The Ka'ba, the huge cube-like edifice situated in the centre of the Great Mosque at Mecca is rightly considered the palladium of Islam. This modest structure dedicated by man to God and the cult of monotheism occupies a hallowed place in the heart of every true Muslim. Besides forming the focal point of the Haj or Muslim pilgrimage undertaken by believers of all hues and tongues, the Ka'ba is the qibla or centre of the Islamic world towards which all Muslims turn in prayer.

To Muslims, it is the holiest spot on earth; the sanctum sanctorum of the Islamic world. Many are the names by which the Ka'ba is known. Thus it is called Baitullah (the House of God), Al-Bait Al-Haram (the Sacred House) and Al-Bait Al-Atiq (the Most Ancient House). The appellation Ka'ba itself does not appear to be a proper name and seems to be connected with the appearance of the building, for the term literally means a 'cube'. Yet the building has more to it than meets the eye. The Ka'ba is believed to have been built of grey stone sourced from the hills surrounding Mecca and in its interior could be found inner walls and pillars supporting the roof which rises up to about fifty feet above the ground below.

In the eastern corner, about five feet above the ground and built into the wall is what is known as the Hajar Al-Aswad or 'Black Stone'. Muslim tradition has it that this black stone fell from paradise and that it was originally whiter than milk,its present black colour being due to the sins it came into contact with during the Jahilliyah or Pagan period. To the South East of the Ka'ba and opposite the corner of the sanctuary in which the Black Stone is placed could be found the well of Zamzam which is thought to have originated from a spring brought into existence by the angel Gabriel.

The origins of the Ka'ba

The Muslim holy book, the Qur'an has it that the Ka'ba was the first place of worship appointed for mankind. Says the Qur'an: "Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakka (an older name of Mecca), full of blessing and a guidance for all beings".The holy book also says:"And (remember) when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House (Ka'ba) saying "Our Lord, accept (this service) from us.Verily you are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. Our Lord! And make us submissive unto you and of our offspring a nation submissive unto you". Here we are told that the foundations of the Ka'ba were raised by Abraham and Ishmael, the progenitors of the Ishmaelites, the Arab nation to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged.

Some Muslim traditionists are however of the view that the Ka'ba was built by Abraham on the foundations of an earlier temple built by Adam, the progenitor of mankind. Thus if we are to go by this tradition, the archetype of the Ka'ba existed as far back as the time of Adam. Al-Tabari, Arab Historian and Author of the work 'Tarikh Al-Rusul Wa'l Muluk' compiled around the ninth or tenth century has recorded some interesting traditions concerning the origins of the Ka'ba that prevailed amongst the Arabs of old.

Tradition has it that when God banished Adam and Eve from Paradise, Adam fell on Adam's peak in Serandib and Eve someplace else. For two hundred years, the parents of mankind fruitlessly searched the earth for each other, alone and despairing, until the angel Gabriel descended and led Adam to Eve. And it is said that it was on the Mount of Arafat, not far from Mecca, that they were reunited. When Adam came to Mecca, Gabriel with his wing uncovered a foundation on a site exactly below the spot occupied by the divine palace in the seventh heaven known as the Baitul-Ma'mur. The angels threw blocks on it from Lebanon, the Mount of Olives, Jabal Judi and Hira until the hole was filled level with the earth. God then sent from Paradise a tent of red jacinth in which Adam lived. In what was afterwards to become the Black Stone, a white jacinth from Paradise served as a seat. God commanded Adam to build the Ka'ba and Gabriel taught him the rites of the pilgrimage. Adam is then said to have taken to performing the circumambulation round the Ka'ba following the example of the angels. Mecca however was without inhabitants and the sanctuary without worshippers. Adam made his feelings known to God and the Almighty promised him that with time, the place would be the site of a cult to which men would make pilgrimage. In later times, the deluge is said to have washed the building away so that the stone had to be concealed by the angels in Abu Qubais, a mountain to the east of Mecca. All that remained of the Ka'ba was a red mound which was afterwards found by Abraham.

The temple of Abraham

The story goes that Abraham and his wife Sarah visited Egypt and following a short stay there were bestowed a girl named Hagar by the Pharaoh and his Queen as a mark of gratitude to the aged patriarch. Although the Hebrews claim that Hagar was a 'handmaiden', or rather a 'bondswoman' of Sarah, Muslim traditionists are of the view that she was in fact an Egyptian princess. Hagar is thus said to have been the daughter of Pharaoh Senusrit I and Queen Nufrit. Their elder child Hagar they bestowed on Abraham, saying that they considered it better for her to go with a Prophet of God than to be married to some prince when she grew up. Abraham and Sarah taking Hagar with them departed to Cannaan where they settled down. Since Sarah was barren,she suggested to Abraham that he wed Hagar. This he did when she was seventeen years old and Ishmael was born to them the following year. Although in the beginning, Sarah was fond of the child, with time she grew jealous when she noticed Abraham treating Hagar affectionately. Transformed, she demanded of her husband that he take Hagar and her son into the wilderness and there abandon them. Seeking divine guidance, Abraham set out with with Hagar and Ishmael and travelled southward out of Canaan until he reached the present site of Mecca.

