The Holy Kaaba
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
PLS EXPLAIN WHAT IS K'AABA,
ITS IMPORTANCE, HOLINESS AND WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR ALL TO FACE K'AABA AND
PRAY. WHY NOT TOWARDS ANOTHER DIRECTION ???
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the name of
Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever
Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can
guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone,
and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of
His Messengers.
There are several
verses in the Holy Quran regarding the Sacred House (the Kaabah) of Allah. This is the very first place of worship
Allah had ordained for all of mankind, and it is reported in several authentic
narrations that the first person to lay the foundation of this Sacred House of
Allah was Prophet Adam. To write a complete history of the Kaabah from the
Quran and authentic narrations and ‘riwaayahs’ would indeed require a full
book! But we will try and give you an
overview of this Sacred House, Insha Allah.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imran verse 96:Undoubtedly, the
first house of worship ever to be built for mankind is the one which is at
Makkah. It was blessed and made a
center of guidance for all the peoples.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Al Baqarah verse 125:And remember that
We made this House (The Kaabah) the center and sanctuary for mankind and
enjoined the people to dedicate to worship the place where Ibrahim used to
stand for prayer, and We urged Ibrahim and Ismail to keep My House pure for
those who would go around it, and for those who would retire to it for devotion
and prayer, and for those who would bow down and prostrate themselves there in
worship.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Al Baqarah verse 127:And remember that
when Ibrahim and Ismael were raising the walls of this House (Kaabah), they
prayed, “O our Lord, accept this service from us; You are indeed the All
Hearing and the All Knowing.”
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 26:Recall to mind the time
when We assigned the site of this House (the Kaabah) to Ibrahim, saying, “Do
not associate anything as a partner with Me; keep My House clean and pure for
those who go around it, and for those who stand and bow down and prostrate here
(in worship).
Through the passage
of time, the Kaabah was repaired and built several times. Some commentators say 11 times and some say
upto 15 times; Allah Alone has perfect knowledge of everything. The Holy Quran only mentions that this was
the very first house ever dedicated for the worship of Allah, and according to
several narrations, it is reported that the foundations of this house were
first laid by Prophet Adam (a.s.).
Then Allah mentions the building of the Sacred House when He ordained
Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.) and his son Prophet Ismael(a.s.) to rebuild the Kaabah
under His guidance, which they did.
Five years before
the appointment of Prophethood, when the Messenger of Allah (saws) was about thirty-five
years old, the Quraish of Makkah decided to rebuild the Kaabah. They could not raise enough funds from
their ‘pure’ earnings to rebuild the complete Kaabah, so they left the
semi-circular ‘hateem’ half-built, which is how it is kept upto this day, even
after several rebuildings by the muslims over the years. After they built the cubicle Kaabah, the
tribes of Quraish ran into a disagreement on who would have the honor of
placing the Black Stone in its place.
As Allah would have it willed, Mohamed ibn Abdulla (saws) was chosen and
he (saws) placed the Black Stone in the Kaabah with his own hands.
After the death of
the Messenger of Allah (saws) the Kaabah was rebuilt several times by the
muslims, and general repairs are carried out even until today.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 148:Everyone has a
direction towards which he turns in Prayer.
So try to excel one another in good works. Allah will find you wherever you may be, for nothing is out of
Allah’s reach.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 144:We have seen you, (O
Mohamed), turning your face over and over again towards the heaven! Now,
therefore, We turn you towards the Qiblah that you like best. So turn your face towards the
Masjid-e-Haraam! Henceforth,
wheresoever you may be, turn your face at prayer towards it.
In the Holy Quran,
Allah Himself says that everyone has a direction towards which he turns to
prayer, and the simple reason we pray in its direction is because the All Wise,
All Knowing Allah, commanded the Messenger of Allah (saws) in the Holy Quran,
and the Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded and taught the believers to pray in
the direction of the Kaabah. And as in
all our acts of worship in Islam, we have to follow exactly what was commanded
by Allah and practiced by the Messenger of Allah (saws).
As to the wisdom behind the decision to pray towards the
Kaabah, we let the Quran explain that in its own inimitable style.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 142-143:Of course the
foolish people will say, “What has turned them abruptly away from the ‘qiblah’
towards which they formerly used to turn their faces in prayer? Tell them,
“East and West all belong to Allah; He shows the Right Way to anyone He
wills.” Thus have We made you a
community of the ‘Golden Mean’ so that you may be a witness in regard to
mankind and the Messenger may be a witness in regard to you. We had appointed the former ‘qiblah’ towards
which you used to turn your face merely to test
who would follow the Messenger and who would turn back. It was indeed a hard test, but not for
those who had been blessed with Guidance from Allah. Allah will not let go to waste this faith of yours. Rest assured that He is full of pity and
mercy to mankind.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
