ANNEXES:
N.B.: The following two annexes were not included in the edition of this book, titled "Egypt in the Quran", printed in Cairo, Egypt, by Akhbar Al-Yom Press. As readers have been told in the section titled BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK about the circumstances surrounding the publishing of this book, we did not wish at the time, when we were living in Cairo, to cause trouble to Mr. Al-Disouky who helped us to bring this book to the light, and we felt urged to omit parts of the book that cover controversial issues. Now, after circumstances have changed and we can write freely while in exile, we have rewritten and added the omitted parts in the following two annexes in this online version of the book, published on our website.
ANNEX I: The Egyptian Sinai in the Quran:
Foreword:
Sinai is the land where the Sacred Valley of Tuwa (see 20:12) is located, where Moses heard the voice of the Lord God in Mount Al-Tur (i.e., the one called ''Mount Sinai'' in the Bible's Old Testament, in the Book of Exodus). There are many Quranic facts about Sinai that have been overlooked by 'Muslims' in general and the Egyptians in particular.
Introduction:
1- The Sinai peninsula is one of the few location on Planet Earth about which the Quran talks that has existed before and after its revelation. It is the Egyptian peninsula that has a special importance to all Egyptians past and present, and it also has a vital importance in God's religion, before the advent of Islam (i.e., the Quran), during the revelation of the Quran, and after its completion, and this importance of Sinai in God's religion (i.e., Islam) will go on until the end of days.
2- Sinai is located geographically in Asia, whereas the rest of Egypt is located in Africa. Sinai is linked to the history of many prophets from Palestine (or the Levant) to Egypt, such as Abraham, Joseph, and Jacob, who passed into Egypt through Sinai and Moses who went out of Egypt through Sinai to Madian, a region north of Arabia, and then passed through Sinai again to return to Egypt with his wife, where he received the divine revelation and God spoke to him, and Moses passed through Sinai in the exodus, and he died and was buried in it. Joseph was brought into Egypt through Sinai with the caravan men who found him in a well and desired to sell him into slavery. The Quran mentions as well that Joseph went again to Sinai at the eastern borders of Egypt, and he said to his parents and brothers: "..."Enter Egypt, God willing, safe and secure."" (12:99).
3- Very little is mentioned about Sinai in the Bible (in the Old Testament), and despite the importance of these few pieces of information, they are nothing in comparison to the vital important position of Sinai in the Quranic text. This vital importance of Sinai is manifested in the Quranic story of Moses as well as the parallelism of Moses' receiving the Torah tablets in Sinai and Muhammad's receiving the Quranic text wholly inside his heart at Mount Al-Tur, in Sinai, called also as "Al-Aqsa Mosque" and the Sacred Valley of Tuwa in the Quran, as we explain and show below.
Firstly: a general word on the importance of Sinai in God's religion:
1- We infer the vital importance of Sinai in Islam, that is, in the Quran, from the Quranic Chapter 95, whose all verses are the following: "By the fig and the olive. And by Mount Al-Tur of Sinai. And by this safe city. We created man in the best design. Then reduced him to the lowest of the low. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds; for them is a reward without end. So why so you still reject the religion? Is God not the Wisest of the wise?" (95:1-8). We read in the Quranic Chapter 95 that God in the first verse swears by the fig and the olive, and both are produced in Sinai as we know, and then He swears by Mount Al-Tur while ascribing it to Sinai itself in the second verse. God swears in the third verse by the safe city, which is Mecca of course. We notice here that Sinai comes here BEFORE the city of Mecca, within a topic that God swears by Mount Al-Tur of Sinai that He created human beings in the best design, but they descend into lower depths, with the exception of those who adhere faithfully to the divine revelation of the Quran, descended down on Mount Al-Tur of Sinai and then in Mecca. Hence, this high status of Sinai in the Quran is focused only on one place: Mount Al-Tur; this is why we read in the Quranic Chapter 95 that Sinai is ascribed to Mount Al-Tur in 95:2, and this is repeated in another verse: "And a tree springing out of Mount Sinai, producing oil..." (23:20). We infer from 95:4 that this vital importance of Sinai is international/worldwide because it is linked to the creation of human beings and how the saved ones among them in the Hereafter are those who follow the divine revelation descended in Sinai: the Torah (or rather the Ten Commandments in the tablets given to Moses) and the Quran. God swears by Mount Al-Tur of Sinai and then Mecca as both locations received the divine revelation of the Quran: at one time wholly in the heart of Muhammad, when he made the Night Journey to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai (see 17:1), and it was revealed intermittently in Mecca for years.
2- The word ''Al-Tur'' is mentioned in the Quran ten times, and it is never mentioned except to refer to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai. The term ''Al-Tur'' is mentioned in verses talking about 1) the first time Moses received divine revelation or inspiration by God, Who Himself talked directly to Moses, 2) the covenant with the Israelites and how Al-Tur was raised high above them, 3) the importance of Mount Al-Tur in Sinai and the blessed olive tree in it, and 4) the linking of Mount Al-Tur to Al-Aqsa Mosque, in Sinai, and the Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca.
3- God calls Mount Al-Tur in the Quran by another name: "Tuwa", or the Sacred Valley of Tuwa: "I am your Lord. Take off your shoes. You are in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (20:12); "Has the story of Moses reached you? When His Lord called out to him in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (79:15-16).
