The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is considered by to be the Baytullah () and determines the qibla () for Muslims around the world.
In early Islam, Muslims faced in the general direction of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as the qibla in their prayers before changing the direction to face the Kaaba, believed by Muslims to be a result of a verse revelation to Muhammad.
According to Islam, the Kaaba was rebuilt several times throughout history, most famously by Ibrahim and his son Ismail, when he returned to the valley of Mecca several years after leaving his wife Hajar and Ismail there upon Allah's command. The current structure was built after the original building was damaged by a fire during the siege of Mecca by the Umayyads in 683 Common Era. Circling the Kaaba seven times counterclockwise, known as Tawaf (), is a Fard rite for the completion of the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. The area around the Kaaba where pilgrims walk is called the Mataaf.
The Kaaba and the Mataaf are surrounded by pilgrims every day of the Islamic calendar, except the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, known as the Day of Arafah, on which the cloth covering the structure, known as the Kiswah (), is changed. However, the most significant increase in their numbers is during Ramadan and the Hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather for Tawaf. According to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, 6,791,100 external pilgrims arrived for the Umrah pilgrimage in .
In Islamic cosmology, the Zurah pilgrimage site was the precursor to the Kaaba.
In pre-Islamic Arabic poetry attributed to Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma, the builders of the Kaaba are said to be the Quraysh and Jurhum tribes. Christian J. Robin argues that the Kaaba may have become prominent in the last decades of the 6th century in the aftermath of the military defeat of Abraha by the Quraysh. However, Peter Webb, based on pre-Islamic poetry, argues that the Kaaba was never a prominent site of pilgrimage and that it largely played a local role in Western Arabia as opposed to a pan-Arabian one.
According to Islamic tradition, the pre-Islamic Kaaba was a site of worship for various Arabian Bedouin tribes, who would make pilgrimage once every lunar year, setting aside their tribal feuds. The Kaaba hosted 360 pagan idols (potentially one representing each day of the year) including sculptures and paintings before Islam, notably including a statue of Hubal, the principal idol of Mecca. Paintings of angels, of Ibrahim holding Belomancy, and of Isa (Jesus) and his mother Maryam (Mary), which Muhammad spared.
Alfred Guillaume, in his translation of the Ibn Ishaq's seerah, says that the Kaaba itself might be referred to in the feminine form.: The text reads 'O God, do not be afraid', the second footnote reads 'The feminine form indicates the Ka'ba itself is addressed' Circumambulation was often performed naked by men and almost naked by women. It is disputed whether Allah and Hubal were the same deity or different. According to a hypothesis by Uri Rubin and Christian Robin, Hubal was only venerated by Quraysh and the Kaaba was first dedicated to Allah, a supreme god of individuals belonging to different tribes, while the pantheon of the gods of Quraysh was installed in the Kaaba after they conquered Mecca a century before Muhammad's time.
Based on an earlier report by Agatharchides of Cnidus, Diodorus Siculus mentions a temple along the Red Sea coast, "which is very holy and exceedingly revered by all Arabians". Edward Gibbon believed that this was the Kaaba. However, Ian D. Morris argues that Gibbon had misread the source: Diodorus puts the temple too far north for it to have been Mecca.
Ibn Kathir, in his famous exegesis () of the Quran, mentions two interpretations among the Muslims on the origin of the Kaaba. One is that the temple was a place of worship for () before the creation of man. Later, a house of worship was built on the location and was lost during the flood in Nuh (Noah)'s time and was finally rebuilt by Ibrahim and Ismail as mentioned later in the Quran. Ibn Kathir regarded this tradition as weak and preferred instead the narration by Ali ibn Abi Talib that although several other temples might have preceded the Kaaba, it was the first ('House of God'), dedicated solely to him, built by his instruction, and sanctified and blessed by him, as stated in . A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari states that the Kaaba was the first on Earth, and the second was Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.
After the construction was complete, God enjoined the descendants of Ismail to perform an annual pilgrimage: the Hajj and the Qurban, sacrifice of cattle. The vicinity of the temple was also made a sanctuary where bloodshed and war were forbidden.
Muhammad's Isra' is said to have taken him from the Kaaba to the Temple Mount and heavenwards from there.