There he left the mother and child to the care of God, convinced that no harm could come to either, as this was the ground on which the original Ka'ba had stood, before the deluge. Abandoned, Hagar became fearful for the life of her child and leaving him near the spot where the Ka'ba stands today, went in search of water. Climbing up the hill known as Safa she besought God's help. Looking to the north, Hagar sighted what appeared to be a lake and descending from the mountain, ran towards it only to find that it disappeared when she approached it. Wearily she mounted another low hill known as Marwah and looking back in the direction whence she came beheld another lake and descending again made her way to Safa only to find that it disappeared as she approached. In near-panic, the distraught woman ran hither and tither from Safa and back, passing through the mirage seven times. Hopelessly, Hagar looked towards the spot where she had left her son and saw there a figure standing by the child. She hastened towards the stranger and then slowed, recognizing him to be the angel Gabriel. The archangel struck the earth and water bubbled forth. Thus was established the well of Zamzam. Hagar dwelt by the pool, caring for her son and trusting in the God who had answered her prayers. One day, a wandering tribe from Yemen who happened to pass that way saw the mother and child and asked their leave to share the water. Pitching their tents near the pool, they proceeded to settle down at the spot. When Ishmael grew up, he wed a maiden of the tribe and lived by the chase. Abraham, having received the divine command again arrived at the valley where his hunter son dwelt and both father and son laboured in the blazing sun to raise the Ka'ba. When it was completed, Abraham climbed to the top and called unto all mankind, summoning them to the worship of the one true God.

The Ka'ba thus established by Abraham and Ishmael served as the centre of a monotheistic cult dedicated to the one true God - Allah. The colony set up by Ishmael flourished and his descendants came to occupy a prominent role in the administration of the temple. Centuries passed away and the people, exposed to the idolatry of neighbouring nations, gradually forgot the divine message, deviating from the path of monotheism. Idols of wood and stone and of various shapes and sizes were set up and the people propitiated these for material gain. These deities were initially regarded as intermediaries between the one true God and his worshippers, but gradually supplanted him in the minds of ignorant men. Allah remained a largely abstract deity, overshadowed by the other false gods, but nevertheless regarded as the head of the heathen pantheon.

There was Hubal and Lat and Manat, in fact no less than 360 idols desecrating the courtyard of the Ka'ba. According to Al-Mas'udi, the author of the Muruj al-Dhahab (C.10th century), the Ka'ba was at one time a temple devoted to the sun, moon and the five planets, in other words an astral cult as is suggested by the 360 idols (representing the 360 days of the year) placed round the Ka'ba in pagan times. We know for certain that even in the second century A.D. Mecca occupied a prominent place in the religious life of Arabia. Ptolemy, in his Geography, mentions a Macoraba in place of Mecca. There can be little doubt that the appellation is connected to the Standard Arabic term mihrab 'praying place' or the Southern Arabic mikrab 'temple'.This only goes on to show the important place the Ka'ba occupied even in pre-Islamic times.

The Prophet's mission

Mecca had become a great centre of Arabian paganism at the time of the birth of the Muhammad in 570 A.D.The Quraish tribe which was of the House of Ishmael served as the custadions of the Ka'ba and were both feared and respected by the other Arab tribes. It was they who provided food, water, clothing and accommodation to the pilgrims who were attracted to the spot during the annual pilgrimage season from all corners of Arabia.Yet they were also an arrogant lot. They called themselves the Hums, which means 'strictly religious' and looked down upon the other tribes. It depended on the discretion of the Hums to provide the pilgrims with clothing and those whom they did not favour would perform the circumambulation round the Ka'ba naked. Such was the state of affairs in the Holy House during the time of the Prophet's youth.

When Muhammad received the divine call and began his mission on his fortieth year, the Meccans were not slow to persecute him and his followers, despite the fact that they too belonged to the tribe of Quraish. The old guard of the Quraish deemed the new faith a threat to their traditional ways and their false gods. Many of the early Muslims were martyred and things took such a serious turn that the Prophet himself had to take flight to Medina in the year 622 . Medina which was peopled by the Aws and Khazraj tribes welcomed the Prophet and his followers with open arms, and it was not long before the first Islamic city-state was established there. Eight years were to pass before Mecca finally fell to the Prophet and his 10,000 - strong army. A general amnesty was proclaimed and the Meccans who had a few years earlier so ruthlessly persecuted the Prophet and his followers,now rushed to embrace Islam of their own accord.

"God has made this town a sanctuary", the Prophet is said to have declared on the day of the conquest of Mecca "Its thorny bushes are not to be cut nor its game chased". Thus, protection was offered not only to men, but also flora and fauna, for then and for all time. It was also announced that the pagans were not to approach the Ka'ba or to perform the pilgrimage naked. The Prophet in his iconoclastic zeal is said to have personally destroyed the idols, striking them with his rod so that they fell to the ground. It was thus that the noble sanctuary was purged of all vestiges of heathendom and dedicated once again to the worship of the one true God. The Qur'an made it clear that the pilgrimage was to continue as a duty mankind owed to God. "Proclaim to mankind the Haj" says the holy book"They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, through deep and distant mountain highways".