Ark of the Covenant?

[ShahnazZ]

:salam2:, I hope you're all in the best state of health and iman.

At an Al-Maghrib course I once took on the history of Islam in Africa, Europe and the Americas, Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick briefly mentioned the "ark of the covenant". Supposedly this ark belonged to the Prophet Sulayman alayhis 'salam and some say it holds "the seat of his power." The Sheikh stated that this ark had many references in the Bible, Torah, and Quran. Looking online, I found some references to it in Surah Baqarah of the Quran as Tabut as-Sakina:

"And (further) their Prophet said to them: "A Sign of his authority is that there shall come to you the Ark of the covenant, with (an assurance) therein of security from your Lord, and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron, carried by angels. In this is a symbol for you if ye indeed have faith." 2:248

Although various groups and countries claim to possess this ark, the Sheikh stated that it is actually in Ethiopia. Axum, to be exact, and for those who don't know, this was the home of the Najashi, the Abyssinian emperor who provided refuge for the early Muslims during the time of persecution by the Quraysh. According to the Sheikh, this ark remains in a treasury and is guarded 24/7 by an individual who never leaves the room from the time he is appointed as a guard till the time of his demise. His meals are brought to him. Afterwards, another individual takes his place.

The Shia also believe that the Imam Mahdi will be the individual to uncover the ark. That's according to THEIR belief.

As there is such little information about this ark, I'm wondering if anyone has any more information on it. It's a fascinating subject and there are many who wonder about the contents of it.

JazakAllah khair!

 

[Perseveranze]

Asalaamu Alaikum,

when you said Ark I thought you meant Noah's ark... This I've never heard much about though.

So in this Ark, there is meant to be a symbol there placed by God?

 

[ShahnazZ]

Not necessarily. Each faith believes that different things are placed in it. I believe Christians and Jews believe that remnants of the household of Prophets Musa and Haroon alayhim assalam are in there. There are Muslims who support this theory as well as per the indication in the above-mentioned ayah. Others believe that the "seat of Solomon's power" is encased within it and that the ark itself was given to Sulayman alayhis salam as a "sign of God's devotion". Some Muslim sects believe that it contains the Ring of Sulayman alayhis salam, the staff of Musa alayhis salam and the sword of the Prophet Muhammad . However, no one is certain about what the true contents are and I was just wondering if anyone had more information on this.

 

[ShyHijabi]

:salam2:

I don't know about the Christians but the Jews believe it holds the original 10 commandments. They believe Moses (peace be upon him) constructed it under the directions of God. As of now there are only rumors of it's location.

 

[ShahnazZ]

As I mentioned, Muslims believe the Ark is currently in Axum, home of the Najashi. And yes, I do believe that the Jews call it the Tabot.

Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick was the one who stated that it was left by Prophet Sulayman alayhis salam based on his studying the subject. In addition to being a professor, the sheikh is also a historian who has spent many years traveling throughout Africa and studying its history. Also, after extensive research of the Ark, many believe that although it was passed down from Musa alayhis salam, Sulayman alayhis salam was the last Prophet to have handled the Ark. Some say he placed it in the Temple in Jerusalem. Others even say that the Ark is even older and was handled by Adam alayhis salam himself as well as RasulAllah . There are so many theories out there, the truth seems to have simply drowned amidst all of them. Wallahu alim.

 

[Tabassum07]

This is all so very interesting - I actually don't recollect reading about this in the Quran even. Perhaps the translation I had worded it differently. But I wonder what this thing could be? Is it a ship?

 

[Tabassum07]

:salam2:

This is sounding familiar to the Holy Grail quest.... maybe the two legends are related? Allahu Alim.

 

[trying2learn]

Christians believe that the stone tablets of the ten commandments are in the arc of the covenant. (I should know I used to be one, lol) I guess it would be the broken stone tablets though, cuz in christianity we are told that they were smashed by Moses when he returned and saw his people dancing around and worshiping the image of a golden calf.