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"Referenced" in the Koran

WHS "referenced" in the Koran. Either specifically by name or by common "interpretation".

World Heritage Sites connected to '"Referenced" in the Koran':

  • Al-Hijr Sura 15 "Al Hijr, Stoneland", Aya 80 "The people of Al-Hijr disbelieved the messengers". The reference is to the ancient occupation of Al-hijr by the Thamud tribe who were punished by Allah for idol worship and conspiring to kill a prophet he had sent. As a result they were struck down by lightening and earthquake! Thus (Wiki) "the site has earned a superstitious reputation down to contemporary times as a "cursed place" - an image which the national government is attempting to overcome as it seeks to develop Mada'in Saleh"
  • Old City of Jerusalem Sura 17 "The Children of Israel", Aya 1 "Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless". The majority Muslim tradition is that this aya refers to Jerusalem. "Al-masjid al-Aqsa" translates as "Farthest mosque". though there are alternative interpretations. The origin of the word "masjid" is generally as "a place of prostration" and some Muslims take "the furthest place" to mean heaven rather than a specific place/building (about which there would be logical problems of contemporaneity). The issue has considerable political impact as a factor in the justification for the Temple mount being "holy" to Muslims.; link
  • Saint Catherine Area Sura 23 "The Believers", Aya 20 "Also a tree springing out of Mount Sinai, which produces oil, and relish for those who use it for food." Surah 95 "The Fig", Aya 2 "(By the fig and the olive) and the Mount of Sinai (and this city of security we have indeed created man in the best of moulds)" (Arabic is "Tur- i-Sinin.")