4- It is noteworthy that the word ''mount'' is mentioned in the Arabic Quranic text seven times: 3 times with the indefinite article and 3 times with the definite article. The 3 ones with the definite article refer only to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai, as understood from the context without mentioning its name. The ones with the indefinite article refer to any mountains elsewhere without naming them. The three verses that contain the word ''mount'' with indefinite article that refer to any mountains are as follows: 1) when Abraham asked God to show him how the dead are resurrected: "And when Abraham said, "My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead." He said, "Have you not believed?" He said, "Yes, but to put my heart at ease." He said, "Take four birds, and incline them to yourself, then place a part on each on top of a mount, then call to them; and they will come rushing to you. And know that God is Powerful and Wise."" (2:260), 2) when Noah in the ship, during the deluge/flood, tried to make his son join them, but the disbelieving son adamantly refused to join his father and arrogantly said to him: "...I will take refuge on a mount that will protect me from the water..." (11:43), and 3) within a verse talking about the Quran itself: "Had We sent this Quran down on a mount, you would have seen it trembling, crumbling in awe of God. These parables We cite for the people, so that they may reflect." (59:21). As for the Quranic term ''the Mount'', with the definite article, it refers three times to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai without mentioning its name, as it is a very well-known Mount in a location known to most people. Those three times are located in the two verses in the Quranic Chapter Seven as follows: "And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, allow me to look and see You." He said, "You will not see Me, but look at the mount; if it stays in its place, you will see Me." But when his Lord manifested Himself to the mount, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, "Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers."" (7:143); "And when We suspended the mount over them, as if it was an umbrella, and they thought it would fall on them: "Hold fast to what We have given you, and remember what it contains, so that you may be saved."" (7:171). Thus, among all mountains on the surface of the earth, it is just one Mount that is blessed and sacred and known to all people, and it witnessed the divine revelation and inspiration to Moses as well as the revelation of the Quran, the last divine celestial message before the end of the world, into the heart of Muhammad. We must take pride in the fact that this Mount is in Egypt.
5- The Quran specifies a certain side of the Mount Al-Tur, the right side, as the one that witnessed many events like the covenant with the Israelites and God's dialogue with Moses, and we are to remember always that this blessed place is an Egyptian land: "O Israelites! We have delivered you from your enemy, and promised you by the right side of Al-Tur..." (20:80); "When Moses had completed the term, and departed with his family, he noticed a fire by the side of Al-Tur. He said to his family, "Stay here, I have glimpsed a fire. Perhaps I can bring you some information from there, or an ember from the fire, that you may warm yourselves." When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree: "O Moses, it is I, God, the Lord of the Worlds." (28:29-30). We are also to bear in mind how Al-Tur is the name of the Quranic Chapter 52 and how Mount Al-Tur is referred to as "the Mount" three times in the Quran as we have mentioned above and how the right side is called the Sacred Valley of Tuwa, and that blessed spot is within an Egyptian land: "Has the story of Moses reached you? When he saw a fire, he said to his family, "Stay; I have noticed a fire; Perhaps I can bring you a torch therefrom, or find some guidance by the fire." Then, when he reached it, he was called, "O Moses. I am your Lord. Take off your shoes. You are in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (20:9-12). Hence, we notice how Mount Al-Tur has a special status in God's religion, as we read in the Quran.
6- Furthermore, in the Quranic Chapter 52, titled Al-Tur, God swears again with this blessed mount in Sinai: "We swear by Al-Tur. And a Book inscribed. In a scroll spread open. And the frequented House." (52:1:4); "The punishment of your Lord is coming." (52:7); "Woe on that Day to the deniers." (52:11). We notice here that God swears by many things to assert the Day of Resurrection that will come with punishment or disbelievers who deny the divine revelation descended on earth (i.e., Torah on Moses and the Quran on Muhammad). Muhammad saw arch-angel Gabriel at Al-Tur in the Night-Journey in Ramadan in the Night of the Decree (see 71:1), as per our explanation in detail in our book titled: "The Night-Journey Is the Same Night of Decree in Ramadan". We notice in the verses quoted from the Quranic Chapter 52 that swearing by Al-Tur precedes that by the Kaaba (i.e., referred to as the frequented House), and this parallels the fact that Al-Tur is mentioned before Mecca again in the Quranic Chapter 95 that we have quoted above; see 95:1-3. This order of making Al-Tur precedes Mecca is not haphazard or random; it refers to the fact that Al-Tur witnessed the revelation of the Torah to Moses first and then the Quran to Muhammad, and the Quranic verses were recited by Muhammad, intermittently as per events, to people in Mecca. This shows again that Mount Al-Tur has a special status in Islam, God's religion.
Secondly: Sinai and the divine revelation given to Moses:
1- Of course, Sinai was the big scene or theater within the Quranic story of Moses, in which it played a major role; Moses crossed Sinai when he fled Egypt to avoid the Pharaonic authorities and he settled in Madian for a while, and then, he crossed Sinai again on his way back with his wife. Later on, after events in Egypt and the drowning of Pharaoh and his retinue members and troops in the Red Sea, Moses lived the rest of his life in Sinai, with the Israelites who wandered for 40 years in the deserts, and he died and was buried in Sinai as well, in an unknown location within the peninsula, and he never made it to the Levant with the rest of the Israelites after 40 years of wandering.
2- Moses had a unique feature in his life as a prophet; God held a dialogue directly with him in Sinai, by the right side of Al-Tur: "...And God spoke to Moses directly" (4:164). We are to remember always that this direct speech with Moses occurred only within Egyptian land, within the first time in Al-Tur on his return to Egypt, then within the divine inspiration inside the Pharaonic capital and the palace of Pharaoh, and then after the exodus again in Sinai and when Moses received tablets of the Torah also by Al-Tur, making the covenant with God within the presence of 70 Israelite men on behalf of the rest to seek repentance after they worshipped a golden calf, and when Al-Tur was made to suspend high above them to make them fear God in piety. Thus, for instance, God talked directly to Moses in Egypt by telling him to make secret houses of worship for the persecuted Israelites, with the glad tidings of their salvation: "And We inspired Moses and his brother, "Settle your people in Egypt, and make your homes places of worship, and perform the prayer, and give good news to the believers."" (10:87).
