Anthropology 100 H
The ‘Kaaba’, which in Arabic means “The Cube” is a cubic building at the centre of Islam’s most sacred mosque called Al-Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Armstrong, K. 2007). The Kaaba is the most important and religious site in Arabia (Armstrong, K. 2007). The Kaaba is said to have been first erected by Prophet Adam, the first man (Armstrong, K. 2007). Over the course of time it fell apart due to disrepair. The Kaaba was then rebuilt by the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (Armstrong, K. 2007). The Kaaba was found because Prophet Ismail was the bastard son of Abraham and due to Arab traditions had to be exiled out into the wilderness along with his mother Hagar (Armstrong, K. 2007). Due to this, the local tradition says that both Hagar and Ismail wandered off into the world just to end of settling in Mecca (Armstrong, K. 2007). When Abraham visited the both of them, he instructed Ismail to help him rebuild the Kaaba. Tradition holds that it was originally a simple unroofed rectangular structure (Armstrong, K. 2007).
The current Kaaba is made out of granite. At the moment, it is approximately 13.1 m (43 ft.), with sides measuring 11.03 m (36.2 ft.) by 12.86 m (42.2 ft.) (Petersen, A. 1996). Inside the Kaaba, the floor is made of marble and limestone. The interior walls, measuring 13 m (43 ft.) by 9 m (30 ft.), are clad with tiled, white marble halfway to the roof, with darker trimmings along the floor( Bloom 2009). The floor of the interior stands about 2.2 m (7.2 ft.) above the ground area where pilgrims circle the Kaaba (tawaf) is performed (Petersen, A. 1996).
Figure one provides a schematic of the Kaaba from an outward point of view. Labelled 1 is the black stone, which is located on the eastern corner of the Kaaba. The black stone is said to be a meteorite sent from the heavens by God himself (Armstrong, K. 2007). Pilgrims typically try to kiss or touch the black stone during tawaf because some believe that it absorbs the sin the people that touch it. Labelled 2 is the entrance, which is a 300kg door made of pure gold that is 2.13m (7 ft.) above the ground (Wensick, J. A. 1997). Labelled 3 and 4 are rainwater spout made of gold and a gutter added in 1627 to protect the Kaaba from water from rainfall. Labelled 5 is the Hatim, which is a low marble semi-circular wall on the northeast of the main Kaaba structure. The Hatim is deemed a part of the Kaaba, therefore, it is not crossed during the tawaf. Labelled 6 is the space between the black stone and the entrance. Labelled 7 is the station of Ibrahim, which holds a glass and metal enclosure that is said to be the imprint of Ibrahim’s feet. Ibrahim was able to imprint his foot on this stone because he mainly stood on that stone during the construction of the Kaaba. Labelled 8-11 are just labelled corners of the structure. Labelled 12 is the Kiawah, this is a very decorated and embroidered black silk curtain which is replaced annually during Hajj pilgrimage (Ewais, K. 2012). According to (Ewais, K. 2012), “The accessories are made of gold-plated silver wires. Modern sewing machines have been imported for the purpose. Probably they are unprecedented in the world. These machines are now found in the kiswa factory. The total annual cost of one kiswa is estimated at 20 to 22 million Saudi riyals.” Lastly, labelled 13 is the marble line that marks the beginning and end of each circling of the Kaaba.
Since the Kaaba was first reconstructed by Abraham and Ismail, it has been reconstructed and modified a number of times. The area around the Kaaba was first expanded by Umar, the second Caliph (successor of Muhammed) to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims that were coming to Mecca to perform Hajj during the years 634-44 CE (Bloom, 2009). The Caliph called Uthman who ruled between 644-56 CE, built the colonnades around the open plaza where the Kaaba stands and incorporated other important monuments into the sanctuary (Bloom, 2009). The Kaaba was also reconstructed in 683 CE during the civil war between the caliph Abd al-Malik and Ibn Zubayr because it was set on fire. The black stone was said to have broken into three pieces but was reassembled with silver. In addition, the Kaaba was rebuilt with wood and stone using the same dimensions Ibrahim used (Bloom, 2009). Another modification was implemented under Caliph Al-Walid, who ruled 705-715 CE. Al-Walid decorated the Al-Masjid al-Haram mosque with mosaics and added the Kiswa onto the Kaaba (Bloom, 2009). There were some other minor modifications between the 7th century and now. However the most recent modification was made in 1950’s when the Saudi Arabia government expanded the Al-Masjid al-Haram mosque to cover almost 40 acres (Bloom, 2009).
