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The '''Kaaba''' (]: {{lang|ar|الكعبة}} {{ArabDIN|al-Kaʿbah}}; {{IPA2|'kɑʕbɑ}} or {{IPA2|'kæʕbæ}})<ref>Also known as ''{{ArabDIN|al-Kaʿbatu l-Mušarrafah}}'' ({{lang|ar|الكعبة المشرًّفة}} "The Noble Kaʿbah), ''{{ArabDIN|al-Baytu l-ʿAtīq}}'' ({{lang|ar|البيت العتيق}} "The Primordial House"), or ''{{ArabDIN|al-Baytu l-Ḥarām}}'' ({{lang|ar|البيت الحرام}} "The Sacred House")</ref> "Cube" is a ]al building in ], ], and is the ] in ].<ref name="eoi317">Wensinck, A. J; Ka`ba. ] IV p. 317</ref> The building is at least a thousand years old, but according to Islamic tradition dates back to the time of ] (Ibrahim). The building has a mosque built around it, the ]. It is towards the Kaaba which all Muslims around the world face during ], no matter where they are.

One of the ] requires every capable Muslim to perform the ] pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk several times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This ], the ], is also performed by pilgrims during the ] (lesser pilgrimage).<ref name="eoi317"/> However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when two million pilgrims simultaneously gather to circle the building on the same day.

==Location and physical attributes ==
The Kaaba is a large masonry structure roughly the shape of a ]. It is made of ] from the hills near ], and stands upon a {{convert|25|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} ] base, which projects outwards about 30&nbsp;cm (1&nbsp;ft).<ref name="eoi317"/> It is approximately {{convert|13.10|m|ft|2|abbr=on}} high, with sides measuring {{convert|11.03|m|ft|2|abbr=on}} by {{convert|12.62|m|ft|2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book| last = Peterson| first = Andrew| authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Dictionary of Islamic Architecture.| publisher = Routledge |year=1996| location = London| url = http://archnet.org/library/dictionary/| doi = | id = }}</ref><ref name="eq76">Hawting, G.R; Ka`ba. Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an p. 76</ref> The four corners of the Kaaba roughly face the four points of the compass.<ref name="eoi317"/> In the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the ''Ruknu l-Aswad'' "]" or ''al-Ħajaru l-Aswad'', possibly a ] remnant; at the northern corner is the ''Ruknu l-ˤĪrāqī'' "The Iraqi corner". The western corner is the ''Ruknu sh-Shāmī'' "the Levantine corner" and the southern is ''Ruknu l-Yamanī'' "the Yemeni corner".<ref name="eoi317"/><ref name="eq76"/>

The Kaaba is covered by a black silk curtain known as the ], which is replaced yearly.<ref>{{cite web| last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = 'House of God' Kaaba gets new cloth| work =| publisher = The Age Company Ltd.|year=2003| url = http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044725746252.html| format = | doi = | accessdate = 2006-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Kiswa - (Kaaba Covering)| work =| publisher = Al-Islaah Publications| date = | url = http://members.tripod.com/worldupdates/newupdates10/id43.htm| format = | doi = | accessdate = 2006-08-17}}</ref> About two-thirds of the way up runs a band of gold-embroidered calligraphy with ]ic text, including the Islamic declaration of faith, the '']''.

Nowadays, entry to the Kaaba's interior is generally not permitted except for certain rare occasions and for a limited numbers of guests. The entrance is a door set {{convert|2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above the ground on the north-eastern wall of the Kaaba, which acts as the façade.<ref name="eoi317"/> There is a wooden staircase on wheels, usually stored in the mosque between the arch-shaped gate of Banū Shaybah and the well of ]. Inside the Kaaba, there is a marble floor. The interior walls are clad with marble halfway to the roof; tablets with Qur'anic inscriptions are inset in the marble. The top part of the walls are covered with a green cloth decorated with gold embroidered ]ic verses. Caretakers perfume the marble cladding with scented oil, the same oil used to anoint the ] outside.

