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