By His grace, this is a mysterious symbol of unity that connects all Muslims together wherever they may be.
There is no place on Earth as venerated, as Mecca and its epicentre the Kaabah which is the most celebrated house on Earth. Millions of homes adorn their walls with different angles of its image and over a billion face it five times a day, Quantum qibla (direction).
It has been reconstructed several times: The Kaaba that we see today is not exactly the same Kaaba that was constructed by Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (PBUH). Of course, major reconstruction took place during the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Afterwards, there has been an average of one major reconstruction every few centuries needed after natural and man-made disasters. The last took place in 1996 and was extremely thorough.
It used to have two doors, a window and multi-coloured: The original Kaaba used to have a door for entrance and another for an exit. For a considerable period of time, it also had a window situated to one side. The trademark black Kiswah with gold banding started at the time of the Abbasids (whose household colour was black) but before this, it used to be covered in multiple colours including green, red and even white, with its fair share of mystery.
Centre of the Planet: Neil Armstrong (the first Astronauts to step on the moon), has proved that the city of Mecca is the centre of the planet Earth. When he for the first time travelled into space he took the picture of planet Earth, and said, “the Planet Earth turns out to hang in a very dark area.” Astronauts later found that the planet Earth issued some sort of radiation and after more research, it turned out that the radiation comes from the Kaaba.
The Keys are in the hands of one family: On the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet (PBUH) was given its keys, but he returned them to Osman ibn Talha (RA) of the Bani Shaiba family. ‘O Bani Talha, eternally up to the Day of Resurrection, and it will not be taken from you unless by an unjust, oppressive tyrant’. Till today the most powerful men in the world have all had to bow to the words of the Prophet (PBUH) and ask permission from this small Makkah family before they can enter the Kaaba as the key keepers.
It used to be opened to everyone: Until recently, the Kaaba was opened twice a week for anyone to enter and pray. However, due to the rapid expansion in the number of pilgrims and other factors, it is now opened only twice a year for dignitaries and exclusive guests only.
Submerge in water: In the past, one of the problems with having the Kaaba situated at the bottom of a valley is that when it rains – valleys tend to flood. For days, it would be half-submerged in water and that did not stop Muslims from performing the Tawaf. When such happens, Muslims swim around it. Modern adjustments to the surrounding landscape and flood prevention techniques system have changed that.
The Inside Contains Plaques: For years many have wondered what it looks like inside the Kaaba. Accounts from those who were lucky enough to have entered the interior report have it it is lined with marble and a green cloth covering the upper walls. Fixed into the walls are plaques each commemorating the refurbishment or rebuilding of the House of Allah by the ruler of the day.
There Are Two Kaabas!: Directly above the current Kaaba in heaven is an exact replica of it. This was mentioned in the Quran and by the Prophet (PBUH). ‘Then I was shown Al-Bait-al-Ma’mur (i.e. Allah’s House). I asked Gabriel about it and he said, This is Al-Bait-al-M a’mur where 70,000 angels perform prayers daily and when they leave they never return to it (but always a fresh batch comes into it daily)’- the Messenger of Allah narrating about ‘Isra wal Miraaj.
It’s not Cube-shaped: The most famous cube in the world actually started as a rectangle. The original dimensions of the House included the semi-circular area known as the Hijr Ismail, which made it rectangular. When it was rebuilt just before the Prophet (PBUH) received his first revelation, the Quraysh agreed to only use the income from pure sources to complete the rebuild, thus there was no enough money to its original size and shape! They only, put a mud-brick wall called “Hijr Ismail” to indicate the original dimensions. Apart from a brief interlude of a few years during the reign of Caliph Abdullah ibn Zubair (RA), the Kaaba has remained the same shape that the Prophet (PBUH) saw it in.
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Very educative and well detailed writing.
My contribution is that, it was reported that the Kaaba was first built by the angels before the rebuilding of prophet Ibrahim Alaihi Salaam.