Kaaba, Kaba Ghar, Kaaba Sharif is an Arabic word. It is known as al-Kaʿbatu l-Mušarrafah (الكعبة المشرًّفة), al-Baytu l-ʿAtīq (البيت العتيق “The Ancient House”), or al-Baytu l-Ḥarām (البيت الحرام “The Sacred House”), a large cubical-shaped structure. The Kaaba is located at the center of the Masjid al-Haram in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In fact, the mosque was built surrounding the Kaaba.
According to followers of Islam, the Kaaba is considered the most sacred site. It is the Qibla for Muslims, meaning the direction they face while performing prayers or Salah. From any place on Earth, Muslims pray facing the direction of the Kaaba. During Hajj and Umrah, Muslims perform Tawaf, or circumambulation, around the Kaaba. Particularly during the last ten days of Ramadan and the time of Hajj, the largest gatherings of people are observed.
The Naming of Ka’bah
Allah says:
جَعَلَ اللهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيمًا لِلنَّاسِ
Translation: “Allah has made the Ka’bah, the Sacred House, a means of stability for people.” (Al-Ma’idah-97)
The sacred Baytullah is situated within the mosque. Based on what Abu Nujaih narrated through Al-Azraqi, the Ka’bah was named because it was elevated like the ankle bone or joint, higher than the surrounding area. For this reason, it is also called “Murabbah,” meaning quadrangular. This was stated by Ikrimah and Mujahid. The Arabs refer to a cloth folded into four corners as “Mu’aqqibat.” According to another opinion, the Ka’bah was named for being elevated and prominent. The Ka’bah is also called Baytul Atiq because Allah freed it from the control of disbelieving rulers. Abdullah ibn Zubair narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
إِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ الْبَيْتُ الْعَتِيقَ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَظْهَرُ عَلَيْهِ جَبَارٌ
Translation: “The Ka’bah was named Baytul Atiq because no tyrant has ever prevailed over it.”
The Construction of the Ka’bah
The Ka’bah has been constructed multiple times; it is widely believed to have been built five times:
- Built by the angels.
- Built by Adam (peace be upon him).
- Built by Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
- Built during the pre-Islamic era by the Quraysh, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) also participated at the age of 25.
- Built by Ibn Zubair.
The Construction of the Ka’bah by Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them)
When Ismail (peace be upon him) was born to Hajar, Sara (peace be upon her) felt discomfort and requested Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to take Hajar and her son away. Allah commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to take them to the sacred land of Makkah. He took them and left them at the location of present-day Makkah.
Ibrahim (peace be upon him) would visit Hajar and Ismail to check on their condition. On one such visit, he found Ismail (peace be upon him) near the well of Zamzam, preparing his arrows. Upon seeing his father, he rushed to him and embraced him warmly. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) then told him, “O Ismail, Allah has given me a command.” Ismail replied, “Fulfill the command of your Lord.” Ibrahim (peace be upon him) asked, “Will you help me?” Ismail replied, “Yes, I will help.” Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said, “Allah has commanded me to build a house,” pointing to an elevated spot.
They began constructing the House of Allah. Ismail (peace be upon him) brought stones while Ibrahim (peace be upon him) laid them. When the walls became high, Ibrahim brought a stone (maqam) and stood on it to continue building. Ismail (peace be upon him) handed him the stones as they built the house while circumambulating it and reciting the following supplication:
رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Translation: “Our Lord, accept this from us. Indeed, you are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” (Surah Al-Baqarah: 127)
The Construction of the Ka’bah by the Quraysh
Shortly before the Prophet (peace be upon him) received prophethood, Baytullah was constructed with stones placed one on top of the other without cement. Its height was that of an average man. Some people plotted to steal the wealth stored inside a well within the Ka’bah, leading the Quraysh to decide to raise its walls and construct a roof. Around this time, a Roman merchant’s ship was wrecked near Jeddah. The Quraysh collected its wood to use in the roof construction.
When it came time to demolish the old structure, people hesitated out of fear. Al-Walid ibn Al-Mughirah started the demolition, and when no harm came to him, others joined in dismantling the old building.
The Reconstruction of the Kaaba by Abdullah bin Zubair
When Abdullah bin Zubair refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid bin Muawiya, he sought refuge in the Haram of Mecca and gathered his companions to criticize Yazid and oppose the Umayyad government.
When this news reached Yazid, he decided to send an army to capture Abdullah bin Zubair.
As he was preparing to dispatch the army, Yazid learned that the residents of Medina had expelled his governor and all Umayyad individuals from Medina, allowing only the descendants of Uthman bin Affan to remain. Subsequently, Yazid sent an army against them. When Yazid’s army emerged victorious and entered Medina, they were ordered by Yazid to proceed to Mecca under the leadership of Al-Husayn bin Numayr.
After several days of fighting with Ibn Zubair in Mecca, Ibn Zubair and his companions sought shelter around the Haram Mosque.
There were many tents around the Kaaba at that time. When a fire broke out in one tent, it quickly spread to others because of the strong winds that day. The Kaaba, made of wood and stone and covered with cloth, caught fire as embers landed on its covering, causing the structure to burn severely. This incident occurred on a Saturday in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal in the year 64 AH.
As a result, the walls of the Kaaba weakened to the point that stones began to fall. Even pigeons perching on it could cause stones to dislodge. Witnessing this, both the Meccans and the Syrian forces (who had come to fight) were alarmed. Meanwhile, Al-Husayn bin Numayr laid siege to Ibn Zubair and his companions.
