The Kingdom of God
Final Judgment
The pilgrimage on the Spiritual Structure continues, until one’s demise in this life, or the Final Judgment. At this time, one’s position on the Structure becomes frozen as there are no further opportunities for spiritual advancements. It is this final location that will determine one’s eternal rewards. For all intents and purposes, then, the day of one’s demise is, in effect, one’s Last Day insofar as no further change will be possible on the Structure, thereafter. As such, the call to reform is as urgent today as it was in the days of Jesus, when it was imagined that the Judgment Day was imminent.
The Scriptures testified that on the Last Day, when the sons of God come to inherit the Kingdom of God, the just shall be separated from the unjust:
. . . As a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats and He will set the sheep [the complacent] on His right hand, and the goats [the apostates] on His left (Matthew 25:32-33; see also Daniel 7:22, 18).
The sons of God represent the standards in the Structure by which all shall be judged—the good (surface-b) and the evil (surface-a) —just as the imaginary line of the Combustion Wedge established the critical ratio by which furnace combustion was graded. All those who have lived by faith shall be rewarded, each in direct proportion to its devotion in accordance with a mathematical formula for the distribution of rewards: the Law of Eternal Rewards. This law is a linearization of the exponential function which expresses the Spiritual Structure; it pertains only to the just who are depicted by the linear portions of the Structure.
On Judgment Day, the sons of God shall receive the crown of life. As sons, they will sit on thrones to judge the good and the evil, on their respective levels. As ordained ministers of the Heavenly Sanctuary, they will be like God, and shall see God by varying degrees. They shall become the eternal light sources by which the nations will walk; and they will be given the power to rule nations. From the sons of God will flow the eternal life-giving water that’ll nourish and sustain the rest of the Kingdom. The Scriptures extolled these blessed ones:
You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people He claims for Himself to declare the wonderful deeds of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were no people, but now you have found mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).
For the sons of God, the Judgment Day will be a Glorious Day. Regarding their fate on this Day, the Scriptures certified:
And the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12:3).
(Again, this scriptural passage is in accord with the portrayal of the sons of God in the Cryptogram.) Jesus promised: . . . “If a man keeps my saying, he will never see death” (John 8:51). Physical demise for these individuals, involve transformation to a complete blissful spiritual existence.
On Judgment Day, the complacent pilgrims, also—the sheep—shall receive eternal life. However, as a result of their listless service to the Divine, their rewards shall be diminished; and they shall not see God in His glory. Instead, they will receive sustenance indirectly from the sons of God in the Heavenly Sanctuary. Because of their remoteness from their spiritual treasures in the Heavenly Sanctuary, the complacent pilgrims shall remain in a suspended state of animation following their demise on Earth, until their life-sustaining treasures are made accessible to them on Final Judgment. It was prophesied:
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the Earth will awake, some to everlasting life . . . (Daniel 12:2).
Jesus also remarked about this group:
And this is the will of Him who sent me: that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life. I will raise him up on the Last Day (John 6:40, 44).
Observe from the Cryptogram (Figure 4a), that the complacent pilgrims, as depicted by the vector arrow (on surface-b), are, indeed, facing the Son (the efficiency line); they set their sights on Him as their goal. (The stipulation in this excerpt can be truly understood only in the light of the Structure’s vector attribute. The pilgrims in the two preceding references are, thus, distinguishable from the sons of God, “who will never see death”—John 8:51.)
The apostates (on surface-a) —the goats—however, shall be counted among the unbelievers on the earthly plane, who are condemned to languish in the Eternal Flame. Having squandered their spiritual treasures in the Heavenly Sanctuary, the apostates will rise along with the unbelievers only to be eternally damned. Again, it was prophesied:
And many . . . will awake . . . some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2).
Note that the Spiritual Structure will serve as guideline, on Judgement Day, for rewards and punishment. Justice will be measured out in accordance with the classification of the Structure.
Dominion of Authority
The Cryptogram illustrates the stratification of God’s Kingdom. The vertical planes, h and k, reveal sample edges of infinite, horizontal, cross-sectional planes, stacked one upon the other to constitute the entire Structure. Each star in the efficiency line is associated with a cross-sectional plane. As a result, there are as many cross-sectional planes as there are stars in the efficiency line. The horizontal lines on surfaces h and k of the Cryptogram exemplify these planes. See Figures 4 and 6.