]

There is also a semi-circular wall opposite, but unconnected to, the north-west wall of the Kaaba known as the ''hatīm''. It is {{convert|90|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in height and {{convert|1.5|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} in length, and is composed of ]. The space between the ''hatīm'' and the Kaaba was for a time belonging to the Kaaba itself, and so is generally not entered during the '']'' (ritual circumambulation). It is also thought by some that this space bears the graves of Abu Simbel, prophet ] and his mother ].<ref name="eoi317"/>

Muslims throughout the world face the Kaaba during ], which are five times a day. For most places around the world, coordinates for Mecca suffice. Worshippers in the ] pray in ] around the Kaaba.

== Black Stone ==
{{main|Black Stone}}
The Black Stone is a significant feature of the Kaaba, believed by Muslims to date back to the time of ].<ref name="SaudiCities>{{cite web|author=SaudiCities - The Saudi Experience|title=Makkah - The Holy Mosque:The Black Stone|publisher=|accessdate=August 13|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.saudicities.com/mmosque.htm}}</ref> Located on the eastern corner of the Kaaba, it is about 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter and surrounded by a silver frame. Hajj pilgrims often attempt to kiss the Stone as Muhammad once did.<ref>{{cite book|title=Your Door to Arabia|last=Elliott|first=Jeri| year=1992|id=ISBN 0-473-01546-3}}</ref> Because of the large crowds, this is not always possible, and so as pilgrims walk around the Kaaba, they are to point to the Stone on each circuit.<ref name=AtoZ>{{cite book | title=Hajj to Umrah: From A to Z | last = Mohamed | first= Mamdouh N. | year = 1996 | publisher=Amana Publications | id= ISBN 0-915957-54-x}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Before Islam ===
]) in ].]]
].]]
As little is known of the history of the Kaaba, there are various opinions regarding its formation and significance.

The ] population consisted primarily of warring nomadic tribes. When they did converge peacefully, it was usually under the protection of religious practices.<ref>Grunebaum, p. 18</ref> Writing in the ''Encyclopedia of Islam'', Wensinck identifies ] with a place called ''Macoraba'' mentioned by ]. His text is believed to date from the ], before the rise of Islam,<ref name="eoi318">Wensinck, A. J; Ka`ba. ] IV p. 318 (1927, 1978)</ref> and described it as a foundation in southern Arabia, built around a sanctuary. The area probably did not start becoming an area of religious pilgrimage until around the year 500 AD. It was around then that the ] tribe (into which ] was later born) took control of it, and made an agreement with the local Kinana ] for control.<ref>Grunebaum, p. 19</ref> The ] itself, located in a barren valley surrounded by mountains, was probably built at the location of the water source today known as the ], an area of considerable religious significance.

Eiichi<ref>Imoti, Eiichi. "The Ka'ba-i Zardušt", ''Orient'', XV (1979), The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan, pp. 65-69.</ref> contends that there were multiple such "Kaaba" sanctuaries in Arabia at one time, but this is the only one built of stone. The others also allegedly had counterparts to the Black Stone. There was a "red stone", the deity of the south Arabian city of ], and the "white stone" in the Kaaba of al-Abalat (near the city of ], south of Mecca). Grunebaum in ''Classical Islam'' points out that the experience of divinity of that time period was often associated with stone ], mountains, special rock formations, or "trees of strange growth."<ref>Grunebaum, p. 24</ref>

According to ], in her book ''Islam: A Short History'', the Kaaba was dedicated to ], a ] deity, and contained 360 idols which either represented the days of the year,<ref name=armstrong>{{cite book|pages=11|title=Islam: A Short History|author=Karen Armstrong|isbn=0-8129-6618-x|date=2000,2002}}</ref> or were effigies of the ]. Once a year, tribes from all around the Arabian peninsula, be they Christian or pagan, would converge on Mecca to perform the ''Hajj''.

