The History of the Ka’aba.
In the province of Hejaz in the western part of Arabia, not far from
the Red Sea, there lies the town of Makka. In the centre of this town
there is a small square building made of stones, about 60 feet long, 60
feet wide and 60 feet high. Since time immemorial this town and this
stone built house has been known to world travellers. This is Baitullah,
the House of Allah. Its sanctity and antiquity is older than history
itself.
Tradition goes that the Kaaba was ordained by Allah to be built in
the shape of the House in Heaven called Baitul Ma’amoor. Allah in his
infinite Mercy ordained a similar place on earth and Prophet Adam was
the first to build this place. The Bible, in the Chapter of Genesis
describes its building when God ordained Abraham to erect a Shrine for
worship when Abraham was ordered to go to the Southern desert with his
wife Hagera and infant son Ismael. The Old Testament describes this
building as the Shrine of God at several places, but the one built at
Ma’amoor is very much similar to the one at Makka. There is no doubt
that it was referring to the stone built house at Makka.
Qora’an brought this story into the full light of history. In Sura 3
Verse 90 Qora’an says “Allah has spoken the Truth, therefore follow the
creed of Ibrahim, a man of pure faith and no idolater”. The first house
established for the people was at Makka, a Holy place and a guidance to
all beings. Qora’an firmly establishes the fact that Ibrahim was the
real founder of the Holy Shrine.
When Prophet Ibrahim built the Holy Shrine in Makka, his prayers were
that this place should remain a centre of worship for all good and
pious people; that Allah should keep his family the custodians of the
Holy place. Ever since, Ismael the son of Ibrahim who helped his father
to build this place and his descendants remained the custodians of the
Holy Shrine. History tells us that centuries passed and the guardianship
of the Kaaba remained in the family of Ismael until the name of Abde
Manaf came into the limelight. He inherited this service and made it
much more prominent. His son Hashim took this leadership and extended it
to many other towns of Hejaz so much so that many pilgrims flocked
annually to this place and enjoyed Hashims’s hospitality. A feast was
given in honour of the pilgrims, food and water was served to all guests
by the family of Hashim. This prominence created jealousies and his
brother Abdushams’ adopted son Ummayya tried to create trouble. There
was a dispute in which Umayya failed and left Makka to settle down in
the Northern provinces of Suria(Sham) currently known as Syria. After
Hashim his brother Muttalib and after him Hashim’s son Shyba who became
known as Abdul Muttalib assumed the leadership of the family. He
organised feasts and supplies of water to the pilgrims during the annual
festival of Pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine.
Prophet Ibrahim built this House for devout worship to one God. But
within his lifetime people disobeyed his orders and began to put idols
inside the Kaaba. Ibrahim had to clean the House of these idols and of
Idle worshippers. He told the people that this was a symbolic house of
God. God does not live there for He is everywhere. People did not
understand this logic and no sooner had Ibrahim died the people, out of
reverence, filled the place with idols again. They thronged to this
place annually and worshipped their personal gods, It was over Four
Thousand years later that the last of the line of prophet (SA), Muhammad
Ibne Abdullah entered Makka triumphantly, went inside the Ka’aba and,
with the help of his cousin and son in law Ali Ibne Abi Talib, (AS)
destroyed all the idols of Ka’aba with their own hands. At one stage of
this destruction of idols, the tallest of the idol Hubbol was brought
down after Ali had to stand on the shoulders of the Prophet to carry out
God’s orders. The Prophet of Islam was reciting the Verse from the
Qur’an
“Truth hath come and falsehood hath vanished.”This was done in the 8th year of Hijra, January 630 AD after the bloodless victory at Makka by the Prophet of Islam.
Historically when Ibrahim was ordered by Allah to build the Shrine
for worship over a small he uncovered the original foundations of the
Kaaba built by Adam. Ibrahim with the help of his son Ismael erected the
new shrine on the same foundations. Originally it contained only four
walls without a roof . Centuries later during the timeof Kusayi who was
the leader of the Tribe of Quraish in Makka a taller building was
completed with a roof and a quadrangle wall around it to give it the
shape of a sanctuary and doors all around the sanctuary walls. People
entered through these doors to come to the Ka’aba for worship. It is now
about 60 feet high, 60 feet wide from east to west and 60 feet from
north to south. A door is fixed about 7 feet above ground level facing
North East. A Black stone (Hajar al Aswad) was fixed into its eastern
corner. In front of the building was Maqame Ibrahim, the arch shape gate
known as that of Banu Shayba and the Zamzam Well. Just outside are the
Hills called Safa and Merwa and the distance between the hills is about
500 yards. These days both of the hills are enclosed into the sanctuary
walls with a roof over it.
