Image credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheKaaba/
In The Beginning
In
the desert in the Arabian Peninsula, there is a cube made of stone. For hundreds of years, perhaps thousands, the
structure has stood as a shrine to the divine.
It was once home to hundreds of deities of the Middle East but fourteen
hundred years ago it became an axis mundi, the very center of the world,
for emerging Islam, which would eventually become the faith of millions of
Muslims. The Kaaba is a navel of divine
connection which creates the qibla, the direction of prayer for all
Muslims covering the Earth. Although
Muslims do not believe it literally houses al-Lah (“the God”), it is believed
to sit directly below its counterpart in Heaven, which is called the Baitul Mamoor. The structure is continually shrouded in a
black cloth, just as its origins are also shrouded in mystery. According to the Islamic faith, it was first
created by Adam, then destroyed by the Flood, and later it was rebuilt by
Abraham and his son Ishmael. It is the
center of all Muslim worship, the most revered holy structure, but it does not
convey what Islamic architecture would become.
It is not a precedent or an example.
Islamic architecture, while leaving out any figures of living creatures
on Earth or in Heaven, grew to become intricately beautiful, with profound
geometry and designs, and religious standards of living built into the function
of each structure. Calligraphy, arches,
and soaring minarets are beautiful, distinguished features of Islamic
architecture. But that would be
later. In Muhammed’s time, social reform
grew into a religion. Religion grew into
an empire. But in the beginning, there
was a cube.
To
fully grasp what it means for a Muslim to behold the center of the world, what
they call the Kaaba, one must realize that an axis mundi is a universal
archetype in religions around the world.
It is not a singular idea, sacred to only those who revere the
Kaaba. From Yggdrasil in Norse
mythology, to the omphalos in ancient Greece, Mount Zion for the Hebrews and
Mount Fuji for the Japanese, just to name a few. People have long been drawn to what they
consider is the axis of reality, the spot on Earth around which everything else
revolves either figuratively or literally.
But is it more than just a center, it is where the terrestrial world
opens up and is linked with the divine.
Pillars, pyramids, stupas, even caves have been used as such
points. It is such a universal concept
that the veneration for such places can be felt across the globe. The power of such places is not diminished
its commonality, but enhanced by the innate human need for such places.
Brief Description
The
word Kaaba in Arabic means “a high place with respect and prestige” and it may
be related to the word cube. Technically,
the layout of this structure is not a true cube, but a trapezium, with a foot
print of about 55 feet by 45 feet. This
is only an estimate as some writers describe the sides as being between 30-35
feet. And still others say it is 40 feet
by 35 feet. Its height of 35-50 feet
make it appear close enough to a cube to be quite deserving of its name. The walls are made of stone and are one meter
thick, polished on the outside and unpolished on the inside. These current dimensions have come about only
after many reconstructions. According to
Islamic tradition, the dimensions given to Abraham and Ishmael were 48.5 feet
by 33 feet by 30 feet by 46.5 feet and without a roof. Today there is a wooden roof, covered in
stainless steel which slopes slightly. Black
cotton and silk cloth covers the monument.
There is only one entrance into the temple, a door on the eastern side,
seven feet off the ground. Inside, there
are three wooden pillars on the marble floor which support the ceiling, covered
in cloth hangings.
Decay
and fighting throughout the centuries have caused the shrine to be rebuilt
several times. It could take an entire
book to detail the events of each destruction and rebuilding. The Kaaba at the time of Muhammad's
Revelation did not have a roof and the walls were only about the height of a
man. One of the times the Kaaba was
destroyed, Muhammad lived in Mecca and he helped rebuild it, this time with a
roof. Muhammad's tribe, the Quraysh,
also changed construction materials as well. The original structure was built entirely of
stone and was un-mortared. The Quraysh
built the new Kaaba with 15 layers of wood and 16 layers of mortared stones. The Quraysh could not afford to rebuild it to
the same size as the original, so what is now called the Hateem was excluded,
an area beside the Kaaba with a low, semi-circular wall. The semi-circular wall is called the Al-Hijir
and it is meant to represent the original wall Abraham built as a shelter for
Ishmael's sheep. Later the Al-Hijir was
added back in as a part of the original Abrahamic layout and later removed
again and currently the Al-Hijir is once again apart of the Kaaba. Buried under the Hateem is where the graves
of Hagar and Ishmael are said to be. The
roof has a single rainspout, clad with gold, which drops its water into the
Hateem.
The
most recent reconstruction of the Kaaba was done in 1996, after it had remained
static for about 400 years. Despite the
many iterations, each rebuilding was done on the same spot, with the same
simple cubic-type shape. Figure 1 below
shows a plan of the current Kaaba.