3- As far as the Quranic stories of prophets are concerned, Moses is the first prophet to receive divine inspiration and revelation from God Himself without the usual mediator, arch-angel Gabriel. Moses heard the voice of the Lord for the first time by the right side of Mount Al-Tur, on his way back to Egypt with his wife: "When Moses had completed the term, and departed with his family, he noticed a fire by the side of Al-Tur. He said to his family, "Stay here, I have glimpsed a fire. Perhaps I can bring you some information from there, or an ember from the fire, that you may warm yourselves." When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree: "O Moses, it is I, God, the Lord of the Worlds." (28:29-30). And then, the speech of the Lord with Moses went on: "Throw down your staff." And when he saw it wiggling, as if it were possessed, he turned his back to flee, and did not look back. "O Moses, come forward, and do not fear, you are perfectly safe. Put your hand inside your pocket, and it will come out white, without blemish. And press your arm to your side, against fear. These are two proofs from your Lord, to Pharaoh and his dignitaries. They are truly sinful people."" (28:31-32). Moses spoke to the Lord as well: "He said, "My Lord, I have killed one of them, and I fear they will kill me. And my brother Aaron, he is more eloquent than me, so send him with me, to help me, and to confirm my words, for I fear they will reject me."" (28:33-34), and God said to him: "He said, "We will strengthen your arm with your brother, and We will give you authority, so they will not touch you. By virtue of Our signs, you and those who follow you will be the triumphant."" (28:35). Hence, we see here a dialogue between the Creator of the universe and one of His creatures, Moses, and not a monologue of divine inspiration to a prophet who did not talk to God. Let us remember that this dialogue occurred in Egypt, in Sinai. The special status of Tuwa/Al-Tur is reflected in the special stature and prominence of Moses among all God's prophets, as we infer from these verses: "And mention in the Book Moses. He was dedicated. He was a messenger and a prophet. And We called him from the right side of Al-Tur, and brought him near in communion. And We granted him, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron, a prophet." (19:51-53). We discern here how God loved Moses and made him the only person to whom He talked directly and how the Almighty cared for him and made his brother a prophet to help Moses.
4- We know of course that Moses received the tablets of the Ten Commandments, or the Torah, by Mount Al-Tur, as God made Moses wait there alone for 40 days and nights to prepare spiritually for the great event of receiving God's Word, as we know from the details mentions in the Quran; see 7:142-147.
5- Mount Al-Tur witnessed another event in which Moses received divine inspiration as God talked to him directly the same way as before: when he returned to Al-Tur with 70 men of the Israelites so that the covenant is made with them. When Moses descended from Al-Tur to go back to the Israelites carrying the tablets of the Torah, or the Ten Commandments, he found out that they had worshipped a stature of a calf made of gold, as they imitated the Pharaonic god named Apis (the bull-god), as they were influenced by the ways of the Egyptians, and Moses was so furious that he threw the tablets that were smashed as a result, and he was about to vent his anger on Aaron, who was deputized to take care of the Israelites during his absence at Al-Tur: "And when Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed, he said, "What an awful thing you did in my absence. Did you forsake the commandments of your Lord so hastily?" And he threw down the tablets; and he took hold of his brother's head, dragging him towards himself. He said, "Son of my mother, the people have overpowered me, and were about to kill me; so do not allow the enemies to gloat over me, and do not count me among the unjust people."" (7:150). "When the anger abated in Moses, he took up the tablets. In their transcript is guidance and mercy for those in awe of their Lord." (7:154). To express their repentance, Moses chose 70 men who went with him to Mount Al-Tur to witness the covenant with God, and Al-Tur trembled in their presence as God wanted to warn them against incurring His wrath again: "And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. When the tremor shook them, he said, "My Lord, had You willed, You could have destroyed them before, and me too. Will you destroy us for what the fools among us have done? This is but Your test-with it You misguide whomever You will, and guide whomever You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are the Best of Forgivers."" (7:155).
6- Thus, Mount Al-Tur witnessed the covenant with the Israelites and how God made them tremble with fear as Al-Tur was made to suspend above their heads as if it would fall on their heads, and God commanded them to adhere to the Scripture of the Torah for their own salvation in the Hereafter: "And when We suspended the mountain over them, as if it was an umbrella, and they thought it would fall on them: "Hold fast to what We have given you, and remember what it contains, so that you may be saved."" (7:171).
