Meccan Meteorite Worship

Meccan Meteorite Worship

If you think a meteorite is a gift from god, then please consider how we are showered in them, mostly dust burning up in our atmosphere, many small, less large ones, and rarely very large fragments, seemingly planned as if we are gifted with meteorites by pure chance. No gods nor destiny need apply.

Gila left a comment on YouTube, under a video that noted the probable meteorite that is held as from Allah by Muslims, the rest of us seem to note the obvious fact that these impacts are common, although for about one and a half billion Muslims this stone is believed to be most holy. Gila made some interesting points that will be quoted below, I should initially note the details of the stone itself, the Black Stone is the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba, was worshipped by pre-Islamic civilisation of the Mecca, and pilgrims from around the region, and claims are made that it dates back to the time of Adam and Eve. It is said by Muslim traditions that Muhammad placed the stone in the wall of the Kaaba, although since that time has been broken and is now cemented into a silver frame, it appears as fragments of black rock, smoothed by the touch by billions of pilgrims for over centuries. However, these accounts are based on myths, which were based on pre-existing myths, and we are not let sure if the Black Stone is indeed a meteorite, even though it's dark colouration is unlike stones of the region, not that this makes it conclusive.

Gila: “I think that the meteorite was worshipped, not just because it fell from the sky.”

As previously stated, we do not know that it did indeed fall from the sky, it is a probable meteorite, meaning it is a strong probability that has not been confirmed.

Gila: “But that the earliest iron implements were made from meteorites, enabling a quantum leap in the technology of the time.”

This is partly true, many early humans used meteorites, however, much of this usage was due to the requirement to use whatever was available for later use, a shard of tektite can be as good as flint, an iron and nickel meteorite may be easy enough to craft, yet this doesn't equal much at all. The result of having more resource options simply means that more was used in trial and error, and even a metaphorical quantum leap is an exaggeration, although it may have been a factor in locations where resources of this kind were less of a rarity, the effect seems negligible.

Gila: “The worship of that particular stone was an expression of thanks and acknowledgement to the universe for this possibility of advance in everything from farm implements to weapons.”

There seems to be no evidence for this claim, and since in the region of Mecca such rocks are so rare, indeed this is one of the reasons many Muslim insist that the Kaaba is divine in its origin, even though with a few tests we could see just how rare such a probable meteorite may be. The pre-Islamic Meccans were not actually animists nor pantheists, there seems to be no evidence of meteorite tools, I should state that the claims made about meteorites and quantum leaps in technology are a kind of new age meme, and are exaggerated claims at best.

Gila: “Later the legend of Abraham visiting the area (supposedly to visit his later mistress Ketura and her children) was wishful thinking. A desire to tie the Koran to the earlier supposed revelations and make a continuity of myths”.

Here I cannot fault Gila's opinion, the Muslim claims are as unsupported as many such wishful and historical claims that are not backed by evidence, ironically Gila cannot seem to understand that her poorly supported claims are no better. Gila and a great many new agers seek to make ancient myths fit with modern new age gibberish, the trouble is they spin history, just like most religions, making their nonsense fit, refuting Islamic claims with reason, only to assert new age without any evidence at all.

Such comments are easily debunked with very little brain power, we need only question what we think we know, noting our bad reasoning, and cutting down our biases. New Age is wrong, demonstrably false, you can make things fit, but your last refuge once your errors are exposed are the gaps in our knowledge, and every other religion is claiming that same god of the gaps because they have nowhere left to go.