THE KA'BAH:
ITS SIZE AND HISTORY
Courtesy: The Muslim Observer, Vol II, Issue Eleven, March 17-23, 2000.
The small, cubed building known as the Kaba [Ka'bah] may not rival
skyscrapers in height or mansions in width, but its impact on history
and human beings is unmatched. The Kaba is the building towards which
Muslims face five times a day, everyday, in prayer. This has been the case since
the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) over 1400
years ago.
The Size of the Kaba
The current height of the Kaba is 39 feet, 6 inches and total size comes
to 627 square feet. The inside room of the Kaba is 13 x 9 meters. The
Kaba's walls are one meter wide. The floor inside is 2.2 meters higher than the
place where people perform Tawaf. The ceiling and roof are two levels
made out of wood. They were reconstructed with teak which is capped with
stainless steel. The walls are all made of stone. The stones inside are
unpolished, while the ones outside are polished.
This small building has been constructed and reconstructed by Prophets
Adam, Ibrahim [Abraham], Ismail [Ishmael] and Muhammad (peace be upon
them all). [Prophets of Allah]. No other building has had this honor.
Yet, not very much is [commonly] known about the details of this small but
significant building. Did you know the Kaba was reconstructed as
recently as close to four years ago? Did you know that the Kaba has been
subjected to danger by natural disasters like flooding, as well as human attacks?
If you didn't keep reading, you'll find some rarely heard of information
discussed below and discover facts about the Kaba many are unaware of.
The Other Names of the Kaba
Literally, Kaba in Arabic means a high place with respect and prestige.
The word Kaba may also be a derivative of a word meaning cube. Some of
these other names include: Bait ul Ateeq which means, according to one
meaning, the earliest and ancient. According to the second meaning, it means
independent and liberating. Both meanings could be taken.
The History of the Kaba
Scholars and historians say that the Kaba has been reconstructed between
five to 12 times. The very first construction of the Kaba was done by
Prophet Adam. Allah [swt, glory be to Him] says in the Quran that this
was the first house that was built for humanity to worship Allah. After
this, Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail rebuilt the Kaba. The measurements of the
Kaba's Ibrahimic foundation are as follows:
- the eastern wall was 48 feet and 6 inches
- the Hateem side wall was 33 feet
- the side between the black stone and the Yemeni corner was 30 feet
- the Western side was 46.5 feet
Following this, there were several constructions before Prophet
Muhammad's time.
Prophet Muhammad participated in one of its reconstructions before he
became a Prophet. After a flash flood, the Kaba was damaged and its
walls cracked. It needed rebuilding. This responsibility was divided among the
Quraish's four tribes. Prophet Muhammad helped with this reconstruction.
Once the walls were erected, it was time to place the Black Stone, (the
Hajar ul Aswad) on the eastern wall of the Kaba.
Arguments erupted about who would have the honor of putting the Black
Stone in its place. A fight was about to break out over the issue, when
Abu Umayyah, Makkah's oldest man, proposed that the first man to enter the
gate of the mosque the following morning would decide the matter. That
man was the Prophet. The Makkans were ecstatic. "This is the trustworthy one
(Al-Ameen)," they shouted in a chorus. "This is Muhammad". He came to
them and they asked him to decide on the matter. He agreed.
Prophet Muhammad proposed a solution that all agreed to putting the
Black Stone on a cloak, the elders of each of the clans held on to one edge of
the cloak and carried the stone to its place. The Prophet then picked up
the stone and placed it on the wall of the Kaba.
Since the tribe of Quraish did not have sufficient funds, this
reconstruction did not include the entire foundation of the Kaba as
built by Prophet Ibrahim. This is the first time the Kaba acquired the cubical
shape it has now unlike the rectangle shape which it had earlier. The
portion of the Kaba left out is called Hateem now.
Construction After the Prophet's Time
Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr
The Syrian army destroyed [damaged] the Kaba in Muharram 64 (Hijri date,
683 C.E.) and before the next Hajj Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, may Allah be
pleased with him, reconstructed the Kaba from the ground up.
Ibn az-Zubayr wanted to make the Kaba how the Prophet Muhammad wanted
it, on the foundation of the Prophet Ibrahim. Ibn az-Zubayr said, "I heard
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) say, 'The Prophet said: "If your
people had not quite recently abandoned the Ignorance (Unbelief), and if
I had sufficient provisions to rebuild it [the Kaba], I would have added
five cubits to it from the Hijr. Also, I would make two doors: one for
people to enter therein and the other to exit." (Bukhari). Ibn az-Zuhayr said,
"Today, I can afford to do it and I do not fear the people."
Ibn az-Zuhayr built the Kaba on Prophet Ibrahim's foundation. He put the
roof on three pillars with the wood of Aoud (a perfumed wood with aroma
which is traditionally burned to get a good smell out of it in Arabia).
