Al-Masjid Al-Haram is situated around the Kaaba. The name is derived from the Arabic word “Haram,” meaning “sacred” or “pure.”
Al-Masjid Al-Haram holds immense significance for Muslims around the world. It is located in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Every day, 1.6 billion Muslims perform prayers facing the Holy Kaaba, which is located within this mosque.
History of Al-Masjid Al-Haram
The first mosque on earth is Al-Masjid Al-Haram. The history of Al-Masjid Al-Haram is intertwined with the construction of the Kaaba. According to Islamic tradition, the Kaaba was first built during the time of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). Allah commanded Prophet Adam to construct the Kaaba and perform the ritual of Tawaf (circumambulation) around it. The Kaaba was established directly beneath Bayt al-Ma’mur. Bayt al-Ma’mur is the heavenly worship house for all angels. Just as the angels circumambulate Bayt al-Ma’mur, Muslims on earth circumambulate the Kaaba.
The Kaaba was the central point of Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Additionally, it is the largest mosque in the world. The first caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab (634–644), oversaw its construction, and it underwent numerous modifications under various Muslim rulers. To accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims, Caliph Umar ordered the demolition of some houses surrounding the Kaaba and constructed a 1.5-meter-high wall to designate a large prayer area. His successor, Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (644–656), expanded the prayer area and covered it with a roof supported by wooden columns and arches.
In 692, after capturing Mecca from Ibn al-Zubayr, the guardian of the sacred site, Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan raised the outer walls of the mosque, covered the roof with teakwood, and gilded the capitals of the columns. His son, Al-Walid (705–715), contributed to the mosque by adding mosaics to the arches and replacing the wooden columns with marble. Abbasid Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur (754–775) added mosaics to the columns. He doubled the northern and western parts of the prayer hall and constructed the Bab al-Umra minaret in the northwest corner.
In 777, due to the growing number of pilgrims, Abbasid Caliph Al-Mahdi (775–785) ordered the demolition of more houses around the Kaaba to reconstruct the mosque. The reconstructed mosque, centered on the Kaaba, measured 196 meters by 142 meters. It was built in a grid layout and adorned with marble columns imported from Egypt and Syria, along with gilded teak wood inlays. Additionally, Al-Mahdi constructed three crenellated minarets, which were placed above the Bab al-Salam, Bab Ali, and Bab al-Wadi entrances of the mosque.
Virtues of Praying in Al-Masjid Al-Haram
Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“A prayer in my mosque is better than one thousand prayers anywhere else, except for Al-Masjid Al-Haram. And a prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram is better than one hundred thousand prayers.”
If we consider the reward of one prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram to be equal to one hundred thousand prayers, then in terms of days, one prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram would equal fifty years, six months, and twenty days of prayers. And the five daily prayers in Al-Masjid Al-Haram would equal two hundred seventy years, nine months, and ten days of prayers.
According to the hadith mentioning the increased rewards in Al-Masjid Al-Haram, every good deed performed there earns a reward equivalent to one hundred thousand good deeds.
