The history of the Kaaba
The Kaaba, a cubic structure made of stone located in Mecca, is the only survivor of a group of Kaaba that was revered by the Arabs. Geometrically, the Kaaba is based on a base plan with dimensions of 11.03 meters in width and 12.86 meters in length, with a height varying between 13.1 meters to 15 meters, meaning that the Kaaba has an irregular structure.
It is not cubic in the geometric sense, and even its base is not a perfect square. The Kaaba was subjected to demolition and restoration operations, a large-scale restoration process where its walls were excavated, stripped of its previous stones, replaced with modern ones, and covered with resin to protect them from wear. Due to the irregular geometric nature of the Kaaba, cracks always occur, especially in the Yemeni corner, at the join of the two pillars forming the Yemeni corner.
Cracks occur at the base where the two pillars meet as a result of the difference in size and weight of the two walls, which requires continuous repairs or the constant addition of clamps and rivets to secure them, especially because they are small, hidden stone pieces that are not visible from the outside. Because of this heterogeneous pressure, which leads to the cracking of the Yamani Corner, the Saudi authorities closed the entrance to Zamzam Well.
During his short caliphate over the Hejaz, Abdullah bin Al-Zubair built a mastaba outside the Kaaba around its four sides, known as the Shazrawan, in order to protect the Kaaba from the torrents that were sweeping it during the rainy season, and to preserve the safety of pilgrims. The width of this mastaba is 45 cm and its height from the ground is 13 cm. Fifthyfive copper rings were installed in the Shazhrawan to connect the curtains of the Holy Kaaba and to cover it with black stones.
What is most exciting is that the Black Stone, in the southern corner, 110 centimeters high from the ground and 17 centimeters wide, which is considered a sacred stone, was originally one single piece when Muhammad ordered to put it in a garment. Muhammad ibn Khuza described it when the Qarmatians returned the stone in the year 339. He inspected it before it was placed and said:
“I looked at the black stone while it was uprooted, and saw that it was black only at its tip, while the rest of it was white, and its length was about a cubit.”
The Prophet considered it to be one of the stones of Paradise when he said:
“The Black Stone is one of the stones of Paradise”
and he even considered it to be one of the rubies of Paradise, as he said:
“The Corner and the Maqam are two rubies of Paradise".
Today only eight of the original Black Stone remain, the largest of which has the size of a single date. No one dares to address the matter, and they remain silent about it. There are various reasons for the loss of the majority of the Black Stone, based on belief, such as due to fires, natural floods, catapult bombardment, Qarmatian sabotage, and theft. Although history does not list a single reason, Islamic documentation indicates the safety of the Black Stone until it was returned from the Qarmatians.
When did the stone crack?
The remains of the Black Stone were glued with black resin and a silver ring was placed around it. Some people criticized it for being shaped like a woman’s vulva.
The chemical composition of the black stone matches the black stones that are abundant around Mecca and are of a volcanic nature. However, an article written by Zaghloul Al-Najjar claims that Richard Francis Broughton broke a piece of the Black Stone, took it with him, examined it, and proved that it was a meteorite and that it was preserved in the British Museum, something for which there is no other evidence.
It is said that the first person to wear a silver frame was Abdullah bin Al-Zubayr, and therefore it is possible that its shape resembles the vulva, perhaps due to its ancient roots linked to pre-Islamic practices, where women used to wipe menstrual blood with it for the sake of fertility.
The worship of stones was common in the Arabian Peninsula, and each Kaaba had its own stone. In the southern city of Ghaiman, they worshiped the red stone, in the Kaaba of Al-Ablat they worshiped the white stone, and in Mecca they worshiped the black stone. There is still a white stone standing to this day on the top of Mount Arafat, which was called Mount Ella, the god of the moon.
In the book Al-Milal wal-Nihal by Abu Al-Qasim Al-Shahristani, p. 247, was mentioned that he used to practice a strange ritual during Hajj, which was touching the Black Stone. Dr. Sayed Al-Qimni explains in his book Myth and Heritage, 3rd ed., p. 163, the secret of contact with the Black Stone, by saying:
There is an Islamic narration: The Black Stone was originally white, but turned black from touching menstruation in pre-Islamic times. That is, there was a ritual among the pre-Islamic people that women performed on the stone, which was touching the Black Stone with menstrual blood.
The noble Hadith indicates that the Black Stone, originally, was white and that it was a stone that descended from Paradise. He says:
The Black Stone descended from Paradise, whiter than snow, and was blackened by the sins of the children of Adam. Of the stones of Paradise and whatever is on earth of Paradise other than it, it was as white as its color. The black stone was a white ruby from the rubies of Paradise, but it was blackened by the sins of the polytheists. The Black Stone is one of the stones of Paradise and Zamzam is a handful of Gabriel’s wings. The Black Stone was brought down by an angel from heaven.
The Kaaba was previously supported by six pillars (today there are three). Facing the entry door on the back of the Kaaba from the inside is a mihrab in the place where the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, prayed. It is distinguished by marble of a different shape to indicate the place of prayer of the Prophet. On the right of the person entering the Kaaba, there is a staircase that leads to the roof, closed by a door that has a lock and is covered with a curtain. It is called the Bab of Repentance.
The walls of the Kaaba from the inside are covered with beautiful curtains of green silk, and on them is written:
There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God
(Indeed, the first house established for mankind was the one in Mecca, blessed and a guidance for the worlds) and it is written (We may see the turning of your face in the sky.
So, we will turn to you a qiblah that will please you, so turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque) and it is written:
The name of God Almighty, O tenderness, O manan, O possessor of majesty and honor
There was a hole in the Kaaba, a meter and a half deep, called the Kaaba Well, in which its treasures, possessions, and gifts were placed. Then, in this well, Hubal, the idol that the Quraysh were worshiping, was placed in. On the authority of Ibn Abbas he said:
When the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, came, he refused to enter the house and the idols and pictures were in it, so he ordered them to be taken out, and they brought out pictures of Abraham and Ishmael with sharpeners in their hands
and the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said:
May God fight them. By God, they knew that they had never sworn by it.
