The History of Ka'bah

In the course of the story of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، we now come to the building of the "House of Allah" - the Ka'bah کعبہ . An answer is thus being given to the Jews who used to deny the Holy Prophet ﷺ on the ground of their assumption that prophethood could not be given to anyone outside their own clan, and who used to scoff at the Muslims for turning towards the Ka'bah کعبہ in their prayers, and to believe that the Hajj was no more than a custom of the ignorant Arabs. The earlier verse had made it clear that prophethood could not be given to the unjust and the disobedient, even if they belonged to the progeny of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) - a rule which destroys the very basis of the presumptuousness and vanity of the Jews. The present verse reminds them that the Ka'bah کعبہ was built under divine commandment by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، himself with the help of his son Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) and thus suggests that the performance of the Hajj حج and the orientation towards the Ka'bah کعبہ have both been instituted by divine decree, and that the Holy Prophet ﷺ is a direct descendant of Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Ismail (علیہما السلام) ، and is reviving the Abrahamic Way, which the Jews too must follow.

Verse 125 briefly outlines the history of the re-construction of the Ka'bah, the characteristic qualities of the "House of Allah" and the city of Makkah, and the injunctions with regard to the respect which has to be paid to this sacred place. The Holy Qur'an returns to the subject again and again in different chapters, providing more details. We shall cite Verses 26 and 27 from the Surah "Al-Hajj" which deals particularly with the annual pilgrimage:

وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِ‌كْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ‌ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّ‌كَّعِ السُّجُودِ ﴿26﴾ وَأَذِّن فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِ‌جَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ‌ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ ﴿27﴾

And when We appointed for Ibrahim the place of the House: "You shall not associate anything with Me. And keep My House clean for those who circumambulate it, who stand there for the prayers, and who bow and prostrate themselves. And proclaim the pilgrimage among men, and they shall come to you on foot and on every lean camel too, coming from every deep ravine.." (22:26-27)

Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) migrated to Makkah

Ibn Kathir reports from Mujahid etc. that Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) was living in Syria when he received the revelation that Allah was going to indicate to him the site of the Ka'bah کعبہ ، which he was required to build and keep clean for those who should assemble there for performing the Hajj and offering the Salah نماز . In connection with the earlier verse, we have already told the story how he was led by the archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) to the desert where the city of Makkah مکہ المکرمہ is now situated and where the remains of the earlier structure of the Ka'bah کعبہ stood only in the shape of a mound, and how he was commanded by Allah to leave his wife and infant son behind and to return to Syria. He immediately started on the journey, but was naturally anxious about his wife and child. So, when he was out of ear-shot, he prayed to Allah for them, as has been reported in the Surah "Ibrahim":

رَ‌بِّ اجْعَلْ هَـٰذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَن نَّعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَام

"My Lord, make this city a place of peace, and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols." (14:35)

And he prayed further:

رَّ‌بَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّ‌يَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ‌ ذِي زَرْ‌عٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّ‌مِ رَ‌بَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْ‌زُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَ‌اتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُ‌ونَ ﴿37﴾

Our Lord, I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley which is incultivable, close to Your Holy House that they may, Our Lord, be steadfast in the prayers. So, make the hearts of men tender towards them, and provide them with fruits, so that they may be thankful." (14:37)

In the earlier commandment which had brought him to his place, Allah had asked him to keep His House clean. He knew that Allah intended the House to be kept clean not only from external dirt but also from internal filth -namely, association (Shirk شرک ) and infidelity (Kufr کفر). So, while departing from this barren desert where he was leaving his family but where a town was to grow, he prayed to Allah, firstly, to make it a place of safety and peace, and, secondly, to protect him and his children from idol-worship and association. "The Friend of Allah" had attained that degree of knowledge where one sees oneself as a mere nothing, and one makes no movement without a full realization of the truth that nothing happens independently of Divine Will, and that all one's actions and even inclinations rest in the hand of Allah. So, he turned to Allah Himself for help in being able to carry out the command to keep the House of Allah clean from association and infidelity. There is another subtle suggestion in this prayer. Allah had commanded that due respect should be paid to His "House." Now, there was a likelihood that some people might begin, out of sheer ignorance, to worship the Ka'bah itself. That is why Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) specially prayed for him and his children to be protected from association (shirk شرک). Then, out of his love for his wife and son, he prayed to Allah to provide them, in His grace, with fruits in this barren and uncultivable land where he was leaving them under divine command.

A hadith in Al-Bukhari's collection of the Traditions (Ahadith) tells us in detail how the archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) appeared and made the spring of Zamzam زم زم flow in the desert, how some people from the tribe of Jurhum جُرھُم came and settled there, and how Sayyidna Isma'il (علیہ السلام) was married to a lady of this tribe. We also learn from different Traditions (Ahadith) of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that the command to settle near the Ka'bah کعبہ and to keep it clean (mentioned in Verse 26-27 of the Surah "Al-Hajj" ) was at that time addressed only to Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) for his son was yet an infant. And in those circumstances the intention of the command was not to start the reconstruction of the Ka'bah کعبہ but only to place the wife and the son of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) in this locality so that a human settlement should begin to take shape. On the other hand, the verse we are dealing with (2:125) repeats the same command to keep the House clean, but is addressed as much to Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) as to his father, for the son had now grown into a young and married man, and could be included in the command to rebuild the Ka'bah.

