
The Kaaba or '''Ka'abah''', is a building located inside the mosque known as Masjid al Haram in Mecca (Makkah). The mosque has been built around the Kaaba. The Kaaba is the holiest place in Islam. == Physical attributes of the Kaaba == The Kaaba is a large masonry building in the shape of a Cube (geometry). It is made of granite from the hills near Mecca. The structure is 50 ft. high (15.24 m), 35 ft. (10.67 m) wide, and 40 ft. long (12.19 m) long. It is covered by a black silk cloth decorated with gold-embroidered calligraphy. This cloth is known as the kiswa; it is replaced yearly. [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044725746252.html] [http://members.tripod.com/worldupdates/newupdates10/id43.htm] One of the cornerstones of the Kaaba is the Hajar el Aswad (the sacred "Black Stone"), which is presumed by most sources to be a meteorite remnant. Inside the Kaaba, there is a marble floor. The interior walls are clad with marble half-way to the roof; tablets with Quranic inscriptions are inset in the marble. The top part of the walls is covered with a green cloth decorated with gold embroidered Quranic verses. Lamps hang from a cross beam; there is also a small table for incense burners. The building is otherwise empty. The caretakers perfume the marble cladding with scented oil, the same oil used to anoint the Black Stone outside. == The cleaning of the Kaaba == The building is opened twice a year for a ceremony known as "the cleaning of the Ka'aba." This ceremony takes place roughly fifteen days before the start of Ramadan and the same period of time before the start of the annual pilgrimage. The keys to the Ka'aba are held by the Sheibani family. Members of the family greet visitors to the inside of the Ka'aba on the occasion of the cleaning ceremony. A small number of dignatories and foreign diplomats are invited to participate in the ceremony. The Governor of Mecca leads the honored guests who ritually clean the structure, using simple brooms. == History of the Kaaba == At the time of Muhammad, his tribe, the Quraysh was in charge of the Kaaba, which was at that time a shrine to numerous Arabian tribal gods. Desert tribesmen, the Bedouin, and inhabitants of other cities would join the annual pilgimage, to worship and to trade. Caravan-raiding, common during the rest of the year, was suspended during the pilgrimage; this was a good time, then, for travel and trade. Muhammad, preaching the doctrines of one God (in Arabic, Allah) and the threat of the Day of Judgment, did not at first have much success in the city of Mecca. The Quraysh persecuted and harassed him continuously, and he and his followers eventually fled to Medina, in 622 C.E. After this pivotal flight, or Hijra, the Muslim community became a political and military force. In 630 C.E., Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca as conquerors, and the Kaaba was re-dedicated as an Islamic house of worship. Henceforth the annual pilgrimage was to be a Muslim rite, the Hajj. According to the Qur'an, the Kaaba was built by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html#002.127]. Academic scholars will only say that it is a pre-Islamic house of native Arab worship. == The Qibla and prayer == The Qibla, for any point of reference on the Earth, is the direction of the Kaaba. In Muslim religious practice, supplicants must face this direction in prayer. It should be noted that Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or its contents, any more than Christians worship churches or crosses; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer. The Qibla points along the shortest path to the Kaaba. Because the Earth is approximately spherical, this path will be a great circle such as airplanes fly. The location of the Kaaba (at ) can be used together with spherical geometry to determine the Qibla for any given point on the Earth. In ancient times, Muslims traveling abroad used an astrolabe to find the Qibla. In the early years of Islam, Muslims used to pray towards the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (and it is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblas). During Muhammad's exile in Medina, the Qibla was changed to the Kaaba, where it has remained ever since. Some academic scholars have attributed this change in the direction of prayer to a rift between Muhammad and the Jews in Medina. ==See also== *Masjid al Haram *Black Stone *Qibla *Hajj ==External links== * Wikisource: [http://sources.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculation_of_the_Qibla Calculation of the ''Qibla''] *[http://haqaonline.lightuponlight.com/pg/thumbnails.php?album=1 Pictures of Masjid al Haraam and the Holy Kaaba] Islam MeccaArabian mythology