But he kept the image of Jesus and his mother Mary, and they were taken out after his death. The caliphs used to hang gold, antiques, and jewelry on the inside of the Kaaba, and Omar ibn al-Khattab did that when he hung two crescents of gold from Chosroes, and after him the caliphs did that, such as al-Walid ibn Yazid, al-Mutawakkil, al-Ma’mun, and Harun al-Rashid. Some sources indicate that there was a crescent at the door of the Kaaba, in the belief that the Kaaba was originally for worshiping the moon god, in accordance with Omar bin Al-Khattab’s choice of the crescent specifically to decorate the walls of the Kaaba with it.
The first person to cover the door and the cylinders with gold was Caliph Al-Walid bin Abdul-Malik. Caliph Harun Al-Rashid provided opinions about the source of Mecca or Bakkah, according to the historical and cultural source.
Sources mention that the tribes of the south were the first to colonize this valley, so it is most likely that their name was taken from the language of the south. Mecca or Makrab was mentioned by Ptolemy (Alexandria, mid-second century AD) meaning the house of the Lord, meaning that Makkarb is a compound name of (Mek) meaning house and (Lord) meaning (Lord) or (God), so the meaning becomes the house of the Lord or the house of God.
Brockelmann mentioned that Mecca is taken from the South Arabic word “Miqrab,” which means “the temple,” and it appears that the word “mihrab” is derived from it or is the original pronunciation of the word, with the kaf changing to a ha. Brockelmann mentions that Ptolemy transmitted this name through the Aramaeans, where it appears in the Eastern Aramaic dialect as Maquraba or Makaraba.
That is, its name was mentioned in Ptolemy's Geography in the close form of Macoraba, which is close to the word makrab according to the Sabaeans, and even to the word Mecca if we separate the sentence into its words. It is likely that the meaning of the name mentioned by Ptolemy is “the one who is closest to God” by adding the m and kasra the r. Herodotus, the Greek geographer (fifth century AD), mentioned it as Makaraba, and even in the ancient Ethiopian form it is called Mickorab.
However, Brockelmann points out the possibility that it came to Mecca, meaning (valley) as well as (Bakkah), and gives an example of this: the name Baalbek, meaning the Valley of Baal, and that Macoraba or Makaraba in the Eastern Aramaic dialect means (the Great Valley) or (the Valley of the Lord).
But Brockelmann suggests that Mecca is derived from the word Makrib or Muqarrab of southern Arabia due to its location close to their influence and the continuous displacement of southern tribes and their settlement near it. In addition, Georgi Zidane mentioned that Mecca is derived from Mek in Babylonian, meaning "house".
However, Dr. Sami Al-Dheeb points out that the word Mecca means the "lowland", in the Syriac language. He also points out that the word Yathrib is also Syriac and means the place of the Lord, while the word Quraysh, in Syriac, means cowherds.
According to linguistic derivation: there are those who provide a linguistic explanation, which has no historical or cultural relationship to the neighborhood, but rather an attempt to extract the meaning from the Arabic language alone, with artificial disregard for the factors of cultural and historical communication. They believe that it was named Mecca from Makk, meaning to absorb, because the people of Mecca had water. They extract it because of its scarcity, and this meaning is taken from the breast, meaning sucking it, and the bone, meaning the sucking of everything in it.
Some scholars considered that Mecca and Meem are synonymous names, meaning that Mecca is Mecca and the meem is instead of the b, as in their saying, “What is this” with the stroke of “lazab” and “lazab”? The meaning of this is that Mecca and Meem share the same connotations and meanings, and the difference is due to the differences in dialects between the tribes. If this is the case, then the belief is that it was called Mecca because of the crowding of people there, and this is a specification of the characteristic of crowding as a common meaning between the two roots Mek and Bek.
The derivation of Mecca from the root (mka) gives the following mental connotations:
- A- It was called Mecca because the Arabs in pre-Islamic times used to perform pilgrimage in the place of the Kaaba, because they used to say that our Hajj will not be completed until we come to the place of the Kaaba and sleep in it, that is, we whistle the Meccan whistle around the Kaaba, so they used to whistle and clap. This meaning was derived from the root maka maka, meaning he whistled with his mouth or interlaced the fingers of his hands, then inserted them into his mouth and blew into them. It was stated in this meaning: ((And their prayer at the House was nothing but lamentation and confrontation)) [Al-Anfal: 35]. The maca bird was called that because it brings its hands together and then whistles beautifully in them. It is called "Makka Al-Ta'ir", meaning zero.
- B- It was named Mecca because of the purification for prayer. In the dictionary: the boy was purified for prayer, and the horse was purified for prayer, and the Persian was purified, meaning he became wet with sweat. However, prayer and purification were not widespread among the Arabs before Islam.
It was named Mecca from the time the bone was crushed, then it was Makkhatah, meaning it took its brain and its shape. Al-Rajz said:
O Mecca, the immoral person is the Mecca,
and do not cry in Madhhij, Akka
Bakkah: From their saying: I made a man cry, I cry when you give birth to him and restore his brotherhood.
Al-Hasan used to say: They cry in every way, which is a struggle. It is said: “Weep,” meaning he pushed, so he is wept.
Al-Rajiz said:
If you take the drink,
leave it until it weeps, and we weep,
also derived from this meaning.
Aamman ibn Ka'b said:
Did she not say, "Bhan and you did not retain
a blessing, and bliss does not suit you." The basin
weeps on top of it and at night,
and below its cover there is a stench of rain
and it was said: "Weeping" means the House.
Mecca has two folds: the upper fold and the lower fold. The upper fold is called the place when it falls. The Messenger of God entered the year of conquest from the upper corner, as Aisha narrated. He used to emerge from the lower part of Mecca. On the authority of Mujahid. They said: It was called “Weeping” because people cry among themselves. Mecca is between two mountains Abu Qubays and Qaqaan, and it is connected to Abu Qubays Al-Khandama. Ibn Attarad recited to us, on the authority of Yunus, on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, to Hamas bin Qais Al-Bakri, to his wife on the day of the conquest of Mecca:
If you had witnessed the day of the Khandaqah,
when Safwan won and Ikrimah fled,
Abu Yazid would stand like a leader,
and you would meet them with sharp swords
cutting off every forearm and skull.
