The Holy Kaaba in
By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong
Imam, Masjid Alkhairi,
In the Islamic faith, the Holy Kaaba
inside the Masjid al Haram is the holiest place on earth. The Holy Kaaba, a
cube-shaped structure, is the focal point of the Muslim annual pilgrimage known
as Hajj and the visitation to the Kaaba known as Umrah. The Hajj pilgrimage is
one of the five pillars of Islam.
The Holy Kaaba in Masjid al Haram is
located in the holy city of
Mecca to the Muslim world is Makkah, the birthplace
of prophet Muhammad, peace is on him. It is also the place of revelation of
many chapters of the Muslim scripture, the Holy Quran.
Background of the Holy Kaaba
It is believed that the Kaaba was built by the first
man on earth, Adam. After it was forgotten for a long long time, it was found
and rebuilt by prophet Ibrahim with his son, Ishmael (peace is upon them). That
was more than 3,000 years ago. Today, the Kaaba stands in the middle of a complex
that is popularly known as Masjid al Haram. To some, the Kaaba itself is also known
as Masjid al Haram. It is the place which captures the hearts of more than a
billion Muslims all over the world. This
number is ever increasing because Islam is the fastest growing religion in the
world today.
The Holy Kaaba was the first house ever built for the
worship of One and Only God, Allah. That is why it is called “Bait-ul-Ateeq”,
meaning the oldest house. It is also called “Bait-Ullah”, meaning House of
Allah. Muslims all over the world face towards Kaaba whenever and wherever they
offer their five daily prayers and supplications. Muslims have been commanded
by the Holy Quran to pay homage to the Holy Kaaba. Suratul Imran, the third
chapter of the Holy Quran says of the first House, thus: “Surely, the first
House founded for mankind is that at Becca, abounding in blessings and guidance
for all peoples. In it is manifesting signs; it is the place of Abraham; and
whosoever enters it, enters peace” (3:96-97). Other chapters also mentioned the
Kaaba. ”And when We assigned to Ibrahim the place of the House (Kaaba),
saying: Do not associate with Me aught, and purify My House for those who make
the circuit and stand to pray and bow and prostrate themselves.” (Quran, 22:26).
The circuit mention is the Hajj ritual of simply walking around the Holy Kaaba
in prayer. The Quran also says of the builders of the Kaaba,”And when Ibrahim
and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House (Kaaba): Our Lord! Accept
from us; surely Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing.” (Quran, 2:127)
Prophet Ibrahim, peace be on him, founded
a community of believers on a valley of a desert land by command of the All-Mighty
Allah. He settled on this holy land with his wife, Hajira, and his son,
Ishmael. From the progeny of Ishmael would come the greatest prophet, Prophet
Muhammad, peace is on him. He was
prophesized to be a mercy for all mankind. The teaching that he brought down
would be for the whole world and for all times.
Even though there was no sign of any
provisions for food at Becca during the time of settlement by prophet Ibrahim, peace
be upon him, he settled and relied on the merciful provisions of
God-Allah. In due time the provisions
for food and water came in abundance. Slowly the place was populated and was
called Becca. This was the place where Prophet Ibrahim, peace is upon him,
found lost signs of the first House of Allah that was originally built by Adam.
It was built for worship of the one and only God-Allah. It was then re-built by
Prophet Ibrahim with the help of his son. Ishmael. He fervently prayed to Allah
to make this house the Place for Humanity. Yet, Prophet Ibrahim’s message of
the One God was gradually forgotten and pagan idolaters violated the sacred Kaaba.
Only a few kept the faith until Prophet Muhammad (peace is upon him) destroyed the myriad of pagan idols in the Kaaba. The prophet
restored order and reestablished the manner of Umrah and Hajj. It should be
noted here that the worship of the one God-Allah, known today as Islam,
predates the life of Muhammad, peace is on him. Even the Holy Kaaba and the
Hajj pilgrimage predates the era of Muhammad, peace is on him. Indeed, the
worship of One Almighty God has been the religion of all prophets from Adam to
Noah, and to Ibrahim, Ishmael, Moses, and Isa the son of Maryam, and Muhammad,
peace is on them.
Around the Kaaba is referred to as Masjid el Haram
which includes the rectangular shape of the Kaaba. Pilgrims offer prayers here
by facing towards the Kaaba.
The black stone
There is a black stone in one of the corners of the
Kaaba. This stone is popularly known as Hajr-e-Aswad. It was probably part of a
meteoroid that fell near
There is a small well to the east of the Kaabba known
as the Zamzam. There is a small structure in front of the door of the Kaaba which
was used by prophet Ibrahim to stand on to complete the walls of the Kaaba. There were two small hills that were located inside
the Masjid al Haram. The small hills were still noticeable when I first visited
the Holy Kaaba in 1977. Some big stones were still on the hills. I had stepped
on them. In my pilgrimage in 1981, I did not notice the two small hills due to
more improvements. In my 1986 pilgrimage, I realized that the two small hills
were somewhat smoothened if not flattened for convenience.
Improvements of the Masjid al Haram that houses the
Holy Kaaba continues through the years. I understand that work on a new project
began on September 1988. The project includes an expansion, an addition of a
new part to the Masjid al Haram. The area of the expansion floors totaled
76,000 square meters, accommodating some 152,000 worshippers. The expansion
also includes furnishing the mosque’s outer yards for prayer, an area totaling
85,000 sq. meters and accommodating 130,000 worshippers. This raised the Sacred
Mosque’s total area to about 365,000 square meters, accommodating 773,000
worshippers on normal days and more than one million during Hajj season and the
holy month of Ramadan. A new
air-conditioning system has been devised with a total capacity of 13,500
cooling tons. New toilets were constructed covering an area of 14,000 sq. meters.
The construction includes 1,440 toilets, 1,091 ablution areas and 162 drinking
water taps. Separate toilets have been set aside for women.
The area of the basement expansion totaled 20,000
square meters accommodating 33,000 worshippers. The area of the first floor
totaled 47,000 square meters, accommodating 77,000 worshippers, the area of the
roof after improvements totaled 42,000 square meters, accommodating 90,000
worshippers. There are now 56 escalators. The Tawaf area was tiled with
heat-dissipating marble, doors were renewed and a library was established.
There are 55,000 lighting lamps. The connecting cables have a combined length
of 3.5 kilometers.
Further expansion areas towards Al-Souq includes:
basement area 19,000 square meters, accommodating 35,000 worshippers; ground
floor area 19,000 square meters, accommodating 35,000 worshippers and first
floor 16,000 square meters, accommodating 27,000 worshippers.
The current structure covers an area of 356,800
square meters including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can
accommodate up to 820,000 worshippers during the Hajj period.
It’s been eleven years since my last visit to the
Holy Kaaba. How I long to perform another Hajj pilgrimage again and visit the Holy
Kaaba, the center of the Muslim world.
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Related article.
My previous blog entitled: “Eidul Adha,
a global Muslim