Figure 1
Image credit: The
Holy Ka'bah Information Center – www.kabahinfo.net
The
interior holds ornaments of two golden gazelles, inlaid weapons, various jewels
and gemstones, crowns, rare bottles, and other such treasures. Many hangings with Muslim scriptures in
embroidery are also within the temple.
Two lamps hanging from the ceiling and a table for items such as perfume
are in there as well.
Origins
Before the rise of Islam, the Kaaba in Mecca was already
a great pilgrimage site for people of various religions all over the Arabian
Peninsula; even Christians and Jews worshiped there. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, had
written somewhere between 60-30 B.C.E., “there is in this country (Arabia) a
temple greatly revered by all the Arabs”.
Many believe this is proof of the Kaaba's great antiquity since all
Arabs did indeed revere the Kaaba and it had been home to hundreds of
deities. There were 360 idols
surrounding the structure with more engraved images on the inside, including
those of Jesus and Mary. The structure
is believed by Muslims to be the first temple to the One God, but it is said
that a man by the name of Amr ibn Luhaiy brought an image of the Mesopotamian
god Hubal there, which opened it up to be a sanctuary for other deities. Of these deities, three were of a particular
dominance, The Daughters of God – al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat.
In ancient times, Mecca was called Bakkah. The Arabian translation of Baka'a is “lack of
stream” which is a good description of Mecca before the Zamzam well sprang up
to quench the thirst of Hagar and Ishmael, who were sent into the desert by
Abraham.
Islam considers itself to be a continuation, not a deviation,
from Judaism and Christianity and therefore the Bible is not completely
discounted in Islam. Of noteworthiness
is Psalms 84:5-7, which reads:
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee;
in whose heart are the ways of them. Who
passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the
pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth
before God.” (King James Version, Psalms 84:5-7)
Some Muslim
traditions view this verse as an indicator that the ancient Hebrews made their
way to Bakkah to worship at the Kaaba.
(Freedman & McClymond 479)
Symbolism
The Kaaba is the center of seven counterclockwise
circulations (the tawaf) for Muslims on the hajj, the ritual
pilgrimage all Muslims are required to do.
However, this ritual did not start with Muhammad and had been practiced
by people of all religions in the Arabian Peninsula for a lengthy time before
the Prophet's Revelation. The number
seven was believed to be a perfect number by most of the ancient Middle East
and it symbolized completeness and goodness.
Significantly, the number appears in both Judaic and Christian
scriptures many times and there are 25 references to the number seven in the
Qur'an. The Zoroastrians believed seven
was the number of perfect union between men and women. Women were believed to represent the four
elements – earth, air, fire, and water.
Men were thought to represent the three parts of a person – the soul,
body, and mind. The seven day week began
in the Middle East and Jews, Christians, and Muslims believed in the seven days
of Creation. Seven continues to be an
important number for Muslims as it is believed that Muhammad ascended through
the seven heavens to reach God. The site
of this miraculous event took place where the Dome of the Rock temple was built
in Jerusalem, in the location of the previous Temple of Solomon. The Dome of the Rock is an octagonal building
divided into seven panels. The “stoning
of Satan”, a ritual that is a part of the hajj pilgrimage, uses seven rocks thrown at three walls in Mina,
east of Mecca.
Some people believe that the circling around the Kaaba
mimics the movement of angels around the Heavenly Kaaba, but there is another
possible interpretation. The first three
revolutions are completed quickly and are thought to perhaps represent the
circuits of the moon, Mercury, and Venus which are also fast-moving. The last four, slower paced circuits may
represent the sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
One of the most unusual features of the temple is the
mysterious Black Stone. Aesthetically,
as an architectural feature, it stands out.
The Black Stone is sunk into a large, lump of silver built into the
exterior of the smooth stones of the walls.
