Bakkah
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Bakkah (Arabic: بكة) is a place mentioned in surah 3:96 of the Qur'an. It is said to be the site of the first mosque, and therefore it is identified by some with the city of Mecca. Others also identify it with the Biblical "valley of Baca" from Psalm 84 (Hebrew: בך).
The Hebrew Baca can be translated either as "weeping" or "balsam trees" (which grow in dry places). This means it could be a valley through which the pilgrims passed during their journey on their way to the temple at Jerusalem (Zion in the psalm), or it could be figurative, referring to the fact that even the dry deserts of the Middle-east through which the pilgrims pass are reason for joy as they near their destination. It is also speculated that when the Israelites left Egypt they traveled towards modern-day Saudi Arabia in the Wilderness of Paran, near present day Makkah (Alt. Spelling: Bakkah)[citation needed].
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[edit] Bakkah and Mecca
- Surah 3:96-97
The first Sanctuary established for the people is the one in Bakkah, blessed, and a guidance for the worlds., In it are clear signs: the place of Abraham. And whoever enters it will be secure. And God is owed from the people to make Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary, whoever can make a path to it. And whoever rejects, then God has no need of the worlds.
[edit] Arguments for the identification of Bakkah with Mecca
Bakkah is thought to be an older name for Mecca, as it is described as the location of the first mosque, which Islam teaches to be the Kaaba, and a home to Abraham, who, according to the Qur'an, built the Kabba with his son Ishmael. Many translations simply render Bakkah as Mecca, and the passage is cryptic if they are not the same city.
[edit] Arguments against the identification of Bakkah with Mecca
As the alternative name is not used anywhere else, there is some doubt that Bakkah and Mecca are the same city.
Some say that because "Bakkah" is a word often found in names related to rivers and wadis, such as Wadi al-Bakkah in the Sinai, and Bakkah on the wadi in the central Galilee area, west of Meroth, the use of "Bakkah" could mean any similar area. This does little, however, to explain the use of the Bakkah when the verse is in context.
Writer Christoph Luxenberg, in his work Die syro-aramäische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache ("The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Qur'an: A Contribution to Deciphering the Language of the Qur'an"), looks for a Text-critical explanation for the name discrepancy.
He notes that the change from initial B to initial M which should have produced Makkah (Mecca) from Bakkah is not standard in Arabic, so the change is not explained. It may because the widely accepted reading of Surah 3:96, "Inna awwala baytin wudi`a li-n-nâsi lalladhî bibakkata mubârakan wa-hudan li-l-`alamîna," is inaccurate. Since no other explanation for "bibakkata" in the verse seemed possible, it understood as "bi-Bakkata", with Bakkah apparently being another name for Mecca (Arabic "Makkah"), and that the passage therefore reads "the first house established for the people was that at Mecca [bibakkata], a place holy, and a guidance to all beings."
Luxemberg's version of the text could with little extrapolation be interpreted to mean that the first House of God is a sacred place, segregated (fenced in) from the profane, and does not refer to the literal city of Mecca at all. This fits the passage well in context: Sura 3:96 preaches to Jews, saying that God has revealed to Muhammed the true religion of Abraham, according to the Torah was the first Jew. According to the Muslims Adam was the first prophet and the first Muslim. Abraham for the Muslims is a prophet, a messenger, and a Muslim not a Jew. Under Luxemberg's interpretation, the passage may be emphasizing the similarities of the religions and their abstract concepts of God and holiness (Something they did not share with religions that accepted idol and personal or local gods).
This does not show that Bakkah CANNOT be Mecca. The city is restricted to Non-Muslims, which could explain why "The segregated" is used instead of directly referring to it as Mecca. It is also possible that the word intentionally has a double-meaning (Mecca/Holiness), and the possible double pronunciation (Bakkah/Tayyakahu), both referring to the literal city of Mecca, and the abstract realm of Godliness separated for the profane world.. This would make more sense than either single interpretation as the passage is meant for proselytizing.
[edit] Baca and Bakkah
Psalm 84:5-7
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
[edit] Arguments for the identification of Baca with Bakkah or Mecca
The names "Baca" and "Bakkah" are almost identical. If Bakkah is Mecca, then in accordance with Muslim beliefs that Mecca is God's select city and that Jewish and Christian texts are highly flawed but do eventually originate from Allah, a reference to Mecca in the Psalms being present but mistranscribed or using outdated terminology is by no means unlikely. Also, in the Biblical Book of Isaiah, several passages provide descriptions of Zion, several of which, notably Isaiah 35:8-10, which states that the "unclean" will not enter the city, and 60:16-18, which describes its prosperity, bear striking resemblance to Mecca in Muslim eyes. Jews and Christians, who may not equate holiness with Islam, do not agree with this interpretation.
[edit] Arguments against the identification of Baca with Mecca
Despite the similarity of the names, there is no Biblical reason to believe Mecca is the same as Zion for Non-Muslims. Also, Zion is identified as Jerusalem many times in the Bible.
