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about the priests continually dissolving the Sabbath in
the Temple, Jesus (pbuh) is reported to have said, “Behold,
here is one that is greater than the Temple.” [1] I can guess
of no sense in the existence of the adverb “here” in this
clause, unless we supply and attach to it an additional
“t,” and make it read “there.” For, if Jesus (pbuh) or any
other prophet before him should have had the audacity
of declaring himself “greater than the Temple,” he would
have been instantly lynched or stoned by the Jews and
a “blasphemer,” unless he could prove himself to be the
Son of Man, invested with power and greatness, as the
Apostle of Allah was.

The abrogation of Saturday by the Prince of the
Prophets -Muhammad (pbuh) - is hinted at in the LXII Surah
of the Quran entitled “AlJumu?a” or “The Assembly.”
Before Muhammad (pbuh) the Arabs called Friday “al
A’ruba,” the same as the Syriac Pshitta “A’rubta” from
the Aramaic “arabh” -“to set down (the sun).” it was so
called because after the setting of the sun of Friday the
Sabbath day commenced. The reason given for the sacred
character of Saturday is that on that day God “rested”
from His work of creation. Nevertheless, the reason for
the choice of Friday, as it can easily be understood, is
of a double nature. First, because on this day the great
work of the creation, or of the universal formation of all
the innumerable worlds, beings and things visible and
invisible, planets, and microbes was completed. This was
the first event that interrupted eternity, when time, space,
and matter came into being. The commemoration, the
anniversary, and the sanctity of such a prodigious event
on the day on which it was achieved is just, reasonable,
and even necessary. The second reason is that on this
day prayers and worship are conducted by the faithful
unanimously, and for this reason it is called the “jumu?a,”

[1] Matt. xii. 6.