Each cross-sectional plane represents a “universe” within the Kingdom of God. These individual universes are grouped into twelve even layers to form twelve major dominions of authority, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. (For simplicity, five colors, instead of twelve, have been used on surfaces h and k of the Cryptogram to typify the twelve major dominions.) Although the major dominions are semi-autonomous, they are all under the jurisdiction of God the Father, through the Son and ultimately through the Holy Spirit. Each major dominion is subject to an apostle, hence Jesus said:
And I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father has appointed unto me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:29; Matthew 19:28).
As affirmed in the Scriptures, the apostles will be chosen from the four corners of the Earth:
And they will come from the east, and the west, and from the north and south, and they will sit at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last (Luke 13:29-30; Matthew 8:11-12; 19:30).
The entire Structure depicts the Divine Hierarchical Organization. Although the Structure of God’s Kingdom is presently latent, in the life to come it shall be revealed variously to the Elect in glory.
All authority, power, and glory springs from God the Father, and it is exercised by the Holy Spirit through the Son. The Holy Spirit is the Architect and Builder: The Selector of God’s Works. This authority is delegated to the sons of God, by degrees, according to their levels in the Structure. The duller stars below are subject to the brighter ones above. Conversely, the larger planes below are subject to the smaller ones above. The star position in each plane represents the throne for that particular universe. It is, indeed, as Jesus promised:
To the one who is victorious, I will grant the right to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame and took my sit beside my Father on His Throne (Revelation 3:21).
The occupants of these stars’ positions, then, are kings with the Glorified Christ as the King of Kings:
These will war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them; for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with Him are called: the chosen [the sons of God], and the faithful [the complacent] (Revelation 17:14).
Regarding the investiture of authority within the kingdom, it was prophesied in the Book of Daniel:
But the judgment will sit . . . And the Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole Heaven, will be given to the people of the saints [the sons of God] of the Highest God, whose Kingdom is an everlasting one, and all dominions will serve and obey Him (Daniel 7:26-27).
Jesus elaborated on the investiture of power in the Heavenly Kingdom:
And He who overcomes and keeps my words until the end, to him I will give power over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; he will shatter them like the vessels of a potter, as I have also received authority from my Father; I will give him the Morning Star (Revelation 2:26-28; Wisdom 3:7-8).
Authority Within a Sub-kingdom
Each sub-kingdom (cross-sectional plane) is a classification of God’s household members of identical grace level, illustrated by locations of identical light intensity in the Structure. Although the representative of the Son—the star—in a given sub-kingdom has the same light intensity as other denizens of the sub-kingdom, authority shall, nevertheless, be vested solely in that agent, as it, alone, is a replica of God the Father; the others are merely reflections of Him. The star, being the most efficient, will be deserving of authority in the sub-kingdom. The others would have either failed to maximize the yield from their gift of faith (surface-b), or have negated the benefits of their actions, through disobedience (surface-a). As light sources, the stars represent the source of life, but as photons, the complacent pilgrims in the sub-kingdom will be dependent upon the stars in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
In profiling the individual worthy of the star position, Jesus used the hypothetical case (in Luke’s Gospel) of the faithful steward whose master placed him in charge of distributing the rations of food to the household servants before going away. Upon his return, the master was pleased to find the steward conscientiously performing his duty. Jesus then commented: “In truth, I say to you, that he will make him ruler of all that he has [the sub-kingdom]” (Luke 12:44).
With respect to the faithful on surface-b, their importance within their sub-kingdom will be assessed by their proximity to the star. Although those farthest from the star would have been accorded the most faith (as reflected by the Cryptogram), they will, nevertheless, be the least important in the sub-kingdom, as they would have failed to maximize their yield from their gift of faith.
This is supported in the Scriptures by another hypothetical case (an extension of the previous example from Luke’s Gospel) of two complacent servants who failed to carry out their master’s will in his absence. It was noted that the informed servant who failed, inadvertently, will receive a severe beating, while the ignorant servant will be given fewer lashes. At the end of that passage, Jesus commented: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with a lot; and a greater profit expected from one in whom a large capital has been invested” (Luke 12:47-48).
It follows, then, that good deeds alone are not accurate indicators of one’s holiness; rather, righteousness will be correctly determined by the measure of one’s response, via good deeds, to one’s endowments and opportunities in life.
In locating these complacent servants in a plane (sub-kingdom) of the Cryptogram, the informed servant will be positioned farther away from the ruling star than the ignorant servant.