A hadith reported by Al-Bukhari says that, on one of his periodic visits to his wife and son at Makkah, Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) found his son sitting under a tree, making arrows. He informed the son that Allah had entrusted him with a special task, and asked him if he would help his father. The son was, of course, as ready to obey and to serve as ever. Allah had already indicated the spot and also the area where the Ka'bah کعبہ was to be rebuilt. When they started digging the ground, the earlier foundations became visible, and it was on them that they began to raise the walls. The next verse speaks of this event وَإِذْ يَرْ‌فَعُ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ : "When Ibrahim was raising up the foundations of the House, and Ismail (too)." The order of the names indicates that the builder of the Ka'bah کعبہ is Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) while the role of Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) is that of a helper.makhan37

All the verses of the Holy Qur'an on the subject of the Ka'bah either say that the location had been indicated by Allah Himself, or report the divine command to keep the House clean, but never suggest that a new House was to be built in a new place. This in itself shows that the Ka'bah already existed in some form. Indeed, the Hadith, and history too, confirms this fact, and from these sources we learn that the earlier structure of the Ka'bah had either been destroyed at the time of the Deluge of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) (Noah) or raised into the heavens, leaving the foundations buried in the ground. Hence, Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Ismail (علیہما السلام) were not the original founders of the Ka'bah کعبہ ، but had raised a new building on the earlier foundations.

As to who founded the Ka'bah کعبہ for the first time and when, there is no fully authenticated Hadith which could clarify this point. Certain narrations coming from the people of the Book, however, tell us that it was founded by the angels even before Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) came down to the earth. He built the Ka'bah کعبہ a second time, or renovated it. This structure remained intact upto the time of the Deluge, which destroyed it, and left it a mere mound - the shape in which Sayyidna Ibrahim and Sayyidna Ismail (علیہما السلام) found it. And they constructed a new building on the site. Since then, the Ka'bah کعبہ has undergone certain alterations, but has never been demolished completely. Before the Holy Prophet ﷺ assumed the prophetic functions, the Quraysh of Makkah built the Ka'bah کعبہ afresh, and he himself took part in this renovation.

Some injunctions related to the Haram حرم

(1) The word Mathabah مَثَابَة ، used in this verse, comes from the root Thaba ثبا (signifying "to come back" ), and thus denotes a place to which one returns again and again. This shows that Allah has given a position of privilege to the Ka'bah کعبہ - it shall always remain a place where people will assemble from the four corners of the world, and would long to return to it again and again. Al-Qurtubi reports the great commentator Mujahid to have said that one never has enough of visiting the Ka'bah کعبہ ، but comes back every time with a greater longing to return, and to see it again. Certain scholars have remarked that one of the signs of one's Hajj حج having been accepted by Allah is that, on one's return, one should find in one's heart a greater desire to present oneself in the House of Allah again. This is borne out by the experience of those who have had the good fortune to be there - each visit, instead of slaking the thirst, rather increases it. Considering that Makkah has nothing to offer by way of a beautiful landscape or easy access or mundane comforts, yet, its power to draw millions of people to itself every year is nothing short of miracle.

(2) This verse says that Allah has made "the House" a place of peace. "The House" refers not only to the Ka'bah itself, but also to the whole area of the Mosque which surrounds it, and is called the Haram. There are other instances in the Holy Qur'an where the word "Ka'bah" or the expression Baytullah بیت اللہ ("House of Allah" ) connotes the whole area of the Haram. For example, the phrase هَدْيًا بَالِغَ الْكَعْبَةِ : "an offering to reach the Ka` bah" (5:95) refers to the Haram, for the verse deals with the subject of animal sacrifice, while it is not legitimate to offer such a sacrifice inside the Ka'bah. So, Verse 125 means that the whole of the Haram has been made a place of peace - that is to say, people have been forbidden from shedding blood or taking revenge within these precincts (ibn al-` Arabi). In fact, this commandment was one of the residues of the Way of Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) which were still alive in the Age of Ignorance (Al-Jahiliyyah الجاھلیہ), and all kinds of bloodshed or battle, individual or collective, were held to be forbidden inside this sanctuary, so much so that a man would never let himself take his revenge, even if he came upon the murderer of his brother or father in the Haram. The Islamic Shari'ah has preserved this injunction. The ban was lifted only for the sake of the Holy Prophet ﷺ on the day of the conquest of Makkah, and that too only for a few hours, and was reimposed for ever immediately after - the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself announced it in his address on the occasion. (Al-Bukhari)

Now, as for the man who commits, within these precincts, a crime for which the Shari'ah has laid down a specific physical punishment (Hadd حد) or allowed the victim to be revenged (Qisas قصاص ), the Haram will not provide sanctuary to him - the consensus holds that such a criminal will be duly punished. (Al-Jassas and Al-Qurtubi) For, the Holy Qur'an itself says: فَإِن قَاتَلُوكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ "If they fight you [ inside the Haram ], you may kill them." (2:191) There is, however, a difference of views among the masters of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) on one point. What is to be done with the man who commits a crime outside, and then seeks a sanctuary in the Haram? Even in this case, some masters would have the criminal punished in the manner prescribed by the Shari'ah. On the other hand, Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) ، believes that if such men are allowed to save themselves from punishment in this manner, the Haram would become an easy refuge for all kinds of criminals and disorder would prevail, but in view of the sanctity of the place, the criminal would not be punished inside the Haram, but forced to come out, and then the punishment prescribed by the Shari'ah would be duly given to him.