You will not hear anything but their muttering,“
You have forbidden us to be created,” and their
muttering, “You have not uttered the slightest word
of blame.”
And Al-Abtah, the Valley of Mecca, from the book “A Quick Look at Arab Countries Before Islam” by Indian writers H. L. Oberoi and B. K. Oak note that Mecca is a Hindu word, and it is pronounced Mahka, which means the Temple of Fire. It is believed that all indications indicate that Mecca is an ancient Hindu temple.
Building the Kaaba
There are no reliable scientific studies to determine when the Kaaba was built or who built it, and what is being circulated does not go beyond legend, which receives support from religious regimes in particular, at the same time that Saudi Arabia prevents any historical study, and some believe that it is a remnant of Sumerian temples, or similar to them, or that it is a remnant of Hindu worship.
Stories about the construction of the Kaaba
On the authority of Fadl bin Sahl Al-Araj and Abdulaziz bin Muawiyah bin Abdulaziz Al-Amawi, they said: Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Ansari told us on the authority of Ibn Jarij, in his saying: (And His throne was upon the water) before He created a sky. Saeed bin Jubair bin Abbas asked: What was the water like before He created a sky? He said: On the board of the wind. Ata and Amr said: We want one over the other. Then God sent winds, and the winds smacked the water, and the place of the House emerged from it from a white veneer like a dome. So God extended the earth from it, so it is the Mother of Towns. Then the mountains were fastened so that they would not sway. Takfa’ was the first mountain. In the land of Abu Qays. Ataa said: Adam, peace be upon him, said: O Lord, why do I not hear the voices of angels? He said: It is your fault, but go down, for I have a house to make light of, just as I saw the angels surrounding my house which is in the sky. Then when Adam disobeyed his Lord, he fled and took from a tree with his head from the trees of Paradise, and he was very hairy, so his Lord called to him: O Adam, do you want to flee? He said: O Lord, am I ashamed of you, so God brings him down, and I go down with him in glory? And he brought down with him a plant containing seed, and a mare and a basil, and the ala and the two female dogs, and the corner, and the staff of Moses, and eight pairs of camels, cows, sheep, and goats. God commanded him to build the house, so he built it from five mountains: from Hira, Tur Sinai, Tur Zeta, Lebanon, and Al-Judi, and it was a hill in Hira, so that was construction. Adam, may God bless him and grant him peace, until when he drowned and God raised the House, the ship came and circumambulated it seven times, then it passed to Yemen, so God bid farewell to the pillar Abu Qubays.
Source: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The current Kaaba is not the original Kaaba whose builder is said to be Ismail. The wreckage, which is called the Ishmael Stone, which is the exposed structure in the form of a semicircle on the northern side of the Kaaba, was part of the building, but the Quraysh destroyed it and removed it from the building because they were unable to provide Permissible money to build all its parts, according to a narration from Muhammad to Aisha.
When Mrs. Aisha asked the Prophet to pray inside the Kaaba, he took her hand and told her to pray in this debris, for it is a piece of the House.
They said that prayers are answered in the mud and under the gutter. Al-Shaybani said: I saw Saeed bin Jubair in Ismail’s lap, embracing the House. The gutter is a piece of metal covered with gold and placed on top of the house to drain rainwater. The Quraysh were the first to make a gutter for the Kaaba, and the current length of the gutter is 253 cm.
They said that when Abdullah bin Al-Zubair excavated the rubble while building the Kaaba, they found the grave of Ismail, peace be upon him, and people bore witness to that, but it is not known exactly what was found.
Other heels for worshiping the gods were called “the House of the Lord” and they were common in ancient times. They appeared as a rhyming inheritance of the Mesopotamian civilization, and their influence extended to the Gulf, Yemen, and even the depths of the peninsula, in addition to the south of the peninsula. The House of the Lord could be of all sizes, small or large, and all shapes, including the cubic one, and it was used for worship and as a residence for monks in isolated areas.
Many Muslim historians believe that the name Mecca comes from Maqqa, based on the fact that the temples of pagan moon worship were called Maqqa. Where archaeological inscriptions were found with the Musnad letter, including an inscription from which it is understood that there was a temple for worshiping the moon god, the famous god of Sheba, known as Maqqa, and it was located near the village of Ma’rib in Yemen. See Georgi Zidane's "The Arabs Before Islam"
Twenty-Three Kaaba in the Arabian peninsula
There was not a single Kaaba on the Arabian Peninsula, but rather there were twenty-three Kaabas, and each Kaaba had a rock, except that the Kaaba of Mecca was considered the most honorable, the most distinguished, and the place of honor for all Arabs. The Quraysh tribe was the largest of the tribes whose home was in Quraysh, and they called its members “the people of the Sanctuary” because in their village The Kaaba exists, and it seems that the Jews linked it to the story of Ishmael and Abraham in order to create a genealogical connection with the Arabs, when they were forced to migrate to the island and settle there. By claiming that they are descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham, and that Abraham Al-Khalil was the one who founded the Kaaba and laid the stone, they have been able to fabricate a lineage that has great importance in the concepts of relations and alliances between the Arab Bedouins!
These stories are the ones that Muhammad relied on in his affiliation to the Abrahamic prophetic lineage.
Al-Bukhari narrated something similar on the authority of Aisha, and there were other tyrants in the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere that the Arabs venerated, such as venerating the Kaaba, other than these three that he stipulated in his dear book. Rather, he mentioned these only because they are more famous than others. Houses that you venerate like the Kaaba, have a grove and a veil, and you give gifts to them just as you give gifts to the Kaaba, and you circumambulate them as you circumambulate them, and you sacrifice there, knowing the superiority of the Kaaba over him, because she had known that it was the house of Abraham, peace be upon him, and his mosque, so it belonged to the Quraysh and to the Banu Kinanah al-Uzza with a palm tree, and its grove and veil were Banu Shayban, from Salim, allies of Banu Hashim.
