The Holy Kaabah, The House Of Heaven

Makkah, the holy city of Saudi Arabia, has its noteworthiness all over the world and considered as a sanctified place due to the presence of Holy Kaabah there. A small square building constructed from stones has been the center of attraction for the world since ages and is known as Baitullah, which means House of Allah. 

History of Holy Kaabah:

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).  Allah has created mankind, and defined a comprehensive code of life formulated as per the narrations and the verses of the Holy Quran and Sunnah of our Last Prophet (P.B.U.H). In Islam, Holy Kaabah holds an undeniable significance and its holiness is one notable feature among the entire Muslim Community. Allah, ordained the development of Holy Kaabah, as ALLAH wanted the believers of Islam to have one main center of worship to be followed in all their prayers , this is why whenever a Muslim prays, he directs himself towards the position of Holy Kaabah while praying and prostrating. Holy Kaabah was ordained to be built by ALLAH in a manner such that it resembles "House of Heaven". Holy Kaabah was very first built by Prophet Adam.  Qur’an says :“Allah has spoken the Truth, therefore follow the creed of Ibrahim, a man of pure faith and no idolater”.  It has been maintained in the Quran that Holy Kaabah has been constructed by Prophet Ibrahim. Hazrat Ismail (as) also was involved in assisting his father, Prophet Ibrahim in building the Holy Kaabah. Prophet Ibrahim had constructed the holy shrine with the sole motive of keeping it the centralized place of worship for Muslims all over the world, and prayed that this place be safe and secure in its entirety. The family of Prophet Ismael continued to be the custodian of the holy place for many years, until the time there evolved the name of Abd-e -Manaf . He assumed the responsibility of maintaining and safeguarding the holy shrine whilst his son Hashim later assumed the responsibilities and further expanded it to various different towns in Hejaz. It was due to these valiant efforts put in by Hashim that a prominent number of pilgrims started to travel to KSA, in order to perform the Hajj pilgrimage annually. The pilgrims were very well served and hospitable approach was maintained for them by Hashim's family. This sacred holy shrine of Holy Kaabah was built by Prophet Ibrahim with the sole intention of propagating the Islamic beliefs and values and spread the message of Allah, spread the actuality of oneness of Almighty Allah. The objective of building the Kaabah was to practice the righteous deeds as ordained by Almighty ALLAH that have also been mentioned in the Holy Quran. But soon after some time, people began disobeying the orders of ALLAH and soon started practicing the worship of idols within inside Kaaba. Prophet Ibrahim started preaching the oneness of the Almighty Allah and stressed over the fact that such idols are merely immaterial and that they are not the ones who ought to be worshipped or followed. ALLAH is merciful and omnipresent and HE is creator of the universe, no one else shares HIS supremacy. But soon after the demise of Prophet Ibrahim, idol worshipping became prominent again, people therefore flocked to the place to observe the worshipping of their hand made idols. Soon after around 4000 years, Prophet (P.B.U.H) had entered into Makkah, and alongside his cousin and son-in-law ‘Ali-Ibn-e-Abi Talib (as), demolished the idols maintained within inside the Kaabah. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) while destroying those idols had started reciting this very verse of Holy Quran “Truth hath come and falsehood hath vanished.” (17:81) . This event took place in January 630 AD after the Prophet (P.B.U.H) went victorious in the conquest of Makkah. In the beginning, Kaaba was built in a way that it comprised of just 4 walls without having a roof. Later on, doors were also built, which provided a passage to the Muslims to enter into the sacred Kaabah for the purpose of worship of ALLAH. The Holy Kaaba is around 60 feet in height, 60 feet from north to south and having 60 feet width from east to west. A 7 feet door is placed above the ground level that faces towards North-East. (Hajar al Aswad)- 'A Black Stone', had been fixed into the eastern corner, Maqaam-e-Ibrahim and Zamzam Well are located infront of the building. Safa and Merwa lies outside, whereas there is around 500 yards distance between these hills. At the North is el Ruken el Iraqi, at the south is al Rukne el Yamani, at the East is the Black stone (Rukn el Aswad), and at the west is al Rukne el Shami. These four walls are shielded by a piece of curtain known as 'Kiswa'. Quranic text written with the help of a gold embroidered band is placed about 2/3rd's of the way upwards. Hajar-e-Aswad ('The Black Stone') is fixed into the eastern corner which is around 5 feet above ground level. There also lies a semi-circular white marble wall, which enjoys the attraction of pilgrims as the pilgrims feel honored and overwhelmed to observe their prayers over there, considering the sanctity of this location. Maqam-e-Ibrahim is also situated nearby to the location. It is considered to be one place of significant holiness as it contains a precious stone bearing the human feet prints. It is believed that Prophet Ibrahim had stood on the stone whilst he was building the Holy Kaabah.  

Significance Of Holy Kaabah- In Light Of Quranic Verses:

It is said in the Holy Quran, “Turn then thy face towards the sacred mosque and wherever ye be turn your faces towards that part ” (2: 139-144) .  Prophet Ibrahim had laid the foundations of Holy Kaabah, it was ordained by Almighty ALLAH, that one House shall be build, which would propagate the oneness of ALLAH, would emphasize over the fact that there is no GOD except ALLAH, Muslims would come in large numbers from all over the world, to pay a visit to this Holy place and yet embrace the teachings of Islam and the oneness of ALLAH. Prophet (P.B.U.H) and the members of his household (Ahl-e-Bay't) were the custodians of this holy place . Hence, it can well be concluded that Islam, which is the religion of humanity, peace and tolerance, has its roots engrossed in the supremacy and oneness of Almighty ALLAH, it preaches the fact that all humans are equal , irrespective of their caste, creed , this the reason why, when muslims come to perform Hajj and other religious obligations, they stand firmly with all their muslim brothers in the sacred place of Kaabah, thus consolidating the idea of 'Equality of all Human Beings'.