Jabal Rahma - Mountain of Mercy

Mountain of Mercy at Arafat Plains. The white pillar at the top is the spot where Adam (PBUH) stood pleading for God's mercy

Yesterday we went on a tour of some of the historical sites around Makkah. One of the site visited was what is known as Mountain of Mercy,

What is Mountain of Mercy?

Refer my previous post on Arafat. When Adam & Eve met again in Arafat, they were under tremendous pressure to seek God's forgiveness for having commited the sin of disobedience of God's command. Adam climbed the small rock hill which is now known as the mountain of mercy, and pleaded with God for his mercy & forgiveness.

One of the main ritual of Hajj is to stay on or around this mountain and seek God's mercy & forgiveness just as Adam & Eve did. It is believed that any pilgrim who performs all the rituals of Hajj & sincerely seeks God's forgiveness at this mountain can expect to have all his sins forgiven. This mountain is also the site where Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) gave his famous last sermon.

Muslims don't believe in the doctrine of Attonment. We believe Jesus Christ was one of mightiest Prophet of God who was born miraculously to Virgin Mary, however he was not sent to atone for the original sin. We believe every individual is responsible for his or her actions & nobody else can atone for our sins.

Therefore it is hoped that by praying at the very spot where Adam prayed, God in his infinite grace and benevolence will forgive all our personal sins just as how he forgave Adam & Eve and we can hope to start a new life as if we are just born.

This in effect is the purpose of Hajj.