The whole building is built of the layers of grey blue stone from the
hills surrounding Makka. The four corners roughly face the four points
of the compass. At the East is the Black stone (Rukn el Aswad), at the
North is el Ruken el Iraqi, at the west al Rukne el Shami and at the
south al Rukne el Yamani. The four walls are covered with a curtain
(Kiswa). The kiswa is usually of black brocade with the Shahada outlined
in the weave of the fabric. About 2/3rd’s of the way up runs a gold
embroidered band covered with Qur'anic text.
In the Eastern corner about 5 feet above ground the Hajar el Aswad
(the blackstone) is fixed into the wall. Its real nature is difficult to
determine, its visible shape is worn smooth by hand touching and
kissing. Its diameter is around 12 inches. Opposite the North west wall
but not connected with it, is a semi circular wall of white marble. It
is 3 feet high and about 5 feet thick. This semi circular space enjoys
an especial consideration and pilgrims wait in queue to find a place to
pray there. The graves of Ismael and his mother Hajera are within this
semi circular wall. Between the archway and the facade (N.E.) is a
little building with a small dome, the Maqame Ibrahim. Inside it is kept
a stone bearing the prints of two human feet. Prophet Ibrahim is said
to have stood on this stone when building the Ka’aba and marks of his
feet are miraculously preserved.
On the outskirts of the building to the North East is the ‘Zamzam Well’ (this is now put under ground).
The Other Names of the Kaba
Literally, Kaba in Arabic means a high place with respect
and prestige. The word Kaba may also be a derivative of a word meaning
cube. Some of these other names include: Bait ul Ateeq which means,
according to one meaning, the earliest and ancient. According to the
second meaning, it means independent and liberating. Both meanings could
be taken.
The Kaba
Scholars and historians say that the Kaba has been
reconstructed between five to 12 times. The very first construction of
the Kaba was done by Prophet Adam. Allah [swt, glory be to Him] says in
the Quran that this was the first house that was built for humanity to
worship Allah. After this, Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail rebuilt the Kaba.
The measurements of the Kaba's Ibrahimic foundation are as follows:
- the eastern wall was 48 feet and 6 inches - the Hateem side wall
was 33 feet - the side between the black stone and the Yemeni corner was
30 feet - the Western side was 46.5 feet
Following this, there were several constructions before Prophet Muhammad's time.
Prophet Muhammad participated in one of its reconstructions before he
became a Prophet. After a flash flood, the Kaba was damaged and its
walls cracked. It needed rebuilding. This responsibility was divided
among the Quraish's four tribes. Prophet Muhammad helped with this
reconstruction. Once the walls were erected, it was time to place the
Black Stone, (the Hajar ul Aswad) on the eastern wall of the Kaba.
The black Stone
Arguments erupted about who would have the honor of putting the Black
Stone in its place. A fight was about to break out over the issue, when
Abu Umayyah, Makkah's oldest man, proposed that the first man to enter
the gate of the mosque the following morning would decide the matter.
That man was the Prophet. The Makkans were ecstatic. "This is the
trustworthy one (Al-Ameen)," they shouted in a chorus. "This is
Muhammad". He came to them and they asked him to decide on the matter.
He agreed
Prophet
Muhammad proposed a solution that all agreed to putting the Black Stone
on a cloak, the elders of each of the clans held on to one edge of the
cloak and carried the stone to its place. The Prophet then picked up the
stone and placed it on the wall of the Kaba.
Since the tribe of Quraish did not have sufficient funds, this
reconstruction did not include the entire foundation of the Kaba as
built by Prophet Ibrahim. This is the first time the Kaba acquired the
cubical shape it has now unlike the rectangle shape which it had
earlier. The portion of the Kaba left out is called Hateem now.
Construction After the Prophet's Time
Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr
The Syrian army destroyed [damaged] the Kaba in Muharram
64 (Hijri date, 683 C.E.) and before the next Hajj Abdullah ibn
az-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him, reconstructed the Kaba from
the ground up.
Ibn az-Zubayr wanted to make the Kaba how the Prophet Muhammad wanted
it, on the foundation of the Prophet Ibrahim. Ibn az-Zubayr said, "I
heard Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) say, 'The Prophet said: "If
your people had not quite recently abandoned the Ignorance (Unbelief),
and if I had sufficient provisions to rebuild it [the Kaba], I would
have added five cubits to it from the Hijr. Also, I would make two
doors: one for people to enter therein and the other to exit."
(Bukhari). Ibn az-Zuhayr said, "Today, I can afford to do it and I do
not fear the people."
