The Kabah in Mecca

The Kabah can be found in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The Kabah is situated in the Masjid Al-Haram, the most important masjid in Islam.

The Kabah The Kabah is the holiest place in Islam. The qibla, the direction Muslims face during prayer, is the direction from their location on Earth towards the Kabah. Some of the worship during the Hajj and the Umrah takes place around the Kabah.

Names of the Kabah The Kabah is also called Baitullah – House of Allah, Baitul Ateeq – Ancient House, and Baitul Haram – Sacred House. It is roughly in the shape of a cube and made of thick stone walls. On the outside it is quite simple rough stone, with the Hajre Aswad (Black Stone) in one corner.

The Kiswa The Kabah is covered with a black cloth called the Kiswa, which is changed every year on 10th Dhul Hijjah.

If you look at a picture of the Kabah, you will see a short one meter high wall in the shape of a semi-circle, which is called Hijr Isma’il or Hatim. Inside there is a marble floor. There are cloths with verses form the Quran hanging on the walls. Apart from that it is empty. It is kept clean and caretakers use perfume on the marble so it smells nice.

Muslims worship Allah, not the Kabah. It is a great symbol for Muslims, as we have been praying Salat in the direction of the Kabah for the last 1400 years. This direction is called the Qiblah. Before that, we prayed towards Al-Quds (Jerusalem), but one day, Allah revealed a verse to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that He had changed the Qiblah to the Kabah. So it may only be a simple building shaped like a cube and made of stone but it is very important to us.

First Building Muslims believe that the Kabah is the first building on Earth and the first masjid ever built by our father Adam (as). The angels in Jannah make tawaf around a house called Baitul Mamur and we believe that this is above the Kabah.

Rebuilding the Kabah Many years after the Kabah was first built, Allah ordered Ibrahim (as) and his son Isma’il (as) to rebuild it. Hijr Isma’il was also part of the Kabah when they built it, so it wasn’t in the shape of a cube. Allah sent the Black Stone (Hajre Aswad) with the angel Jibril (as) to Prophet Ibrahim (as) to put in the corner. This is where Muslims begin their tawaf from.

The Flood At one time, when the Prophet (pbuh) was a young man, before he knew he was a Prophet of Allah, the Kabah had to be rebuilt after a flood. The Makkan tribes started fighting about who should have the honor of replacing the Black Stone. Flood 1941

They asked the Prophet (pbuh) what to do, as he was known as Al-Amin ‘The Trustworthy One’, and they knew he would be fair and just. He asked them to put the Stone in the middle of his robe, and the chiefs of each tribe to hold onto the edges of the cloth, and carry it to the place where it belonged. Then the Prophet (pbuh) put it in place with his own hands. They had to make the building smaller into a cube because they ran out of money, so the Hatim had to be left with no roof.

Color the Kabah

THE END Text In part taken from Baitullah - The House of Allah, The Muslim Weekly Pictures Channel4 Micro Site Hajj