The commentary Tafsir of Ibn Kathir (born 1302 CE) is one of the most widely used explanations of the Qur’an in the Arab world today. Years ago while studying the Qur’an with ibn Kathir’s Tafsir, I learned of an amazing event involving two rabbis and the Holy Ka’bah while explaining ayah 44:37 ibn Kathir relates the following events.

“One of the Tubba` left Yemen and went on a journey of conquest until he reached Samarkand, expanding his kingdom and domain. He is the one who founded Al-Hirah. It is agreed that he passed through Al-Madinah during the days of Jahiliyyah. He fought its inhabitants but they resisted him; they fought him by day and supplied him with food by night, so he felt ashamed before them and refrained from harming them.

“He was accompanied by two Jewish rabbis who advised him. They told him that he would never prevail over this city, for it would be the place to which a Prophet would migrate towards the end of time. So he retreated and took them (the two rabbis) with him to Yemen.

“When he passed by Makkah, he wanted to destroy the Ka`bah, but the rabbis told him not to do that either. They told him about the significance of this House, that it had been built by Ibrahim Al-Khalil, peace be upon him, and that it would become of great importance through that Prophet who would be sent towards the end of time.

“So he respected it, performed Tawaf around it, and covered it with a fine cloth. Then he returned to Yemen and invited its people to follow the religion of guidance along with him. At that time, the religion (Judaism) of Musa was the religion followed by those who were guided, before the coming of the Messiah (Jesus). So the people of Yemen accepted the religion of guidance (Judaism) along with him.”

Although for more than 65 years I have been studying the Qur’an and reading other Islamic books, I had not heard of these events. I think of myself as a Reform Rabbi who is an Islamic Jew. Actually I am an Islamic Jew i.e. a faithful Jew submitting to the will of God, because I am a Reform Rabbi.

As a rabbi, I am faithful to the covenant that God made with Abraham the Hebrew (Genesis 14:13) the first Hebrew to become a muslim (faithful monotheist), and I submit to the covenant and its commandments that God made with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai.

As a Reform rabbi, I believe that Jewish spiritual leaders should modify Jewish tradition as social and historical circumstances change and develop. I also believe we should not make religion difficult for people to practice by adding an increasing number of restrictions to the commandments we received at Mount Sinai.

These are lessons that prophet Muhammad taught 12 centuries before the rise of Reform Judaism in the early 19th century Germany. Although most Jews today are no longer Orthodox, if the Jews of Muhammad’s time, had followed these teachings of prophet Muhammad, Reform Judaism would have started 1,400 years ago.

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