Sacred Spaces - Harran

The first and most important prerequisite of interfaith is faith. It is only out of the depth of involvement in the unending drama that began with Abraham that we can help one another toward an understanding of our situation.

• Abraham Joshua Heschel, “No Religion is an Island”

The three great faiths called Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were born of an event that each remembers as a moment in history, when the One True God appeared to an Iron Age sheikh named Abram and bound him in a covenant forever. Abram is the later Abraham, the father of all believers and the linchpin of the faith, and indeed the theology, from which the three communities of that God’s worshipers emerged. The history of monotheism had begun.

• F.E. Peters, The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Faith, sacrifice, commitment and patience. These are just some of the qualities that characterize Prophet Ibrahim or Abraham as he is called in English (peace be upon him). So it should come as no surprise that he is revered not just in Islam, but in Christianity and Judaism as well. Prophet Ibrahim is also a great personality to discuss in dialogues between Muslims, Jews and Christians.

• Abdul Malik Mujtahid, World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations

In December 2004, three friends – a Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim, all strongly committed to interreligious understanding – journeyed together to Harran, Turkey, the biblical and Qur’anic Haran. According to Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, Abram, (Avraham, Abraham, Ibrahim) passed through Harran on his legendary journey.

According to the account in Genesis, it was in Harran that Abram received the call to go forth to a land that God would show him.

The following is an account of some of their experiences in the city that all three Abrahamic faiths associate with the Patriarch.

We spent the night in Urfa, ancient Edessa, rich in Muslim, Christian, and Jewish history. Urfa is the place where many Muslims believe Abraham was born. For centuries, people have visited this place, revering Abraham, endowing it with their prayers.

It’s five am in the morning and the call to prayer begins – so haunting, powerful in the night air, piercing the silence for so many centuries now.

Got up early and at six, went with Bruce and Emran, for an early morning visit to the cave. Brisk, beautiful, clear. Just the three of us – a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew. As we sat there alone in the cave of Abraham, we heard sounds from the Mosque next door, the Mosque of Abraham. Men were chanting the 99 names of God, very beautiful and touching. It felt just right to start our pilgrimage to Harran from this cave.

On road to Harran, we learn from our driver, who is Kurdish, that Urfa is 70% Kurdish. Also that a famous singer comes from Urfa. His name? Ibrahim. We pass by lots of cotton fields and walnut groves.

The local belief has it that Adam and Eve came to earth in Harran when they left the Garden of Eden.

Finally, after forty minutes or so, we reach Harran. I spot the minaret in the distance. Harran is a giant mound, it seems, of ancient ruins on which now sits an old village with beehive-shaped conical houses of adobe. We start by driving around the old city walls to the old ruined fortress – build by Muslims, reinforced by Crusaders. Good view of Harran from here. Climbing around the old castle, much of which has fallen in. Inside, an old church.

It is cold, almost freezing. And we are the only visitors in Harran this day, it seems.

A guide, someone who gives tickets, shows up. He speaks some Italian, having spent some time working there. He walks us around and tries to answer our questions but does not appear to know that much. He showed us the archaeological excavations, the tumulus, the narrow streets of ancient Harran and the foundations of the houses. Including Abraham’s, he points out, altho’ on what evidence they base this claim I have no idea.

We walk slowly to the arch and the tower. The arch is sweeping, large. I wonder if it is still standing or whether it was reconstructed. The tower, sometimes referred to as an astronomical observatory, was actually a minaret, I learn from the book I am carrying. The guide says it was once twice as tall – a young man who comes by says he has climbed it. This is the site of the Grand Mosque.

This is the first Islamic university, or so it is said. The place where the distance between the earth and the moon was first measured, fitting for a place that so long nourished a cult of the Moon-god Sin. The whole surrounding area is filled with ancient shrines – a place of worship and pilgrimage. How appropriate that Abraham, departing from the worship of the stars, seeking the Creator beyond them, should have departed from this place!