In his construction he put two doors, one facing the east the other
facing the west, as the Prophet wanted but did not do in his lifetime. He
rebuilt the Kaba on the Prophet Ibrahim's foundation, which meant that the
Hateem area was included. The Hateem is the area adjacent to the Kaba enclosed
by a low semi-circular wall. Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr also made the following
additions and modifications:
- put a small window close to the roof of the Kaba to allow for light.
- moved the door of the Kaba to ground level and added a second door to
the Kaba.
- added nine cubits to the height of the Kaba, making it twenty cubits
high.
- its walls were two cubits wide.
- reduced the pillars inside the House to three instead of six as were
earlier built by Quraish.
For reconstruction, ibn az-Zubayr put up four pillars around Kaba and
hung cloth over them until the building was completed. People began to
do Tawaf around these pillars at all times, so Tawaf of the Kaba was never
abandoned, even during reconstruction.
During Abdul Malik bin Marwan's time
In 74 Hijri (or 693 according to the Gregorian calendar), Al-Hajjaj bin
Yusuf al-Thaqafi, the known tyrant of that time, with the approval of
Umayyad Khalifa Abdul Malik bin Marwan, demolished what Ibn az-Zubayr
had added to it from the older foundation of Prophet Ibrahim, restored its
old structure as the Quraish had had it.
Some of the changes he made were the following:
- he rebuilt it in the smaller shape which is found today
- took out the Hateem
- walled up the western door (whose signs are still visible today) and
left the rest as It was
- pulled down the wall in the Hateem area.
- removed the wooden ladder Ibn az-Zubayr had put inside the Kaba.
- reduced the door's height by five cubits.
When Abdul Malik bin Marwan came for Umra and heard the Hadith that it
was the wish of the Prophet for the Kaba to be constructed the way Abdullah ibn
az-Zubayr had built it, he regretted his actions.
Imam Malik's advice to the Khalifa Harun al Rasheed
Abbasi Khalifa Harun al Rasheed wanted to rebuild the Kaba the way the
Prophet Muhammad wanted and the way Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr built it. But
when he consulted Imam Malik, the Imam asked the Khalifa to change his
mind because constant demolition and rebuilding is not respectful and
would become a toy in the hands of kings. Each one would want to demolish and
rebuild the Kaba. Based on this advice, Harun al Rasheed did not
reconstruct the Kaba. The structure remained in the same construction
for 966 years, with minor repairs here and there.
Reconstruction during Sultan Murad Khan's time
In the year 1039 Hijri, because of heavy rain, flood and hail, two of
the Kaba's walls fell down. The flood during which this occurred took place
on the 19th of Shaban 1039 Hijri [April 2, 1630] which continued
constantly,
so the water in the Kaba became almost close to half of its walls, about
10feet from the ground level. On Thursday the 20th of Shaban 1039
Hijri, the eastern and western walls fell down. When flood receded on Friday
the 21stof Shaban, the cleanup started. Again, a curtain, the way Abdullah
ibn az-Zubayr established on 4 pillars, was put up, and the reconstruction
started on the 26th of Ramadan [May 9, 1630]. The rest of the walls
except for the one near the Black Stone, were demolished.
By the 2nd of Zul-Hijjah 1040 [July 2, 1631] the construction was taking
place under the guidance of Sultan Murad Khan, the Ottoman Khalifa. From
the point of the Black Stone and below, the current construction is the
same as that done by Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr. The construction which was
done under the auspices of Murad Khan was exactly the one done at the
timeof Abdul Malik ibn Marwan which is the way the Quraysh had built it
beforeProphethood.
On Rajab 28 1377 [Feb. 17, 1958], One historian counted the total stones
of the Kaba and they were 1,614. These stones are of different shapes.
But the stones which are inside the outer wall which is visible are not
counted in there.
Reconstruction of the Kaba in 1996
A major reconstruction of the Kaba took place between May 1996 and
October 1996. This was after a period of about 400 years (since Sultan
Murad Khan's time). During this reconstruction the only original thing left
from the Kaba are the stones. All other material has been replaced including the
ceiling and the roof and its wood.
What is inside the Kaba?
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi is the president of the Islamic Society of North
America (ISNA). He had the opportunity to go inside the Kaba in October
1998. In an interview with Sound Vision, he described the following
features:
- there are two pillars inside (others report 3 pillars)
- there is a table on the side to put items like perfume
- there are two lantern-type lamps hanging from the ceiling
- the space can accommodate about 50 people
- there are no electric lights inside
- the walls and the floors are of the marble
- there are no windows inside
- there is only one door
- the upper inside walls of the Kaba were covered with some kind of
curtain with the Kalima written on it.
Allah: Allah is the proper name in Arabic for The One and Only God,
The Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It is used by the Arab
Christians and Jews for the God (Eloh-im in Hebrew; 'Allaha' in Aramaic, the mother
tongue of Jesus, pbuh). The word Allah does not have a plural or gender.
Allah does not have any associate or partner, and He does not beget nor
was He begotten. SWT is an abbreviation of Arabic words that mean 'Glory
Be To Him.' or pbuh: Peace Be Upon Him. This expression is used for all Prophets of ALLAH.
No comments:
Post a Comment