The Ka’aba is an ancient Arab shrine in Mecca, considered the holiest place in Islam. Before Islam, it was a shrine for local gods. Muhammad preached that it was built by Abraham and meant for Islamic worship. The black cornerstone is of particular interest to some Islamic sects. The shrine is almost cubic and made of granite. It has been rebuilt numerous times and is covered with a black silk cloth embroidered with gold thread. It undergoes an official cleaning twice a year.
The Ka’aba is an ancient Arab shrine located in Mecca. It is thought to be the holiest place on earth to the people of Islam, and when people pray towards Mecca, they specifically pray towards the direction of the Ka’aba. Thus the Arabs of Mecca north of the sanctuary directed their prayers to the south.
Before Islam, the Ka’aba was an important shrine and possibly a source of pilgrimage for many in the Arab world. As people often worshiped local gods, the interior of the shrine usually had statues or idols designated to their specific gods. When Muhammad began to preach, one of his teachings was that the Ka’aba was originally built by Abraham and his son Ishmael, the son to whom Islam claims descent.
Since the Ka’aba was built by the Prophet Abraham, also called Ibrahim in Islam, according to Muslim doctrine it was meant to be a place exclusively for the Islamic worship of Allah. When Muhammad first began preaching in Mecca, he advocated the removal of the other idols in the shrine, an unpopular theme. The idols were not expelled until Muhammad returned to Mecca after exile in Medina.
Of particular interest in the Ka’aba, to some Islamic sects, is a black cornerstone surrounded by silver. For some Muslims, the stone is simply a landmark in the ritual counting of the Ka’aba tour during the Hajj. Others believe the stone was discovered by Abraham and Ishmael, and purposely placed there. It is known that many worshiped the stone before the advent of Islam. Some Islamic sects still revere him, as he was important to Muhammad and perhaps once kissed him.
The Ka’aba is almost cubic in shape and the name comes from the Arabic word for muka’ab cube. Excluding the black stone, the shrine is made of granite and is about 49m high. Each angle corresponds to the compass directions of north, south, east, and west. There is evidence that the Ka’aba has been rebuilt numerous times. Some believe it may have been rebuilt when Muhammad was a boy. The black stone was stolen in 14.93 AD and not returned until 930 AD
Today, the Ka’aba is typically covered with a black silk cloth embroidered with gold thread. Every year the cloth is replaced. Twice a year the sanctuary undergoes an official cleaning. One such cleaning occurs just before Hajj and the other before Ramadan.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