Ibn az-Zuhayr built the Kaba on Prophet Ibrahim's foundation. He put
the roof on three pillars with the wood of Aoud (a perfumed wood with
aroma which is traditionally burned to get a good smell out of it in
Arabia). In his construction he put two doors, one facing the east the
other facing the west, as the Prophet wanted but did not do in his
lifetime. He rebuilt the Kaba on the Prophet Ibrahim's foundation, which
meant that the Hateem area was included. The Hateem is the area
adjacent to the Kaba enclosed by a low semi-circular wall. Abdullah ibn
az-Zubayr also made the following additions and modifications:
- put a small window close to the roof of the Kaba to allow for
light. - moved the door of the Kaba to ground level and added a second
door to the Kaba. - added nine cubits to the height of the Kaba, making
it twenty cubits high. - its walls were two cubits wide. - reduced the
pillars inside the House to three instead of six as were earlier built
by Quraish.
For reconstruction, ibn az-Zubayr put up four pillars around Kaba and
hung cloth over them until the building was completed. People began to
do Tawaf around these pillars at all times, so Tawaf of the Kaba was
never abandoned, even during reconstruction.
During Abdul Malik bin Marwan's time
In 74 Hijri (or 693 according to the Gregorian calendar),
Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Thaqafi, the known tyrant of that time, with the
approval of Umayyad Khalifa Abdul Malik bin Marwan, demolished what Ibn
az-Zubayr had added to it from the older foundation of Prophet Ibrahim,
restored its old structure as the Quraish had had it.
Some of the changes he made were the following:
- he rebuilt it in the smaller shape which is found today -
took out the Hateem - walled up the western door (whose signs are still
visible today) and left the rest as It was - pulled down the wall in
the Hateem area. - removed the wooden ladder Ibn az-Zubayr had put
inside the Kaba. - reduced the door's height by five cubits.
When Abdul Malik bin Marwan came for Umra and heard the Hadith that
it was wish of Prophet for the Kaba to be constructed the way Abdullah
ibn az-Zubayr had built it, he regretted his actions.
Imam Malik's advice to the Khalifa Harun al Rasheed
Abbasi Khalifa Harun al Rasheed wanted to rebuild the Kaba
the way the Prophet Muhammad wanted and the way Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr
built it. But when he consulted Imam Malik, the Imam asked the Khalifa
to change his mind because constant demolition and rebuilding is not
respectful and would become a toy in the hands of kings. Each one would
want to demolish and rebuild the Kaba. Based on this advice, Harun al
Rasheed did not reconstruct the Kaba. The structure remained in the same
construction for 966 years, with minor repairs here and there.
Reconstruction during Sultan Murad Khan's time
In the year 1039 Hijri, because of heavy rain, flood and
hail, two of the Kaba's walls fell down. The flood during which this
occurred took place on the 19th of Shaban 1039 Hijri [April 2, 1630]
which continued constantly, so the water in the Kaba became almost close
to half of its walls, about 10 feet from the ground level. On Thursday
the 20th of Shaban 1039 Hijri, the eastern and western walls fell down.
When flood receded on Friday the 21st of Shaban, the cleanup started.
Again, a curtain, the way Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr established on 4
pillars, was put up, and the reconstruction started on the 26th of
Ramadan [May 9, 1630]. The rest of the walls except for the one near the
Black Stone, were demolished.
By the 2nd of Zul-Hijjah 1040 [July 2, 1631] the construction was
taking place under the guidance of Sultan Murad Khan, the Ottoman
Khalifa. From the point of the Black Stone and below, the current
construction is the same as that done by Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr. The
construction which was done under the auspices of Murad Khan was exactly
the one done at the time of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan which is the way the
Quraysh had built it before Prophethood.
On Rajab 28 1377 [Feb. 17, 1958], One historian counted the total
stones of the Kaba and they were 1,614. These stones are of different
shapes. But the stones which are inside the outer wall which is visible
are not counted in there.
Reconstruction of the Kaba in 1996
A major reconstruction of the Kaba took place between May
1996 and October 1996. This was after a period of about 400 years (since
Sultan Murad Khan's time). During this reconstruction the only original
thing left from the Kaba are the stones. All other material has been
replaced including the ceiling and the roof and its wood.
What is inside the Kaba?
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi is the president of the Islamic
Society of North America (ISNA). He had the opportunity to go inside the
Kaba in October 1998. In an interview with Sound Vision, he described
the following features:
- there are two pillars inside (others report 3 pillars) - there is a
table on the side to put items like perfume - there are two
lantern-type lamps hanging from the ceiling - the space can accommodate
about 50 people - there are no electric lights inside - the walls and
the floors are of the marble - there are no windows inside - there is
only one door - the upper inside walls of the Kaba were covered with
some kind of curtain with the Kalima written on it.