Imaginative Muslim myths: why does the world believe them?

Question

During the lifetime of Muhammad (pbuh), an imaginative story invented by an unknown follower was circulated, describing Muhammad's midnight dream ride on a flying horse to "Al Aksa".

Answer 1

The question is excellent, Perhaps a bit of background will help to answer it.

The mullahs are calling for another "intifada," claiming that the Jews are undermining the Al Aqsa Mosque and the place where their myths believe Muhammad launched himself into the Seventh Heaven. Where did this story come from? Does it meet any known time-line?

Muhammad died in AD 632. During his lifetime, an imaginative story floated by an unknown follower was circulated about Muhammad’s midnight dream ride on a flying horse to "Al Aqsa." SERIOUS ISLAMIC SCHOLARS WERE EMBARRASSED by this crass imagination that made no sense - as follows:

In the time it takes a clay water jar to tip and spill its first drop, Muhammad, in his mythical dream, flew from Mecca to the "the furthest place." In Arabic, "Al Aqsa" means "the furthest place." At that time "Al Aqsa" (or "furthest place") would be either a mosque in Medina or Allah’s Courtyard in Paradise. There was no mosque, no "Al Aqsa mosque," on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in Muhammad’s lifetime.

From AD 685 to 705, the Umayyad Caliph Abd-el Malik built the Dome of the Rock, also on the Temple Mount, Mount Moriah. (It is now called the "Golden Dome" after it was covered with gold by the King of Transjordan.) Caliph Abd-el Malik, who lived in Damascus, wished to be viewed as Muhammad’s heir and leader of Islam. He attempted to re-direct the Islamic religious/political compass away from Mecca towards Jerusalem and his sphere of religious/political power. The political thrust of all this was that al-Malik failed.

Islam as a religion and Muslims as a group continued to ignore Jerusalem as a non-entity and continued to bow in their worship toward Mecca. However, the myth was created among the (uneducated) Muslim/Arabs, that, by right of conquest, they owned the Temple of the Jews which existed as Solomon’s Temple of the Jews for thousands of years before Muhammad and Islam. However, the myth took root among the Muslims - as history was pushed aside.

That childish myth has become factual history, as the Arab/Muslims claimed the Jews’ most holy religious site, built thousands of years before Christianity or the beginnings of Islam. But the West "oohs and aahs" as the mullahs babble about their non-existent history, harking back to the Philistines (a warlike tribe of Phoenicians who came to the sea coast of Eretz Yisrael) and other tribes long gone.

The "Al Aqsa" mosque was not considered a true holy site of Islam until Saladin, the Kurdish warrior in the 12th Century needed an excuse to attack the Christian Crusaders who had taken Jerusalem. Saladin then claimed Muhammad’s dream of "Al Aqsa" was the mosque built on top of the Jewish Temple and, therefore, holy to Islam. But their claims are accepted today as if they were not a backward, uncivilized culture, but an advanced society of great thinkers and, therefore, worthy of being taken seriously. The media was presented with the scholarly history of the Jewish Temple numerous times but, they prefer the "mythical" version created by the Muslim/Arabs.

Sixty years after Muhammad’s death, Caliph Abd el-Malik from Damascus did build the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, over the site where the Jewish Temple stood in ancient times. It was later covered with gold leaf to become known as the Golden Dome. Caliph El-Malik’s objective was to turn the political loyalty to Muhammad which was epi-centered in Mecca toward him as the next leader. Even the media, always in a state of lazy denial, must admit that every long dead visionary is followed by wannabe pretenders to the crown so he conveniently revises history toward himself and his new goals.

That ploy failed and the Dome of the Rock was NOT visited as a holy place as were Mecca and Medina. It eventually fell into ruins through neglect and lack of interest. Twenty years after El Malik built the Dome of the Rock, his son al-Waleed, built a nearby building and named it Al Aksa after the dream allocated to Mohammed. This story of how Mohammed was to travel to "Al Aksa", the farthest place is interesting. As the story goes, Mohammed mounted a giant white horse named el-Baraq, with great wings, the face and breasts of a woman and the tail of a peacock. Clearly, these were the fantasies of a zealous but ignorant follower of Mohammed anxious to expand the influence of the man whom he revered as his earthly deity.

Flying horses, flying dragons and gods able to fly were a common myth centuries before Mohammed, often grafted onto new religions. The story continues that Mohammed, in his dream, flew to the farthest place (al Aksa). But, the mosque named "Al Aksa" was NOT built until 80 years after Mohammed’s death. So even in such minds with maximum imagination, 80 years out of sync tells us, there was no "Al Aksa" to support the myth.

