There is no
place on Earth as central or as Holy to as Many people as Meacca. By any
objective standard, this valley in the Hijaz region of Arabia is the most
celebrated place on Earth. Millions of homes are adorned with pictures of kaaba
and over a billion face it five times a day.
Thousands
circle the sacred Kabaa at the centre of the Haram sharif sanctuary 24 hours a
day. The kabaa is also epicenter of Mecca. The kabaa is the heart of the most
well-known real estate in the history of mankind; kabaa is shrouded in black
and its fair share of mystery.
There are
given below few things which most people may not know about the Kabaa:
1)kabaa has been reconstructed several times:
The Kaaba
that people see today is not exactly the same Kabaa that was constructed by
Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and Prophet Ismail (AS) from time to time, Kabaa has
needed rebuilding after man -made and natural disasters.
The major
reconstruction that took place during the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace
Be Upon Him) before he became a Prophet (PBUH). This is the occasion when the
Prophet (PBUH) averted major bloodshed by his quick thinking on how to place
the Black Stone using a cloth that every tribe could lift up. Then there has
been major reconstruction every few centuries.
The last
reconstruction took place in 1996 and was extremely thorough, leading to
changeing many of the stones and a new
roof.
2) it Used to be Multicolored:
People are so used the Kabaa being covered in
the trademark black Kiswah with gold banding that people can’t imagine it being
any other color. However, this tradition seems to have started at the time of
the Abbasids (whose household color was black) and before this the Kaaba was
covered in multiple colors including red, green and white.
3) it used to have two doors and a window
The
original Kabaa used to have a door for entrance and another door for exit. For
a considerable period of time it has a window situated to one side. The current
Kaaba only has one door and no window.
4) The Keys are in the hands of one family:
At the time
of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), On the each aspect to do with the rites of Hajj
was in the Hands of different sub-groups of the Quraish Mecca. On the conquest
of Mecca, the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) was given the keys to the Kaaba and
instead of keeping it his own possession; he returned them back to the Osman
ibn Talha (RA) of the Bani Shiba family.
Whenever
Sultan or King, the powerful men in the world have all had to bow to the words
of the Prophet (PBUH) and ask permission from this small Mecca family before
they can enter the Kabaa.
5) it used to be open everyone:
The Kabaa was
opened twice a week for anyone to enter into Kaaba and pray in it. However, due
to the rapid expansionIn the number of
pilgrims, the Kabaa is now opened only twice a year for dignitaries and
exclusive guest only.
6) You used
to be able to swim around kabaa:
It situated at the
bottom of a valley is that when it rains valleys tend to flood. That was not an
uncommon occurrence in Mecca and the cause of a lot of trouble before the days
of flood control systems and sewage. For
rainy days on end the Kabaa would be half submerged in water. Muslims did not
stop from the performing the Tawaf. Muslim just started swimming around the
Kabaa.
7) The
inside contains plaques commemorating the rulers who renovated it
The interior of the Kabaa is lined with marble
and a green cloth covering and the upper walls. plaques are Fixed into the
walls on each commemorating the rebuilding of the Kabaa by the ruler of the day.
8) The Black Stone is Broken
Ever wondered how the Black
Stone(Hajr-e-Aswad) came to be in the silver casting that surrounds it? Some
say Black Stone was broken by a Stone fired by the Umayyad army laying siege to
Mecca whilst it was under the control of Abudllah ibn Zubair (RA). However,
most agree that it was most damaged in the middle ages by an extreme heretical
Ismaili group from Bahrain called the Qarmatians who had declared that the
pilgrimage was an act of superstition. They made their mind to make their point
by killing tens of thousands of Hujjaj and dumping their bodies in the well of
ZamZam.As if this act of
treachery wan not enough, these devils took the Hajr-e-Aswad to the East of
Arabia and then Kufa in Iraq where they held it ransom until they were forced
to return it by the Caliph of Abassid . On that time they returned it, it was
in pieces and the only way to keep them together was by encasing them in a
silver casing.9) Its not supposed to be a cube shape
Yes, ladies and gentleman the most famous cube in the world actually started out shaped as a rectangle. TheKabaa was never meant to be a cube. The original dimensions of the The House included the semi-circular area known as the Hijr Ismail.Before the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) received first revelation, the kabaa was rebuild, then the Quraish agreed to only use income from pure sources to rebuild the Holy Kaaba. Its mean that no money from gambling looting, interest etc. In the ultimate sign of how deeply mired in wrong doing the Jahili Quraish in past, there was not enough money in this very wealthy trading city to rebuild the kaaba to its original shape and size.
The history of the Kabaa is not just an interesting story from our past. The Kabaa is also a real and present symbol that connects all Muslims together wherever they may be. It connects us to out glorious and not-so- glorious past so that we may derive lessons and feel that we are a part of an eternal mission.
The history of the Kabaa is not just an interesting story from our past. The Kabaa is also a real and present symbol that connects all Muslims together wherever they may be. It connects us to out glorious and not-so- glorious past so that we may derive lessons and feel that we are a part of an eternal mission.
10) There are two Kabaas:
Directly above the Kabaa in heaven is an exact replica. This Kabaa was mentioned in Quran and by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
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