This is to the best of my knowledge and needs checking; any scholars of Islam want to take a look at this? User:The Anome 08:55 25 Jun 2003 (UTC) Presumably at the antipodal point to the Kaaba, the Qibla is in all directions? :Interesting question. I reckon this point to be in the South Pacific, 230 miles from the nearest land, which is the Pitcairn Islands. -- User:Heron :My squint at a globe put it about midway between Tahiti and Pitcairn, in French Polynesia. Rummaging on the 'net[http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/french_polynesia/] I found the nearest land to be Tematangi or Bligh Is., 140.62W 21.64S[http://islands.unep.ch/IKM.htm#1804] User:142.177.18.54 18:57, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC) Sounds like the answer may rest on the Islamic reckoning of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. On the other hand, one might be able to derive the answer by seeing which airlines serve Mecca from that point in the South Pacific. User:168... 19:27 25 Jun 2003 (UTC) ---- If someone knows the exact coordinates of Kaaba, maybe they could put that into the article. That would make it possible to compute the qibla from any other location whose coordinates are known. :One reference [http://www.irbs.com/lists/navigation/0008/0039.html] states 21° 25' 24" N, 39° 49' 24" E, and other less precise references approximate this closely. Does anyone have exact coordinates from a system such as GPS? -- User:The Anome 07:53, 18 May 2004 (UTC) ==Inside the Kaaba?== As the Kaaba is a building, what is inside it? Does anyone ever go in? If anyone reading knows these things it would be good to see them included in the article. — User:Trilobite User_talk:Trilobite 17:39, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC) The Ka'aba is not completely empty. The building is opened twice a year for a ceremony known as "the cleaning of the Ka'aba." This ceremony takes place roughly 15 days before the start of Ramadan and the same period of time before the start of the annual pilgrimage. The inside of the building is clad and floored with marble to about half its hight and covered with a green cloth with gold embroidered verses of the Qu'ran for the rest. On a cross beam there are a number of lamps and there is also a small table for incense burners, otherwise there is nothing else. The marble cladding is perfumed with scented oil, the same used to perfume the black stone. A number of tablets with Qu'ranic inscription are inset in the marble. The keys to the Ka'aba are held by the Sheibani family who have had this honour since the time of the prophet. Members of the family greet visitors to the inside of the Ka'aba on the occasion of the cleaning ceremony. A small number of dignatories and foreign diplomats are invited to participate in the ceremony. Inside the Ka'aba visitors pray in the direction of the outside walls. Normally there is no other occasion when people can enter the building except when the Kiswa or black cloth covering the Ka'aba is changed during the Hajj. The Governor of Mecca leads the team who ritually clean the structure during the ceremony with simple brooms. Source: I have had the honour of participating in this simple but moving ceremony and praying inside the structure.User:Wildbe 09:13, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Excellent questions. Perhaps any experts reading could also clarify how "50 ft. high by 35 ft long by 40 ft" makes a cube... Do we need to change that to "roughly cuboid"? User:Hajor It's Clearly not a perfect Cube, and inside is just calligrapic artwork from the Qur'an. It's centuries old and priceless. It's Fairly small, and I've always wondered how 300 odd 'idols' could fit in there, but apparently they did. You can go in but it's not advised to do so on hajj, because it's too crowded and dangerous, so if you wanna see it you should go on an Umrah tour. :The 360 idols were located at the Kaaba, but not inside the 'sanctuary'. They were placed in niches on the inside of the surrounding wall. :The idea that they formed a 'zodiac "machine"' of some sort is too vague for me: What is a zodiac machine? ==Qibla== While the first Qibla was Jeusalem, it could not have been in the direction of the Al-Aqsa mosqua, as that did not exists at the time (As we know it). The "farthest Masjid, or place of worship" the Jewish Temple of Soloman, or Temple Mount, and during the night voayge the Hadiths say the Jews mocked him and asked him to descripe what he saw there and he supposedly described it perfectly, and they supposedly converted. ==Abraham== From the article: ''"According to tradition, the Kaaba was built by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael. However, there is no evidence of this."'' :Surely there could be a more sensitive way of phrasing this. After all, tradition is evidence of sorts, even if unreliable and not determinative. -- User:Cimon avaro 01:52, Nov 27, 2004 (UTC) :I said to myself: given the central place of the Kaaba in muslim practice, this must be in the scripture, not just "according to tradition". So, I googled my way to an [http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/QURAN/ online version of the Quran], where I found [http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/QURAN/22.htm chapter 22. The Pilgrimage] and in it the following verses: ::26. Behold! We gave the site, to Abraham, of the (Sacred) House, (saying): "Associate not anything (in worship) with Me; and sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or stand up, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer). ::27. "And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways; ::28. "That they may witness the benefits (provided) for them, and celebrate the name of Allah, through the Days appointed, over the cattle which He has provided for them (for sacrifice): then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed ones in want. ::29. "Then let them complete the rites prescribed for them, perform their vows, and (again) circumambulate the Ancient House." ::30. Such (is the Pilgrimage): whoever honours the sacred rites of Allah, for him it is good in the Sight of his Lord. Lawful to you (for food in Pilgrimage) are cattle, except those mentioned to you (as exception): but shun the abomination of idols, and shun the word that is false,- :Clearly verses 26 and 29 can be interpreted as a claim that the Kaaba was built by Abraham. I don't have access to a more modernized translation nor to the original, nor do I read Arabic, so ''I'' will have to leave it at that, but to me it seems that the quotation from the article is not just insensitive but wrong. —User:Miguel 03:44, 2004 Nov 27 (UTC) ::That Prophets Abraham and Ishmael have built the Kaaba is clearly stated in the Quran in Surat Al-Baqara, Ayas 127-129 [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html#002.127]. You are right, the wording is insensitive and quite unnecessary indeed, since in most of the articles about religion there can be no material proof except the respective tradition. --User:Abdousi 06:29, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) == Qibla redirect to kaaba is incorrect == I was looking for Qibla and I was redirected to Kaaba. This is incorrect. Kaaba is current Qibla. Doesn't mean it was qibla for all time qibla should have a small informative article on Qibla with links to 'Aqsa' and 'Kaaba'. User:Zain engineer 21:30, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Go on then! == architectural history == If we ignore the legend that Abraham built the Kaaba, Muslim historical tradition says that the first Kaaba in this place was built in the early sixth century by the tribe of Gurhum. Its shape was that of a rectangle, with a semi-circle attached to one of the shorter sides. It was not nearly as high as the modern Kaaba. The second Kaaba was built in 608 by the people of Mecca, and had the same shape, size and orientation: towards Jerusalem. It was higher than the first, about nine meters. Six pillars supported the roof. It had two doors on opposite sides, and probably some windows. It was destroyed during the failed Umayyad seige of Mecca in 683. The third Kaaba was built immediately afterwards by az-Zubair. This time, a roughly square portion of the rectangle was built higher than the rest of the building. This part was now as high as the Kaaba of today (about 15 meters). Its roof was supported by three pillars, it still had two doors, and a number of windows. Inside, the square part was connected to the remainder by a wide arch. The fourth Kaaba is the one we see today. (It has been completely rebuilt several times, but no more major architectural changes were made.) It was built to the order of the Umayyad Khalif Abdelmalek around 692. Abdelmalek set out to build the Kaaba to the prophet Muhammad's own specifications. The semi-cirular part was torn down to a hight of a few feet. The low wall that was left standing can still be seen today. The part between the square and the semi-circle was removed altogether. The arch was bricked up, as were all the windows and the door on the south-west side. The lowest two meters of the other door were also bricked up, so that today one needs a ladder to go through it. I think this may be a bit too much detail though. P.S. The last rebuild was in 1627. == Major revision == I removed some material re idols, as I don't believe that it's academically verifiable. I think it might just be Muslim tradition, though I could be wrong. I removed material about Mecca as a great center of international trade, as that is now believed to be pious exaggeration. If we're not going to give all sides of it, we should just leave it out. That's better done in the article on Mecca, in any case. I also removed a para about the wonder of the Kaaba that I thought was too pious Muslim POV. I reorganized into sections and added some material that one editor had put into the talk page. It's a big reorg and could probably be improved. User:Zora 20:55, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
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Words begining with Kaaba:
Kaaba
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Kaaba
