as a dwelling-place for those who had been saved in the Ark together with Noah—upon him be peace—in that very location, as more than one Qur’anic exegete has noted (1); and Allah knows best.
Allah, exalted is He, has likewise mentioned “Mount Sinai.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bahāʾ Ibn ʿAsākir relates in his book Al-Mustaqṣā fī Faḍāʾil al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, in the chapter on the sacred mountains, through the chain of ʿAmr ibn Bakr, from Thawr ibn Yazīd, from Khālid ibn Maʿdān, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:
“Our Lord swore by four mountains, saying:
‘By the fig and the olive,
by Mount Sinai,
and by this secure city.’ [al-Tīn 1–3]
‘The fig’ refers to Mount Zaytā, the site of the Mosque of Jerusalem; ‘the olive’ is Mount Tīnā; ‘Mount Sīnīn’ is itself; and ‘this secure city’ is the mountain of Mecca (3).”
Qatādah said: “ ‘The fig’ is the mountain on which Damascus stands, and ‘the olive’ is the mountain on which Bayt al-Maqdis stands” (4).
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir also narrates from Kaʿb al-Aḥbār:
“Four mountains will appear on the Day of Resurrection: the Mountain of the Friend (Hebron), the Mount of the Fig, the Mount (Sinai), and al-Jūdī. Each of them will that day be transformed into a white pearl illuminating the space between heaven and earth. They will return to Jerusalem and be set at its four corners, and the Compeller, glorified and exalted is He, will place His Seat upon them until judgment is rendered between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell:
‘And you will see the angels circling round the Throne, proclaiming the praise of their Lord. Judgment will be given between them in truth, and it will be said, “Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds.” ’ (6) [al-Zumar 75].”
Through the isnād of al-Walīd ibn Muslim—ʿAmmār ibn Abī al-ʿĀliyah related to us, from ʿAlī ibn Yazīd, from al-Qāsim Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān—that Allah revealed to Mount Qāsiyūn: “Grant your shade and your blessing to the Mount of Jerusalem.” So it did. Allah then revealed to it: “Since you have done so, I shall build for Myself in your embrace a house”—meaning the Mosque of Damascus—“where I shall be worshipped after