To keep the peace among the perpetually warring tribes, Mecca was declared a sanctuary where no violence was allowed within {{convert|20|mi|km}} of the Kaaba. This combat-free zone allowed Mecca to thrive not only as a place of pilgrimage, but also as a trading center.<ref>Armstrong, ''Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths'', p. 221-222</ref> According to the '']'', the Kaaba was a shrine for the Daughters of God (], ], and ]) and Hubal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ask the Globe|publisher=]|date=], ]}}</ref>

The Kaaba was thought to be at the center of the world with the Gate of Heaven directly above it. The Kaaba marked the location where the divine world intersected with the mundane, and the embedded ] was a further symbol of this as a meteorite that had fallen from the sky and linked heaven and earth.<ref>Armstrong, ''Jerusalem'', p. 221</ref>

According to Sarwar,<ref>{{cite book|title=Muhammad the Holy Prophet''|author=Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar|pages=18-19}}</ref> about four hundred years before the birth of Muhammad, a man named "Amr bin Lahyo bin Harath bin Amr ul-Qais bin Thalaba bin Azd bin Khalan bin Babalyun bin Saba", who was descended from ] and king of ] (the northwestern section of Saudi Arabia, which encompassed the cities of Mecca and Medina), had placed a Hubal idol onto the roof of the Kaaba, and this idol was one of the chief deities of the ruling ] tribe. The idol was made of red agate, and shaped like a human, but with the right hand broken off and replaced with a golden hand. When the idol was moved inside the Kaaba, it had seven arrows in front of it, which were used for ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-moon-god-hubal.htm|title=Hubal, the moon god of the Kaba|author=Brother Andrew|publisher=bible.ca|accessdate=2007-09-04}}</ref>

] disagrees with most academic historians on most issues concerning the history of early Islam, including the history of the Kaaba. In ''Makkan Trade and the Rise of Islam'', Crone writes that she believes that the identification of Macoraba with the Kaaba is false, and that Macoraba was a town in southern Arabia in what was then known as ].<ref>{{cite book| last = Crone| first = Patricia| authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Makkan Trade and the Rise of Islam| publisher = Gorgias |year=2004| location = Piscataway, New Jersey| url =| doi = | id = }} pp. 134-137</ref>

Many accounts{{which}}, including Muslim accounts, and some accounts written by academic historians, stress the power and importance of the pre-Islamic Mecca.{{weasel-inline}} They depict it as a city grown rich on the proceeds of the ]. Crone believes that this is an exaggeration and that Makkan may only have been an outpost trading with nomads for leather, cloth, and camel butter. Crone argues that if Mecca had been a well-known center of trade, it would have been mentioned by later authors such as Procopius, Nonnosus, and the Syrian church chroniclers writing in Syriac. However, the town is absent from any geographies or histories written in the last three centuries before the rise of Islam.<ref>{{cite book| last = Crone| first = Patricia| authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Makkan Trade and the Rise of Islam| publisher = Gorgias |year=2004| location = Piscataway, New Jersey| url =| doi = | id = }} p. 137</ref>

According to The ], "before the rise of Islam it was revered as a sacred sanctuary and was a site of pilgrimage."<ref>Britannica 2002 Deluxe Edition ], "Ka'bah."</ref> According to the ] historian Eduard Glaser, the name "''Kaaba''" may have been related to the southern ] or ]n word "''mikrab''", signifying a temple.<ref name="eoi318"/> Again, Crone disputes this etymology.

=== Islamic tradition ===
]
According to the ], the Kaaba was built by ] (]) and his son Ismāʿīl (]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html#002.127|title=AL-BAQARA (THE COW)|publisher=]|accessdate=2008-01-25}}</ref> Islamic traditions assert that the Kaaba "reflects" a house in heaven called al-Baytu l-Maʿmur<ref>{{cite web|author=Hajj-e-Baytullah|title=Baytullah - The House of Allah|publisher=|accessmonthday=August 13 |accessyear=2006|url=http://www.ezsoftech.com/hajj/hajj_article1.asp}}</ref> ({{lang-ar|البيت المعمور}}) and that it was first built by the first man, ]. Ibrahim and Ismail rebuilt the Kaaba on the old foundations. <ref>Azraqi, ''Akhbar Makkah'', vol. 1, pp. 58-66</ref>

==== At the time of Muhammad ====
] into place, when the Kaaba was rebuilt in the early 600s.<ref name=uscmsa>{{cite web|author=University of Southern California|title=The Prophet of Islam - His Biography|publisher=|accessdate=August 12|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/prophet/profbio.html}}</ref>]]
At the time of ] (570-632 AD), his tribe the ] was in charge of the Kaaba, which was at that time a shrine to numerous ]. Muhammad earned the enmity of his tribe by claiming their shrine for the religion of Islam that he preached. He wanted the Kaaba to be dedicated to the worship of God alone, and all the other statues evicted. The Quraysh persecuted and harassed him continuously{{Fact|date=October 2008}}, and he and his followers eventually migrated to ] in 622.

