The Kabah
Table of Contents
The Story of the Kabah
From the Daily News of 4 March 2001
The Ka'ba, the huge cube-like edifice situated in the centre of the
Great Mosque at Mecca is rightly considered the palladium of Islam. This
modest structure dedicated by man to God and the cult of monotheism
occupies a hallowed place in the heart of every true Muslim. Besides
forming the focal point of the Haj or Muslim pilgrimage undertaken by
believers of all hues and tongues, the Ka'ba is the qibla or centre of the
Islamic world towards which all Muslims turn in prayer.
To Muslims, it is the holiest spot on earth; the sanctum sanctorum of
the Islamic world. Many are the names by which the Ka'ba is known. Thus it
is called Baitullah (the House of God), Al-Bait Al-Haram (the Sacred
House) and Al-Bait Al-Atiq (the Most Ancient House). The appellation Ka'ba
itself does not appear to be a proper name and seems to be connected with
the appearance of the building, for the term literally means a 'cube'. Yet
the building has more to it than meets the eye. The Ka'ba is believed to
have been built of grey stone sourced from the hills surrounding Mecca and
in its interior could be found inner walls and pillars supporting the roof
which rises up to about fifty feet above the ground below.
In the eastern corner, about five feet above the ground and built into
the wall is what is known as the Hajar Al-Aswad or 'Black Stone'. Muslim
tradition has it that this black stone fell from paradise and that it was
originally whiter than milk,its present black colour being due to the sins
it came into contact with during the Jahilliyah or Pagan period. To the
South East of the Ka'ba and opposite the corner of the sanctuary in which
the Black Stone is placed could be found the well of Zamzam which is
thought to have originated from a spring brought into existence by the
angel Gabriel.
The origins of the Ka'ba
The Muslim holy book, the Qur'an has it that the Ka'ba was the first
place of worship appointed for mankind. Says the Qur'an: "Verily, the
first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakka (an older
name of Mecca), full of blessing and a guidance for all beings".The holy
book also says:"And (remember) when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the
foundations of the House (Ka'ba) saying "Our Lord, accept (this service)
from us.Verily you are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. Our Lord! And make
us submissive unto you and of our offspring a nation submissive unto you".
Here we are told that the foundations of the Ka'ba were raised by Abraham
and Ishmael, the progenitors of the Ishmaelites, the Arab nation to which
the Prophet Muhammad belonged.
Some Muslim traditionists are however of the view that the Ka'ba was
built by Abraham on the foundations of an earlier temple built by Adam,
the progenitor of mankind. Thus if we are to go by this tradition, the
archetype of the Ka'ba existed as far back as the time of Adam. Al-Tabari,
Arab Historian and Author of the work 'Tarikh Al-Rusul Wa'l Muluk'
compiled around the ninth or tenth century has recorded some interesting
traditions concerning the origins of the Ka'ba that prevailed amongst the
Arabs of old.
Tradition has it that when God banished Adam and Eve from Paradise,
Adam fell on Adam's peak in Serandib and Eve someplace else. For two
hundred years, the parents of mankind fruitlessly searched the earth for
each other, alone and despairing, until the angel Gabriel descended and
led Adam to Eve. And it is said that it was on the Mount of Arafat, not
far from Mecca, that they were reunited. When Adam came to Mecca, Gabriel
with his wing uncovered a foundation on a site exactly below the spot
occupied by the divine palace in the seventh heaven known as the
Baitul-Ma'mur. The angels threw blocks on it from Lebanon, the Mount of
Olives, Jabal Judi and Hira until the hole was filled level with the
earth. God then sent from Paradise a tent of red jacinth in which Adam
lived. In what was afterwards to become the Black Stone, a white jacinth
from Paradise served as a seat. God commanded Adam to build the Ka'ba and
Gabriel taught him the rites of the pilgrimage. Adam is then said to have
taken to performing the circumambulation round the Ka'ba following the
example of the angels. Mecca however was without inhabitants and the
sanctuary without worshippers. Adam made his feelings known to God and the
Almighty promised him that with time, the place would be the site of a
cult to which men would make pilgrimage. In later times, the deluge is
said to have washed the building away so that the stone had to be
concealed by the angels in Abu Qubais, a mountain to the east of Mecca.
All that remained of the Ka'ba was a red mound which was afterwards found
by Abraham.
The temple of Abraham
The story goes that Abraham and his wife Sarah visited Egypt and
following a short stay there were bestowed a girl named Hagar by the
Pharaoh and his Queen as a mark of gratitude to the aged
patriarch. Although the Hebrews claim that Hagar was a 'handmaiden', or
rather a 'bondswoman' of Sarah, Muslim traditionists are of the view that
she was in fact an Egyptian princess. Hagar is thus said to have been the
daughter of Pharaoh Senusrit I and Queen Nufrit. Their elder child Hagar
they bestowed on Abraham, saying that they considered it better for her to
go with a Prophet of God than to be married to some prince when she grew
up. Abraham and Sarah taking Hagar with them departed to Cannaan where
they settled down. Since Sarah was barren,she suggested to Abraham that he
wed Hagar. This he did when she was seventeen years old and Ishmael was
born to them the following year. Although in the beginning, Sarah was fond
of the child, with time she grew jealous when she noticed Abraham treating
Hagar affectionately. Transformed, she demanded of her husband that he
take Hagar and her son into the wilderness and there abandon them. Seeking
divine guidance, Abraham set out with with Hagar and Ishmael and travelled
southward out of Canaan until he reached the present site of Mecca.
