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Kaaba

From Wikipedia
Kaaba
sacred place
Year dem found am6. century Edit
Native labelٱلْكَعْبَة, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة Edit
IPA transcriptional.ˈkaʕ.ba, al.ˈkaʕ.ba‿l.mu.ˈʃar.ra.fa Edit
Religion anaa worldviewIslam Edit
CountrySaudi Arabia Edit
Edey de administrative territorial entity insydMecca Edit
Ein locationAl-Masjid Al-Haram Edit
Coordinate location21°25′21″N 39°49′34″E Edit
Significant eventṭawāf, Hajj, Umrah Edit
Depicted by🕋 Edit
Stack Exchange taghttps://islam.stackexchange.com/tags/kaabah Edit
Unicode character🕋 Edit
Map

De Kaaba, dem sam times refer to am as al-Kaʽba al-Musharrafa, be a stone building for de center of Islam ein most important mosque den holiest site, de Masjid al-Haram insyd Mecca, Saudi Arabia.[1][2][3] Ebe considered by Muslims e be de Baytullah (Arabic: بَيْت ٱللَّٰه, lit. 'House of God') wey ebe de qibla (Arabic: قِبْلَة, direction of prayer) give Muslims around de world. Na dem build de current structure after na de original building be damaged by a fire during de siege of Mecca by de Umayyads insyd 683 CE.[4]

Insyd early Islam, na Muslims face insyd de general direction of Jerusalem as de qibla for dema prayers insyd before dem change de direction make dem face de Kaaba, believe by Muslims e be a result of a Quranic verse revelation to Muhammad.[5]

History

View of de Kaaba, 1718. Adriaan Reland: Verhandeling van de godsdienst der Mahometaanen

Origin

Etymology

De literal meaning of de word Ka'bah (Arabic: كعبة) be cube.[6] Insyd de Qur'an, from de era of de life of Muhammad, na dem mention de Kaaba by de names wey dey follow:

  • al-Bayt (Arabic: ٱلْبَيْت, lit. 'de house') insyd 2:125 by Allah[Quran 2:125][7]
  • Baytī (Arabic: بَيْتِي, lit. 'My House') insyd 22:26 by Allah[Quran 22:26][8]
  • Baytik al-Muḥarram (Arabic: بَيْتِكَ ٱلْمُحَرَّم, lit. 'Your Inviolable House') insyd 14:37 by Ibrahim[Quran 14:37][9]
  • al-Bayt al-Ḥarām (Arabic: ٱلْبَيْت ٱلْحَرَام, lit. 'The Sacred House') insyd 5:97 by Allah[Quran 5:97]
  • al-Bayt al-ʿAtīq (Arabic: ٱلْبَيْت ٱلْعَتِيق, lit. 'The Ancient House') insyd 22:29 by Allah[Quran 22:29]

According to historian Eduard Glaser, na de name "Kaaba" fi be related to de southern Arabian anaa Ethiopian word "mikrab", wey dey signify a temple.[10] Author Patricia Crone dey dispute dis etymology.[11]

Architecture den interior

De Kaaba be a cuboid-shaped structure dem make of stones. Ebe approximately 15 m (49 ft 3 in) high plus sides wey dey measure 12 m (39 ft 4 in) × 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) wide[12] (Hawting dey state 10 m (32 ft 10 in).[13] Insyd de Kaaba, dem make de floor of marble den limestone. De interior walls be clad plus tiled, white marble halfway to de roof, plus darker trimmings along de floor. De floor of de interior dey stand about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) above de ground area wer dem dey perform de tawaf.[12][13]

A technical drawing of de Kaaba wey dey show dimensions den elements
Rukn al-Yamani (De Yemeni Corner)

Each numbered item insyd de following list wey dey correspond to features dem note insyd de diagram image.