After this pivotal migration, or ], the ] became a political and military force. In 630, Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca as conqueror, and he destroyed the 360 idols in and around the Kaaba.<ref name=Ahram>{{cite news|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001/536/in7.htm |title=Islam, iconography and the Taliban|work=Al-Ahram Weekly Online|date=31 My - 6 June 2001|number=536|author=Hamali, Mohamed Hashim|accessdate=2008-10-05}}</ref><ref name=uscMSA>{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajuddin/fast_76.html |title=Conquest of Makkah|publisher=University of Southern California|work=Compendium of Muslim Texts|accessdate=2008-10-05}}</ref> While destroying each idol, Muhammad recited {{Quran|17|81}} which says "Truth has arrived and falsehood has perished for falsehood is by its nature bound to perish."<ref name=Ahram/><ref name=uscMSA/>

The Kaaba was re-dedicated as an Islamic ], and henceforth, the annual pilgrimage was to be a Muslim rite, the ].<ref name="Grolier_Society_Book_of_History">{{cite book
| coauthors = W.M. Flinders Petrie, Hans F. Helmolt, Stanley Lane-Poole, Robert Nisbet Bain, Hugo Winckler, Archibald H. Sayce, Alfred Russel Wallace, Sir William Lee-Warner, Holland Thompson, W. Stewart Wallace
| others = Viscount Bryce (Introduction)
| title = The Book of History, a History of All Nations From the Earliest Times to the Present
| origyear = 1915
| publisher = The Grolier Society
}}</ref>

Islamic histories also mention a reconstruction of the Kaaba around 600. A story found in ]'s ''Sirat Rasūl Allāh'' (as reconstructed and translated by Guillaume) shows Muhammad settling a quarrel between Meccan clans as to which clan should set the ] cornerstone in place. His solution was to have all the clan elders raise the cornerstone on a cloak, and then Muhammad set the stone into its final place with his own hands.<ref>{{cite book| last = Guillaume| first = A.| authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Life of Muhammad | publisher = Oxford University Press |year=1955 | location = Oxford| doi = | id = }} pp. 84-87</ref><ref name=uscmsa>{{cite web|author=University of Southern California|title=The Prophet of Islam - His Biography|publisher=|accessdate=August 12|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/prophet/profbio.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch1s6.html | title = Muhammad's Birth and Forty Years prior to Prophethood|work=Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar): Memoirs of the Noble Prophet|accessdate=2007-05-04|author=Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, translated by Issam Diab|year=1979}}</ref> Ibn Ishaq says that the timber for the reconstruction of the Kaaba came from a Greek ship that had been wrecked on ] coast at Shu'ayba, and the work was undertaken by a ] carpenter called Baqum.<ref>Cyril Glasse, ''New Encyclopedia of Islam'', p. 245. Rowman Altamira, 2001. ISBN 0759101906</ref>

It is also claimed by the ] that the Kaaba is the birth place of ], the fourth ] and cousin and son-in-law of the ] Muhammad.<ref name="Grolier_Society_Book_of_History"/>

=== Since Muhammad's time ===
The Kaaba has been repaired and reconstructed many times since Muhammad's day.

], an early Muslim who ruled Mecca for many years between the death of ʿAli and the consolidation of ] power, is said to have demolished the old Kaaba and rebuilt it to include the ''hatīm'', a semi-circular wall now outside the Kaaba. He did so on the basis of a tradition (found in several ]s<ref>] 1506, 1508;] 1333</ref>) that the ''hatīm'' was a remnant of the foundations of the Abrahamic Kaaba, and that Muhammad himself had wished to rebuild so as to include it.
This structure was destroyed (or partially destroyed) in 683, during the war between ] and Umayyad forces commanded by ]. Al-Hajjaj used stone-throwing catapults against the Meccans. This episode has been depicted by many Muslim chroniclers as a black mark against the Ummayad caliph ], who ordered the campaign against Mecca. Yazid died in 683, the year his forces attacked the Hijaz.

