Page 266 - Demo

262about 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 anda “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, isof 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 thisreason it is called the “jumu،a,”[1] Matt. xii. 6.