There he left the mother and child to the care of God, convinced that
no harm could come to either, as this was the ground on which the original
Ka'ba had stood, before the deluge. Abandoned, Hagar became fearful for
the life of her child and leaving him near the spot where the Ka'ba stands
today, went in search of water. Climbing up the hill known as Safa she
besought God's help. Looking to the north, Hagar sighted what appeared to
be a lake and descending from the mountain, ran towards it only to find
that it disappeared when she approached it. Wearily she mounted another
low hill known as Marwah and looking back in the direction whence she came
beheld another lake and descending again made her way to Safa only to find
that it disappeared as she approached. In near-panic, the distraught woman
ran hither and tither from Safa and back, passing through the mirage seven
times. Hopelessly, Hagar looked towards the spot where she had left her
son and saw there a figure standing by the child. She hastened towards the
stranger and then slowed, recognizing him to be the angel Gabriel. The
archangel struck the earth and water bubbled forth. Thus was established
the well of Zamzam. Hagar dwelt by the pool, caring for her son and
trusting in the God who had answered her prayers. One day, a wandering
tribe from Yemen who happened to pass that way saw the mother and child
and asked their leave to share the water. Pitching their tents near the
pool, they proceeded to settle down at the spot. When Ishmael grew up, he
wed a maiden of the tribe and lived by the chase. Abraham, having received
the divine command again arrived at the valley where his hunter son dwelt
and both father and son laboured in the blazing sun to raise the Ka'ba.
When it was completed, Abraham climbed to the top and called unto all
mankind, summoning them to the worship of the one true God.
The Ka'ba thus established by Abraham and Ishmael served as the centre
of a monotheistic cult dedicated to the one true God - Allah. The colony
set up by Ishmael flourished and his descendants came to occupy a
prominent role in the administration of the temple. Centuries passed away
and the people, exposed to the idolatry of neighbouring nations, gradually
forgot the divine message, deviating from the path of monotheism. Idols of
wood and stone and of various shapes and sizes were set up and the people
propitiated these for material gain. These deities were initially regarded
as intermediaries between the one true God and his worshippers, but
gradually supplanted him in the minds of ignorant men. Allah remained a
largely abstract deity, overshadowed by the other false gods, but
nevertheless regarded as the head of the heathen pantheon.
There was Hubal and Lat and Manat, in fact no less than 360 idols
desecrating the courtyard of the Ka'ba. According to Al-Mas'udi, the
author of the Muruj al-Dhahab (C.10th century), the Ka'ba was at one time
a temple devoted to the sun, moon and the five planets, in other words an
astral cult as is suggested by the 360 idols (representing the 360 days of
the year) placed round the Ka'ba in pagan times. We know for certain that
even in the second century A.D. Mecca occupied a prominent place in the
religious life of Arabia. Ptolemy, in his Geography, mentions a Macoraba
in place of Mecca. There can be little doubt that the appellation is
connected to the Standard Arabic term mihrab 'praying place' or the
Southern Arabic mikrab 'temple'.This only goes on to show the important
place the Ka'ba occupied even in pre-Islamic times.
The Prophet's mission
Mecca had become a great centre of Arabian paganism at the time of the
birth of the Muhammad in 570 A.D.The Quraish tribe which was of the House
of Ishmael served as the custadions of the Ka'ba and were both feared and
respected by the other Arab tribes. It was they who provided food, water,
clothing and accommodation to the pilgrims who were attracted to the spot
during the annual pilgrimage season from all corners of Arabia.Yet they
were also an arrogant lot. They called themselves the Hums, which means
'strictly religious' and looked down upon the other tribes. It depended on
the discretion of the Hums to provide the pilgrims with clothing and those
whom they did not favour would perform the circumambulation round the
Ka'ba naked. Such was the state of affairs in the Holy House during the
time of the Prophet's youth. When Muhammad received the divine call and
began his mission on his fortieth year, the Meccans were not slow to
persecute him and his followers, despite the fact that they too belonged
to the tribe of Quraish. The old guard of the Quraish deemed the new faith
a threat to their traditional ways and their false gods. Many of the early
Muslims were martyred and things took such a serious turn that the Prophet
himself had to take flight to Medina in the year 622 . Medina which was
peopled by the Aws and Khazraj tribes welcomed the Prophet and his
followers with open arms, and it was not long before the first Islamic
city-state was established there. Eight years were to pass before Mecca
finally fell to the Prophet and his 10,000 - strong army. A general
amnesty was proclaimed and the Meccans who had a few years earlier so
ruthlessly persecuted the Prophet and his followers,now rushed to embrace
Islam of their own accord. "God has made this town a sanctuary", the
Prophet is said to have declared on the day of the conquest of Mecca "Its
thorny bushes are not to be cut nor its game chased". Thus, protection was
offered not only to men, but also flora and fauna, for then and for all
time. It was also announced that the pagans were not to approach the Ka'ba
or to perform the pilgrimage naked. The Prophet in his iconoclastic zeal
is said to have personally destroyed the idols, striking them with his rod
so that they fell to the ground. It was thus that the noble sanctuary was
purged of all vestiges of heathendom and dedicated once again to the
worship of the one true God.
Stories of the Kabah
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