What is Kaaba In the Islam?

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.