He was venerated and sanctified by the Khath'am tribe, Bajila, Azd al-Sarat, and their relatives from among the Arabs from Hawazin (202).
“Dhul-Khalasa” was of Dos, Khath’am, Bajila, Azd al-Sarat, and those close to them from Hawazin. Dhul-Khalasa was in the form of a white, engraved “Marwah” (rock), and his servants (those responsible for serving the pilgrims) were from the Imamate family of the Bahila tribe. Historical narratives mention that the idol is “Dhul-Khalasa.” It was in the form of a white stone engraved with the shape of a crown (203). And the one who erected this stone was Amr ibn Luhay al-Khuza’i (the hadiths accuse him of being the first to introduce polytheism to the Arabs, see the footnote below), and that the Arabs used to offer Dhu al-Khalasah gifts and sacrifices such as barley and wheat, pour milk on him, and sacrifice offerings to him. The idol, “Dhu al-Khalasa,” had a house or a temple to which people made pilgrimages and went to divide arrows with him - Ilham - and he had three cups - arrows - which were: the command, the prohibition, and the mutant (205).
In addition to these historical accounts, there is some information that indicates that (Dhul-Khalasa) is the name of the house in which the idol was located. It was said that the name of the house is Al-Khalasa.
The name of the idol is Dhul-Khalsa.
Perhaps there was some truth to this statement, as is the case with the idol “Al-Uzza” and his temple. In other words, Dhu al-Khalasa may be the temple that contains the engraved white stone. Which is the idol itself, and the historian Jawad Ali believes that the Arabs who worshiped the idol “Dhu al-Khalasa” used to circumambulate around the Kaaba or the house of this idol, and inside this house was an idol called al-Khalasa (207).
It seems that the circumambulation of the Arabs around “Dhul-Khalasa” is similar to the circumambulation that was performed in Mecca, that is, the circumambulation around the Kaaba, inside which was the Black Stone.
The idol “Dhu al-Khalasa” remained standing and sacred among some Arab tribes until the emergence of Islam and after the Messenger Muhammad conquered Mecca and destroyed its idols. Historical accounts stated that when the Messenger Muhammad heard of the survival of “Dhu al-Khalasa,” he prepared in the year 632 AD a military campaign led by Jarir bin Abdullah Al-Bajli to destroy that idol. Al-Bajli and his group fought intensely against the Khath’am and Bahila tribes who were defending “Dhul-Khalasa.” After the victory, Al-Bajli and his group demolished the idol of “Dhul-Khalasa,” and his temple was burned with fire, and its guards and guards were killed (208). But that will not help, as it is an idol that will be worshiped at the end of time, as it is proven in the hadith that the Hour will not come until the buttocks of the women of Dos and Khath’am line up around Dhu al-Khalasa.
Some Arab historians and researchers believe that Jarir bin Abdullah al-Bajli was unable to demolish the entire structure of “Dhu al-Khalasa” due to its size and that I was satisfied with the demolition of part of that building, and that he demolished and destroyed the idols that were inside that building, that is, inside the temple of “Dhu al-Khalasa.”
As for the walls of this temple, they remained standing until the beginning of the twentieth century, and the evidence is that when King Abdulaziz Al Saud took control of Hejaz, he ordered his prince to... Abdul Aziz Al Ibrahim (according to researcher Rushdi Malhas) destroyed the remains of pagan temples and subjugated the Arab tribes residing in Sarat al-Hijaz, under the pretext that these tribes were trying to return to the heresies, superstitions and religious traditions that prevailed before Islam, and the remains of the “Dhu al-Khalasa” temple were among those. The buildings that were subjected to this destruction and demolition during this period (and the Wahhabi rule is still destroying the cultural and historical heritage of the Islamic nation on the island).
After the invasion of Mecca, Muhammad sent Jarir bin Abdullah to destroy it, so he went out in Bujaila, and the matter required fighting the Khath’am and Bahila tribes, which defended the idol fiercely, and hundreds of them were killed. They set the house of the idol on fire, then they made the idol of Dhu al-Khalasa a threshold for the mosque there and those who were in their country. The Arabs in Tabala “Qult” and it was called the Yemeni Kaaba, and the Kaaba in Mecca was the Levantine Kaaba. In Yemen, there were seven famous houses of worship for the seven stars (stars), one of which was called the House of Ghamdan (Kaaba of Ghamdan). It was built by Al-Dahhak in Sana’a, Yemen, in honor of Venus. It was demolished by Caliph Othman, see Al-Shahrastani, and Othman was killed because of A collection of the Qur’an and the original Harqa fulfilled the prophecy that Al-Janabi claimed was inscribed on the House (Kaaba), which is: “Ghamdan" (meaning Kaaba of Ghamdan), your destroyer will be killed.
Historians have mentioned that the most famous Kaaba for idols in Yemen is the House of Rayam (or Riam), which belonged to the Himyarite tribes in Yemen, and they venerate him and draw near to him through sacrifices. Ibn al-Kalbi - Idols, pp. 11-12, and compare the biography of Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 87 - Al-Tijan, by Wahab bin Munabbih, p. 297.
The scholar Jawad mentioned that the Ayyad tribes had a house called Kaaba Ayyad: “And that is between Kufa and Basra in a place known as Sandan.” From the region of Dhuhr, “Ibn Kalbi’s Book of Idols, pg. 45 - and compare the biography of Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, pg. 88 (the name is Sindad) Ibn Ishaq said, Dhul-Ka’abat was for Bakr, and he dominated the Banu Wa’il and Iyad in Sindad, and he says, ‘A’sha ibn Qays ibn Tha’labah is between Al-Khawarnaq, Al-Sudair, and Bariq, and the house Dhul-Ka’abat is in Sindad.