From the time of Abraham and Ismail the Kaaba became the home to the idol Gods of the Quraysh tribe (Esposito,1999). During this time, Prophet Muhammed, the last prophet was born. The Quraysh tribe were the guardians and stewards of the cult of Hubal centred on the Kaaba (Esposito,1999). The Quraysh were a rich tribe, they were well versed in trade and commercial activity (Esposito,1999). During Prophet Muhammed’s youth he was a well-respected member of this tribe. He was skilled in trade and commerce. In addition, he was married to Khadija who was a very successful merchant (Esposito,1999). The Prophet was said to be a very inward and contemplative individual who enjoyed meditation (Esposito,1999). In the year 610 CE, he was said to receive his first revelation from Allah (Esposito,1999). These relations were all collected in the form of the Quran. These revelations included but aren’t limited to the omnipotence of God, the five pillars of the Islam (the code by which Muslims must live) , the requiring of five daily prayers (Salat) and the day of Judgement and stories of past prophet (Esposito,1999).
Upon the revelations from God, Muhammed sought to preach the words of the Quran to the people of the Quraysh and other Arabians in the year 613CE till the day he died in 632CE (Esposito,1999). The message was conveyed to the Arabians in wordings that were familiar to them. Muhammed emphasised the oneness of God, as well as the other revelations to the Arabians. To the Quraysh, his message came as a blunt repudiation of everything they stood for (Esposito,1999). His message opposed everything that they stood for from the polytheism to their demands for humility, modesty and pious dedication to God (Esposito,1999). It was unsafe for the prophet to stay in Mecca but due to his uncle Abi Talib being the head of a main clan he was protected. Sadly, due to his uncle’s death in 619CE, the Prophet had to run away to a neighbouring town called Medina (Esposito,1999). There he gained a massive amount of followers and political support. Muhammed then led wars against the Quraysh and eventually managed to get a truce to allow Muslims to perform pilgrimage at the Kaaba. This truce made Muhammed and Medina so powerful that they were able to conquer Mecca in 630 CE without any bloodshed; thereby, reclaiming the Islamic capital and the Kaaba. (Esposito,1999). In this way, the Kaaba serves as a reminder of important battles and political shift in power in Arabia during the 600th century. In addition, it evokes the struggles that Muslims faced before the conquered Mecca.
The triumph of Mecca was the most significant moment in Islam history. It has been named repeatedly over the course of the Quran. When the Kaaba was conquered, Muhammed removed the idols from the structure and made a mark of the oneness of God (Esposito,1999). As a result, the Prophet changed the centre focus of all Muslim prayers from Jerusalem to the Kaaba. This signifies the importance of the Kaaba to the entire Muslim community because it serves as a focal point for all Muslims around the world and helps unite them in their five daily prayers (Armstrong, K. 2007).
Another importance of the Kaaba is that aside from it being the focal point of prayer, it is the the place where pilgrimage is done. Hajj (pilgrimage) is one of the five pillars of Islam and each Muslim must perform it at least once in a lifetime. The Hajj is compared to the life of the prophet Muhammed but features many things before his time. Therefore, it is an integral part of the religion seeing as about 2 million Muslims perform it each year (Hanlon, 2000). Muslims perform a series of activities during a set time to complete the Hajj. Activities such as: shaving their heads, performing a ritual animal sacrifice, circumambulations around the Kaaba in an anti-clockwise direction (tawaf), running back between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, the symbolic stoning of the devil, the drinking of water from the Zamzam well, etc. are performed (Peters, 1994). The tawaf ritual represents the historical incident when Hagar was exiled into the wilderness and had to run around in circles searching for water for the infant Ismail (Peters, 1994). Tawaf is performed during both Hajj and the lesser Hajj called Umrah. It is so significant that a Hajj cannot be completed without performing this ritual. In figure 2, Muslims can be seen performing the tawaf. Therefore, another pillar of Islam cannot be completed without the Kaaba, thus highlighting its importance even more.
The Kaaba is important to me because as a Muslim this is the holiest place on the planet to me. As shown in figure 3, I am clothed in the customary pilgrimage attire in Mecca. In 2013 I went to perform Umrah at the Kaaba and I hope to visit again in hopes of completing my own Hajj. It is also important to me because I as well as other Muslims pray towards the Kaaba five times every day. In this way, the Kaaba serves as a site that connects me to millions of other people on a daily basis. Through prayer towards the Kaaba with my friends and family we form a deeper bond with one another.
Works Cited
Armstrong, K. (2007). Islam: A short history.
Bloom, J. M., & Blair, S. S. (Eds.). (2009). The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture. Oxford University Press Incorporated
Esposito, J. L. (1999). The Oxford History of Islam.
Ewais, K. (2012, March 21). The covering cloth of the Kaaba: an all-time grandeur.
Hanlon, V. (2000, December 12). Days of the Hajj. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 163(12), 1598-1599.
Peters, F. E. (1994). The Hajj: The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and the holy places
Petersen, A. (1996). Dictionary of Islamic architecture. Psychology Press
Wensick, J. A. (1997). Encyclopaedia of Islam , IV , 317.