کیا اسلام کا طریقہ طواف اور اس کے سات چکر بت پرست عربوں سے نقل کئے گئے ہیں؟ علی عباس جلال پوری اور دیگر ملحدین کا ایک جاہلانہ اعتراض اور اس کا جواب

کیا اسلام کا طریقہ طواف اور اس کے سات چکر بت پرست عربوں سے نقل کئے گئے ہیں؟
علی عباس جلال پوری اور دیگر ملحدین کا ایک جاہلانہ اعتراض اور اس کا جواب

Was the Concept of Muslim Tawaf and Its Seven Rounds Taken From Pagan Arabs and Nabataeans?
Atheists Allegation and its Rebuttal
Compiled by Dr.Aheed Hassan
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The anti Islamic apologetics say that seven rounds of Muslim twaaf are taken from the pre Islamic tradition of pagan arabs who performed seven rounds of naked twaaf, one for the each planet. They further say that a pre-quranic manuscript written by Epiphanius in the fourth century CE describes the ritual of spinning seven times as part of the birth festivals of the Nabataean idols Allat and Dhushara around the winter solstice.
Islamic references for the pagan tradition of  naked twaaf are following:
Regarding naked twaaf of pre Islamic times, Quran narrates this:
And when they commit a Fahisha (evil deed, going round the Kabah in naked state, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.), they say: "We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has commanded us of it." Say: "Nay, Allah never commands of Fahisha. Do you say of Allah what you know not? -- Qur'an 7:28, Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali translation
The hadith describes this in following words:
... Abu Bakr sent me along with other announcers to Mina to make a public announcement: "No pagan is allowed to perform Hajj after this year and no naked person is allowed to perform the Tawaf around the Ka'ba. ... -- Sahih al-Bukhari 369 (sunnah.com)
Narrated in Sahih Muslim:
Ibn Abbas reported:
During the pre-Islamic days women circumambulated the Ka'ba nakedly, and said: "Who would provide cloth to cover the one who is circumambulating the Ka'ba so that she would cover her private parts?"
And then she would say: "Today will be exposed the whole or the part and what is exposed I shall not make it lawful."
From Tafrsir Ibn Kathir:
ابن عباس قال كانوا يطوفون بالبيت عراة، الرجال والنساء، الرجال بالنهار، والنساء بالليل، وكانت المرأة تقول اليومَ يبدو بعضُه أو كلُّه وما بدا منه فلا أُحِلُّه فقال الله تعالى { خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ }
Ibn Abbas said, "The idolators used to go around the House while naked, both men and women, men in the day and women by night. The woman would say, "Today, a part or all of it will be unveiled, but whatever is exposed of it, I do not allow." Allah said in reply: "Take your adornment to every Masjid".
Narrated in Sahih Bukhari:
Narrated Urwa:
During the Pre-Islamic period of Ignorance, the people used to perform Tawaf of the Ka`ba naked except the Hums; and the Hums were Quraish and their offspring.
The Hums used to give clothes to the men who would perform the Tawaf wearing them; and women (of the Hums) used to give clothes to the women who would perform the Tawaf wearing them.Those to whom the Hums did not give clothes would perform Tawaf round the Ka`ba naked.
Regarding specific names who performed naked circumambulation, there is one in Tafsir Al Qurtubi:

