Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Maria Mirador


Mirador at the Alhambra, Granada

Mary the Mother of Jesus is venerated by Muslims. It is reported that when the Prophet Muhammad cleared the idols out of the Kaaba in Mecca, he allowed only a fresco of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus to remain. In every Muslim mosque, the "mihrab" or prayer niche in the wall is dedicated to Mary. In the Qur'an, she is described as having been sent as "a mercy for the worlds."
The painting of the Virgin and Child in the Kaaba was destroyed in a fire, so it cannot be seen today.

The Prophets of the Divine, such as Lord Moses and Lord Muhammad, warned humanity against worshipping idols because the vast majority have no auspiciousness about them, having been made by ritualistic people without a real devotional connection to the Divine, usually to fulfil selfish desires through propitiatory rituals. The Prophets were not against the veneration of images and sacred places, like the Kaaba at Mecca, or the Arc of the Covenant, or images of Aspects of God made by self-less saints, which are works of the Divine.

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