A Story of Holy Kaaba – Definition, History and Facts
The stone building situated in Great Mosque at Makkah is known as Kaaba and the Muslims all over the word point towards Kaabah during performing their prayers. Muslim also calls Holy Kaaba as the ‘House of Allah’. Being a Muslim we all pray five times a day and during our prayer we face towards Qibla i.e. the Holy Kaaba.
Allah SWT revealed the Qibla in the verses of the Holy Quran. Kaabah is one of the historical landmarks for Muslims and we all dream to visit Kaaba for the purpose of performing Hajj and Umrah.
It is situated in the holiest city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. All pilgrims gather in Masjid al-Haram around Kaaba with intention of performing Tawaaf.
Tawaaf is circumambulation around the Kaaba, during which they touch Hajar al-Aswad which is situated in the eastern corner of Kaaba. It’s a sacred place for all Muslims and Muslims visit Haram with the intention of performing Hajj or Umrah to seek the pleasure of almighty.
Historical background of Holy Kaaba:
Before the advent of Islam, Kaabah was built by the Prophet of Allah and his son. During pre-Islamic times Allah SWT commanded Prophet Ibrahim to construct the Holy Kaaba; hence Prophet Ibrahim constructed the rectangular structure of Kaabah with his son Prophet Ismail.
After the advent of Islam, Prophet Muhammad SAW cleansed the Holy Kaaba of all idols after conquering the blessed city of Makkah.
Before the death of Prophet Muhammad SAW, he performed Hajj and established it’s rites of pilgrimage.
Facts of Holy Kaaba:
During the Islamic era, Allah SWT commanded Prophet Muhammad SAW to change the Qibla direction from Bait-ul-Maqdus to the Holy Kaaba. This command was revealed by Allah SWT to Prophet Muhammad SAW during the time of prayer and our Prophet and his companions turned towards the Holy Kaaba.
After Prophets Era Kaabah was reconstructed and renovated several times. During the year 1982, the door of the Kaabah was changed and replaced by the solid gold door. The Holy Kaabah today is a cubical structure which is 15 meters long and 10 and a half meters on each side.
The cloth that covers Kaabah is called Kiswa, which was used to be sent from Egypt with the caravan of Hajj but nowadays it is designed in Saudi Arabia. The Masjid al-Haraam was also enlarged and renovated so that it can fit a greater number of pilgrims at a time.
The Kaabah nowadays is totally different from the Kaabah of Prophet’s time and is completely renovated and remodeled either due to damage or changing needs.