Ibn Zubair then sent some elders of Mecca to Al-Husayn bin Numayr, who said to him, “Yazid bin Muawiya, whom Ibn Zubair refused to pledge allegiance to, has died.” (This happened only 27 days after the Kaaba caught fire.) “So what are you fighting for now? Return to Syria and see what decisions your new leader, Mu’awiya bin Yazid, makes and whether people accept his leadership.” The elders continued to emphasize this, convincing the army to return to Syria.
On the 5th of Rabi’ al-Akhar, 64 AH, Al-Husayn bin Numayr’s forces left Mecca. Ibn Zubair then called upon the elders of Mecca to discuss the reconstruction of the Kaaba. Few agreed with his proposal, while most opposed it. Among the opponents was Abdullah bin Abbas, who firmly disagreed, saying, “Keep the Kaaba in the state in which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) left it. I fear that the ruler after you will rebuild it again. This would start a trend of demolishing and rebuilding, leading to its dishonor. Therefore, repair it without demolishing it.”
Ibn Zubair replied, “If you dislike patching up your own houses, how can you accept patching up the House of Allah? I see the Kaaba’s stones falling from top to bottom. Even pigeons dislodge its stones by perching on it!”
Ibn Zubair waited several days, consulting others, before deciding to demolish and reconstruct the Kaaba on the foundations of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), as was his wish. This intention was based on a hadith narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), recorded in both Bukhari and Muslim.
She stated, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “O Aisha, don’t you know that when your people (the Quraysh) built the Kaaba, they did not construct it on the foundations of Ibrahim (peace be upon him)?”
Aisha asked, “O Messenger of Allah, why don’t you restore it to Ibrahim’s (peace be upon him) foundations?”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Were it not for the fact that your people have only recently left disbelief (and may apostatize), I would have done so.”
Ibn Umar said: “I believe that the two corners towards the Hijr were not touched by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) because the Kaaba was not built on the full extent of Ibrahim’s (peace be upon him) foundation.”
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) once asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), “Why is the door of the Kaaba raised so high?”
He replied, “This was the action of your people (the Quraysh). They wanted to admit whomever they wished and bar whomever they wished.”
In another narration, he said, “If your people were not new Muslims, I would have demolished the Kaaba and made two doors for it: one for entering and one for exiting.”
Ibn Zubair implemented these changes. He demolished the Kaaba and rebuilt it on the foundations of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), including the Hijr area, and added two doors: one on the east and one on the west.
When the reconstruction was complete, Ibn Zubair anointed the Kaaba inside and out with perfume, adorned it with a new cover made of Ketabi cloth, and said, “Whoever wishes to follow me should go to Taneem, don the Ihram, and perform Umrah in gratitude to Allah for His blessings. Those who can afford it should sacrifice a camel, while those who cannot should sacrifice a goat.”
On that day, Ibn Zubair sacrificed 100 camels. After completing the Tawaf, he touched all four corners of the Kaaba, including the northwestern corner, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not touched because the Kaaba had not been fully built on its original foundation at that time.
Later, when Ibn Zubair was killed, Al-Hajjaj entered Mecca. He wrote to Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan about Ibn Zubair’s reconstruction. Abdul Malik ordered the western door to be sealed and the part of the Kaaba that extended into the Hijr area to be demolished. Al-Hajjaj removed the extra six and a half cubits (approximately ten feet) and restored the Kaaba to its previous state.
When Abdul Malik learned of Aisha’s (may Allah be pleased with her) hadith, he regretted his decision but left the Kaaba as it was.
During the caliphate of Al-Walid bin Abdul Malik, he sent 36,000 dinars to Mecca’s governor, Khalid al-Qasri, who adorned the Kaaba’s doors, frames, and interior pillars with gold leaf. Hence, Al-Walid bin Abdul Malik was the first to gild the Kaaba with gold in Islamic history.
Kaaba’s Custodianship
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) addressed the Quraysh, saying, “Before you, the custodianship of the Kaaba belonged to Banu Tasm, who failed to fulfill its rights and dishonored it, so Allah destroyed them. Then Banu Jurhum took over but also failed to uphold its rights, and Allah destroyed them. Therefore, honor it and uphold its sanctity.”
Historians narrate that when Banu Jurhum violated the Kaaba’s sanctity, Allah removed them, and Banu Khuza’ah took over its custodianship. After them, Qusay bin Kilab assumed responsibility and passed it to his son Abd al-Dar, along with the governance of Mecca and the task of covering the Kaaba. This custodianship remained in his family, eventually passing to Uthman bin Talha.
Uthman stated, “We would open the Kaaba on Mondays and Thursdays. One day, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) expressed a desire to enter the Kaaba, and I was displeased with him. He forgave me and said, ‘A day will come when this key will be in my hands, and I will give it to whomever I wish.’
Uthman replied, ‘Will this be the day when the Quraysh are destroyed and humiliated?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, ‘No, it will be the day they are honored.’ These words stayed with me, and I eventually embraced Islam.”
During the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called Uthman and asked for the key. Uthman handed it over, and the Prophet entered the Kaaba. He later returned the key to Uthman and said, “This key is yours forever unless a tyrant takes it from you.”
Since then, the custodianship of the Kaaba has remained with the descendants of Uthman bin Talha.