  1. De Ḥajar al-Aswad (Arabic: الحجر الأسود, romanized: al-Hajar al-Aswad, lit. 'The Black Stone'), dey locate for de Kaaba ein eastern corner. Ebe de location wer Muslims dey start dema circumambulation of de Kaaba, dem know am as de tawaf.
  2. De entrance be a door dem set 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) above de ground for de north-eastern wall of de Kaaba, dem bell de Bāb ar-Raḥmah (Arabic: باب الرحمة, romanized: Bāb ar-Raḥmah, lit. 'Door of Mercy'), wey sanso dey act as de façade.[3]
  3. De Mīzāb ar-Raḥmah, dem commonly shorten to Mīzāb anaa Meezab be a rain spout dem make of gold.
  4. Dis slant structure, wey dey cover three syds of de Kaaba, be known as de Shadherwaan (Arabic: شاذروان) wey na dem add am insyd 1627 along plus de Mīzāb ar-Raḥmah make e protect de foundation from rainwater.
  5. De Hatīm (dem sanso romanize am as hateem) wey dem sanso know am as de Hijr Ismail, be a low wall wey na ebe part of de original Kaaba.
  6. al-Multazam, de roughly 2 m (6+12 ft) space along de wall between de Black Stone den de entry door.
  7. De Station of Ibrahim (Maqam Ibrahim) be a glass den metal enclosure plus wat na dem say e be an imprint of Ibrahim ein feet.[14]
  8. De corner of de Black Stone. E dey face very slightly southeast from de center of de Kaaba. De four corners of de Kaaba roughly point toward de four cardinal directions of de compass.[3]
  9. De Rukn al-Yamani (Arabic: الركن اليمني, romanized: ar-Rukn al-Yamani, lit. 'De Yemeni Corner'), dem sanso know am as Rukn-e-Yamani anaa Rukn-e-Yemeni, be de corner of de Kaaba wey dey face slightly southwest from de center of de Kaaba.[3][15]
  10. De Rukn ush-Shami (Arabic: الركن الشامي, romanized: ar-Rukn ash-Shami, lit. 'De Levantine Corner'), dem sanso know am as Rukn-e-Shami, be de corner of de Kaaba wey dey face very slightly northwest from de center of de Kaaba.[3][15]
  11. De Rukn al-'Iraqi (Arabic: الركن العراقي, romanized: ar-Rukn al-'Iraqi, lit. 'De Iraqi Corner'), be de corner wey dey face slightly northeast from de center of de Kaaba.
  12. Kiswah, de embroidered covering. Kiswa be a black silk den gold curtain wich dem dey replace annually during de Hajj pilgrimage.[16][17]
  13. Marble stripe wey dey mark de beginning den end of each circumambulation.[18]

Note: Na dem observe de major (long) axis of de Kaaba make e align plus de rising of de star Canopus toward wich dem dey direct ein southern wall, while ein minor axis (ein east–west facades) roughly align plus de sunrise of summer solstice den de sunset of winter solstice.[19][20]

Significance insyd Islam

De Kaaba be de holiest site insyd Islam,[21] wey na dem often bell am by names such as de Bayt Allah (Arabic: بيت الله, romanized: Bayt Allah, lit. 'House of Allah').[22][23] den Bayt Allah al-Haram (Arabic: بيت الله الحرام, romanized: Bayt Allah il-Haram, lit. 'De Sacred House of Allah').

Tawaf

Pilgrims perform Tawaf around de Kaaba during Umrah (video)
De Kaaba den de Masjid Al-Haram during Hajj, 2008

De five types of ṭawāf be:

  • Ṭawāf al-Qudūm (arrival ṭawāf) be performed by those wey no dey reside insyd Mecca once dem reach de Holy City.
  • Ṭawāf aṭ-Ṭaḥīyah (greeting ṭawāf) be performed after dem enter al-Masjid al-Haram for any oda times wey ebe mustahab.
  • Ṭawāf al-'Umrah (Umrah ṭawāf) dey refer to de ṭawāf performed specifically for Umrah.
  • Ṭawāf al-Wadā' ("farewell ṭawāf") be performed before dem lef Mecca.
  • Ṭawāf az-Zīyārah (ṭawāf of visiting), Ṭawāf al-'Ifāḍah (ṭawāf of compensation) anaa Ṭawāf al-Ḥajj (Hajj ṭawāf) be performed after dem plete de Hajj.