From an architectural perspective, it would appear almost as a patch that
for whatever reason was not made of the original materials. However, this is perhaps the single most
important object to Muslims. Its power is
not hindered in the least by its technical awkwardness. According to Muslim tradition, the angel
Gabriel gave Ishmael a gleaming white Heavenly stone to place in the corner of
the temple. Over the centuries has been
stained black from pilgrims' sins, as their journey includes touching the stone
as they circle the temple. The New
Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge offers one of only a few
descriptions available for this mysterious feature:
“At the
southeast corner is the Black Stone, an irregular oval about seven inches in
diameter, the pieces of which it is composed being joined by cement. It has an
uneven surface, though it is worn smooth by the constant kissing and rubbing to
which it has for ages been subjected by the faithful. It is described now as
being a deep reddish brown, but whether it is basaltic or a meteorite is
undetermined, with probabilities in favor of the latter. It is set in the wall
about fifty inches from the pavement, and is surrounded by a border of
composite cement so set as to form a boss, and this is supported by a circle of
gold or silver or gilt.” (Gilmore 289)
Unfortunately, a chemical
analysis has never been done, but the reports of its coloration changing from
light to black over the centuries is some indication that it could contain a
nickel-alloy, common in most stone meteorites. This stone is so important that
when the Kaaba was being rebuilt during Muhammad's time, the leaders of the
four leading tribes argued over who would put it in place. Muhammad was called to decide who would get
the honor of placing it. He suggested
that the stone be carried by all four leaders with a piece of cloth, each
leader holding a corner and Muhammad making the final placement himself in the
eastern corner. Muhammad kissed the
Black Stone, which is called Hajer el Aswad, during his last exit from Mecca
back to Medina and here it rests for all future people on the hajj to
kiss and touch. (Asad 393)
The Kaaba contains features that may be overlooked architecturally
but have religious significance. One
such attribute is the Multazim. It is a
section of wall, between the Black Stone and the door, where some women press
their bodies in hopes of increasing fertility.
Architecturally indistinct, it is thought to be a saving grace of some
of those hoping to bare a family.
In the End
“And when the Trumpet is sounded a single time, when the
earth and its mountains are raised high and then crushed with a single blow, on
that Day the Great Event will come to pass.”
(Qur'an 68:13-15) The Qur'an
guides worshipers of Allah and prepares them for the resurrection, called the Qiyama. The Qur'an was meant not as a revolutionary
manifesto, but as a warning and a guide for believers in Allah who have
forgotten the correct path. The Day of
Judgment and resurrection is of extreme importance to Muslims; it is when good
and evil will be definitively judged.
It is at this time, at the end of the world, when every person's deeds
will be deliberated with the One Lord who will decide each person's fate of
either Heaven and Hell. What started
with a shrine in the desert and an ancient mysterious stone will also end here,
as the disappearance of the Kaaba is one of the signs of the Day of Judgement
being close at hand. Every person's
afterlife will begin with the judgment of one's deeds and according to some
Muslim traditions, the Black Stone, touched by millions of pilgrims, will
testify to God about the sins of the world on Judgment Day. The 2 million Muslims in the world today look
forward to the day when God will show His perfect judgment, at which time the
Kaaba will bear witness.
To learn about sacred space in ancient Judah and Israel, click here
REFERENCES:
Akbar, M.J. The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the
Conflict between Islam and Christianity.
London: Routledge, 2002
Asad, Muhammad. The Road to Mecca. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1954
Bianchi, Robert R. Guests of God: Pilgrimage and Politics in
the Islamic World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004
Brother Andrew. History of the Kaba. The Muslim Observer, Vol II, Issue 11, March
17-23, 2000. Web.
28 July 2011.
<http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-kaba-history.htm>
Freedman, David Noel and Michael K.
McClymond. The Rivers of Paradise:
Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, and
Muhammad as Religious Founders.
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans,
2001
Gilmore, Geo. W. “KAABA”. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of
Religious Knowledge. Vol.6. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1910
Hawkins, Gerald S. Mindsteps to the Cosmos. New York: Harper & Row, 1983
Long, David Edwin. The Hajj Today: A Survey of the
Contemporary Makkah Pilgrimage. Albany, New York: State University of
New York Press, 1979
Massé Henri and Halide
Edib. Islam. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1938
Omer, Spahic. “Towards Understanding Islamic Architecture”
Islamic Studies Vol: 47 Issue: 4. International Islamic University, 2008
Petersen, Andrew. Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. New York: Routledge, 1999
Sahibzada, Mehnaz. The Symbolism of the Number Seven in
Islamic Culture and Ritual. Cengage Learning: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005. Web.
29 July 2011 <www.wadsworth.com/religion_d/special_features/symbols/islamic.html
The Construction of the Holy
Ka'bah by Quraish. The Holy Ka'bah
Information Center. Web.
28
July 2011
<http://generalcomtech.com/kabah/eng-php/construction-holy-kabah- quraish.php>
The Kaaba as a Place of Worship
in History. Mission Islam. Web.
28 July 2011 <http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/kaaba.htm>
The List of the Ornaments of the
Holy Ka'bah. The Holy Ka'bah
Information Center. Web.
30
July 2011
<http://generalcomtech.com/kabah/eng-php/list-ornaments-kabah.php>
Qur'an. Translated: M.A.S.
Abdel Haleem. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010
Comments
Post a Comment