Muslims initially considered Jerusalem as their qibla, or prayer direction, and faced toward it while offering prayers; however, pilgrimage to the Kaaba was considered a religious duty though its rites were not yet finalized. During the first half of Muhammad's time as a prophet while he was at Mecca, he and his followers were severely persecuted which eventually led to their migration to Medina in 622 CE. In 624 CE, Muslims believe the direction of the qibla was changed from the Masjid al-Aqsa to the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, with the revelation of . In 628 CE, Muhammad led a group of Muslims towards Mecca with the intention of performing the Umrah, but was prevented from doing so by the Quraysh. He secured a peace treaty with them, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which allowed the Muslims to freely perform pilgrimage at the Kaaba from the following year.
At the culmination of his mission, in 630 CE, after the allies of the Quraysh, the Banu Bakr, violated the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, Muhammad conquered Mecca. His first action was to remove statues and images from the Kaaba. According to reports collected by Ibn Ishaq and al-Azraqi, Muhammad spared a painting of Mary and Jesus, and a fresco of Ibrahim.: Quraysh had put pictures in the Ka'ba including two of Jesus son of Mary and Mary (on both of whom be peace!). ... The apostle ordered that the pictures should be erased except those of Jesus and Mary.
Al-Azraqi further conveys how Muhammad, after he entered the Kaaba on the day of the conquest, ordered all the pictures erased except that of Maryam:
After the conquest, Muhammad restated the sanctity and holiness of Mecca, including its Great Mosque (Masjid al-Haram), in Islam. He performed the Hajj in 632 CE called the Hujjat ul-Wada' ("Farewell Pilgrimage") since Muhammad prophesied his impending death on this event.
After Muhammad's conquest of Mecca, it is said that the 360 idols of the Kaaba were destroyed. The Kaaba became a site for the veneration of Allah only, identified as the same God as that of other monotheists. The Kaaba continued to be a site of annual pilgrimage, and Muslims would perform the Salat prayer facing Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as instructed by Muhammad, and turning their backs on the pagan associations of the Kabah.
The Kaaba was bombarded with stones in the second siege of Mecca in 692, in which the Umayyad army was led by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. The fall of the city and the death of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr allowed the Umayyads under 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to finally reunite all the Islamic possessions and end the long civil war. In 693 CE, 'Abd al-Malik had the remnants of al-Zubayr's Kaaba razed, and rebuilt it on the foundations set by the Quraysh. The Kaaba returned to the cube shape it had taken during Muhammad's time. Its basic shape and structure have not changed since then.
During its history, the Black Stone at the Kaaba has been struck and smashed by a stone fired from a catapult,
During the Hajj of 930 CE, the Shia Islam Qarmatians attacked Mecca under Abu Tahir al-Jannabi, defiled the Zamzam Well with the bodies of pilgrims and stole the Black Stone, taking it to the oasis in Eastern Arabia known as Al-Ahsa Oasis, where it remained until the Abbasids ransomed it in 952 CE.
After heavy rains and flooding in 1626, the walls of the Kaaba collapsed and the Mosque was damaged. The same year, during the reign of Ottoman Emperor Murad IV, the Kaaba was rebuilt with granite stones from Mecca, and the Mosque was renovated.
In 1916, after Hussein bin Ali had launched the Arab Revolt, during the Battle of Mecca between Arabs and Ottoman forces, the Ottoman troops bombarded the city and hit the Kaaba, setting fire to the protective veil. This incident was later exploited by the propaganda of the Great Arab Revolt to attempt to demonstrate the impiety of the Ottomans and the legitimacy of the revolt as a holy war.
On 15 March 1935, three armed men from Oman attacked and tried to assassinate King Ibn Saud during his performance of Hajj. He survived the attack unhurt, through the intervention of the crown prince, and the three attackers were killed by bodyguards.
The Kaaba is depicted on the reverse of 500 Saudi Riyal and 2000 Iranian rial banknotes.
Al-Azraqi provided the following narrative on the authority of his grandfather:
The Kaaba came to be considered the axis mundi (world center), with the Gate of Heaven directly above it. The Kaaba marked the location where the sacred world intersected with the profane; the embedded Black Stone was a further symbol of this as a meteorite that had fallen from the sky and linked heaven and earth., 16th or early 17th century]]
According to the The Asatir, a 10th-century work of Samaritan literature, Ismail and his eldest son Nebaioth built the Kaaba as well as the city of Mecca."
