The Kaaba: The History of Islam's Most Sacred Site
Five times a day, more than a billion people across the world turn their bodies toward a single point: a cube of grey stone standing in the centre of the city of Mecca, draped in black cloth. It is the holiest site in Islam, the building that orients the prayer of an entire faith, and the destination of one of the largest annual human gatherings on earth.
The House of God
The Kaaba stands at the heart of the Masjid al-Haram, the Sacred Mosque, which has been enlarged over the centuries to surround it with vast courtyards and galleries. In Islamic tradition the Kaaba is the House of God, and its building is associated with the Prophet Ibrahim and his son Isma'il, who are described as raising it as a sanctuary devoted to the worship of the one God. It is the qibla, the direction every Muslim faces in prayer, and the focal point of the Hajj, the pilgrimage that draws millions to Mecca each year and which every able Muslim is called to make once in a lifetime if they are able.
The Black Stone and the covering
Set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone, al-Hajar al-Aswad, which pilgrims circling the building try to kiss or touch, or gesture toward when the crowd makes touching impossible. The whole structure is wrapped in the Kiswa, a black cloth embroidered in gold with Quranic verse, which is replaced each year during the pilgrimage season. The act of circling the Kaaba seven times, the tawaf, is among the central rites of both the Hajj and the lesser pilgrimage, the Umrah.
From idols to a single God
Before the coming of Islam the Kaaba was already an ancient sanctuary and a centre of pilgrimage, but it had filled with the idols of the many gods worshipped across Arabia. When the Prophet Muhammad entered Mecca in the year 630, the tradition records that these idols were cleared away and the building rededicated to the worship of God alone, restoring the purpose with which Ibrahim was said to have raised it. From that point the Kaaba has stood at the centre of Muslim devotion, its fabric rebuilt more than once across the centuries but its meaning unbroken.
The Sacred House print is part of the Riwayah Sacred Spaces collection. You can view the print.
The Sacred House is the first of the three great sanctuaries of Islam. For the others, see the sacred sites of Islam.