Thirdly: the divine revelation between Al-Aqsa Mosque in Mount Al-Tur in Sinai and the Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca:
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the name given to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai in the Quran, in 17:1, in relation to Muhammad's Night-Journey to this spot, Tuwa, to receive the Quran wholly inside his heart via Gabriel the arch-angel, in the same spot where Moses received the Torah tablets containing the Ten Commandments. One of the reason why such facts were ignored by Arabs after the death of Muhammad is a political conspiracy plotted by the Umayyad caliph Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik, who built a very grand mosque in Jerusalem, a city never mentioned in the Quran at all, while naming it Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., literally, the farthest mosque) and claimed to everyone in the Umayyad Empire that this mosque is Al-Aqsa Mosque mentioned in the Quran! this caliph made such claims for political reasons as his rivals/opponents who coveted the caliphate throne centered in Yathreb (where polytheistic Arabs performed pilgrimage to a mausoleum ascribed to Prophet Muhammad as his tomb/grave, considering Yathreb a holy city and political capital of pre-Umayyad caliphs) and he desired to make a 'holier' location (replacing Yathreb whose name had changed and it came to be known as 'Al-Medina' [literally: 'The City'] ) near his capital Damascus to make people perform pilgrimage to it, resulting in making the Umayyad dynasty more powerful in terms of linking them to something spiritual or religious, and this caliph claimed that Muhammad had performed the miraculous Night-Journey to Jerusalem, which was not true. We are to remember that based on the Quranic verses, we deduce that the real location of the Night-Journey was Mount Al-Tur, as Muhammad was transferred miraculously from Mecca to Al-Tur to receive the whole of the Quranic text inside his heart in the Night of Decree. We are to remember that after the covenant between God and the 70 Israelite men with Moses at Al-Tur, Moses was told by God about the coming of Prophet Muhammad, within the context of Moses asking God to pardon the Israelites and to accept their repentance from their sin of worshipping a golden statue of a calf: "And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. When the tremor shook them, he said, "My Lord, had You willed, You could have destroyed them before, and me too. Will you destroy us for what the fools among us have done? This is but Your test-with it You misguide whomever You will, and guide whomever You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are the Best of Forgivers." "And inscribe for us goodness in this world, and in the Hereafter. We have turned to You." He said, "My punishment-I inflict it upon whomever I will, but My mercy encompasses all things. I will specify it for those who act righteously and practice regular charity, and those who believe in Our Verses." Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet of the Nations, whom they find mentioned in the Torah and in the Gospel in their possession. He directs them to righteousness, and deters them from evil, and allows for them all good things, and prohibits for them wickedness, and unloads the burdens and the shackles that are upon them. Those who believe in him, and respect him, and support him, and follow the light that came down with him-these are the successful." (7:155-157). This means that Moses was commanded to tell the Israelites about the glad tidings of the coming of Muhammad so that their progeny would believe in his message coming from God when it is revealed one day. Hence, Muhammad was sent as a mercy to the humankind: "We did not send you except as mercy to humankind." (21:107); as this forgiveness and mercy are not granted except to those who believed in God and His Scripture and performed good deeds and acts of righteousness and followed the Light of the Quran. Hence, this promise and prophecy about Muhammad told by God to Moses was fulfilled centuries later, as Muhammad was transferred miraculously from Mecca to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai within the Night-Journey (see 17:1) in the Night of Decree (see the Quranic Chapter 97), and Muhammad was made to receive the Quranic text wholly inside his heart, in the same spot where Moses received the tablets of the Torah. Let us contemplate these facts as we read these verses: "Glory to Him who journeyed His servant by night, from the Sacred Mosque, to Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose surrounding areas We have blessed, in order to show him of Our Signs. He is the Listener, the Beholder. And We gave Moses the Scripture..." (17:1-2). We see here how the Quran links the Night-Journey of Muhammad to Moses who received the Scripture/Torah. Hence, the location of Mount AL-Tur in Sinai is the link between both events. Hence, Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the names given to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai, just like the other appellation: the Sacred Valley of Tuwa. This is the most purified, blessed, and sacred spot on earth that witnessed God's direct speech to Moses as well. The link between the Quran descended wholly inside the heart of Muhammad in Sinai and the story of Moses in Sinai is further established in the Quran in the Quranic Chapter 27: "You are receiving the Quran from an All-Wise, All-Knowing. When Moses said to his family, "I have glimpsed a fire. I will bring you some news from it; or bring you a firebrand, that you may warm yourselves." Then, when he reached it, he was called: "Blessed is He who is within the fire, and those who are around it, and glorified be God, Lord of the Worlds." (27:6-8). Hence, the same blessing/benediction of the location/spot in 27:8 parallel the one in 17:1. This means that Al-Aqsa Mosque is another name indicating Mount Al-Tur in Sinai. In 17:1, Muhammad saw miraculous signs of the Lord as he saw how he was transported in no time from Mecca to Al-Tur and he saw arch-angel Gabriel (as we infer also from 53:5-18 about Gabriel meeting Muhammad for the first time) who conveyed the Quran to his heart, and the Quran is the Supreme Sign and Miracle of the Lord;, whereas Moses saw in the same spot other miraculous signs like the tree on fire by never consumed, God talking to him directly without mediators, and other miracles/signs given to him to show to Pharaoh later on in his palace court: "Throw down your staff." But when he saw it quivering, as though it were a demon, he turned around not looking back..." (27:10); "Put your hand inside your pocket, and it will come out white, without blemish..." (27:12).