The wall directly adjacent to the entrance of the Kaaba has six tablets inlaid with inscriptions, and there are several more tablets along the other walls. Along the top corners of the walls runs a black cloth embroidered with gold Qur'anic verses. Caretakers anoint the marble cladding with the same scented oil used to anoint the Black Stone outside. Three pillars (some erroneously report two) stand inside the Kaaba, with a small altar or table set between one and the other two. Oil lamp-like objects (possible lanterns or crucible ) hang from the ceiling. The ceiling itself is of a darker colour, similar in hue to the lower trimming. The Bāb ut-Tawbah—on the right wall (right of the entrance) opens to an enclosed staircase that leads to a hatch, which itself opens to the roof. Both the roof and ceiling (collectively dual-layered) are made of stainless steel-capped teak.
Each numbered item in the following list corresponds to features noted in the diagram image.
Islamic sanctities received great attention from the Burji dynasty during the period in which they ruled the Islamic world (784924AH, 1382–1517CE), with the Kaaba receiving significant attention. Of the ten marble slabs chronicling the architectural contributions of various rulers to Masjid al-Haram, two of the slabs pertain to Burji dynasty.
One of these two records the achievements of one of the most notable circassians, Barsbay. The document, dated to 1423 (CE), attests to a wide reconstruction and restoration process in the mosque by the Sultan. The inscription on the slab reads:
This translates to:
The inscription reads:
Which translates to:
Tawaf begins from the corner of the Kaaba with the Black Stone. If possible, Muslims are to kiss or touch it, but this is often not possible because of the large crowds. They are also to chant the Basmala and Takbir each time they complete one revolution. Hajj pilgrims are generally advised to "make ṭawāf" at least twice – once as part of the Hajj, and again before leaving Mecca.
The five types of ṭawāf are:
The Tawaf has its origins in the religion of the Najranite pagans, who walked around the Kaaba in an act of devotion to their creator god, Allah (not to be confused with the monotheistic god of Islam by the same name). This practice was adopted by Mohammad after some reform.
The Governor of the Makkah Province and accompanying dignitaries clean the interior of the Kaaba using cloths dipped in Zamzam water scented with Agarwood. Preparations for the washing start a day before the agreed date, with the mixing of Zamzam water with several luxurious perfumes including Tayef rose, 'oud and musk. Zamzam water mixed with rose perfume is splashed on the floor and is wiped with palm leaves. Usually, the entire process is completed in two hours.
In non-Islamic literature
Architecture and interior
Note: The major (long) axis of the Kaaba has been observed to align with the rising of the star Canopus toward which its southern wall is directed, while its minor axis (its east–west facades) roughly align with the sunrise of summer solstice and the sunset of winter solstice.
Written marble documents inside the Kaaba
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ربنا تقبل منا انك انت السميع العليم تقرب الى الله تعالى بتجديد رخام هذا البيت المعظم المشرف العبد الفقير الى الله تعالى السلطان الملك الاشرف ابو النصر برسباي خادم الحرمين الشريفين بلغه الله اماله و زين بالصالحات اعماله بتاريخ سنة ست و عشرين و ثمان مئه
"In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Our Lord, accept from us that you are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Draw nearer to God Almighty by renewing the marble of this noble and honorable house. The poor servant of God Almighty, the honorable Sultan King Abu al-Nasr Barsbay, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. May God reach his hopes and adorn his deeds with good deeds. The year eight hundred and twenty-six AH"
The other of the two circassian slabs is dedicated to Barsbays son, Qaitbay, known for his great architectural achievements throughout the Muslim world. Dated to 1479 (CE), the document attests to a wide reconstruction and restoration process undertaken by Sultan Qaitbay for Masjid al-Haram.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ربنا تقبل منا انك انت السميع العليم أمر بتجيد ترخيم داخل البيت مولانا السلطان الأشرف أبو النصر قايتباي خلد الله ملكه يارب العالمين بتاريخ مستهل رجب الفرد عام أربع و ثمانين و ثمانمائة من الهجرة
"In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Our Lord, accept from us that You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. He commanded the perfection of melodious chanting inside the house. Our Lord, the honorable and victorious Sultan Qaytbay, may God immortalize his kingdom, Lord of the worlds, on the first of the month of Rajab in the year eight hundred and eighty-four AH."
Significance in Islam
Tawaf
As the Qibla
Cleaning
Events related to the Kaaba
See also
Notes
Bibliography
External links
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