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Kaba (Kaaba, the Cube, Bayt Allah, the House of
God) The Kaba is a cube-shaped shrine or “House of
God” in the center of the Great MOSQUEof MECCA.
When Muslims pray, it is this MOSQUE, considered the
most sacred of their religion, that they actually seek to
face. Not worshiped itself, it is the focal point of PRAYER
and the HAJJ. It is covered by the kiswa,a drape deco-
rated with verses from the Quran. Ibrahim or Abraham
and Ismail or Ishmael are traditionally revered as the
rebuilders of the Kaba, which Muslims believe was orig-
inally built by Adam. The Kaba was first a shrine to
many gods, but after the capture of Mecca by MUHAM-
MAD, the 360 idols that had been placed in the Kaba
during the earlier period of the state of ignorance were
removed. In the eastern corner a black stone (al-Hajar
al-Aswad) that is believed to have been borne from
HEAVEN by the angel Jibril or Gabriel is set. Pilgrims
touch it to have their sins removed. Inside there are
hanging lamps and inscriptions, but nothing remains of
the paintings said to have been there up to the time of
Muhammad. The Kaba was damaged and rebuilt in the
60 years after the Prophet’s death. In 963 the UMAYYADS
conquered Mecca and restored the Kaba to its present
form. It is the center of the sacred world for ISLAM,a
daily reminder for prayer.
See alsoART AND ARCHITECTURE,ISLAMIC.
Further reading:K. A. C. Creswell, Early Muslim
Architecture;A. J. Wensinck and J. Jomier, “Kaba,” Ency-
clopedia of Islam4.317–322.

Kabbala (Cabbala, Kabalah, Qabbalah) The term Kab-
balawas based on the Hebrew Qabbala,or “received tradi-
tion.” It embodied the various manifestations of Jewish

mysticism. During the Middle Ages it was devotional in

nature, aiming at ecstacy and perhaps a mystical union. It

also included the concept of a theosophical Kabbala that

was somehow able to transfer to the practitioner a knowl-

edge of the divine as far as it might be apprehended by

humankind. All of this was based on a symbolic reading of

Scriptures. Medieval Jewish thought was heavily influ-

enced by Islamic and Arabic culture. For Jewish mysti-

cism, SUFISMand its ascetic beliefs and practices were

important sources of inspiration.

Between 1150 and 1250 in the Rhine Valley, a Euro-

pean Jewish mystical and pietistic movement coalesced

View of Mecca with the Kaba in foreground, 1890 (Courtesy

Library of Congress)