In the north, beyond the Euphrates, between the second and third centuries AD, in the Sinjar desert, on the land of the Jazira, west of Tikrit, where the center of the caravan routes between Iraq and the Levant is 140 km away. West of Mosul, there are still traces of the city of Hatra, and the name is Arabized from the Aramaic name (Hatra), Jawad Ali, vol. 2, p. 610. The ruins of the city indicate a good structure and strong fortifications, combining Arabic and Greek typologies. Arab historians know the people of Hatra as the Garamaks or Jaramaks, and they are affiliated with the Armenians. Sam and their most famous ruler kings were from the Arabs of Qudhaa. The Persians knew the people of Hatra as Manizan, and the Greeks and the Latins knew them as Manisar and Mannus. It is known that when the Romans strengthened their relationship with the people of Hatra, they called them “Arabs,” and the inscriptions regarding the kings found in this city call them “Kings of the Arabs.” It included the names of their kings, “Malakadi of the Arabs.”
The previous introduction was necessary to clarify the close connection between the worship of the moon god, the Kaaba, and the Arabs, wherever they were. A temple was discovered in the ruins of the city of Hatra called “Sadin Al-Arab,” which is cubic in shape. Dr. Saad Zaghloul Abdel Hamid says in writing a history. The Arabs before Islam used the phrase “according to what we saw,” meaning that it was a cube surrounded by a corridor in which idol gods were lined up. He ended his statement with the phrase, “as if it was built for the purpose of circumambulating around it.”
The Kaaba
In the interior of the Kaaba there was an idol called “Hubal,” and the idol of Hubal was in the shape of a broken human being, Ibn al-Kalbi - Al-Idlam, pp. 27-28. The Arabs said that it was made of red agate, and the Quraish used to make a hand for it of gold. In front of Hubal was the lighter that he used to strike in order to seek Istikhara.
Around the Kaaba stood other idols, estimated by some ancient historians at 50, and the number of idols reached 360, meaning that every day of the year had an idol, such as “Asaf” and “Naila,” who were in the form of a man and a woman. The Arabs believed that they transformed two stones due to their immorality in the Kaaba, and one of them was adjacent to the Kaaba. The other is at the well of Zamzam, Ibn al-Kalbi - The Idols, p. 29, the house of Riyam (or Ri’am), which belongs to the Himyar tribe in Yemen, and they used to venerate him and offer sacrifices to him in Yemen. The idols, p. 11-12, and compare the biography of Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 87, and the crowns of Lukhib ibn Munabbih, p. 297, the Kaaba of Ayyad, which is It is specific to the Ayad tribes, and a place is located between Kufa and Basra. A place known as Sindad is located in the Dhahr region. Al-Ishan, p. 45. Compare the biography of Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 88. The name is Sindad, ‘Uba Rida: Kaaba Rida. Ibn Ishaq said: Rida was the house of the Banu Rabi’ah bin Ka’b bin Saad bin Zaid Manat bin Tamim, and it belongs to her. Al-Mustaghar ibn Rabi'ah ibn Ka'b ibn Sa'd says when he demolished it in Islam, Ibn Hisham <88>: And I stressed the satisfaction of severity = so I left it desolate in the valley of Ashma. Ibn Hisham said: His saying, so I left it desolate in the valley of Ashma = on the authority of a man from Banu Saad.
It belonged to the tribes of Rabi’ah ibn Ka’b. It existed at the beginning of Islam, but Amr ibn Rabi’ah, famous for his idols, p. 30, demolished it. Compare the biography of Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 187 (where the name is Ridha).
Kaaba of Saqam: It is a house that belonged to Al-Uzza in one of the reefs of Wadi Haradh, which is called Saqam. They were compared to it.
The Kaaba of God Sin: It dates back to the fourth century AD, and God Sin symbolizes the moon, a delegation worshiped by the people of the Hadhramaut Kingdom, which was contemporary with Ma’in and Qataban. Hadhrami writings were found bearing the names of a number of kings, including a king named Ma’ad Yakri, Lord of the Sun (which dates back to the beginning of the second century AD) Jawad Ali, Part 2 Pages 130-132 Hummel, pp. 106-107. This indicates the rootedness of the worship of God, the god of the moon, among the Arabs,
Kaaba Ri’am:
Ibn Ishaq said: Himyar and the people of Yemen had a house in Sana’a called Ri’am.
Ibn Hisham said: I mentioned his hadith previously.
Dhul-Ka'abat, Ibn Ishaq said: Dhul-Ka'bah was owned by Bakr, and my sons Wael and Iyad prevailed in Sindad, and he has the title of A'sha of Bani Qais bin Tha'labah between Al-Khornaq, Al-Sudair and Bariq = And the house Dhul-Ka'bah is from Sindad. Ibn Hisham <89> said: This house belongs to Al-Aswad bin Yafar Al-Nahshli. Nahshal bin Dharm bin Malik bin Hanzala bin Malik bin Zaid Manat bin Tamim, in a poem of his. And Abu Mahrez Khalaf Al-Ahmar recited to me:
The people of Al-Khawarnaq, Al-Sudair and Bariq = And the house with balconies from Sindad. He mentioned Dhul-Ka’abat, the house of Wael, and he recited for Al-Aswad bin Yafar the land of Al-Khawarnaq, Al-Sudair and Darim, and the house with balconies from Sindad.
Why heels: All island heels share two basic characteristics? So they are all cubic buildings? They are all frames of black stones, and the Greeks mentioned at the beginning of Christian history that there is a house that the Arabs sanctify, which they call Macoraba. They believe that what is meant by it is Mecca. See Jawad Ali - Al-Mufassal, vol. 4, p. 9. Dr. Saad Zaghloul Abdel Hamid says in the book The Arabs Before Islam, Dr. Saad Zaghloul Abdel Hamid. Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor of Islamic History and Civilization, Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University and Beirut Arab University, printed in 1976, Arab Renaissance House for Printing and Publishing, Beirut, P.O. Box 749, see pp. 248-280: “Although the relationship between the Greek name and ancient Yemeni names such as al-Muqarrab or al-Muqarrabah can be called into question. What is meant by this is Mecca.”