It wasn’t until the 12th century ADo that the myth took a new turn. Salah a-Din, the great Kurdish warrior wanted an excuse to attack Jerusalem and drive the knights of the Christian Crusaders off of the Temple Mount and out of the Holy City. The Temple Mount has been Holy for three thousand years because it was chosen by G-d - which is why the Jews built their two Temples there; the Christians later built churches there; the Muslims called it the Noble Sanctuary and built their two Mosques on top of the site of the Jewish Temples.

Since that time the Muslims have used the ready excuse of Al Aksa being attacked to gather forces and riot. This, of course, is happening right now as the Mullah and self-appointed leaders call for the Arab Muslim Palestinians to riot over the repair of the Mugrabi ramp.

Some will recall the years of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who spread the rumor that the Jews were going to attack Al Aksa mosque. That was in 1929 and started the riots that killed hundreds of Jews. The Grand Mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini, was a close follower of Hitler during WW2, hoping to entice him to bring his Jew-killing mechanisms to Jerusalem. The only condition Husseini set for assisting the Nazis was that, after they won the war, they would murder all the Jews in Palestine. You would not be surprised that Yassir Arafat was a nephew of Uncle Haj Amin al-Husseini. Arafat was born in Cairo named Rahman Abdul Rauf al-Qudwa al-Husseini. Arafat took over the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) which was established in 1964 by Gamal Abdul Nasser.

The mullahs are calling for another "intifada," claiming that the Jews are undermining the Al Aqsa Mosque and the place where their myths believe Muhammad launched himself into the Seventh Heaven. Where did this story come from? Does it meet any known time-line?

Muhammad died in AD 632. During his lifetime, an imaginative story floated by an unknown follower was circulated about Muhammad’s midnight dream ride on a flying horse to "Al Aqsa." SERIOUS ISLAMIC SCHOLARS WERE EMBARRASSED by this crass imagination that made no sense - as follows:

In the time it takes a clay water jar to tip and spill its first drop, Muhammad, in his mythical dream, flew from Mecca to the "the furthest place." In Arabic, "Al Aqsa" means "the furthest place." At that time "Al Aqsa" (or "furthest place") would be either a mosque in Medina or Allah’s Courtyard in Paradise. There was no mosque, no "Al Aqsa mosque," on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in Muhammad’s lifetime.

From AD 685 to 705, the Umayyad Caliph Abd-el Malik built the Dome of the Rock, also on the Temple Mount, Mount Moriah. (It is now called the "Golden Dome" after it was covered with gold by the King of Transjordan.) Caliph Abd-el Malik, who lived in Damascus, wished to be viewed as Muhammad’s heir and leader of Islam. He attempted to re-direct the Islamic religious/political compass away from Mecca towards Jerusalem and his sphere of religious/political power. The political thrust of all this was that al-Malik failed.

Islam as a religion and Muslims as a group continued to ignore Jerusalem as a non-entity and continued to bow in their worship toward Mecca. However, the myth was created among the (uneducated) Muslim/Arabs, that, by right of conquest, they owned the Temple of the Jews which existed as Solomon’s Temple of the Jews for thousands of years before Muhammad and Islam. However, the myth took root among the Muslims - as history was pushed aside.

That childish myth has become factual history, as the Arab/Muslims claimed the Jews’ most holy religious site, built thousands of years before Christianity or the beginnings of Islam. But the West "oohs and aahs" as the mullahs babble about their non-existent history, harking back to the Philistines (a warlike tribe of Phoenicians who came to the sea coast of Eretz Yisrael) and other tribes long gone.

The "Al Aqsa" mosque was not considered a true holy site of Islam until Saladin, the Kurdish warrior in the 12th Century needed an excuse to attack the Christian Crusaders who had taken Jerusalem. Saladin then claimed Muhammad’s dream of "Al Aqsa" was the mosque built on top of the Jewish Temple and, therefore, holy to Islam. But their claims are accepted today as if they were not a backward, uncivilized culture, but an advanced society of great thinkers and, therefore, worthy of being taken seriously. The media was presented with the scholarly history of the Jewish Temple numerous times but, they prefer the "mythical" version created by the Muslim/Arabs.

Sixty years after Muhammad’s death, Caliph Abd el-Malik from Damascus did build the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, over the site where the Jewish Temple stood in ancient times. It was later covered with gold leaf to become known as the Golden Dome. Caliph El-Malik’s objective was to turn the political loyalty to Muhammad which was epi-centered in Mecca toward him as the next leader. Even the media, always in a state of lazy denial, must admit that every long dead visionary is followed by wannabe pretenders to the crown so he conveniently revises history toward himself and his new goals.

That ploy failed and the Dome of the Rock was NOT visited as a holy place as were Mecca and Medina. It eventually fell into ruins through neglect and lack of interest. Twenty years after El Malik built the Dome of the Rock, his son al-Waleed, built a nearby building and named it Al aqsa after the dream allocated to Mohammed. This story of how Mohammed was to travel to "Al aqsa", the farthest place is interesting. As the story goes, Mohammed mounted a giant white horse named el-Baraq, with great wings, the face and breasts of a woman and the tail of a peacock. Clearly, these were the fantasies of a zealous but ignorant follower of Mohammed anxious to expand the influence of the man whom he revered as his earthly deity.