With regard to the apostates on surface-a, there will be no hope for them, as they would have given priority to their own actions by defying the Rule of Justice which stipulates that faith must dictate one’s actions.
Jesus illustrated the situation of the apostates with a further hypothetical case (again from Luke) of the steward, who, while his master was away, beat the servants who were placed in his care, and overindulged himself in food and drink, saying to himself: “My Lord is taking his time about coming” (Luke 12:45-46). The Scriptures pointed out that the steward’s master will return on a day he least expects him, and will cut him off, and group him with the unbelievers. His punishment will be more severe than either of the complacent servants, inasmuch as he deliberately disobeyed his master’s will.
The Divine Cardinal Points
An imaginary vertical plane following the length of the Heavenly Sanctuary—the north-south pole axis—runs through the depths of the Spiritual Structure dividing it and, hence, each sub-kingdom, into two zones—west and east—the just and the unjust, respectively. It cleaves even the Sanctuary into Positive and Negative Realms: with the Positive Sanctuary, the Abode of the Good Spirit, on the western side, and the Negative Sanctuary, the Threshold of Chaos and the beginning of Satan’s Realm, on the eastern side. (Note that the arrowhead in each Domain—surface b-or-a—points to the habitation of the Spirit in that realm.)
It is forbidden for a pilgrim, in any sub-kingdom, to cross the Cornerstone (that is, the Sanctuary) from east to west—the zone of the unjust (surface -a) to that of the just (surface-b)—except on the earthly plane, the state of no grace; where zone-b, the west, represents the potential just. However, the transition from west to east is allowed in the sub-kingdoms, through a deadly sin. This is the manner by which surface-a becomes populated.
The Parable of the Ten Minas
The distribution of authority within the Kingdom of God, and the rewards of the faithful on Judgment Day has been shown consistently to follow Divine Justice as classified by the Cryptogram. Jesus used the Parable of the ten minas to further illustrate the Will of God in this regard (Luke 19:11-27).
In the parable, a nobleman travels to a distant country to obtain royal authority and then return. Before departing, he entrusts ten minas (representing spiritual gifts) to each of his ten servants, instructing them to invest the money wisely in his absence. Upon his return, only three servants report back on their stewardship. Two of them have turned a profit, symbolizing the faithful children of God, and are rewarded by the king in proportion to their gains. The servant who earned ten minas is given ten cities (sub-kingdoms), and the one who earned five minas is put in charge of five cities. The third servant, who buried his mina, neither loses nor gains; he embodies the cautious pilgrim who, by playing it safe, ultimately suffers loss. In the parable, this servant is deprived of his mina and denied any authority. This story affirms the “Law of Eternal Reward,” asserting that one’s recompense is commensurate with one’s efforts.
In the hierarchy of the Heavenly Kingdom as depicted by the Cryptogram, the servant tasked with overseeing ten villages is represented on the efficiency line, ten planes above the earthly plane. Similarly, the servant responsible for five villages is also placed on the efficiency line, five planes above the earthly plane. These industrious servants’ positions are marked on the Structure due to their nobility, in contrast to the complacent pilgrim who remained a household servant and thus has no distinct position.
The remaining seven servants, each entrusted with ten minas but who failed to provide an account to their master, represent the apostates. From the parable, it is inferred that they not only failed to generate profits but also squandered their capital through imprudent investments. These servants were categorized alongside other anti-Christs who, as the parable states, were sentenced to death.
Through this parable of the ten minas, and the previous hypothetical servant cases (Luke 12:41-48), Jesus identified the system of Eternal Rewards and Authority with the three-dimensional nature of the Spiritual Structure. While in the hypothetical servant cases, He focused on rewards and authority within a sub-kingdom (a plane of the Structure), in the parable of the ten minas, He discussed the dominion of authority on a higher level, involving several sub-kingdoms (tiers of the Structure).
Note that Matthew’s account of the parable of the talents emphasized a different theme from that of Luke. Matthew’s account taught principally the importance of balancing one’s divine scale of justice: the proper matching of spiritual gifts (standard weight) with positive actions (sample weight) [Matthew 25:14-30]: The servant entrusted with five talents yielded another five, and the one with two talents produced another two. The use of different hypothetical figures (five, two, and one talents) also highlighted the fact that individuals are endowed with different spiritual gifts. Hence, it was added in Matthew’s passage that He gave to each according to its ability (Matthew 25:15). Luke’s account did not make this differentiation, however. Rather, it utilized universally standardized spiritual gifts; indeed, standardizations brought about through the use of universal standard factors. Each servant was, thus, given an equal sum—opportunities. This presentation, though idealistic, was useful for highlighting the message in Luke, namely, that:
- spiritual gifts however variant in this life, will eventually be universally normalized; and
- each individual will be rewarded in direct proportion to its normalized productivity.
