Ka'ba
Type:
Shrines
Date:
Muhammad destroyed the idols of the pre-Islamic Ka'ba in 630
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Saudi Arabia
Description:
The Ka'ba (Arabic for "cube") was entirely rebuilt in 1631 following destructive floods but was originally the site of a pre-Islamic Arab shrine in Mecca. This shrine was protected by the Quraysh tribe. When Muhammad (570–632), a member of this same tribe, began to speak as a prophet of God and attempt to convert followers, he was forced to flee with his closest supporters to the city of Medina. This journey of 622 is called the hijra (emigration or flight). The group's return to Mecca in 629–30, known as the hajj, culminated in the purging of idols from the Ka'ba and its new association with the Jewish patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), specifically the site where God asked him to sacrifice his son. A black stone in the east corner of the Ka'ba is believed to have been given to Ibrahim by the Archangel Gabriel. The Ka'ba is still the shrine towards which Muslims direct their prayers. When Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca, the hajj, they recreate the original return from Medina and circumambulate the Ka'ba.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
3
Repository and Online Resources:
• Learn more about the Ka'ba on Khamseen: Islamic Art Online.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
