A College Student Researches The History of Mecca and Jerusalem

Abdullah is a college student at a large Islamic university. One day his professor gave him the assignment of researching the history of Mecca and Jerusalem. He thought this would be easy given the abundance of evidence for the history of Mecca and Jerusalem.

He started researching on the internet. What did he find? What he found shook his faith.

History of Jerusalem

Abdullah found a large amount of information on the history of Jerusalem. People have lived there continually for about 5,000 years. One historian found the name Jerusalem in a document dated 1900 B.C.

Abdullah also found:

• Solomon’s large wall
• Evidence of Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem
• The Pool of Bethesda where Isa Al-Masih healed a paralytic

Abdullah read that most places and events in the Bible have proven true. He was satisfied with his findings.

History of Mecca

Then Abdullah looked for information on the history of Mecca. But he wanted a non-Muslim perspective; one that was more neutral.

Abdullah found several credible websites. Here’s what he found:

• The Yemeni tribe of Khuzaa’h established Mecca around the fourth century.
• Muslim historians describe Mecca as having many trees, grass, and grapes. But there is no evidence of that type of vegetation ever existing there because it is too dry.
• All Qiblas built between 622-725 A.D. pointed to the city of Petra, about 700 miles north of Mecca.
• The first time Mecca was ever mentioned on a map was 900 A.D., and the first time in literature was 740 A.D.

Some historians believe the city of Petra was the birthplace of Islam. Please send us your opinion of these findings.

Abdullah was very confused. Was this information true? If so, can Muslims trust the teachings of Islam and the Quran?

Result of Research – The Bible Is Reliable

After researching the history of Mecca and Jerusalem, Abdullah was shocked. Jerusalem has a lot of evidence for its history while Mecca has very little. Maybe the Bible is reliable?

For the next few months Abdullah studied the Gospels. He found Isa Al-Masih’s teachings were extraordinary. Isa declared, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (Injil, John 11:25). “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Injil, John 14:6).

Abdullah needs to choose which path to follow – the one that guarantees heaven or his current path. Which will you choose? Answer here.

SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW

We encourage our readers to comment on the article above. Comments that don’t directly relate to the topic will be removed. Please start a dialogue with us by focusing on one of the following questions:

1. What is your opinion of the evidence above of the history of Jerusalem? Do you agree the evidence is strong?
2. What is your opinion of the evidence above of the history of Mecca? Have you ever researched what historians are saying about the history of Mecca?
3. What are the consequences if the information above is true? Can we still trust the teachings of Islam and the Quran?

[We invite you to visit us at https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation to learn more about God’s gift of Salvation. God loves you and waits to hear from you. Isa clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Injil, John 14:6). For a deeper understanding of Isa, we suggest you subscribe to “Isa, Islam, and Al-Fatiha” at this link.]