It, therefore, becomes clear why Luke’s account detailed the nature of the rewards, while Matthew’s account only made a cursory reference to it: There will be no Eternal Rewards without the universal normalization of the parameters for Divine Justice.
These discussions are, again, in keeping with Jesus’s prophecies regarding the Holy Spirit: “When He, the Spirit of Truth comes . . . He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13). Furthermore: “. . .He shall teach you all things and [with evidence] bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” —John 14:26.
Dominion of Satan
In the course of the Israelites’ Exodus, the Lord instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle to face east*. That command was based on the geography of the Spiritual Structure as well**, as were the instructions for the course of the ritual-scapegoat on the customary Day of atonement: After the imposition of sins on the scapegoat’s head, an escort would lead the scapegoat eastward from the gate of the sanctuary and subsequently pushed it off a cliff into the valley below (cf., Leviticus 16). The geography of the Cryptogram accords with this ritual-plan: Notice that the efficiency line, which depicts the Sanctuary, is on the critical edge between surfaces a-and-b, with the downward vector arrow on surface-a indicating a cliff at the efficiency line, and that it faces east. Thus, the customary practice of sending the scapegoat east from the sanctuary on the Day of Atonement is logically depicted in the Cryptogram.
However, following the establishment of New Jerusalem, Asaba, Muhammad’s “Night Journey,” as Cosmic Scapegoat, had to be modified from the normal scapegoats’ route in recognition of the new reality of two distinct Sanctuaries: The New Jerusalem and the Old. Upon the rejection of Muhammad by God Most High, Onishe, as the “Lord’s Sin-offering-Goat”, he was escorted east from the gate (or threshold) of this New Heavenly Sanctuary, in a banishment and fall to the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem; he was, then, led further east from there to Azazel (that is, Satan) in the wilderness-valley of Mecca. Muhammad’s stopover at the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem was noteworthy as it confirmed the relocation of Jerusalem, the “City of God on Earth”, prophesied in Scriptures, and established by Jesus’s passage with His Blood into the ‘Veil’ of His Body, in the New Heavenly Sanctuary. Muhammad was led, initially, from the true City of God, which was other than Old Jerusalem, and that other City, Ahaba, is indeed the New Jerusalem. Denied refuge, also, at the Temple Mount, Muhammad was led away in furtherance of his fall from that secondary high place to the valley of Mecca. The final leg of Muhammad’s “trip”, from the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem to the wilderness-valley of Mecca, served to mark off, symbolically, the Dominion of Satan and the threshold of chaos in the Simple Whole structure. And so, by this transition, the character and custody of Old Jerusalem began to shift from a transitory positive-and-negative sanctuary to a permanent Negative Sanctuary (or Forbidden Refuge); thus, its relegation to the clan of Ishmael (Islam) was initiated. Indeed, the Mosque at the Temple Mount has the befitting name of al-Haram (meaning “the forbidden”). As Divine ratification for these events, the Dome of the Rock*** was subsequently built on the Temple Mount, above the Western Wall.
Note that in the Old Order, the generic scapegoat’s ritual-journey was marked not by its ascent to the Temple Mount, but by its escort away from sanctuary, as it would subsequently be pushed off a cliff in a fatal fall to the wilderness-valley for Azazel. And so, to that hapless scapegoat, the sanctuary was a negative or forbidden refuge♠. Similarly, in the re-enactment of the “scapegoat’s journey” by Muslims at hajj, it has never been the pilgrims’ trip to (or ascent of) the “grand high place“, namely Kaaba♣, that has been of import, but the pilgrims’ departure away from the sanctuary at Kaaba; it symbolized a fatal fall from the “grand high place“. The pilgrims always attire as if for burial prior to their departure from the sanctuary, indicating their impending demise while rendering the “sanctuary” a negative or forbidden refuge to the pilgrims. And the Islamic name for the sanctuary at Kaaba is appropriately Masjid al-haram (“al-haram” meaning “the forbidden”). Indeed, it is the departure-part of the hajj, away from sanctuary, that is regarded by Islam as the “greater hajj”.