The Ummayads under ] finally reunited all the former Islamic possessions and ended the ]. In 693 he had the remnants of al-Zubayr's Kaaba razed, and rebuilt on the foundations set by the Quraysh.<ref>] 1509; ] 1333</ref> The Kaaba returned to the cube shape it had taken during Muhammad's lifetime.

During the Hajj of 930, the ]s attacked Mecca, defiled the Zamzam Well with the bodies of pilgrims and stole the Black Stone, removing it to the oasis region of Eastern Arabia known as al-Aḥsāʾ, where it remained until the Umayyad ransomed it back in 952 CE.

Apart from repair work, the basic shape and structure of the Kaaba have not changed since then.<ref>]. '''', ], ]</ref>

== Cleaning ==
]
The building is opened twice a year for a ceremony known as "the cleaning of the Kaaba." This ceremony takes place roughly fifteen days before the start of the month of ] and the same period of time before the start of the annual pilgrimage.

The keys to the Kaaba are held by the ] (بني شيبة) tribe. Members of the tribe greet visitors to the inside of the Kaaba on the occasion of the cleaning ceremony. A small number of dignitaries and foreign diplomats are invited to participate in the ceremony.{{Facts|date=December 2007}} The governor of Mecca leads the honored guests who ritually clean the structure, using simple brooms. Washing of the Kaaba is done with a mixture of ] and ].<ref>, Retrieved November 30 2006.</ref>

== Qibla and prayer ==
{{main|Qibla}}
]
For any reference point on the Earth, the ] is the direction to the Kaaba. Muslims are ordered to face this direction during prayer (] 2:143-144). While it may appear to some non-Muslims that Muslims worship the Kaaba, it is simply the focal point for prayer.

Like Jews, the earliest Muslims prayed facing ]. According to Islamic tradition, when Muhammad was praying in the ] (in ]), he was ordered by God to change the qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca and the Kaaba. Various theories are advanced as to the reason for the change.

Muslim groups in the United States differ as to how the qibla should be oriented - some believe that the direction should be calculated as a straight line drawn on a flat map, like the familiar ] of the globe; others say that the direction is determined by the shortest line on the globe of the earth, or a ]. At times this controversy has led to heated disputes. Flat-map Muslims in the United States pray east and slightly south; great-circle Muslims face in a north-easterly direction. In both cases, the ''exact'' orientation will vary from city to city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/14679|title=A Sine on the Road to Makkah|publisher=]| year=2001|accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref>

]es are available that tell Muslims which direction to face no matter where they are. This method requires one to align the north arrow with a particular point on the compass corresponding to one's location. Once so aligned, one simply turns toward the direction indicated by the compass's qibla pointer, which is often in the shape of a minaret. "Qibla numbers" for various locations are listed in an accompanying booklet and also indexed online.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanleylondon.com/qiblanumbers.htm|title=Numbers for the Islamic Qibla Compasses 1999 Update (most recent)|accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
* Peterson, Andrew (1996). ''Dictionary of Islamic Architecture'' London: Routledge.
* Hawting, G.R; Ka`ba. ''Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an ''
* Elliott, Jeri (1992). ''Your Door to Arabia''. ISBN 0-473-01546-3.
* Mohamed, Mamdouh N. (1996). ''Hajj to Umrah: From A to Z''. Amana Publications. ISBN 0-915957-54-x.
* Wensinck, A. J; Ka`ba. ''Encyclopaedia of Islam IV''
* Karen Armstrong (2000,2002). ''Islam: A Short History''. ISBN 0-8129-6618-x.
* Crone, Patricia (2004). ''Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam''. Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias.
* ''The Book of History, a History of All Nations From the Earliest Times to the Present'', Viscount Bryce (Introduction), The Grolier Society.
* Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
* {{cite book|author=Grunebaum, G. E. von|title=Classical Islam: A History 600 A.D. - 1258 A.D.|publisher=Aldine Publishing Company|year=1970|isbn=202-15016-X}}

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Revision as of 22:42, 18 November 2008

circumambulating the Kaaba during the Hajj