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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 mecca. Its four corners point approxi-

mately to the four cardinal directions, with the

famous black stone 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 hagar and Ishmael are

believed to be buried. Nearby, opposite the north-

east side, is the Station of abraham, and opposite

the eastern corner the sacred well of zamzam.

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 qUran 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 Jahiliyya (the era before mUham-

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 JerUsalem.

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 india, where he lived after being

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