References

  1. Butt, Riazat (15 August 2011). "Explosives detectors to be installed at gates of Mecca's Holy Mosque". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. Al-Azraqi (2003). Akhbar Mecca: History of Mecca. p. 262. ISBN 9773411273.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Wensinck & Jomier 1978, p. 317.
  4. Wensinck & Jomier 1978, p. 319.
  5. Mubarakpuri 1976.
  6. Hans Wehr, Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 1994.
  7. "Surah Al-Baqarah 2:122 - 2:126 - Towards Understanding the Quran". Tafheem. Islamic Foundation UK. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. "Surah Al-Haj 22:26-30 - Towards Understanding the Quran". Tafheem. Islamic Foundation UK. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  9. "Kaaba: Meaning, History and Significance".
  10. Wensinck & Jomier 1978, p. 318.
  11. Crone 2004.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Peterson, Andrew (1996). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 142.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Hawting 2003, p. 75.
  14. According to Muslim tradition: "God made the stone under Ibrahim's feet into something like clay so that his feet sunk into it. That was a miracle. It was transmitted on the authority of Abu Ja'far al-Baqir (may peace be upon him) that he said: Three stones were sent down from the Garden: the Station of Ibrahim, the rock of the children of Israel, and the Black Stone, which God entrusted Ibrahim with as a white stone. It was whiter than paper, but became black from the sins of the children of Adam." (The Hajj, F.E. Peters 1996)
  15. 15.0 15.1 Hawting 2003, p. 76.
  16. "'House of God' Kaaba gets new cloth". The Age Company Ltd. 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2006.
  17. "The Kiswa – (Kaaba Covering)". Al-Islaah Publications. Archived from the original on 22 July 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2006.
  18. Key to numbered parts translated from, accessed 2 December
  19. Clive L. N. Ruggles (2005). Ancient astronomy: an encyclopedia of cosmologies and myth (Illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-85109-477-6.
  20. Dick Teresi (2003). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science—from the Babylonians to the Maya (Reprint, illustrated ed.). Simon and Schuster. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7432-4379-7.
  21. Wright, Lyn; Kramer, John; Fusco, Angela. (2012), Dad's house, mom's house, National Film Board of Canada, OCLC 812009749
  22. The Basis for the Building Work of God p. 37, Witness Lee, 2003
  23. Al-Muwatta Of Iman Malik Ibn Ana, p. 186, Anas, 2013

Bibliography

  • Amstrong, Karen (1997). Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780345391681.
  • Armstrong, Karen (2000). Islam: A Short History. Random House Publishing. ISBN 0-8129-6618-X.
  • Grunebaum, G. E. von (1970). Classical Islam: A History 600 A.D. to 1258 A.D.. Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-202-30767-1.
  • Hawting, G. R. (2003). "Kaʿba". Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol. 3: J-O. pp. 75–80.
  • Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi The book of Idols, translated with introduction and notes by Nabih Amin Faris 1952
  • Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad (1955). Sirat Rasul Allah [The Life of Muhammad]. Translated by Guillaume, Alfred. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780196360331.
  • Mohamed, Mamdouh N. (1996). Hajj to Umrah: From A to Z. Amana Publications. ISBN 0-915957-54-X.
  • Mubarakpuri, Safiur Rahman (1976). Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum [The Sealed Nectar] (PDF) (in Arabic). Translated by Diab, Issam. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2018.
  • Peterson, Andrew (1997). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture London: Routledge.
  • [1915] The Book of History, a History of All Nations From the Earliest Times to the Present, Viscount Bryce (Introduction), The Grolier Society.