وهذه المرأة هي ضُباعة بنت عامر بن قُرْط؛
This woman was Zubaiah bint Amir bin Qurat.
Tafsir Al Qurtubi also narrated a variant of Urwah's narration:
ويقولون نحن أهل الحَرَم، فلا ينبغي لأحد من العرب أن يطوف إلا في ثيابنا، ولا يأكل إذا دخل أرضنا إلا من طعامنا. فمن لم يكن له من العرب صديق بمكة يُعيره ثوباً ولا يَسارٌ يستأجره به كان بين أحد أمرين: إما أن يطوف بالبيت عُرياناً، وإما أن يطوف في ثيابه؛ فإذا فرغ من طوافه ألقى ثوبه عنه فلم يمسه أحد. وكان ذلك الثوب يسمى اللَّقَى
The Quraysh used to say "We are the People of the Haram. It is not proper for the arabs that they perform Tawaf in other than clothes provided by us ... when they have entered our land then they will not eat except our food."
Hence, when the outsider Arabs came for the Tawaf to Mecca. If they didn't have friends from the Meccans who gifted them clothes, nor did they have enough money to purchase them then they had two choices:
Either they had to perform Tawaf naked.
Or they could do the Tawaf in their own clothes and after the Tawaf they had to take off and throw away their clothes ... and this dress was called Al-laki.
The different saying according to Tabari, related to that verse:
كانوا يطوفون بالبيت عُراة
They (the pagans) used to go around Kabah naked.
كان قبيلة من العرب من أهل اليمن يطوفون بالبيت عراة
A tribe from The Yemen Arabs used to go around Kabah naked
كان نساؤهم يطفن بالبيت عراة،
Their women used to go around Kabah naked
In Tafsir Tabarsi it mentions a reason why they did so:
فكان يطوف الرجال والنساء عراة يقولون نطوف كما ولدتنا أمهاتنا ولا نطوف في الثياب
The man and the women used to go around Kabah naked, (and their excuse was) saying we go around it naked as we was born (naked) and we do not go around it with clothes.
Ibn Al Kathir mentions that most of the woman who used to go around Kaabah naked, was in the night:
وأكثر ما كان النساء يطفن عراة بالليل
Here is a translation of Ibn Kathirs comments of that verse:
say, the Arabs, with the exception of the Quraysh, used to perform Tawaf naked. They claimed they would not make Tawaf while wearing the clothes that they disobeyed Allah in. As for the Quraysh, known as Al-Hums, they used to perform Tawaf in their regular clothes. Whoever among the Arabs borrowed a garment from one of Al-Hums, he would wear it while in Tawaf. And whoever wore a new garment, would discard it and none would wear it after him on completion of Tawaf. Those who did not have a new garment, or were not given one by Al-Hums, then they would perform Tawaf while naked. Even women would go around in Tawaf while naked, and one of them would cover her sexual organ with something and proclaim, "Today, a part or all of it will appear, but whatever appears from it I do not allow it.'' Women used to perform Tawaf while naked usually at night. This was a practice that the idolators invented on their own, following only their forefathers in this regard.The Quranic verse and other Islamic sources  are speaking about the polytheists, the Arab mushriks, not about the Muslims.[1]
These are the Islamic sources for the pagan tradition of naked twaaf but these and no other Islamic authentic source based on Quran and hadith narrate that this twaaf was performed seven times.This allegation that in pre Islamic era, twaaf was performed in seven rounds by pagans of Mecca and nabataeans on the birth festival of Allat as claimed by atheists regarding Epiphanius and that islam take this concept from pagans has been presented by many anti Islamic polemics but no one of them or their webs took an opportunity to provide its historical reference or proof. We investigated this allegation for complete 24 hours and studied many anti Islamic polemics and webs but could not find its proof.Regarding other non Islamic historical sources,it is mentioned that before Islam,the pagan arabs performed naked circumambulation but it is no where written that this naked twaaf was performed in seven rounds, one round for the each planet worshipped by them. Will anti Islamic apologetics provide its reference or base their  animosity and hatred against Islam on unproven and fabricated evidences?In this case when they don't have even a single authentic historical evidence that pagan arabs performed twaaf in seven rounds,then how can they say that Islam copied this concept from pagans?
So the question that why muslims perform twaaf in seven rounds never means that this concept of seven rounds was taken from pagans but simply because God requires us to do them in that way. Thus, we pray five times a day, a total of 17 rak’ahs, and fast the month of Ramadan. Why does obligatory prayer consist of 17 rak’ahs and not a different number is not an important question.The second thing is that the number 7 is often used in Arabic in the sense of “many”, rather than the precise number. For example, God says in the Qur’an: “Were all the trees on earth to be made into pens, and the sea ink, with seven more seas yet added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted.” (31: 27) The “seven more seas” is a figurative phrase here in the sense that God’s words would not be exhausted with any number of seas being made into ink.[2]
So the seven rounds of muslims circumambulation or twaaf mean that muslims should perform this circumambulation again and again, not being satisfied on performing twaaf only once.