Fourthly: Sinai the less-known blessed land of purification and sacredness:
1- God describes in the Quran Mount Al-Tur many times, as the site or divine revelation, as a blessed spot, as it is made pure by witnessing the sacred speech of God to Moses, and this sacredness of the place is shown as God ordered Moses to take off his shoes: " When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree..." (28:30); "Has the story of Moses reached you? When he saw a fire, he said to his family, "Stay; I have noticed a fire; Perhaps I can bring you a torch therefrom, or find some guidance by the fire." Then, when he reached it, he was called, "O Moses. I am your Lord. Take off your shoes. You are in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (20:9-12). In the same blessed site of Mount Al-Tur, Moses stayed for 40 nights and days to prepare his soul to receive the tablets of the Torah; see details in 7:142-147. During that event, in the dialogue between Moses and God, an unparalleled occurrence in that Egyptian soil, the blessed Mount Al-Tur, occurred for the very first and last time: God manifested Himself to the Mount Al-Tur, as we know from the following verse "And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, allow me to look and see You." He said, "You will not see Me, but look at the Mount; if it stays in its place, you will see Me." But when his Lord manifested Himself to the Mount, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, "Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers."" (7:143). We, as Egyptians, must take pride in the fact that God never manifested Himself anywhere on earth (or indeed anywhere in the universe) except in Egypt and never talked directly to any prophet except Moses only in Egypt. Arabian historians of Muhammad's lifetime have ignored such events and never mentioned them at all because they never heeded or reflected upon the Quran at all, and they kept busy with falsehoods of Hebrew narratives and the mosque built by caliph Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik, allegedly replacing the ruins of the so-called temple of Solomon, while fabricating stories about Jerusalem (a city never mentioned in the Quran), and their fabricated narratives ridiculed the Night-Journey and added a mythical story of Muhammad ascending to Heavens while riding a talking mule! Such distracting tales and falsehoods diverted people and never allowed them a chance to ponder and reflect on the Quranic text deeply. The Quranic facts about Egypt mentioned in this book of ours "Egypt in the Quran" and its annexes are divine, celestial facts from our Lord in which every Egyptian must take pride.
2- We notice how the Quran reminds the Israelites of the 7th century several times of special situations of their ancestors in Sinai: how they broke the covenant with God and how in their hearts they worshipped gold/money represented by the golden calf statue: "And recall when We received a pledge from you, and raised Al-Tur above you: "Take what We have given you earnestly, and remember what is in it, that you may attain righteousness."" (2:63); "And We made a covenant with you, and raised Al-Tur above you: "Take what We have given you firmly, and listen." They said, "We hear and disobey." And their hearts became filled with the love of the calf because of their disbelief. Say, "Wretched is what your faith commands you to do, if you are believers."" (2:93). Hence, the Israelites forgot all about Mount Al-Tur and events occurring near it to their ancestors, while focusing only on the alleged temple of Solomon (if it indeed existed) that represented power, authority, and wealth. Sadly, as the Israelites forgot about Mount Al-Tur/Tuwa/Aqsa Mosque, Sinai, the Burning Tree, etc. the same occurred to the Muhammadans who forgot all about such great events in Sinai and focused instead on Jerusalem and its assumed Umayyad-built mosque made to be 'holy' by narratives and falsehoods (about Muhammad ascending to Heavens from Jerusalem from a mosque in it) authored, fabricated, and concocted by impious authors/scribes.
Fifthly: the blessed olive tree in Mount Al-Tur in Sinai:
1- This site is made blessed and sacred by god, as we know from the Quran, and God specifies the spot of the blessed tree: "When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree, "O Moses, it is I, God, the Lord of the Worlds." (28:30). We discern from the Quranic Chapter 95 that this tree was an olive tree that God swears by it in the Quran: "By the fig and the olive. And by Al-Tur of Sinai." (95:1-2). We deduce that God made the olive trees blessed with its financial and health benefits for human beings; this is affirmed in these verses that link God's creations on earth to the olive tree and its oil in Sinai, near Mount Al-Tur: "And We sent down water from the sky in proper quantity, and settled it in the ground, and We are Able to take it away. With it We produce for you gardens of palms and vines, yielding abundant fruit for you to eat. And a tree springing out of Mount Al-Tur of Sinai, producing oil, and seasoning for those who eat." (23:17-20). This equates the olive tree with other previously mentioned bounties that God created for human beings, and this bounty called olive tree is originally coming from Mount Al-Tur in Sinai. We notice that the present continuous tense is used in 23:20, and this indicates the economic and health benefits of olive trees in Sinai, as Sinai contains the most important site among blessed spots on earth: Mount Al-Tur that witnessed great events such as God talking to Moses, manifesting Himself on earth, and the descent of Torah and the Quran. Hence, olive trees of Sinai with its fruit and oil is very beneficial to all human beings and will continue to be so. We should ponder deeply on the Quranic fact that Mount Al-Tur turned into dust when God manifested Himself to it and that it was made to suspend over the Israelites in their presence near in in Sinai, to make them fear the might of the Lord, but it still stand until now and will remain the same until the end of day; this is another miracle in itself.
2- It is also noteworthy that oil of the olive tree of Sinai, in the location of Mount Al-Tur, is mentioned in the verse about the parable about the divine light of guidance given to the humankind: "God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The allegory of His light is that of a pillar on which is a lamp. The lamp is within a glass. The glass is like a brilliant planet, fueled by a blessed tree, an olive tree, neither eastern nor western. Its oil would almost illuminate, even if no fire has touched it. Light upon Light. God guides to His light whomever He wills. God thus cites the parables for the people. God is cognizant of everything." (24:35). Hence, we read here the link between the unseen, figurative light of guidance and the seen light derived from olive oil. We feel here that God shows to us, Egyptians, that the olive oil from the olive trees of Sinai should be scientifically studied to see how it may be used as a source of energy: this may be another cosmic verse of a miracle that will be shown in the future, showing the unique sacredness of Sinai, its olive trees, and its Mount Al-Tur.