The Kaaba or '''Ka'abah''', is a building located inside the mosque known as Masjid al Haram in Mecca (Makkah). The mosque has been built around the Kaaba. The Kaaba is the holiest place in Islam. == Physical attributes of the Kaaba == The Kaaba is a large masonry building in the shape of a Cube (geometry). It is made of granite from the hills near Mecca. The structure is 50 ft. high (15.24 m), 35 ft. (10.67 m) wide, and 40 ft. long (12.19 m) long. It is covered by a black silk cloth decorated with gold-embroidered calligraphy. This cloth is known as the kiswa; it is replaced yearly. [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044725746252.html] [http://members.tripod.com/worldupdates/newupdates10/id43.htm] One of the cornerstones of the Kaaba is the Hajar el Aswad (the sacred "Black Stone"), which is presumed by most sources to be a meteorite remnant. Inside the Kaaba, there is a marble floor. The interior walls are clad with marble half-way to the roof; tablets with Quranic inscriptions are inset in the marble. The top part of the walls is covered with a green cloth decorated with gold embroidered Quranic verses. Lamps hang from a cross beam; there is also a small table for incense burners. The building is otherwise empty. The caretakers perfume the marble cladding with scented oil, the same oil used to anoint the Black Stone outside. == The cleaning of the Kaaba == The building is opened twice a year for a ceremony known as "the cleaning of the Ka'aba." This ceremony takes place roughly fifteen days before the start of Ramadan and the same period of time before the start of the annual pilgrimage. The keys to the Ka'aba are held by the Sheibani family. Members of the family greet visitors to the inside of the Ka'aba on the occasion of the cleaning ceremony. A small number of dignatories and foreign diplomats are invited to participate in the ceremony. The Governor of Mecca leads the honored guests who ritually clean the structure, using simple brooms. == History of the Kaaba == At the time of Muhammad, his tribe, the Quraysh was in charge of the Kaaba, which was at that time a shrine to numerous Arabian tribal gods. Desert tribesmen, the Bedouin, and inhabitants of other cities would join the annual pilgimage, to worship and to trade. Caravan-raiding, common during the rest of the year, was suspended during the pilgrimage; this was a good time, then, for travel and trade. Muhammad, preaching the doctrines of one God (in Arabic, Allah) and the threat of the Day of Judgment, did not at first have much success in the city of Mecca. The Quraysh persecuted and harassed him continuously, and he and his followers eventually fled to Medina, in 622 C.E. After this pivotal flight, or Hijra, the Muslim community became a political and military force. In 630 C.E., Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca as conquerors, and the Kaaba was re-dedicated as an Islamic house of worship. Henceforth the annual pilgrimage was to be a Muslim rite, the Hajj. According to the Qur'an, the Kaaba was built by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html#002.127]. Academic scholars will only say that it is a pre-Islamic house of native Arab worship. == The Qibla and prayer == The Qibla, for any point of reference on the Earth, is the direction of the Kaaba. In Muslim religious practice, supplicants must face this direction in prayer. It should be noted that Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or its contents, any more than Christians worship churches or crosses; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer. The Qibla points along the shortest path to the Kaaba. Because the Earth is approximately spherical, this path will be a great circle such as airplanes fly. The location of the Kaaba (at ) can be used together with spherical geometry to determine the Qibla for any given point on the Earth. In ancient times, Muslims traveling abroad used an astrolabe to find the Qibla. In the early years of Islam, Muslims used to pray towards the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (and it is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblas). During Muhammad's exile in Medina, the Qibla was changed to the Kaaba, where it has remained ever since. Some academic scholars have attributed this change in the direction of prayer to a rift between Muhammad and the Jews in Medina. ==See also== *Masjid al Haram *Black Stone *Qibla *Hajj ==External links== * Wikisource: [http://sources.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculation_of_the_Qibla Calculation of the ''Qibla''] *[http://haqaonline.lightuponlight.com/pg/thumbnails.php?album=1 Pictures of Masjid al Haraam and the Holy Kaaba] Islam MeccaArabian mythology
Kaaba