The word al-muqarrab means the one who is close to the gods, and the presence of the word akrab has spread in the names of some of the kings of the Ma’inid state, and from it it is understood that some of the presidents and kings were priests, religious heads, or those in charge of temple affairs at the same time. See Rhodokanakis (The History of the Ancient Arabs by Nielsen), chapter 3, pp. 123-125. Also, see Jawad Ali, vol. 2, p. 109, and in the newly discovered state of Ma’in (especially what Halevi and Glazer found from the inscriptions), it states that there was an ancient city in Yemen in the Al-Jawf region, east of Sana’a, whose name was Ma’in, and it was Qarnaw, and this city was the capital. The state of Ma'in, which preceded the Sabaean state and then contemporaneous with it. The state of Ma'in was united with the city of Yatil, which surrounded the ruins of Baraqish. See Hummel, chapter 2 of Nelson's book, p. 73 - and see Zaidan, pp. 130-131 - and see Jawad Ali, vol. 2, p. 73.
In the State of Ma’in, each city had its own temple containing one or more gods, and it is possible for there to be many temples, and the temple of the capital, which was Al-Qarn (Qarnaw), was known as Barsaf.. The most famous gods known to the people of the State of Ma’in are: Wad (which symbolizes the worship of the moon god). Anthar (which symbolizes Venus), Nakrah (which symbolizes the sun), and Al-Ma’an (meaning a specific god).
The idea of worshiping the sun and the moon among the people of Yemen is mentioned in many references by Arab writers and historians. See Jawad Ali, vol. 2, p. 113 - and in the book of Asad Khayyat (The Arabic Language). Its money and what it owes) He talked about the Kaaba of Baal in Palmyra and the pilgrimage to Baal Bakka (Baalbek), and as a result, Bakkah is linked to him with the expression “Baka”, which means weeping, as it is in Bakka Bakka (Baalbek), which indicates that Bakka and the Hajj are part of an ancient heritage. He says: (Qusayy ibn Kilab ibn Murrah. We do not know of any of the Arabs. She is called Qusayy. In Aramaic, Qusayy, and its root qusy means the religious sheikh, and it is not limited to Christian clerics. Qusayy’s interest in the Kaaba, and because of the connection of trade with the Hajj seasons, as the Kaaba of Baal in Palmyra was a pilgrimage in addition to Hajj. To Baal Bakka (Baalbek), the Hajj was closely linked to trade, and Mara probably has its origin mara, which in Aramaic means master, and Kalab may have its origin every father, meaning the son of the masters or father of the masters. The Quraysh inhabited Mecca, and pilgrims go to Mecca annually, burdened with sins, asking for forgiveness, regretful and crying, and this What the Syrians used to do in the temples of the god Baal, such as Baal Bakka, that is, crying and regret asking for forgiveness from Baal, and Mecca (Mecca) is also known as Bakka, and the Kaaba of Bakka gives the same meaning, significance and role.)
Source: Asad Khayyat - The Arabic language... its advantages and disadvantages
The strangest Arab Kaaba (Najran Kaaba)
It is not known precisely what this Kaaba is and the religion to which its pioneers belonged. Everything that has come to us came to us from Ibn al-Kalbi in his mention of the Kaaba of Najran. He recounted what Al-A’sha mentioned in his poetry, which Yaqut mentioned in Mu’jam al-Buldan, in which he says:
And the Kaaba of Najran is decreed for you until you renounce it. Through its gates, we visit Yazid, Abd al-Masih, and Qais, they are the best of its rulers.
Al-Kalbi did not determine precisely whether the Kaaba of Najran was a house of worship, a seminary, or a forum where the people gathered. Ibn al-Kalbi - Al-Idols, pp. 44-45, and Yaqut Mu’jam al-Buldan (Najran), vol. 4, p. 756, and he has stated that Ibn al-Kalbi is of the last opinion - and his opinion was based on the fact that the Banu Abd al-Madan bin al-Dayan al-Harithi built it on the basis of the building of the Kaaba and glorified it in imitation of the Kaaba. It is known that the Banu Abd al-Madan were Christian. They were the ones who came to the Prophet of Islam and he called them to Mubahala. Researchers believe that the names mentioned in Al-A’sha’s poetry, including the name of Abdul Masih, are that they were martyrs and their bones were buried in the building that Al-A’sha said was the Kaaba, and that they attained some sanctification, so Al-A’sha called them its lords, meaning its masters. The text about the presence of bishops explicitly confirms that it was for the Christians, and whoever described the Kaaba of Najran as “a dome made of human beings made of three hundred skins” indicates to me that it was not built like the Kaaba of Mecca, and it was famous for the fact that “if a fearful person came to it, he would feel safe, or seek a need that would be fulfilled.”
The scholar Jawad Ali Jawad Ali Al-Mufassal says in the history of the Arabs before Islam - Dr. Jawad Ali, p. 387. “Fulbi” visited Wadi Najran and found ancient ruins dating back to before Islam. He also learned about the location of the Kaaba of Najran. He found old pictures engraved in the rock near Umm Kharq, and writings written in the Musnad. And on a place known as “Ibn Thamer Palace,” and a shrine attributed to that martyr saint whose name appears in the stories of the Akhbaris about the martyrs of Najran. Philby believes that the city of Rajmah is the “groove,” and that the ruins that are still seen in it today date back to the days of the Maenites. The archaeological "Qasr al-Ukhdood" is located between "Al-Qabil" and "Rajla", and it is one of the sites rich in antiquities. Philby simplified his description of the location of the groove, and drew up a diagram of the archaeological sites he saw in that place.