ANNEX II: Quranic stories and archeological discoveries:
1- The Quranic stories are thematically divided into two types: one type mentioned in the Old Testament in the Bible, with so many differences in the methodology of narration and in many details (as we have mentioned before in many of our articles), and the second type is the stories mentioned in the Quran and never mentioned at all in the Old Testament, like Arabian prophets Saleh, Hud, and Shueib and their tribes/peoples Thamood, Aad, and Madian, respectively. Those lost tribes were destroyed by God, and their ruins are still there in Arabia and bear witness to the authenticity of God's narratives / discourse about them in the Quran; Arabs used to see these ruins in their trade caravans routes, and God has commanded them to draw lessons from such tribes. The Quran commands all believers in general to roam the earth and draw lessons from monuments and relics left by ancient people, and this implies the order to excavate and dig for such ruins and relics to take heed. This is in contrast to the backward Salafist/Wahabi ideas about hating, destroying, and disowning monuments and ancient works of art (e.g., ancient statues, paintings, murals, etc.) as if they were Satan's impure fashioning that must be discarded. We assert here that the Quranic command to roam the earth includes certainly to discover, dig, explore, and excavate. In our modern times, scientific advances made such discoveries, explorations, digging and excavations easier than before; why scientists would not use high-tech tools and equipment to survey Arabian deserts to get to know more about tribes/peoples mentioned in the Quran as destroyed by God: Aad, Thamood, and Madian. If it had not been for the Quran, no one would knew about such tribes; the Quran tells us that the peoples of Aad and Thamood used to live luxuriously and their civilizations flourished, and amidst Arabian deserts, they had verdant, lush gardens with water wells, palaces, factories, and high buildings, all of which buried under desert sands now. Satellites and remote sensors can be used to discover them. Indeed, if oil-rich Arabs in Gulf monarchies would finance such discoveries and excavations, thrilling results will be found when scientists look for remnants of locations of Madian, Thamood, and Aad peoples.
2- Of course, there is a huge gap between Quranic stories and those of the Old Testament, and a larger gap between Biblical and Quranic stories on the one hand and the discoveries of digging and excavations on the other hand. Those who like to cast doubts on the Quranic stories would pose questions like the following ones: are there any archeological evidence that prove Moses/Joseph was in Egypt? Why there are no signs of their being in Egypt as far as Egyptology and archeological digging are concerned? Hence, the major problem now is that archeological excavations and diggings in Egypt suffer three main features of failure: 1) randomness, 2) forgery, and 3) destruction.
2/1: Randomness: those who like to cast doubts on Quranic stories base their undermining of them on the fact that until now, there are no tangible relics found by archaeological diggings and excavations to prove the existence of Moses and Joseph at one time in Egypt. Excavations in Egypt are being done at random; they are not done methodologically in an organized manner as per the Egyptian historical stages/phases in their chronological order with their details; besides, little efforts are being made to spot forgeries and to recognize true details of real authentic relics related to any stage/phase of the Egyptian long history that stretches for seven millennia. If organized excavations would be done all over Egyptian soils, leaving no areas without diggings, signs of the Moses and Joseph eras may be found. Sadly, excavations are being undertaken randomly and individually, without being based on true research, and some who assume them are imposters who aim to cause sabotage, especially those who hide their findings to smuggle relics abroad to sell such priceless pieces in return for huge fortunes (indeed, some adventurers are thieves who know potential buyers, or ''collectionneurs", who are willing to pay a king's ransom in return for authentic pieces of the Pharaonic Era), and history provides us with many painful stories of some Egyptians, Arabs, and non-Arabs who specialized in hunting Pharaonic treasures to steal and sell elsewhere, without the lax Egyptian authorities at the time knowing anything at all about such thefts. When men of the European renaissance sent expeditions to explore geography and history of the region that came to be known later on as the Middle East, they focused on excavating Egypt and the Levant within areas mentioned in the Bible, and all adventurers, archeologists, and scientists would always feel amazed at the richness of Egyptian monuments, ruins, and relics, and they often found gold in Pharaonic mummies they excavated. Hence, later on, some European thieves and gangs specialized in stealing relics, statues, coins, amulets, and mummies and all gold pieces and other remains and remnants of Pharaonic treasures and tombs, to sell them to amateurs, imposters, and adventurers who collect such pieces in the West. At the Ottoman times, smuggling was not deemed as a crime, especially that the Ottomans never cared for history and archeology (despite the existence of countless monuments) at all, or indeed for any sciences at all, as they cared to spread ignorance, obscurantism, backwardness, and tyranny, whereas Europe at the time began its scientific advances and discoveries. Apart from explorations and excavations based on the religious interest in the Bible, the European greed for riches and wealth as well as secular interest in history, archeology, and arts led many Europeans to feel passionate about the Pharaonic civilization, and Egyptology and Egyptomania spread all over Europe, especially France. Information, data, and maps accumulated about Egypt and its ancient civilization, and technologies, excavation tools, and scientific advancement increased and got more sophisticated, and hence, the passion with Egyptology increased the more. Yet, thieves of relics and rare pieces never stopped smuggling and selling them within worldwide until now. Sadly, some Egyptian traitors in the higher governmental posts and ministries help those thieves and betray Egypt and the Egyptians in return for money; as if stealing public money is not enough to fill their bottomless pockets and to satisfy their ever-increasing greed. Another element of randomness is that some excavations discover findings by mere chance or luck, not based on prior thorough studies. Many diggings sadly end in failure and disappointment after spending lots of money to seek fame and glory.
