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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
.
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