In between the arch and the minaret is a large open plaza where the mosque perhaps once stood.

After an hour or so in the place, we walked over to the Aleppo gate. And who knows – it was perhaps from this gate that Abraham set off. As we arrived at the gate, a few stray goats, with ragged hairy coats, were going through it. Just as they might have thousands of years ago.

And from there to visit the local motel, the only one, fairly new, Bazda, where we warm up with a cup of tea. And then to visit a shrine to an Islamic saint, al Harrani, a place of reverence and sacred atmosphere.

Then a visit to a 90-year-old man in his home in hopes of learning a little local lore. Maybe he even knew Abraham? An Arab home, we sit on cushions on the floor. The man has a healthy look, a wonderful smile, very strong and positive. “What’s the secret to your health?” I ask. “First, wives. I’ve had two. And children – I’ve had fifteen. I eat no sugar – not even honey, just akmak, brown rice, yogurt, and meat.” Interesting to think he was born under the Ottomans – in 1915. He saw Ataturk when he visited Harran.

The village is growing – population perhaps 8,000 – because of the water now and the cultivation of cotton. The water comes from the GAP project, a huge dam project of the Euphrates.

Many other places to visit in the vicinity. Places like the Bazda caves and the caravanserai, Jethro’s town, and other ruins. But with limited time, we chose just to linger around Harran. We spent ten hours wandering around.

I had a strong impulse to take a walk. So we took a walk down a dirt country road to the shrine of Imam Bakr, where it is said a relic of his is buried. Imam Bakr was one of Mohammed’s greatgrandchildren. It is particularly sacred to Shiites. That day a wedding was taking place in Harran – at various times we caught a glimpse of the wedding party, the bride and groom. Gorgeous clothing. And a caravan of cars passed us on a visit to the shrine before the wedding.

We tramp back through the cotton fields, drenched in water. Not so easy to find a path back to Harran. “Why are you walking when you can take a car?” the young man asks us. Good question for walkers. Then an evening meal in one of the houses, cooked by the women, served on a large tray on the ground, watched by the little and big children. We drove back to Urfa for the night.

That night, we talk. In Harran, the elements are all there. It feels right. The spaciousness. Emran: “Nothing between us and the sky.” Bruce: “Fusing of Heaven and Earth.”

Editor’s Note:

From modest beginnings in the land of Ur, Abraham (Abram, Avraham, Ibrahim) came to be revered as the one of the most influential religious figures of all time. God, tradition has it, promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars; and today he is regarded as “father” by as many as 3.5 billion followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

There can be no doubt about the significance of Abraham for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Revered for his faith, patience, sacrifice, selflessness, and commitment, and for his response to the call of God, the prophet is beloved by believers in the three most influential Middle Eastern traditions. Known as the “Abrahamic” or “Abrahamite” religions, the three derive from ancient Semitic traditions associated with Abraham, who is described in their sacred scriptures – the Hebrew Bible (what Christians call the Old Testament), the New Testament, and the Qur’an.

In addition to the three faiths usually associated with Abraham, a number of other religious communities – including the Druze, the Baha’i, Mormons, and Rastafarians – have ties to the prophet.

Jews, Christians and Muslims all trace their origins through Abraham and profess strong monotheistic faith in Abraham’s God. In fact, most adherents of the three faiths associate Abraham with the very origins of monotheism. Jews have emphasized that God chose Abraham as one who was willing not only to listen to God’s call but also to struggle with God. Christians have emphasized Abraham’s giving up the known for the unknown. Muslims have stressed Ibrahim’s submission to God.

Many parallels exist among Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditional accounts of Abraham, All agree that Abraham was a prophet, a human voice for divine communication with the human community. All agree that his life journey was a pilgrimage in service to God, long before Abraham himself was aware of its significance.

William Ury is one of the world’s leading negotiation specialists. He is Co-founder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation. He is the author of Getting to Yes and Getting Past No, which together have sold over 5 million copies.