2/2: Forgery: throughout the Egyptian history that lasted for seven millennia until now, most of the Egyptian and non-Egyptian rulers of all phases, dynasties, and stages were tyrants who had this bad habit of seeing themselves as the best rulers in comparison to their predecessors; even some Pharaonic rulers used to remove names of their predecessors from monuments, temples, pyramids, reliefs, murals, etc. and to put their own names instead, to prove their ownership to certain glory. This is outright forgery of history, a crime done thousands of years ago before common era. Some other monuments of historical values had been sabotaged on purpose; many blocs of tens of small pyramids (that are vanished now, but were erected throughout Egypt in ancient times) were taken by some Muhammadan rulers to be used in other buildings such as: the huge spacious Mameluke mosques, the citadel of Saladin, the irrigation megaprojects of Al-Qanatar (an area in the Egyptian Nile Delta) built by Muhammad Ali Pacha. Hence tyranny is linked directly to forgery in monuments and relics of history; each tyrant would forcibly ascribe feats of his predecessors to himself, and this has been a crime of intentional falsification of history, until now. Even in the 20th century, Abdel-Nasser has removed names of the Muhammad Ali Pacha royal dynasty from many buildings and palaces and so on after the 1952 coup that has turned Egypt into a republic. Likewise, Sadat has removed the name of Nasser from the High Dam, Lake Nasser into ''the High Dam Lake'' (but the name was retrieved later by Mubarak), hundreds of schools that were named after him (and named now after Sadat and his wife). Later on, Mubarak gave his name to many schools and other projects done by him or by his two predecessors.
2/3: Destruction: most excavations are undertaken in desert areas inside Egypt, whereas it is more logical to dig under the locations within the two banks of the River Nile, where one will certainly discover so many findings; sadly, this is rendered impossible because of the densely populated cities and villages along the Nile Valley, and one cannot possibly move whole cities elsewhere, with all modern buildings and residents. For instance, between two East Delta cities in Egypt that have retained their Pharaonic names, Bilbeis and Faqoos, there was a city located that had been the most famous one during the Pharaonic Era as the center of the worship of the cat-goddess Bastet or Baset, which was revered by the Ancient Egyptians, but this ancient city was transformed gradually into ruins covered with thick layers of dust, except for some ruins of the temple of the goddess Baset. The modern city built over the ancient one is now named Zagazig, the capital of Al-Sharqiyah Governorate, as the government built this city as a center to gather peasants to send them to dig the Suez Canal, in the mid-19th century. At the time, the ruins were surrounded by swamps and marshes that were filled with a type of small fish, called Zagazig, in the colloquial terms at that time, and the name of that fish gave the modern city its name. The ruins that remained, after destroying most of them to pave the land to build the new city, were called Tal Al-Basta (literally, with distortion, the hill of Baset, the goddess). Those ruins remained deserted for decades, until Sadat, with his Open-Door policy (or infitah, in Arabic, i.e., allowing private investments to flourish), made people stretch their areas of building new houses everywhere over the fertile lands and over ruined, barren areas as well. Tal Al-Basta began to be populated with residents in new houses, while building a wall surrounding the dusty ruins of Tal-Al-Basta, as no one cared about them at the time. This means that the modern city of Zagazig has been built over a large collection of ruins and monuments buried under the soil for tens of centuries. We ourselves lived in Zagazig for a while, until we moved to Cairo to study at Al-Azhar University. Moving to Cairo, we lived in the densely populated low-class Al-Matariyya district since 1974. Nearer to our house was an area called Al-Masalla (literally, the obelisk), and it was named as such because the ruins there had an obelisk in their midst, and that area was situated within the borders of other Cairene districts like Ain Shams and Al-Zaytun. Sadly, we witnessed in the late 1970s how the ruins were demolished and destroyed in order to pave the area to build houses and apartments. No one cared at the time that there were countless relics buried under the sand and dust there, a whole ancient city, we think, that might contain relics that were unnoticed by European treasure-hunters and thieves who spread all over Egypt during the Ottoman Era. What a regrettable negligence indeed! In fact, relics and monuments covered with sand in deserts can be easily excavated, as we see many digging areas in desert areas in Giza, near the Great Pyramid and Saqqara Pyramid, as there are no residential buildings there. The major problem is how to dig under Cairo, Giza, and other small and big cities all over the Nile Valley. Dr. Zahi Hawass, the renowned Egyptian archeologist and Egyptologist, asserts in his books that the district near the Great Pyramid, called Nazlet Al-Simman District, is located above many strata of buried Pharaonic treasure trove of relics and monuments, but sadly, the government cannot possibly force thousands of people living there to re-locate in order to dig the whole district. In fact, many other archeologists and Egyptologists assert that there are strata of relics all over the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta under all agricultural cultivated fields. It is hard and costly to make people desert their areas to start digging and turn whole cities into archeological sites. In 595 A.H., the philosopher and medical doctor Abdul-Latif Al-Baghdadi visited Egypt and had written a book about his journey there, titled "Al-Ifada wa Al-Etibar", and one of the best passages of this book are his description in detail of many Pharaonic monuments, relics, and ruins and how they were being destroyed at the time. It is very strange that such destruction went on until modern times in the 20th century. This author/traveler mentions in his book that the area around the Giza pyramids had a complete city filled with relics and monuments in the east of the three pyramids, and how this city of ruins were filled with intersecting labyrinths and serpentine passages that even some of them consisted of three layers/levels and one cannot explore all of them in one day. This author asserts further in his book that the three pyramids had deciphered writings on them that would fill at least 10 thousand pages/parchments and he describes the blocs used in the erection of the three pyramids in detail; hem talks a great deal about the Sphinx and how its body was entirely buried under the sand, except for its head. This means that after that era, many thieves searched for treasures and confiscated them, thus showing the rest of the body of the Sphinx because of their diggings there after stealing unknown pieces! The author writes in 595 A.H. that he witnessed part of such destruction of ruins and relics; as the governor of Egypt at the time, named