ever set up for men to worship in. Moreover, it is the House of Abraham, containing clear signs that it was Abraham himself who built it. Islam, or submission to God, is the creed of Abraham. Hence, the House he built is the one which deserves to serve as the direction of Prayer for Muslims. Moreover, it represents security and peace on earth. Since it is the focal point of Islam, it represents guidance for mankind.</p>

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