22- The status of the claim that the stone of Bayt al-Maqdis is suspended in the air
Everything in the heavens and the earth stands in its place by the command of Allah, the Exalted, and the same ruling applies to the stone or rock of Bayt al-Maqdis. Allah, the Exalted, says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَنْ تَزُولَا وَلَئِنْ زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ
“Indeed, it is Allah who holds the heavens and the earth, lest they move from their place, and if they were to move, there would be none to hold them after Him.”
In another place He said:
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ تَقُومَ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِ
“And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command.”
Therefore, the stone of Bayt al-Maqdis is not suspended in the air on all sides; rather, it is connected to the mountain. Both are equal in standing in their place according to Allah’s system of the universe. The power of Allah, the Exalted, cannot be denied, that He can make anything in the universe stand in the air without any support, just as Allah, the Exalted, by His power, made Mount Tur stand in the air over the Children of Israel when they refused to accept the law of Musa. The Lord’s statement is:
وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“And when We took your firm covenant and raised the mountain above you. Hold firmly to what We have given you and remember what is in it, so that you may be saved.”
In another place He said:
وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا الْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“And when We shook the mountain and raised it above them, as if it were a canopy, and they were certain that it was going to fall upon them. Hold firmly to what We have given you and remember what is in it, so that you may be saved.”
The summary of the matter is that the stone of Bayt al-Maqdis is not separate and detached from the mountain, but is connected to it.
