The Holy Kaaba

  • 4 years ago
The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة‎, romanized: al-Ka'bah, lit. 'The Cube' Arabic pronunciation: [kaʕ.bah]), also referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah (Arabic: ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة‎, romanized: al-Ka'bah al-Musharrafah, lit. 'Honored Ka'bah'), and commonly shortened to Ka'bah, is a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.[1] It is the most sacred site in Islam.[2] It is considered by Muslims to be the Bayt Allāh (Arabic: بيت الله‎, romanized: Bayt Allah, lit. 'House of Allah') and is the qibla (Arabic: قِبْلَة‎, direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world when performing salah.The Kaaba is believed by Muslims to have been built and rebuilt several times throughout history, most famously by Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael, when he returned to the valley of Mecca several years after leaving his wife Hajar (Hagar) and Ishmael there upon Allah's command. Circumambulating around the Kaaba seven times counterclockwise, known as Tawaf (Arabic: طواف‎, romanized: Tawaaf, lit. 'circling'), is an obligatory rite for the completion of the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.[2] The area around the Kaaba on which pilgrims circumambulate it is called the Mataaf.

The Kaaba and the Mataaf are surrounded by pilgrims the entire Islamic year except the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth month and the month of pilgrimage, known as the Day of Arafah, on which the cloth covering the structure, known as the Kiswah (Arabic: كسوة‎, romanized: Kiswah, lit. 'Cloth') is changed annually. However, the most significant increase in their numbers is during Ramadan and the hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather for Tawaf.[3][4] According to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, 6,791,100 pilgrims arrived for the Umrah pilgrimage in the Islamic year 1439 AH, a 3.6% increase from the previous year, with 2,489,406 others arriving for the 1440 AH Hajj.

Source: Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaba

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