Ep. 01: The Foundations | History of The Ka’bah

Welcome to this series in which we will focus on the most important place on earth. This is that house of Allah that Allah (SWT) has designated solely and exclusively for him and his worship. Allah (SWT) says, [“And (mention) when We made the house a place of return for people and (a place of) security. And take (O believers,) from the standing place of Abraham a place of prayer. And We charged Abraham and Ishmael (saying), “Purify My house for those who perform tawaf and those who are staying (there) for worship and those who bow and prostrate (in prayer).” Surah Al-Baqarah: 125] “And mention when we made the house a place of return for the people and a place of security.” And this house of Allah (SWT) has a long history. Every Muslim is somehow connected to this structure, and this Ka’bah is one of the major symbols of Islam. In fact, we are required to uphold its sanctity, and we consider it invaluable. Allah (SWT) says, [“That (is so). And whoever honors the symbols of Allah – indeed, it is from the piety of hearts.” Surah Al-Baqarah] “Whoever upholds the sanctity of the symbols of Allah – that is from the piety of the hearts.” The Ka’bah is the first place designated for worship on this earth. It is the direction that we all face when we pray. Praying in its vicinity is more rewarding than praying anywhere else. It is the center for the gathering, worship and unity of Muslims. It becomes important for us to gain as much knowledge as we can, and usually, history plays a major role in how we view and see things, and it has a way of increasing the importance of something in our hearts.

As we our doing these sessions, most of the people who wish to travel to the Ka’bah will be unable to do so due to prevailing conditions; but, if we show Allah (SWT) our desire to be there and our yearning to be at his house, and we keep alive that flame of love, passion and devotion that we all have for this house, we hope Allah (SWT) will not only reward us for our intentions, but he will also enable us to truly revive the message that this house has been used to convey to mankind over generations.

Let’s speak a little about the origin of the Ka’bah; there are some narrations that indicate that the Ka’bah was, in fact, first established by the Mala’ikah (angels). Allah (SWT) instructed them to lay the foundation of a house right underneath Al Baytul Ma’mur, which is the Qibla of the Mala’ikah, around which they perform tawaf. Directly underneath it, a place was established for human beings to do the same. These are some narrations. Other narrations indicate that it was Adam (AS) who first laid the foundations for this house, and others say that it as Shith (AS), the son of Adam (AS). There are divergent opinions on this; what I have mentioned is the view of one group of major scholars, and another group of scholars view that Ibrahim (AS) is the first one to construct the Bayt-Allah. The view of the first group people, who say that Bayt-Allah existed before Ibrahim (AS), is supported by a few authentic narrations in hadith; for example, a narration of Sahih Al-Bukhari which describes sayyid Hajar, when she was left there by Ibrahim (AS), which we will go into some of the details of that later on in this series. The prophet (SAW) described the Ka’bah, and he said that the Ka’bah was at such a location that was somewhat of a hill and floods had passed to the right and left of this; similarly, in the narration of Bukhari, when Ibrahim (AS) left his family there, it mentions that he turned towards the Ka’bah and made du’a to Allah (SWT). Similarly, in the narration of Sunan ibn Majah, the prophet (SAW) tells us, “Allah (SWT) declared Makkah sacred; he deemed it as sanctuary at the time when he created the heavens and earth.” So, based on this, Ulama have said that the Ka’bah existed before Ibrahim (AS). Another piece of evidence that they cite for this view is that Allah (SWT) mentions, [“And (mention) when Abraham was raising the foundations of the house and (with him) Ishmael (saying), ‘Our Lord, accept (this) from us. Indeed, you are the hearing, the knowing.’” Surah Al-Baqarah] Ibrahim (AS) raised the foundations; he raised the structure from the foundations and is not described as laying down the foundation, so this provides another indication that the foundation was already there, but Ibrahim (AS) played the role of construction. Regardless, Bayt-Allah has its own significance, and if we were to just use that one verse that had been recited in the beginning, [“Indeed, the first house (of worship) established for mankind was that at Makkah – blessed and a guidance for the worlds.” Surah Al-Imran] the first house that was designated (house in this context refers to structure), the first structure that was designated for people to worship at is the one at Bakkah, and Bakkah either refers to a similar name to Makkah, or it is the area immediately around the Ka’bah, and the rest of the city is called Makkah. Therefore, it is that house at Bakkah; the first house dedicated to worship.

Of course, the worship of Allah (SWT) happened even before Ibrahim (AS), so how could it be that the first place of worship only commenced at the time of Ibrahim (AS)? All of these lend support to the fact that Bayt-Allah probably has some origins before Ibrahim (AS). Now, historical narrations vary and differ as to what exactly happened before Ibrahim (AS); for example, some say that, at the time of the flood of Nuh (AS), Bayt-Allah was lifted up, and after the flood, it was the first place to be exposed from beneath the water; other narrations mention that one of the great-great grandsons of Nuh (AS), Amliq, was one of the people who reconstructed it after the flood of Nuh, so there are various narratives, and the details are difficult to pinpoint and lay out, but as said before, this is the position of a group of scholars in Islam. Bayt-Allah is, as I mentioned, a focal point for Muslims. It symbolises the necessity of worshipping Allah (SWT); is symbolizes the necessity of unity; of unity in direction and acts, and it symbolizes everyone coming to one place at one time, and doing the same thing, which is truly celebrated through the worship rights of Hajj.