And so, any consideration of Muhammad’s “Night Journey” should focus on his banishment and fall from the Heavenly Sanctuary, and not engage in the glorification of his ascent to the Heavenly Sanctuary. To argue otherwise would imply either that Muhammad: 1) had been granted a second chance of starting the sanctification process for another entry into Heaven; or 2) had chosen to leave the safety and bliss of Heaven. Neither of these are reasonable options: Muhammad would have had to be morally pure to be allowed into Heaven in the first case, and so, no purpose would have been served by sending him out into the world to initiate the sanctification process all over. And in the second instance, it is fair to say that no sane person would have chosen to leave the safety and bliss of Heaven for the ordeal and challenges of life on Earth. In reality, Muhammad was rejected by the True God, and banished from (the gate of) Heaven as the tertiary agent of a Tripartite, Sin-offering Agency. For these reasons, the emphasis on Muhammad’s “Night’s Journey” should be on the relevant aspects of his role, which is his banishment and fall from Heaven, as the Cosmic Scapegoat for Azazel.
Preamble to the Final Judgment
The entire, preceding discussion is a preamble to the Final Judgment. It is promulgated by Elijah in His dual capacity as the Heavenly High Priest and Exalted Messiah. As the Heavenly High Priest, Elijah will atone for the Kingdom of Light, on the cosmic Day of Atonement, through the invocation of the Tripartite, Atonement Agency: with Jesus as the Cosmic Sin-offering Goat, Muhammad as the Cosmic Scapegoat, and the Albino who was offered in Ahaba—the New Jerusalem—as the Cosmic Sin-offering Bullock. As the Exalted Messiah, He will sit in judgment on the Good and the Evil, on the Last Day. Take note:
O you kings, O you mighty who inhabit the world, you shall behold my Elect One sitting upon the Throne of my Glory. And He shall judge Azazel, all his associates and all his hosts, in the name of [Onishe] the Lord of Spirits (1 Enoch 54:5; cf., 82:1).
* In the Simple Whole, a vertical plane divides the Structure into two opposing sets of multiverses, representing the Kingdom of the Exalted Christ versus that of Lucifer. Each of these Kingdoms comprise 12 major dominions. The 12 sons of Israel symbolize the 12 major dominions of the Kingdom of the Exalted Christ (the Kingdom of Light), while the 12 sons of Ishmael symbolize the 12 major dominions of the Kingdom of Lucifer (the Kingdom of Darkness). Hence the Scriptures prophesied about Ishmael: “In opposition to his brethren shall he dwell” (Genesis 16:12).
** The Lord instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle according to the “pattern” shown to him on top of the mountain (Exodus 25:40, 9); Cf., Blog Post 6: “The Mystical Warrior and His Sword”.
*** The Rock under the dome signifies the Negative Cornerstone (a stumbling stone), the counterpart to the Positive One in Asaba (the Rock of Refuge).
♠ The term “sanctuary” typically signifies a place of refuge; however, in the context of sin-offering rituals, the goat designated for the Lord was often slaughtered, its life seemingly lost, with its blood brought inside the veil of the sanctuary to atone for the people’s sins. Scriptures confirm that blood represents life (Lev. 17:11, 14; Deut. 12:23). Therefore, while the goat’s body was discarded, its blood, carrying spiritual significance, was preserved. In this metaphysical act, the blood of the sin-offering goat brought into the sanctuary paradoxically bestowed eternal life upon the sin-offering agent. In contrast, the scapegoat, sent alive as an offering to Azazel, faced certain doom, as it was denied sanctuary access before being cast off a cliff to Azazel in the wilderness-valley. For this unfortunate scapegoat, the sanctuary represented a forbidden, or negative place of refuge—an oxymoron. Thus, the sanctuary of the Old Order, through the use of two male goats—one for the Lord and one for Azazel—demonstrated both positive and negative aspects. Consequently, the metaphysical structure of Mount Zion, upon which the Old Order was based, also contained Positive and Negative Sanctuaries. It is noted that through Muhammad’s “Night Excursion,” the sanctuary at the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem transitioned from a temporary positive-and-negative sanctuary to a permanently negative one on Earth, marking the onset of Satan’s dominion. Interestingly, the inverse correlations of the Good and Evil Spirits, as observed in Mount Zion and Death Valley, were preserved in the Judaic sin-offering rituals, hinting at a cosmic drama orchestrated by a Supernatural Force across different peoples and eras (refer to “The Dual Nature of God in Blog Post 10” for further insight). Unlike scientific events, this cosmic spiritual drama is unique and non-replicable, yet its complete narrative is profoundly compelling.
