Encyclopedia of Islam

419

AF

J:

Kaaba

The Kaaba, also known as “the sacred house” 

(Q 5:2, 97) is the most holy place in Islam. A 

large cube-shaped building (approximately 50 

feet high, 40 feet long, and 33 feet wide) made of 

cut stone, it is situated in the plaza of the Grand 

Mosque in m

ecca

. Its four corners point approxi-

mately to the four cardinal directions, with the 

famous b

lack

 s

tone

 inserted in its eastern corner. 

The Kaaba is covered by a curtain and is empty 

inside, except for lamps and inscriptions. A large, 

ornately decorated door provides access to the 

interior. Opposite the Kaaba’s northwest wall 

is the Hijr, a detached semi-circular walled area 

marking the place where h

agar

 and Ishmael are 

believed to be buried. Nearby, opposite the north-

east side, is the Station of a

braham

, and opposite 

the eastern corner the sacred well of z

amzam

.

Every day Muslims around the world face toward 

the Kaaba when they pray; it is their 

qibla

, or 

prayer

 direction. Pilgrims who go to Mecca for the 

haJJ

 and the 

umra

 assemble around it in concentric 

circles for prayer and must walk around it seven 

times counterclockwise to fulfill the required rites 

of pilgrimage. Muslim law also requires that an 

animal

 should be turned toward the Kaaba when 

it is slaughtered, and that a person should be laid 

in the grave facing toward it.

The age of the Kaaba is disputed and its early 

history shrouded by myths and legends. As is 

often the case with living holy sites, archaeologi-

cal research is prohibited there. Based on Islamic 

textual evidence, most scholars (Muslims and 

non-Muslims) agree that the shrine was a place of 

worship even before the historical appearance of 

Islam in the seventh century. The q

Uran

 describes 

it as “the first house established for humankind” 

(Q 3:96) and as “the ancient house” (Q 22:29). In 

the time of the J

ahiliyya

 (the era before m

Uham

-

mad

), statues of gods and religious relics were 

kept in it; sacrifices and pilgrimage rituals were 

conducted there. Such evidence suggests that it 

did not differ significantly from other temples that 

had once been vital to the ancient civilizations of 

the Middle East, including that of Yahweh-Elohim 

in J

erUsalem

.

The Quran states that Abraham and Ishmael 

first built it as a place for worship at God’s com-

mand (Q 2:125–128). However, Islamic literary 

tradition embellished this brief quranic story by 

saying that the original Kaaba had been created 

at the beginning of time. According to one tra-

dition, it was a building made of sapphires that 

God had sent down from 

paradise

 and placed on 

earth directly under his throne. He had an 

angel

bring Adam from i

ndia

, where he lived after being 

K

---

expelled from paradise, in order to perform the 

first pilgrimage rites. Other accounts credit Adam 

with being the first to actually build the Kaaba. 

According to this tradition, in the time of Noah, 

God raised it up to heaven when the great flood 

came. Abraham then later built a second Kaaba 

with his son at God’s command and inaugurated 

the hajj rituals for all people to perform.

Muslim historical sources, such as Ibn Ishaq’s 

Life of the Prophet (mid-eighth century), indicate 

that the Quraysh tribe rebuilt the Kaaba around 

the year 605, some five years before Muhammad 

began his career as a prophet. Muhammad was 

credited with having resolved a dispute among 

the  q

Uraysh

 clans over who would install the 

Black Stone, signaling his close association with 

the sanctuary and growing reputation as a leader. 

This building was destroyed during a civil war, 

then rebuilt and enlarged by Abd Allah ibn al-

Zubayr (r. 683–692), an opponent of the U

mayyad

c

aliphate

 who had gained control of Mecca. 

When the Umayyads took back control of the city, 

they restored it as it had been in Muhammad’s 

time. In the ensuing centuries it has undergone 

numerous restorations and repairs, the latest by 

the government of Saudi Arabia near the end of 

the 20th century.

A cover (kiswa) of black cloth made in Saudi 

Arabia is placed over the Kaaba annually. It is 

embroidered in gold and silver thread with verses 

from the Quran. When the cover is replaced each 

year, the Saudi government places sections of the 

old one in its embassies, or gives them to foreign 

governments, international organizations, and 

important people. Also, many Muslims hang pic-

tures of the Kaaba in their homes and businesses. 

In Egypt it is one of the motifs used in murals that 

people paint on the homes of hajjis, pilgrims who 

have gone to Mecca.

See also a

dam

 

and

 e

ve

; a

rabian

 

religions

, 

pre

-

i

slamic

; 

mosqUe

.