The Christian martyrs of Najran were the owners of the groove mentioned in the Qur’an. They were Christian residents to whom Christianity arrived through missionaries. It is believed that this happened in the late third or early fourth century AD. In the year 525 AD, Dhu Nuwas, the last king of Himyar, ordered the Najranis to convert from Christianity to Judaism. When they refused, he besieged them, captured them, and burned those who did not submit to him in ditches. This event was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an (Surat Al-Buruj, verses 1-7) “And the sky with constellations, and the promised day, and witness and witness. The people of Najran at the hands of Dhu Nuwas, based on the story of the people of the Akhdhud... Some of the Najranis escaped the grip of Dhu Nuwas, and among them was Dos bin Thaban, who sought help from the Roman Emperor asking for help. The Emperor saw this as a good opportunity to occupy the Arabian Peninsula, so he sent an army of seven thousand fighters under the leadership of “Ariat” and with him “Abraha Al-Ashram” (he was mentioned in history as the one who wanted to demolish the Holy Kaaba in Mecca). The army of "Ariat" was able to eliminate the state of Himyar. As a result, Najran remained Christian, and shrines of worship in which religious rituals were held were spread among the villages of this region. These silos were also used to warn residents of the danger of enemies by ringing bells and lighting fires. Najran grew at that time, as the number of its villages reached more than seventy villages gathered around the valley, and its army reached about one hundred and twenty thousand fighters, and its population was more than double this number.
There was no mention of the Kaaba of Najran, nor of the Madhbaj of the tribe, nor of the Banu al-Dayan al-Harithites. This is evidence that the Kaaba of Najran was created during the hundred years before the emergence of Islam, and its authority became the responsibility of a people from the Banu al-Afi’a of Jurham. When the matter came to Abd al-Masih, he married his daughter Dhaima to Abdullah bin Yazid bin Abd al-Madan, so Abdullah died and his money was transferred. For his father, see the book Between Mecca and Hadramaut, p. 352. It was stated in the book of Al-Mukhbar, p. 132, that Al-Sayyid, Al-Aqib, and the bishop and their delegation who wanted to perform the Muhalah of the Messenger of God - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family - were from the generation of the snake, and they were the residents of Najran descended from Jurhum al-Ula. Al-Tabari said, p. 321, vol. 3, when the people of Najran heard of the death of the Messenger of God - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family - and they were at that time forty thousand fighters from the Banu Al-Afi’a, the nation they had been in before the Banu Al-Harith, pp. 89-90, the book Najran in the Phases of History]. I said, “Then the sons of Al-Afi’ (Abdul Masih, whose name is Al-Aqib) and (Al-Sayyid, whose name is Wahb) participated in the matter of the Kaaba of Najran, and the sons of Al-Dayan (Qays bin Husayn) and (Yazid bin Abdul-Madan). Al-A’sha said in poetry: The Kaaba of Najran has been imposed on you until you enter its gates and visit Yazid (1) And Abdul Masih (2) = and Qays (3), and their leaders are excavators searching for traces of the Kaaba of Najran.
The Arab News Agency published news about the search for the oldest church on the Arabian Peninsula in southern Saudi Arabia, which the Arabs called the Kaaba of Najran, and they made pilgrimages to it for 40 years in pre-Islamic times on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 AD. 05 Rabi’ al-Thani 1427 AH Riyadh - Hanan Al-Zeer Excavations are being conducted in southern Saudi Arabia to uncover the oldest church built in the Arabian Peninsula. Before Islam, the residents of the city of Najran called it the Kaaba, and Arabs made pilgrimages to it for 40 years.
These attempts come despite the disagreement between archaeologists about the fact of its existence or not, but history books mention that it was built by the Banu Abd al-Madan bin al-Dayan al-Harithi. They built it in the style of the Holy Kaaba and glorified it, and some Arabs at that time imitated them.
It was reported that the Arabs had made pilgrimages to it for about forty years in pre-Islamic times, and it is not the Kaaba of Yemen, which was built by Abraha Al-Ashram.
The people of Najran claim that the location of the church was on the top of Mount Tsalal, which is about 35 km away from Najran to the northeast, and the mountain is about 300 feet higher than other mountains.
A historian confirms its discovery
Historian Abdullah Filipi mentioned in his book “The Arabian Najads” that when he visited the Najran region in 1936 AD, he discovered it on this mountain, and he inferred it from the mat that he saw at the top of the generation and from a faded image of an idol.
Despite all this, the Kaaba of Najran is still just news in historical books without any accurate investigation confirming it.
Saleh Al-Marih, Director of the Department of Antiquities in the Najran region, explained to Al-Arabiya.net that Mount Tasalal is located on the borders of Bani Madan Al-Harithi, who are known for their composure, strength, and protection of the weak, as no renter enters their protection unless they help him.
He said that he did not see any landmarks indicating that a Christian church was built on the mountain before Islam, and he believes that this place is a border for the Banu Abd al-Madan and that there is no church or signs of worship in the place.
He added: “If that church had been built, we would have found any signs of living, but we did not find anything, and as I stood on the place myself, perhaps this name was given to the place as a result of Abdul Madan’s strength and courage and because he knew the borders of their father-in-law.” He pointed out that research is still being conducted currently to find out how realistic it is. There is a church in this place.
The missionaries built it in the first half of the birth of Christ. On the other hand, some historians said that the church was called the Kaaba of Najran because the word Kaaba refers to every cubic house, indicating that when Christianity spread in Najran, they built a church that they called the Kaaba of Najran.
They mention that after The arrival of Christianity to Abyssinia, a neighbor of the Arabian Peninsula to the west, which has ancient ties to it. Christianity moved to the island and some missionaries came to Christianize the people of Najran, so they founded the church. Christianity was concentrated in Najran in the year 525 AD, and at that time Abraha took the ashram of Najran as a major center for spreading Christianity in the Arab countries.
When Islam emerged, Najran and its church were the main center of Christianity in Yemen. The Egyptian writer Ahmed Amin confirms that the Kaaba of Najran had accredited bishops, among whom Qais bin Sa’idah became famous, and Arab writers mention that he was the bishop of Najran.
Dr. Muhammad Hussein Heikal referred to the sermon delivered by Qasis bin Sa`ida in the Ukaz market and heard by the Holy Prophet, where he mentioned the cosmic verses that indicate that life was not created in vain and alluded to resurrection, resurrection, and reckoning, and most importantly of all, he heralded the imminence of the emergence of a new religion, and it will not come. A priori, except at the hands of a prophet or messenger.
