Al-Haram Mosque (Arabic: ٱلْـمَـسْـجِـد الْـحَـرَام, translit. al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, "the Forbidden Mosque"[5] or "the Sacred Mosque"[6]:471), also called the Great Mosque of Mecca or Grand Mosque of Makkah,[7] is the largest mosque in the World, and surrounds the Islamic Qiblah (Arabic: قِـبْـلَـة, Direction of Prayer), that is the Kaaba in the Hejazi[8] city of Mecca (Arabic: مَـكَّـة, Makkah), Saudi Arabia. Muslims face the Kaaba while performing the Ṣalāh (Arabic: صَـلَاة, Islamic act of worship). One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Ḥajj (Arabic: حَـجّ, 'Pilgrimage'), one of the largest annual gatherings of people in the world, at least once in their lifetime if able to do so, including Ṭawāf (Arabic: طَـوَاف, Circumambulation) of the Kaaba. It is also the main phase for the ‘Umrah (Arabic: عُـمْـرَة), which is the lesser pilgrimage that can be undertaken any time of the year. The Grand Mosque includes other important significant sites, including the Black Stone, Well of Zamzam, Station of Abraham, and Safa and Marwa. It is always open, regardless of date or time. It has gone under major renovations by various caliphs, sultans and kings, and it is now under the control of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.[9] It is in front of the tallest clock tower and fourth tallest structure in the world, the Abraj Al Bait,[10] the construction of which has been surrounded by controversy concerning the destruction of early Islamic heritage sites by the Saudi government.[11]
The Kaaba is a large cube-shaped building inside the mosque known as al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The mosque has hundreds of windows around it. The mosque was built around the original Kaaba. Muslims believe it is a reflection of a heavenly house primarily built by Adam. It is made of standard blocks, with black and gold cloth around it.
The Kaaba is the holiest place in Islam.[1] Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage (hajj) once in a lifetime to the Kaaba.[2] As it is the most holy place in Islam all Muslims pray towards this when they perform the five fardh (necessary acts mentioned in the Quran) Salaah or prayer. At the end of Hajj season, there is a holiday called Eid al-Adha (English: Festival of Sacrifice). Muslims who can afford to do so or who have made the Hajj must buy an animal, usually a goat, to sacrifice according to Islamic laws and cook as food or give away to the poor, if they have the money for it. Muslims believe that Abraham, one of Allah's earliest messengers, was told by Allah on the day of Eid al-Adha to sacrifice his son in Jerusalem.[2] But the angel Gabriel congratulated Abraham's obedience to Allah and gave him a lamb instead.[2]