Kaaba is a very holy place in Islam. The word Kaaba means
cube. The building of Kaaba may not rival skyscrapers in height or in width,
but its impact on human beings and history is unmatched. Millions of Muslims
visit the Kaaba during the Hajj and Umrah every year. It is also called the
House of Allah according to Muslims.
Every Muslim of the world wants to visit the Kaaba during
the Umrah and Hajj at least once in a lifetime. Therefore, they choose the best
way to perform Umrah and Hajj. Hajj is not obligatory for every Muslim but it
is only obligatory for those Muslims who are able physically and financially.
Umrah is not obligatory for all Muslims and it can be
performed at any time of year. The best way for Umrah and Hajj is a travel
agency which arranges best Best Umrah Packages and Hajj Packages on the public
demand.
Other Names of the Kaaba:
In the Holy Quran, Kaaba is mentioned by two names which are
Bait ul Ateeq and Bait ul Haram.
Bait ul Ateeq:
Its meaning of the word is the earliest and ancient.
Bait ul Haram:
Its meaning of the word is the honorable house.
What is inside the building of Kaaba?
1. There are
3 pillars inside but someone claims that there are 2 pillars.
2. There is
a table inside the Kaaba which is used to put items like perfume.
3. There are
2 latern-type lamps which are hanged from the ceiling.
4. There are
no electric bulb or any lights inside.
5. There are
no windows inside.
6. There is
only one door.
7. Walls and
floor from inside are of marble.
8. Space can
accommodate about fifty people.
9. The upper
inside walls of Kaaba were covered with green cloth and cloth embroidered with
gold Quranic verses.
History of Kaaba:
Kaaba was a sacred building in pre-Islamic times. According
to Islamic traditions, Hazrat Ibrahim (RA) and his son Hazrat Ismail (RA) built
the building of Kaaba as Allah wanted. At that time, the shape of Kaaba was
rectangular but that building had no roof.
In the reign of Quraish tribe, Kaaba
was rebuilt with alternating courses of wood and masonry in 608 CE. In this
reign, the door of Kaaba was raised above ground level to protect the shrine
from invader and flood waters. In the time of Quraish, inner part of Kaaba was
filled by 360 idols.
After the migration of Muslim from Makkah to Mandina, the
direction of Qibla was changed by the order of Allah. First Qibla of Muslims
was Bait ul Maqdas which is placed in the Jerusalem but Allah changed Qibla and
second Qibla of Muslims is Kaaba. Every Muslim offers the five-time daily
prayers towards the direction of Kaaba from that time.
After the victory of Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon
Him) and his companions cleaned the Kaaba from the idols. Allah sent two holy
stone from the Paradise in which one is fitted in the wall of Kaaba at the
corner that is Hajre Aswad. Whereas the second stone was used during the building of Kaaba and it
is situated at the place of Maqame Ibrahim today.
The size of Kaaba:
The current height of the Kaaba is thirty-nine feet, six
inches and total size comes to 627 square feet.
The inside room of the Kaaba is 13X9m. The walls of Kaaba
are 1m wide. The floor inside is 2.2 m higher than the place where Pilgrims
perform Tawaf.
The roof and ceiling have 2 levels made out of wood. These
were rebuilt with teak which is capped with stainless steel.
The walls of Kaaba are all made of stone. The stones outside
are polished while the inside are unpolished.
The Kaaba has been modified with every passing time. The
area of around the Kaaba was expanded in the reign of Second Caliph Hazrat
Umrah (RA) - 634-44CE. The colonnades were built around the Kaaba in the reign
of Third Caliph Hazrat Usman (RA) - 644-56 CE.
During the civil war between the Ibn Zubayr and Caliph Abd
al-Malik, the Kaaba was set on fire in 638 CE. At that time the Black Stone
broke into 3 pieces and Ibn Zubayr resembled it with silver. He reconstructed
the Kaaba with the stone and wood.
In the reign of Umayyad Caliph al Walid, who ruled 705-15
CE, the mosque that encloses the Kaaba was decorated with mosaics. By the 7th
century, the building of Kaaba was covered with a kiswa, a black cloth. The
black cloth is replaced every year during the Hajj.
Sultan Qaitbay, who ruled 1468 – 96 CE, constructed a
religious school (Madrasa) against one side of the mosque. In 1631 CE, the
Kaaba and Al-Haram Mosque were entirely rebuilt after floods which had
demolished them in the past year.
The last modifications were carried out in the 1950s by the
Government of Saudi Arabia. Nowadays, the total area of the mosque is almost
forty acres. In 1982, the door of Kaaba was made of solid gold.
