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Sunday, March 22, 2015

Ka’bah

The Ka’bah, also known as Baytullah (The House
of Allah) is the first house built for humanity to
worship Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). The
small, cubed building may not rival other famous
buildings in terms of size but its impact on
history and human beings is unmatched. It
functions as the Qibla, the direction to which all
Muslims pray five times a day.
Regarding the Ka’bah, Allah (Glorified and
Exalted is He) mentions in the Quran in Surah
Al-Ma’idah: “Allah has made the Ka’bah, the
Sacred House, an asylum of security and
benefits (e.g., Hajj and Umrah) for
mankind.” [5:97]
The Ka’bah has been built or adjusted on
several occasions throughout history. The
most famous builders are; the angels who
originally constructed it; the first man and
prophet, Adam (upon him be peace); Ebrahim
(upon him be peace) with the help of his son
Ismail (upon him be peace); by the Quraysh
during the Jahiliyyah period (this was
witnessed by the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be on him) when he was 25 years old)
and by Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be
pleased with him) in 65 AH who rebuilt it
according to the wish of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be on him).
Directly above the Ka’bah, at its zenith, there
is a corresponding place in the heavens called
the Baytul Ma’moor which holds the same
status there as the Ka’bah does here on earth.
Each day seventy thousand angels engage in
worship there and none of them get a second
opportunity to present themselves there again.
The Baytul Ma’moor is such a sacred and
honoured place that Allah (Glorified and
Exalted is He) takes an oath on it in the Holy
Quran in Surah Toor: “And I swear by the
Baytul Ma’moor.” [4:52]
Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be
pleased with him) reports that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him)
said: “One hundred and twenty mercies descend
upon the Ka’bah every day and night; sixty for
those performing tawaf, forty for those engaged
in salah and twenty for those who are merely
looking at the Ka’bah.” [Bayhaqi]
During the Night of Ascension (mi’raj) when
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
on him) reached the seventh level of heaven,
he met the Prophet Ebrahim (upon him be
peace) resting against the Baytul Ma’moor.
Ebrahim (upon him be peace) returned the
greeting of his descendant and testified that
Muhammed (peace and blessings of Allah be
on him) was the Prophet of Allah.
The noblest shade on earth is that of the Holy
Ka’bah. Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with
him) reports, “We once approached the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) with
a difficulty and found him sitting in the shade
of the Ka’bah, leaning on his shawl.”
The north corner of the Ka’bah faces towards
Syria, Jordan and Palestine; the east corner
(where the Hajar al-Aswad is) faces towards
Oman, India and Malaysia; the south corner
(Rukun Yamani) faces towards Yemen,
Mauritius and Kenya; and the west corner
faces towards Egypt, Morocco and Spain.
The covering of the Ka’bah is known as the
Kiswah and was first placed by the prophet
Ismail (upon him be peace).
During the era of Abdullah bin Zubair (may
Allah be pleased with him) the Ka’bah was
damaged by catapult fire in 64 AH when the
army of Yazeed-bin-Muawaiya laid siege to
Makkah. One of Abdullah bin Zubair’s
companions lit a fire, a spark flew off and set
alight the kiswah (covering) of the Holy
Ka’bah. The wooden portions of the Ka’bah
were burned which necessitated its demolition
and reconstruction. Abdullah bin Zubair (may
Allah be pleased with him) reconstructed it on
the foundations of Ebrahim (upon him be
peace), thus fulfilling what the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be on him) had wished
for, as the construction made by the Quraysh
was about three meters short because they
had run out of lawful earnings to finance the
build.
When Hajjaj-bin-Yusuf had the governership
over Makkah he informed the Ummayad
Khalifah Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan that Abdullah
bin Zubair had changed the Ka’bah to
something that was different to how it was in
the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be on him). He gave
permission to change it again and in 73 AH it
was changed to its previous state. However,
when Abdul Malik came to know the Hadith of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
on him) of how he had desired the Ka’bah to
have been on the original foundations of
Ebrahim (upon him be peace) he was full of
remorse about what he had done.
Muslims do not pray to the Ka’bah, it
functions merely as a unifying direction point.
During his time in Makkah, the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be
on him) used to pray towards Bait-al-Maqdis
(Jerusalem), with the Ka’bah in front of him.
When he migrated to Madinah, he prayed
towards Jerusalem for 16 months, but he
hoped it would be changed to the Ka’bah.
Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) then
revealed the following verse in the Quran in
Surah al-Baqarah: “Verily, We have seen the
turning of your (Muhammad’s) face towards
theheaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a Qibla
(prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn
your face in the direction of al-Masjid al-
Haram (at Makkah). And wheresoever you
people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that
direction.” [2:144 ]
There are Ahadith that confirm that the Ka’bah
will be destroyed towards the end of time. Abu
Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him)
narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be on him) said: “The Ka’bah will be
destroyed by Dhus-Suwaiqatain (a man with
thin legs) from Abyssinia (Ethiopia).” [Bukhari]
References: The History of Makkah Mukarramah–
Dr Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani, Holy Makkah –
Shaikh Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri,
Kabahinfo.com , wikipedia


A technical drawing of the Kaaba showing
dimensions and elements



The site of Kaaba in 1880

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