(3) The present verse mentions "the Station of Ibrahim." It is a stone on which Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had stood while building the Ka'bah, and which miraculously acquired the print of his foot. (Ai-Bukhari) The blessed Companions Anas ؓ says that he has himself seen the mark on the stone. On the other hand, it has been reported from the blessed Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas that the Haram as a whole is the "Station of Ibrahim. " Probably he meant that the two rak'ahs رکعات of the Salah نماز which this verse enjoins upon us to offer near the "Station of Ibrahim" after completing tawaf طواف (circumambulation) of the Ka'bah کعبہ ، may be offered anywhere within the precincts of the Haram, and that the prayers thus offered would be quite valid. Most of the Fuqaha' accept this view.

The Maqam of Ibrahim

(1) As to the commandment for making "the Station of Ibrahim" a place of offering one's prayers, the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself has explained it through his own words and actions on the occasion of his last Hajj حج . After completing the tawaf طواف ، when he reached "the Station of Ibrahim," placed some yards away from the Ka'bah کعبہ ، he recited this very verse, and then offered two rak'ats رکعتین on the other side of this stone, with his face turned towards the Ka'bah کعبہ (Sahih Muslim). The Fuqaha' have inferred from this the rule that if one does not get the room to stand close to "the Station of Ibrahim," one may, while offering prayers, validly stand at any distance from it that one can, so long as the Ka'bah کعبہ ، as well as "the Station of Ibrahim," is in front of him.

(2) This verse shows that it is necessary (Wajib واجب) to offer two rak` ahs رکعتین after the tawaf طواف of the Ka'bah کعبہ . (Al-Jassas and Mulla ` Ali a1-Qari) But offering these prayers specifically behind the "Station of Ibrahim" is a Sunnah (the Way of the Holy Prophet ﷺ). There is, however, no bar on offering these prayers at any other spot within the Haram, for the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself has been reported to have offered them near the gate of the "House of Allah", as did the blessed Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، too (a1-Jassas). In his "Al-Manasik المناسِک ", Mulla ` Ali al-Qari says that if one is not, for some reason, able to offer these necessary (Wajib واجب) prayers behind "the Station of Ibrahim," as required by the Sunnah, he may validly offer them anywhere he possibly can within the Haram, or even outside.

In fact, this is exactly what happened to Sayyidah Umm Salmah ؓ ، one of the wives of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . On the occasion of her Last Hajj حج ، she could not find the opportunity to offer these Wajib واجب prayers inside the Haram, and was able to do so when she was outside the city of Makkah itself. Most of the F u q a h a', except Imam Malik (رح) ، hold the view that if circumstances compel one to offer these prayers outside the Haram, one is not required to make an animal sacrifice by way of compensation.

(6) The divine command to طَهِّرَ‌ا بَيْتِيَ "Keep My House clean" includes purifying it from physical and external dirt as much as from internal filth like infidelity (Kufr کفر) and association (Shirk شرک ), and from impurities like greed, lust, envy, pride, vanity, hypocrisy, etc. Then, the use of the expression "My House" indicates that the commandment applies to mosques in general, for all the mosques are "the Houses of Allah", as the Holy Qur'an itself has said فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّـهُ أَن تُرْ‌فَعَ "In houses which Allah has commanded to be raised up" (24:36). Al-Qurtubi reports that the Second Khalifah ` Umar ؓ once heard a man shout in the mosque, and rebuked him for having forgotten where he was. That is to say, one should pay due respect to a mosque, and refrain from speaking loudly, and, above all, from saying something which the Shari'ah has forbidden. In short, just as the Haram حرم must be kept clean from all kinds of dirt and filth, external and internal, so must every mosque. Those who enter a mosque must keep their bodies and their clothes free from dirt, filth and even from bad smells, and also keep their hearts free from Shirk شرک ، hypocrisy, pride, malice and greed etc. The Holy Prophet g has asked the people not to enter a mosque, if they have just eaten raw onion or garlic, and has also forbidden very small children and mad men to enter a mosque for fear of their polluting it.

(7) The verse shows that "the House of Allah" is meant for people to make tawaf طواف of the Ka'bah کعبہ ، to do I` tikaf اعتکاف (to seek a retreat for worship and meditation), and to offer their prayers. In the case of those who come from outside to perform the Hajj حج ، the tawaf طواف carries greater merit than offering prayers. Lastly, the verse makes it clear that it is absolutely permissible to offer one's prayers inside the "House of Allah", whether the prayers are fard فرض (obligatory) or nafl نفل (supererogatory) (Jasss).