The reason for calling it the Kaaba of Najran
Dr. Muhammad Al Zalfa, a member of the Saudi Shura Council, confirmed the fact of building the first Christian church in the Najran region, pointing to its location on Mount Tasalal and saying: “It is customary among the Arabs to give this church the name Kaaba of Najran due to its shape, which is similar to the shape of a cube, and it is natural.” During that period, which was the middle of the first millennium AD, this region witnessed the construction of a church to which historians said the Arabs made pilgrimages for more than 40 years until the emergence of Islam.
He added that history books reported that the church was made of leather and nothing remains of it now, except for what the historian mentioned. Abdullah Philby wrote in his book in 1939 about the existence of a place or space that takes the form of circumambulation. The Saudi historian Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Ansari also confirmed that the Najran region witnessed the construction of a church that they previously called the Kaaba of Najran, and the Christians of Najran used to worship there during the era of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. Denying that the Noble Messenger had permitted it to be demolished, stressing that the church now does not exist due to the conversion of Christians to Islam at that time,
Muhammad, the owner of Islamic law, sends a message to Najran, the Messenger of God - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - to Najran before Solomon descended upon him; in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, From Muhammad the Prophet, the Messenger of God, to the Bishop of Najran, if you convert to Islam, then I praise the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As for what follows, I call you to worship God from the worship of His servants, and I call you to the guardianship of God from the guardianship of His servants. If you refuse, then the tribute. If you refuse, I will call you to war and peace.
When the bishop came to the letter and read it, he became dismayed and greatly frightened, and sent for a man from the people of Najran called Sharhabeel bin Wada’a - and he was from Hamdan, and no one was summoned if a dilemma arose before him, neither the father, nor the master, nor Al-Aqib - so the bishop delivered the letter of the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace. - To Sharhabeel, he read it, and the bishop said: O Abu Maryam, what do you think? Sharhabeel said: I have learned what God promised Abraham regarding prophecy regarding Ishmael’s descendants, so what do you believe that this is that man? I have no opinion regarding prophecy, and if it were a worldly matter, I would advise you regarding it with an opinion and strive to support you.
O Othman and O Abdul-Hamman, your Prophet wrote to us in a letter, so we responded to him, so we came to him and greeted him, but he did not return our greetings, and we resisted his words for a long day, so we were too tired for him to speak to us. What do you think about us? Do you think we should return? They said to Ali bin Abi Talib, who was among the people, what do you see, O Abu Al-Hassan, about these people? Ali said to Othman and Abdul-Hamman, “I think they should put on these suits and their rings and put on their travel clothes and then return.” They did so and greeted them, and he returned their greetings.... The Beginning and the End by Ibn Katheer, Part Five, pp. 53-54, First Edition, 1351-1932 AD.
Excerpt from the book “A Quick Look at Arab Countries Before Islam” by Indian writers H. L. Oberoi and B. K. Oak: “The story of the Arabs before Islam is the story of the Indian Kshatriyas in that country where people followed a primitive way of living.” In our attempt to reconstruct the story of the Arabs before Islam, we begin with the name of the country itself. The name, as we indicated, is Sanskrit. And the main pilgrimage center there, Mecca, is also a Sanskrit name. “Makaha” in Sanskrit comes from the name of the fire of sacrifice. Where and the worship of fire It was known to the peoples of West Asia before Islam, as “Mecca” refers to the place where important statues of fire worship are erected. The annual Hajj season there coincides with a large seasonal market held in Mecca. The annual pilgrimage to Mecca was not a new invention, but rather a A continuation of the ancient pilgrimage. This fact is mentioned in encyclopedias........ There is now available evidence that the Arab countries were part of the kingdom of the great Indian king “Vikramaditya”. The borders of the kingdom of “Vikramaditya” were one of the reasons for his fame. By the way, this explains a lot of the amazing hostility of the Arab countries. Perhaps it was “Vikramadita” himself who launched “Aravasthan” on the peninsula, as he was the first Indian king to bring it under his rule.....and the second characteristic The mission is to have the emblem of “Shivalinga” or “Mahadeva” on the Kaaba in Mecca. Before going into the details of ancient rituals and names that are still attached to the rituals of Muslims in Mecca, we will see what evidence exists that the Arab countries were part of the kingdom of “Vikramadita”...
“When the pilgrim heads to Mecca, he is asked to shave his head and beard and to wear special religious clothing, which consists of two pieces of white clothing without threads. One of them is worn around the waist and the other on the shoulders. These rituals are remnants of the rituals of entering the holy places.” Ancient Hindus, clean-shaven, wrapped in clean, threadless, white, purified clothes. The main temple in Mecca that bears the sign of \"Shiva\" is the Kaaba.... According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Kaaba contained 360 statues. Traditional biographies indicate One of these statues was of Saturn, another of the Moon, and another was called “God” (perhaps meaning Al-Lat).
In India, the practice of Navagrabhapuja, which is the worship of the nine planets, still exists. Two of these nine are Saturn and the Moon. In addition, the moon is linked to the god (Shankara), as the crescent is imprinted on the forehead of the symbol of (Shiva), and since the main temple in the Kaaba is the god (Shiva) or (Shankara), the crescent is its symbol. It is the same crescent that Muslims have taken as a religious symbol. There is another Indian tradition that wherever there is a Shiva temple, there must be a stream of holy water from Ganga, and that is why Ganga must be present. This applies to the Kaaba, as there is a holy water well near the Kaaba. Its waters are considered sacred because they were considered Ganga in the pre-Islamic period. Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba seven times. This sacred circumambulation does not exist in any other mosque. Hindus always revolve around their holy places. This is evidence that the Kaaba was a pre-Islamic temple of Shiva, where the Hindu circumambulation ritual is still practiced......
The seven rounds of circumambulation are also important. In Hindu marriage rituals, the wedding and groom revolve around the sacred fire seven times. Therefore, circumambulating the Kaaba seven times is a Hindu tradition and indicates that Mecca is (Makha) or the place of the sacred fire around which the pilgrims used to circle seven times.\” In addition to this is the theory that says that Abraham is nothing but the Hebrew version of the Indian mythology of the god Brahma.