This is to the best of my knowledge and needs checking; any scholars of Islam want to take a look at this? User:The Anome 08:55 25 Jun 2003 (UTC) Presumably at the antipodal point to the Kaaba, the Qibla is in all directions? :Interesting question. I reckon this point to be in the South Pacific, 230 miles from the nearest land, which is the Pitcairn Islands. -- User:Heron :My squint at a globe put it about midway between Tahiti and Pitcairn, in French Polynesia. Rummaging on the 'net[http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/french_polynesia/] I found the nearest land to be Tematangi or Bligh Is., 140.62W 21.64S[http://islands.unep.ch/IKM.htm#1804] User:142.177.18.54 18:57, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC) Sounds like the answer may rest on the Islamic reckoning of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. On the other hand, one might be able to derive the answer by seeing which airlines serve Mecca from that point in the South Pacific. User:168... 19:27 25 Jun 2003 (UTC) ---- If someone knows the exact coordinates of Kaaba, maybe they could put that into the article. That would make it possible to compute the qibla from any other location whose coordinates are known. :One reference [http://www.irbs.com/lists/navigation/0008/0039.html] states 21° 25' 24" N, 39° 49' 24" E, and other less precise references approximate this closely. Does anyone have exact coordinates from a system such as GPS? -- User:The Anome 07:53, 18 May 2004 (UTC) ==Inside the Kaaba?== As the Kaaba is a building, what is inside it? Does anyone ever go in? If anyone reading knows these things it would be good to see them included in the article. — User:Trilobite User_talk:Trilobite 17:39, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC) The Ka'aba is not completely empty. The building is opened twice a year for a ceremony known as "the cleaning of the Ka'aba." This ceremony takes place roughly 15 days before the start of Ramadan and the same period of time before the start of the annual pilgrimage. The inside of the building is clad and floored with marble to about half its hight and covered with a green cloth with gold embroidered verses of the Qu'ran for the rest. On a cross beam there are a number of lamps and there is also a small table for incense burners, otherwise there is nothing else. The marble cladding is perfumed with scented oil, the same used to perfume the black stone. A number of tablets with Qu'ranic inscription are inset in the marble. The keys to the Ka'aba are held by the Sheibani family who have had this honour since the time of the prophet. Members of the family greet visitors to the inside of the Ka'aba on the occasion of the cleaning ceremony. A small number of dignatories and foreign diplomats are invited to participate in the ceremony. Inside the Ka'aba visitors pray in the direction of the outside walls. Normally there is no other occasion when people can enter the building except when the Kiswa or black cloth covering the Ka'aba is changed during the Hajj. The Governor of Mecca leads the team who ritually clean the structure during the ceremony with simple brooms. Source: I have had the honour of participating in this simple but moving ceremony and praying inside the structure.User:Wildbe 09:13, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Excellent questions. Perhaps any experts reading could also clarify how "50 ft. high by 35 ft long by 40 ft" makes a cube... Do we need to change that to "roughly cuboid"? User:Hajor It's Clearly not a perfect Cube, and inside is just calligrapic artwork from the Qur'an. It's centuries old and priceless. It's Fairly small, and I've always wondered how 300 odd 'idols' could fit in there, but apparently they did. You can go in but it's not advised to do so on hajj, because it's too crowded and dangerous, so if you wanna see it you should go on an Umrah tour. :The 360 idols were located at the Kaaba, but not inside the 'sanctuary'. They were placed in niches on the inside of the surrounding wall. :The idea that they formed a 'zodiac "machine"' of some sort is too vague for me: What is a zodiac machine? ==Qibla== While the first Qibla was Jeusalem, it could not have been in the direction of the Al-Aqsa mosqua, as that did not exists at the time (As we know it). The "farthest Masjid, or place of worship" the Jewish Temple of Soloman, or Temple Mount, and during the night voayge the Hadiths say the Jews mocked him and asked him to descripe what he saw there and he supposedly described it perfectly, and they supposedly converted. ==Abraham== From the article: ''"According to tradition, the Kaaba was built by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael. However, there is no evidence of this."'' :Surely there could be a more sensitive way of phrasing this. After all, tradition is evidence of sorts, even if unreliable and not determinative. -- User:Cimon avaro 01:52, Nov 27, 2004 (UTC) :I said to myself: given the central place of the Kaaba in muslim practice, this must be in the scripture, not just "according to tradition". So, I googled my way to an [http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/QURAN/ online version of the Quran], where