Flying horses, flying dragons and gods able to fly were a common myth centuries before Mohammed, often grafted onto new religions. The story continues that Mohammed, in his dream, flew to the farthest place (al aqsa). But, the mosque named "Al aqsa" was NOT built until 80 years after Mohammed’s death. So even in such minds with maximum imagination, 80 years out of sync tells us, there was no "Al aqsa" to support the myth.

It wasn’t until the 12th century ADo that the myth took a new turn. Saladin, the great Kurdish warrior, wanted an excuse to attack Jerusalem and drive the knights of the Christian Crusaders off of the Temple Mount and out of the Holy City. The Temple Mount has been Holy for three thousand years because it was chosen by G-d - which is why the Jews built their two Temples there; the Christians later built churches there; the Muslims called it the Noble Sanctuary and built their two Mosques on top of the site of the Jewish Temples.

Since that time the Muslims have used the ready excuse of Al aqsa being attacked to gather forces and riot. This, of course, is happening right now as the Mullah and self-appointed leaders call for the Arab Muslim Palestinians to riot over the repair of the Mugrabi ramp.

Some will recall the years of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who spread the rumor that the Jews were going to attack Al aqsa mosque. That was in 1929 and started the riots that killed hundreds of Jews. The Grand Mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini, was a close follower of Hitler during WW2, hoping to entice him to bring his Jew-killing mechanisms to Jerusalem. The only condition Husseini set for assisting the Nazis was that, after they won the war, they would murder all the Jews in Palestine. You would not be surprised that yasser Arafat was a nephew of Uncle Haj Amin al-Husseini. Arafat was born in Cairo named Rahman Abdul Rauf al-Qudwa al-Husseini. Arafat took over the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) which was established in 1964 by Gamal Abdul Nasser.

The rest is history.

Answer 2

Answerers have stated that this midnight dream ride of Muhammad's on a flying horse to "Al Aksa" is in the Quran.

I am fairly familiar with the Quran and do not recognize this story as appearing there.

If anyone can cite the sura where this appears, please do so in your answer.

Anyone who has looked for this in the Quran and has NOT FOUND it, please include that fact in your answer.

You can, of course edit your existing answer to include the new information.

Answer 3

Radical Islam -- Iran and Pakistan -- are the biggest threat to the Western world today.

The Muslim myths are indeed part of the problem.

The West must wake up and solve this situation while there still is time.

Answer 4

copy and paste do not interest any one
the title Imaginative Muslim myth is no right question
in the Koran"Muslims holly book" a full sura "CHAPTER" describe this trip
now i have to remind you of one thing god said that"he (GOD)put the Koran forward to us (ANZALNA)means it was up in heavens and had bin brought down.and he promised to preserve it"
now 1400 years passed with all these consperacies against islamn and moslims you see the koran is the koran
can you say the same about bible?

Answer 5

FIRSTLY --- AVRI ANOKHI (Guy with the long answer) ---Copied and pasted his answer from some unreliable source.

1.) One can also claim that the miraculous birth and "death" of Christ is also a MYTH -- Muslims also believe in Jesus as the prophet / messenger of God.

2.)Over 2 billion people spend BILLIONS of dollars during the christmas period and believing in Santa Clause - which is a Myth. "Santa Clause" to some critics is originated from Satanism.

3.) The jounney of the holy Prophet Mohamed to the heavens was to all muslims, a reality - IT IS NOT A MYTH ---
Athiest will tell you that the belief in angles is mythical -- you will tell them - ITS NOT A MYTH ----

you can respond to the answers you recieved. There is an option. Please respond to mine too

Answer 6

Are you serious?
The Israeli machine is working on yahoo too now.

I guess everything was a myth! Let's just kill all the Muslims off?

Astigfurallah, read the Qur'an.

Answer 7

i live in australia and the muslim debate is huge here and i have to say "when you have muslims,them selves teaching the jihad word" it doesn't help the religion. muslims need like, muslim police or something to help clean up its name! honestly, i dont think some muslims know what to believe anymore. and i to think the virgin story is bull,not to menchion that "US WESTERN WOMEN" get called sluts b/c of the way we dress but then your men talk like that about getting lots of virgins. it is ridiculous.

Answer 8

Well, if you accept a blatantly made up religion based on a mutually exclusive religion, then you'll believe anything.

Answer 9

How is that any different from the "myths" of Christianity

Answer 10

Hey, if they buy in to the "getting the virgins" story (how do you enjoy them if your body is dead??) the rest is easy to believe.