Praise be to Allah

The Sacred Mosque is located in Makkah, a city on the Arabian Peninsula, 330 meters above the sea. The date of its foundation dates back to the time of Ibrahima al-Khalil (pbuh). It is the birthplace of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is also the cradle of the revelation and the place where the first part of the revelation took place. It is also the cradle of the revelation and the first place where the light of Islam was revealed. It is also the place where the sacred mosque is located, the first one built on earth for mankind, according to the words of the Most High: « The first house that was built for mankind was the blessed house of Bakkah (Makkah), and a good guidance for the universe. (Qur’an, 3: 96). It was reliably reported from Abu Dharr that he said, « I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about the first mosque built on earth? – He said: the Holy Mosque – and then I said to him: « Which one next? » – He said: « The al-Aqsa Mosque » – I said: « How long was between the two? – He said, « 40 years ».

The Ka’bah, to which the Muslims from the West and the East go in their prayers, is in the center of the Holy Mosque approximately. It is 15 meters high and has the shape of a large, almost square cube. It was built by Ibrahim al-Khalil (pbuh) on the order of Allah the Most High. Allah the Exalted says: « And when We pointed out to Abraham the place of the House (The Ka`ba) (saying to him): ‘Do not associate anything with Me; and purify My House for those who go around it, for those who stand in it, and for those who bow down and prostrate themselves in it. (Qur’an, 22:26). The term « bawwa’na » means: We have directed him to and made him available and given him permission to build (See Ibn Kathir’s Tafsir). In this regard the Most High says: « And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House, « ش our Lord, accept this from us! For Thou art the Hearing, the All-Knowing. » (Qur’an, 2: 127).

Wahb ibn Mounabbih said, « Abraham (pbuh) built it first. Then the Amaliqa rebuilt it, then Dayum and then Qusay ibn Kilalb. As for the reconstruction done by the Quraysh, it is very well known. The Quraysh rebuilt it with stones collected from the valley and carried them on their shoulders. They raised it to a height of 20 meters. Five years passed between this rebuilding of the Kaaba and the beginning of the Divine Revelation to Muhammad. And fifteen years passed between the said reconstruction and the exit of Muhammad (?). Abd Razzaq reported this after Mu’ammar after Abd Allah ibn Uthmane after Abi Tufayl. He reported after Mu’ammar after Zuhri (this): « When they built it and reached the corner, the Qurayshites argued about which tribe should put it in its place. In the course of the dispute, they said, « Let us appoint the first person to enter from this passage as an arbiter. This proposal was accepted by all. And the first one to enter was the Messenger of Allah (blessings be upon him) who was a young boy wearing a Namira robe at that time. They made him their arbiter and he ordered to put the stone on a piece of cloth and asked each tribal leader to hold one end of the cloth and asked them to lift the piece carrying the stone. And then he took hold of it and put it in its place. » See Tarikhu Makka of al-Azraqi (1/161-164).

Muslim reported from Aisha that she said, « I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) if the enclosure behind the House was part of it and he said, ‘Yes. And I said to him: Why did they not include it in the house? – He said: Your contributors ran out of provisions – I said: And why did they raise the door? – He said, « So that they could let in the one they liked and keep out the one they didn’t like. If it were not for the recent conversion of your people, which would make them reprobate (any change in the building), I would consider integrating the enclosure into the House and bringing its door down to the ground.

 

Before Islam (in the year of the Prophet’s birth), the Ka’aba was invaded by Abraha, the Abyssian. This happened after he had built al-Qulays, the church which he wanted to make the destination of Arab pilgrimage. He set out at the head of an army including an elephant. When they arrived in Makkah, Allah sent them birds in flocks, each carrying three stones; one in the beak and two in the legs. These stones were the size of a mustard seed and they could not reach anyone without killing them. Thus, the army perished along with its leaders by the command of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Allah mentioned this event in His Book as follows: « Did you not see how your Lord dealt with the people of the elephant? Did He not make their cunning completely vain? And sent upon them birds in flocks, throwing stones of clay at them? And He made them like chewed straw. (Qur’an, 105). See as-Sira an-Nabawiyya by Ibn Hisham, 1/44-58).

There was no wall around the Ka’aba until the need arose.In Mu’djam al-Bouldan (5/146) Yaqut al-Hamawi says: « Umar (pbuh) was the first to build a wall around the Ka’aba. There was no wall in the place at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and during the reign of Abu Bakr. Then people moved their houses closer to the Ka’aba so that it was smothered, and Omar said, « The Ka’aba is the house of Allah. Then Omar said, « The Ka’aba is the house of Allah, and a house needs a courtyard, and you have invaded it and not it. And then he bought the houses concerned and had them destroyed and integrated the space thus freed into the mosque. He destroyed the houses of those among the neighbors of the Ka’aba who refused to sell their houses and he deposited the price of them somewhere and they eventually came to collect it. He provided the mosque with a wall shorter than the height of an average man and this wall supported the lamps.

Later, Uthmane paid a very high price to buy more houses (to enlarge the mosque). It is said that he was the first to provide the mosque with galleries as part of its enlargement.

 

Ibn Zubayr strengthened the building, endowed it with columns, increased its doors and decorated it.

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan raised the walls of the mosque and brought columns (sawani) by sea from Egypt to Jeddah, and from there to Mecca the columns were transported on wheels. In addition, ‘Abd al-Malik ordered al-Hajjadj ibn Yusuf to dress the Ka’aba. When al-Walid ibn ‘Abd al-Malik took over, he further embellished the Ka’aba and spent a lot of money on the construction of its goutier and the consolidation of its ceiling.

Al-Mahdi ibn Mansur, in his turn, further improved the mosque and decorated it more and so on.

The mosque houses religious relics such as Abraham’s station, i.e. the stone on which he stood while building the Ka’aba, and the Zamzam well which is a water source that Allah made spring up for Hadjar and his son Islamel (pbuh) when the latter felt thirsty.

One should not forget the Black Stone and the Yemeni corner which are pearls (yaqoute) of paradise.

In this regard, at-Tirmidhi and Ahmad reported from Abd Allah ibn Amr that he said: « I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: « The corner and the station are pearls of paradise whose brightness Allah has removed; if He had not done so, they would have illuminated the space between the east and the west » (Sunnah at-Tirmidhi, 804).

Next to the Holy Mosque are the mountains of as-Safa and al-Marwa.

One of the special features of the mosque is that it is the only mosque on earth to which one travels on pilgrimage. In this regard, the Most High says: « As-Safâ and al-Marwa are truly among the sacred places of Allah. Therefore, whoever makes pilgrimage to the House or makes Umrah does not commit a sin by going back and forth between these two mounts. And whoever does a good deed of his own free will, then Allah is Grateful, All-Knowing. » (Qur’an,2:158).Another of its special features is that Allah has made it safe and makes the prayer performed there worth 1000 prayers elsewhere. In this regard, the Most High says: « (And remember) when We made the House a place of visitation and a haven for people – Adopt therefore for a place of prayer, that place where Abraham stood – And We entrusted to Abraham and Ishmael this: And We entrusted to Abraham and Ishmael this: « Purify My House for those who go around it, make pious retreat therein, bow down and prostrate themselves therein. » (Qur’an,2:125) and :  » …  » (Qur’an,3:97)

See Akhbaru Makka by al-Azraqui and Akhbaru Makka by al-Fakihi. It is Allah who helps us and guides us to the right path.

Source : islamqa.info