I found [http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/QURAN/22.htm chapter 22. The Pilgrimage] and in it the following verses: ::26. Behold! We gave the site, to Abraham, of the (Sacred) House, (saying): "Associate not anything (in worship) with Me; and sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or stand up, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer). ::27. "And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways; ::28. "That they may witness the benefits (provided) for them, and celebrate the name of Allah, through the Days appointed, over the cattle which He has provided for them (for sacrifice): then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed ones in want. ::29. "Then let them complete the rites prescribed for them, perform their vows, and (again) circumambulate the Ancient House." ::30. Such (is the Pilgrimage): whoever honours the sacred rites of Allah, for him it is good in the Sight of his Lord. Lawful to you (for food in Pilgrimage) are cattle, except those mentioned to you (as exception): but shun the abomination of idols, and shun the word that is false,- :Clearly verses 26 and 29 can be interpreted as a claim that the Kaaba was built by Abraham. I don't have access to a more modernized translation nor to the original, nor do I read Arabic, so ''I'' will have to leave it at that, but to me it seems that the quotation from the article is not just insensitive but wrong. —User:Miguel 03:44, 2004 Nov 27 (UTC) ::That Prophets Abraham and Ishmael have built the Kaaba is clearly stated in the Quran in Surat Al-Baqara, Ayas 127-129 [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html#002.127]. You are right, the wording is insensitive and quite unnecessary indeed, since in most of the articles about religion there can be no material proof except the respective tradition. --User:Abdousi 06:29, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC) == Qibla redirect to kaaba is incorrect == I was looking for Qibla and I was redirected to Kaaba. This is incorrect. Kaaba is current Qibla. Doesn't mean it was qibla for all time qibla should have a small informative article on Qibla with links to 'Aqsa' and 'Kaaba'. User:Zain engineer 21:30, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Go on then! == architectural history == If we ignore the legend that Abraham built the Kaaba, Muslim historical tradition says that the first Kaaba in this place was built in the early sixth century by the tribe of Gurhum. Its shape was that of a rectangle, with a semi-circle attached to one of the shorter sides. It was not nearly as high as the modern Kaaba. The second Kaaba was built in 608 by the people of Mecca, and had the same shape, size and orientation: towards Jerusalem. It was higher than the first, about nine meters. Six pillars supported the roof. It had two doors on opposite sides, and probably some windows. It was destroyed during the failed Umayyad seige of Mecca in 683. The third Kaaba was built immediately afterwards by az-Zubair. This time, a roughly square portion of the rectangle was built higher than the rest of the building. This part was now as high as the Kaaba of today (about 15 meters). Its roof was supported by three pillars, it still had two doors, and a number of windows. Inside, the square part was connected to the remainder by a wide arch. The fourth Kaaba is the one we see today. (It has been completely rebuilt several times, but no more major architectural changes were made.) It was built to the order of the Umayyad Khalif Abdelmalek around 692. Abdelmalek set out to build the Kaaba to the prophet Muhammad's own specifications. The semi-cirular part was torn down to a hight of a few feet. The low wall that was left standing can still be seen today. The part between the square and the semi-circle was removed altogether. The arch was bricked up, as were all the windows and the door on the south-west side. The lowest two meters of the other door were also bricked up, so that today one needs a ladder to go through it. I think this may be a bit too much detail though. P.S. The last rebuild was in 1627. == Major revision == I removed some material re idols, as I don't believe that it's academically verifiable. I think it might just be Muslim tradition, though I could be wrong. I removed material about Mecca as a great center of international trade, as that is now believed to be pious exaggeration. If we're not going to give all sides of it, we should just leave it out. That's better done in the article on Mecca, in any case. I also removed a para about the wonder of the Kaaba that I thought was too pious Muslim POV. I reorganized into sections and added some material that one editor had put into the talk page. It's a big reorg and could probably be improved. User:Zora 20:55, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
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Kaaba
Kaaba
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