This excerpt is taken from Sheikh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah's book Al-Jawab al-Bahir fi Zuwar al-Maqabir, translated by Sheikh Ataullah Saqib.
The Pilgrimage of Christians and Hindu Nations:
The polytheists of the present era, whether from India or any other country, all go to perform pilgrimage to their false deities, such as the Hindu pilgrimage to Somnath, etc., and similarly, the Christians perform pilgrimage to Qumamah, Bethlehem, and Al-Qunah.
Al-Qunah is located in Sidonaya.
In fact, Al-Qunah refers to the images that the Christians keep in their churches. They show great reverence and respect to these images. Moreover, they consider these images as intercessors between themselves and Allah Almighty.
Al-Qunah is a remnant of the Companions of the Elephant:
Exegetes and historians say that Al-Qunah is a depiction of Abraha, who was the ruler of Yemen. He was the same Abraha who, with an army of elephants, attacked Mecca intending to demolish the Kaaba and bring the Arabs under his control.
This event took place when the Abyssinians had conquered Yemen and had become dominant over the Arabs. After that, Saif bin Dhi Yazan came, who, with the help of the King of Persia, expelled the Abyssinians from Yemen. He is the same person who gave the glad tidings of the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. The year in which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was born is the very year that is a sign of his Prophethood, his message, and his pure Shariah. Only the House of Allah remains as the place towards which the Muhammadan Ummah turns in prayer and performs Hajj every year.
It is a well-known incident that Abraha built a beautiful church in the land of Yemen. His intention was to attract the Arabs' minds towards it so that they would perform pilgrimage there. However, an Arab entered it and defecated there, which made Abraha furious, and he set out with his army towards Mecca to demolish the Kaaba. But when he camped in the valley of Arnah between Mina and Arafat, Allah destroyed his entire army. Referring to this event, the Lord of Glory says:
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ ﴿١﴾ أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ ﴿٢﴾ وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ ﴿٣﴾ تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ ﴿٤﴾ فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍ ﴿٥﴾
"Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? Did He not make their plan go astray? And He sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of baked clay. And made them like eaten straw."
Reference: (105-Al-Fil:1-5)
It is agreed upon by exegetes and historians that the church Abraha built in Yemen was intended to attract the Arabs to perform pilgrimage there. It is also clear that he wanted to see the same acts performed in that church as the Christians do in their churches. This clearly shows that for the Christians, traveling to the church is exactly like how Muslims travel to Mecca with the intention of Hajj. This is why Abraha considered the church he built similar to the Kaaba and regarded traveling to it as pilgrimage. In other words, a person who selects any place on earth for worship and travels towards it is like one who has traveled to the Kaaba because he has made this journey with the intention of worship, which is equivalent to Hajj.