Al-Aziz Othman the Ayyubid, commanded the defragmentation of a smaller pyramid for eight months, one bloc a day, to build himself a castle and a fortress, and thus, leaving the of the pyramid partially destroyed after getting enough material! In later eras, other historical writings assert that tens of smaller pyramids in Giza, to the south, and to the north till Abou Seir ( a district now in Alexandria) were dismantled to use their blocs and rocks for other castles and citadels and other building projects, as when Qaraqosh, a grand vizier of Saladin, built a huge wall surrounding Cairo and the citadel as well as irrigation project in Giza, while leaving lots of destroyed rocks and blocs aside. Furthermore, Abdul-Latif Al-Baghdadi describes in his book in detail the wondrous relics and monuments in Memphis, and many things that he describes do not exist now! What a shame to have lost such rare pieces forever because of negligence at the time! This author writes pages and pages to express his deep admiration of such rare pieces, metal coins, beautiful murals, grand statues, and wonderful monuments that remained for millennia; he never knew that they will be destroyed within hundreds of years after he left Egypt! He even writes about the sad fact that unknown and unnamed thieves used to steal so many treasures of gold and precious stones, while destroying many mummies in their search for gold amulets and so on. Hence, within such Middle Ages, no one cared about such Pharaonic heritage, and many thought that statues were related to idolatry and paganism and it was OK to destroy them! They forgot that no one at the time worship deities/gods of the ancient forefathers any longer in the abandoned temples, especially after the advent of Christianity in Egypt long before Arabs conquered Egypt. All thieves at the time sought gold, silver, and precious stones. It was strange that religious scholars at the time despised the abandoned temples of paganism in Egypt, with their murals, paintings, statues, etc. that no one revere or worship at them anymore as source of benediction, while they practiced and encouraged deification and sanctification of 'holy' tombs, mausoleums, and male and female 'saints' to gain the supposed benediction and blessings. Apart from the book of Abdul-Latif Al-Baghdadi, no other author at the time cared to write anything scientifically in detail about the monuments and relics that filled Egyptian soil at the time. Even the greatest Egyptian historian at the time, Al-Makrizi, never wrote anything about them except few paragraphs that are indeed like fabricated tales of little value at all; this reflects how many generations never got interested in the naturally open museums all over Egyptian soil at the time that told many stories of the development of human civilization. Indeed, excavations must be done all over Egypt to dig layers filled with ancient secrets and relics; the Pharaonic history and civilization are the oldest and most important ones on the whole planet; there are no history courses or curricula worldwide in any school or university that do not include chapters on Pharaonic civilization. Pharaonic monuments are the main topic of most archeologists worldwide until now; all the world takes great interests in the Pharaonic Era and all its aspects, except for the Egyptians of the 20th century, who seem to inherit the same indifference typical of the Middle ages generations! It is a sad fact that discovered mummies, relics, and other pieces show how many thieves in the Middle Ages destroyed so many of them in their search for precious tones and items made of gold and silver; this is not to European thieves in the 18th and 19th centuries that stole countless relics and rare pieces, statues, etc. Another sabotage to be regretted is when people find Pharaonic writings in many monuments built in the Mameluke, Fatimid, and Ayyubid eras as many rulers used blocs and rocks from Pharaonic ruins too build their madrassas and mosques. Until our modern age, smuggling of rare pieces to be sold for the affluent collectionneurs is part of organized crime worldwide, and we fear that our great-grand-children would one day blame our generation for more negligence in the 20th century, as we blame Egyptians of the Middle Ages now!
3- With all destruction, ruin, damage, and smuggling that occurred to Pharaonic monuments, relics, ruins, and remains of antiquity, there are so many gaps in the Pharaonic history and we may never know anything about such missing links, unless the archeological endeavors would spread all over Egyptian soil to dig and discover more and more. Another sad fact is that many intentional distorted, fabricated, and forged narratives and historical accounts exist in hieroglyphics that might mislead readers desiring to know real history of the Pharaonic Era from monuments and relics found by archeological digs and excavations; thus, with random excavations and conflicting narratives and theories, the field of Egyptology remains one of surmise, relative knowledge, and speculation and not a field of ascertained verified facts.
4- To apply the above on the Quranic stories of Joseph, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron, we are to remember the following points.
4/1: These prophets emerged within eras that were never source of pride to the Pharaohs who ruled Egypt within the eras that followed. Those Pharaohs had probably destroyed any traces of such eras of collapse/degeneration and/or foreign occupation. For instance, Joseph lived in Egypt at the time when the Hyksos occupied Egypt, and the Egyptians during the rule of the Pharaohs who drove out the Hyksos had certainly destroyed all traces related to such foreign occupiers, and these traces included what were linked to the history of Joseph and the Israelites inside Egypt. Another example is within the story of Moses in the Quran; the lifetime of Moses witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian State and the death of Pharaoh and his people by drowning in the Red Sea. Pharaohs in general used NOT to write or record anything about their being defeated by anyone, and it is expected that they had never written anything about the Hebrews and the death of Moses' Pharaoh and his soldiers, family, and retinue members by drowning in the Red Sea and to ignore totally the historical fact, mentioned only in the Quran, that the Israelites at one point controlled and ruled Egypt for a while.
4/2: The Quran preceded everyone by asserting that God had destroyed completely all edifices, towers, buildings, and monuments erected by Moses' Pharaoh, and this means there are no traces of them at all that could ever be found; the whole world never know anything about Moses' Pharaoh in any other sources with the exception of the Old Testament and the Quran. Lastly, let us ponder deeply upon the following Quranic verses: "So We took vengeance on them, and drowned them in the sea-because they rejected Our signs, and paid no heed to them. And We made the oppressed people inherit the eastern and western parts of the land, which We had blessed. Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance. And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:136-137). As always, God says nothing but the Truth.