In some traditional Jewish communities, the bride makes either three or seven haqqafot around the groom at the wedding.There is also an ancient Herbrew story of Joshua's siege of Jericho which displays the power of the Lord in encircling the city. For six days Joshua's army, led by the ark of the covenant and seven priests with seven trumpets of rams' horns, made one circuit a day around the city; on the seventh day they made seven circuits and the city wall fell.Judaism uses circumambulation in the Hakafot ritual during the Festival of Sukkot culminating in seven Hakafot on Hoshanah Rabbah, the end of the Festival.But it never means that Islam copied this concept from Jews. Prophet Muhammad PBUH had no Jewish or other tutor. The second thing is that Judaism and Islam are both from the same God almighty, if they have some things in common never means that Islam copied from this concept from Judaism but the similarity is due to fact that they are from the same God who sent both Prophet Moses and Prophet Muhammad PBUH with HIS law and Quran repeatedly describes this fact.Despite this, if some one says that Islam took this seven concept of twaaf from Jews then in Islam why many prayers have 2 or 4 Raka,hs, why Islam has six basic pillars, does it mean that these important figures were also taken from pagans or Jews while they have no more importance in these religions?
In Christianity,circumambulation is performed three times, as a reference to the Trinity.Buddhists also practice circumambulation.In Sikhism Lavan Pheras which is performed during wedding ceremonies, the four rounds of pheras symbolize the warding off of evil by circumambulating a purifying and transforming object, in this case the holy book, Sri Guru Granth Sahib.The Bönpo in the Tibet traditionally circumambulate (generally) in a counter-clockwise direction, that is a direction that runs counter to the apparent movement of the Sun.[3]
In Hindus religion,circumambulation is done in a clockwise direction and in an odd rather than even number of times.Does it mean that Prophet Muhammad PBUH took this concept of twaaf from Hindus or Buddhists while he had no connection with Hindus who were living almost 2000 kilometers from Arabia and also performed twaaf in odd number 1,3,5,7?[4]
Circumambulation or twaaf was also made around ritual constructions as the medicine lodges and Sun Dance lodges of the North American Plains Indians many many far from Arabia.Does it mean that Islam took this concept from native Americans or native Americans took this concept from pagan arabs?[5] 
Does it mean that Prophet Muhammad PBUH took this concept from native Americans? No and the reality is that circumambulation or twaaf is performed in almost all cultures of world,in some as a part of marriage or happy celebration and in some as a part of religious rituals and it is also found in cultures situated far from each other which means that no culture copied this concept from other and it is a basic concept of all of humanity to circle the thing or place held beloved or sacred. Muslims simply circumambulate Kaaba because they hold it in high esteem.Islam never said that other cultures and religions don't perform twaaf or circumambulation but Islam restricted it for the being who is most eligible for this ritual.
The muslims twaaf demonstrates the unity of the believers in the worship of the One God, as they move in harmony together around the Kaaba, while supplicating to God.
Twaaf had long been associated with the Kaaba, which was built in the pre-Islamic period and was a site of pilgrimage of Nabateans who visited the shrine once a year to perform their pilgrimage.[6]
The annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, predates the faith by centuries, tracing its roots to the Prophet Abraham PBUH-  the first preacher of islam but over the centuries before Islam, it turned into something resembling a fun-fair and lost its spirituality, with some pilgrims replacing prayers with clapping and whistling, and others even circling the Kaaba naked.
The electrons of an atom revolve around its nucleus in the same manner as making Tawaf, in an anti-clockwise direction.The moon revolves around the earth anti-clockwise.The earth rotates around its own axis in an anti-clockwise direction.The earth revolves around the sun in an anti-clockwise direction.The planets of the Solar system revolve around the sun in an anti-clockwise direction.The Sun along with its whole Solar system orbit in the galaxy in an anti-clockwise direction.All the galaxies orbit in the space in an anti-clockwise direction.That is: When we revolve around the Ka’aba we are orbiting in the same direction as the whole universe.[7]
Does God of universe also take this concept of twaaf from pagans arabs of Mecca, nabataeans or Jews?No but the reality is that the God who created universe and ordered all of its objects in never ending twaaf around their centre also ordered muslims to circumambulate Kaaba and it never means that HIS order of twaaf for the universe or for the muslims was taken from pagans.
And the God knows best.

References:

1:https://islam.stackexchange.com/questions/40565/who-went-around-the-kabah-naked-before-prophet-muhammad-forbade-it
2:http://www.arabnews.com/node/272505
3:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumambulation
4:"Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent - glossary". indoarch.org. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
5:https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/circumambulation
6:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Stone
7:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140715193031-55327442-do-you-know-why-the-tawaf-circumbulation-around-the-ka-aba-is-anticlockwise