The hajj was instituted by Muhammad in acknowledgment of his role as Cosmic Scapegoat; it involves devotional rituals by which a pilgrim adopts the role of a scapegoat, through a small-scale re-enactment of Muhammad’s “Night Journey”. In the process of establishing the hajj, Muhammad adapted Kaaba (Masjid al-haram) as a substitute for “Haram al-Sharif” (the Temple Mount) in Old Jerusalem. Even the black stone inside Kaaba is a substitute for the rock under the dome in Al-Haram Al-Sharif. No wonder, the two sanctuaries share the designation, al-haram, exclusively. The hajj rituals are segmented into two parts: Those rituals which are in accordance with a pilgrim’s arrival at the sanctuary (Kaaba) and prior to (or alternatively without) departure from Kaaba constitute the (ascent or) —“lesser hajj”, whereas those that are in accordance with a pilgrim’s departure from the sanctuary are regarded as the (fall or) —“greater hajj”. Muhammad incorporated also rituals involving relevant aspects of Ishmael’s life into the “lesser hajj”, along with those of his escort and mother, Hagar, to reflect their ordeal as a result of their banishment from Abraham’s home (that is, sanctuary); these rituals serve to recognize Ishmael’s role as the prototypical human scapegoat, (cf., Genesis 21:1-21).
Customarily, in the Old Order, on the Day of atonement, the high priest would confess the sins of the (natural) Israelites over the head of the scapegoat to be carried away from the gate of the sanctuary to Azazel (Satan) in the wilderness-valley (Leviticus 16:10; 20-22). Since the scapegoat is the sacrificial goat “for Azazel”, the destination of the hajj would always be Satan’s abode. And so, the hajj, as a model, ambulatory journey for scapegoats, had to be located in the physical vicinity of Satan’s abode on Earth, namely, the wilderness-valley of Mina. (And the house of Islam—which includes their Lord—identifies with wilderness-valley or uncultivated valley—Quran [14:37])
Indeed, there exists at Mina, a monument dedicated to Satan and maintained by Islam: The Jamarat. And Mina is, significantly, where Muslim-pilgrims are required to always encamp at hajj (away from Kaaba, the symbol of the True God’s house); where sacrificial scapegoats are offered vicariously by pilgrims signaling the demise of the scapegoat; where pilgrims shave their heads, emblematic of pilgrims discarding the sins imposed on their heads as scapegoats; and where pilgrims shed their symbolic burial shroud to indicate the end of the ritual-journey.
In the course of the hajj, as pilgrims proceed from Arafat station heading toward their destination at Mina, they are exhorted thus in the Quran: “. . . When you depart from Arafat celebrate the praises of Allah at the “Sacred Monument” and celebrate his praises as he has directed you . . .” (Quran 2:198). However, Muzdalifah, the only station between Arafat and Mina (where stones are generally gathered for throwing at Satan’s Monument) is devoid of any structure or landmark that could possibly meet the definition of a monument. And so, the “Sacred Monument” mentioned in the above qur’anic passage refers surreptitiously to the Jamarat. By inference, the exhortation to: ‘celebrate the praises of Allah at the Sacred Monument’ identifies “Allah” with the monument’s brand: “Satan”. The casting of stones at Satan’s Monument is among the required final rituals of the hajj; and pilgrims may tarry up to three days, casting stones at the monument. Considering all of the above, the act of casting stones at Satan’s Monument is a perverse devotion to Satan.
Kaaba derives its importance to Islam because of its proximity and service as signpost, to the wilderness-valley of Mina. (At hajj, pilgrims get direction upon departure from Kaaba to go east from there in the manner of scapegoats.) The importance of the two other revered mosques in Islam are determined by their proximity to the wilderness-valley of Mina. Masjid al-Nabawi, located at Medina, is next in order of importance, followed by the “farthest mosque”, Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem.
♣ For the literal, Arabic meaning of Kaaba visit this link (and look under the sub-title: “The Other Names of the Kaaba”): The Kaaba (missionislam.com). According to that official Islamic site: “Literally, Kaaba in Arabic means a high place with respect and prestige”, in other words “A grand high place.”