Ka'abas also spelt Ka'bas (Arabic: الكعبات) are the plural term used to describe houses of worship mainly located in the Arabian Peninsula that are cubic in shape and resemble the Kaaba structure from Mecca. They are mainly dedicated to various gods from the Arabian pantheon, although the term has been used to describe some Christian churches built in a similar style in the Arabian Peninsula.
Architectural style
A typical Kaaba building is shaped like a cube or block and functions as a place for the devotees of a particular god or goddess to worship in.
[al-Hout, Mahmoud Salim (1955). . Beirut, Lebanon: Dar an-Nahar Publishing.][al-Hamdani (1940), Kitab al-Iklil; al-Juz' al-Thamin. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.] The name "Kaaba" was used by ancient Arabians to describe and label these sites because of their resemblance to the
Kaaba at
Mecca and the purpose of doing pilgrimage to them.
The Kaaba architecture is found in temples throughout the Arabian Peninsula (including in Persia and Mesopotamia), in mosques across the Wusab of Yemen that were converted into mosques from earlier cult pre-Islamic buildings, in the Jinn Blocks of Petra and Hegra, and in kaaba-like tombs of both Jews and Arabs found across the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent.
List of Kaabas
Here is a list of some of these Kaaba structures that are mentioned in the writings of Muslim scholars and historians.
Arabian Peninsula
-
Kaaba of Dushara, worshipped by the Nabataeans
-
Kaaba of Dhu-Ghabat, worshipped by the Banu Lahyan tribe
-
Kaaba of al-Lat, worshipped by the Thaqif tribe
-
Dhul Khalasa, worshipped by the Banu Daws tribe
-
The Kaaba of the Ghatafan tribe
-
Kaaba of Najran, a site of worship of in the Christian community of Najran, converted from an earlier Kaaba dedicated to the god Dhu Samawi from the polytheistic era
-
A Kaaba attested for the god Yād
-
A Kaaba attested to have been present in the Souk Okaz sanctuary
-
Yemeni Kaaba, a church built by the Aksumite garrison in Yemen to rival the Kaaba of Mecca
[Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman (2008). The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Dar-us-Salam Publications. ]
-
In the Wusab of Yemen, almost all mosques have a cube-shaped, windowless, single-door architecture. The tombs of saints in the area also follow this pattern. Many of these mosques appear to have been converted from pre-Islamic cult buildings dating to the late antique period of the Arabian peninsula, when this architectural style was common.
Mesopotamia
-
Kaaba Sindad, used by the migrant Arabs as a place for celebrations to be held instead of a place of worship.
-
A Kaaba for the god Dushara
Persia
-
Kaaba of Zoroaster, a place of worship for Zoroastrians. It is unlikely to have been a temple; although it did reportedly contain statues of gods that were destroyed by Bardiya according to inscriptions and texts from the Achaemenid period.
Fate of the Kaabas
Most of the Kaabas dedicated to pagan gods in the Arabian Peninsula were destroyed after Islam.
Among the destroyed Kaabas include that of the Kaaba of al-Lat that was worshipped by the Thaqif.
Conversion into mosques
Some said that the Kaaba of Najran in the ancient city of
Al-Okhdood became a church after the Aksumites entered Najran as a relief for their Christian brethren who had been persecuted by
Dhu Nuwas. The Kaaba of Najran still survives today, although in ruins, and is part of an archaeological site.
The traveller Yaqut al-Hamawi mentions that the Kaaba of Dhu al-Khalasa was converted into a mosque.
Notes
Sources
