لطفا منتظر باشید ...
MECCA
"The Landing
Place of Revelation & The Kiblat of All Muslims"
Location of Mecca
Mecca
is the landing place of revelation, where the angels assemble. It is the
Kiblat of all
Muslims. and the setting of their sights. It is the title of their honour
and unity.
Mecca
is the Muslims' direction wheen practicing their religious ceremonies and
daily prayers. It is the house to which they make pilgrimage every year.
The
Almighty God Has honoured Mecca, for all of it is a bountiful place. It
is the sacred place for God and His sanctuary.
Enough
honour has been given to it that the Prophet (p b. u. h) grew up in it,
whom God Has, exclusively, honored him, when He sent him with verses and
wise reminiscence. So it is the first place for revelation. the first to
receive the guarding angle Gabriel, and the heading place for God's Prophets
and righteous Apostles.
Mecca
is located in the western side of the Arabian peninsula, in a valley inclined
from North to South, and restricted between Northern and Southern
Mountain ranges.
The
Northern range is made up of the following mountains: Al- Falaq,
Quyqaan, Al- Hindi, Laalaa, and Kadaa, whereas
the southern range has Abi Hadidat, Kudai, Abi Qays, and then
Khandama mountains.
Its
altitude is about 330m above mean sea level, with a latitude of 31 degrees
28 minutes, and longitude of 40 degrees and 9 minutes. Some researchers
have concluded that the Kaaba is the exact center of gravity of the earth.
Mecca
is only a short distance away from the Red Sea to which it is connected
through Jeddah port.
Mecca in History
Mecca's
history is very old, it may go back to thousands of years. what is certain,
however, is that Mecca valley, before the building
of the city, used to be a resting station
for the caravans, because of its middle location between the farthest place
in the North in the lands of Palestine to the farthest place in the South
in the lands of Yeurne.
Also,
Mecca was the most important city to the Arabs before Islam, and today
it is the most important city to the Muslims.
To
the sacred House, used to come the oppressed, the destitute, and the depressed,
and rarely did someone make a supplication and was not answered positively.
Moreover, people were used to making pilgrimage to the place of the
Holy House, after Abraham (p. b. u. h) the Friend of God coustructed
it by His order.
Names of Mecca
The
Name "Mecca" is mentioned only once in the Holy Qur'an, in surat Al -Fath.
But other names related to that city were also mentioned, which
are: Baraat, Ummul- Qura, Al- Balad, Al Baldat,
and Al Haram Al Aamin (The Safe Precinct).
Building the House
As
it was mentioned earlier, Mecca was a passage for the trading caravans,
and a resting station for the tribes during certain seasons of the year.
It was also, a market for trading goods among the different caravans,
in addition to being a place for pilgrimage to the Old House until it was
built by Abraham the Friend or God (p. b. u. h), with the help of his son
Ishmael, by God's order the Almighty.
All
that was after God had tested Abraham by ordering him to slaughter his
son Ishmael, and then sacificed him instead with a lamb. God said in his
book:
"And remeber when Abraham raised the foundations
of the house with Ishmael" 2:127
The
most sacred thing in the House of God is the Black stone (Al-
Hajar Al- Aswad). The Prophet of God Abraham
(p. b. u. h) placed it in the eastern Corner of the Kaaba, then our Prophet
Muhammad (SAW) put it again, with his benedicted hands, in the same
place when Quraysh rebuilt the House, the Prophet (p. b. u. h) was
only 35 years old. It was narrated that the different tribes disagreed
on who would be honoured to put the stone in its Original place, until
the Prophet came and solved the problem.
The
Black stone is a heavy elliptic shape stone, with a 3Ocm diameter. From
it "Tawaf" starts
around the House and since Abraham (p) put it in place, it has ever been
respected and exalted. It stands about 1.5 meters above the ground.
Abraham
used to make Pilgrimage to the House every year, as did all the succeeding
prophets and nations. In some of the narrations, it is said that "...Between
the corner and the standing place 'up to Zamzam, there exists the graves
of ninety nine Prophets who came for pilgrimage and were buried there".
Across
from the door of the Kaaba, and a few meters away, there exists a stone
inside a cage, it is called the standing place of Abraham
(Maqam Ibrahim).
God the Almighty said:
"And Take ye the standing place of
Abraham, as a place of prayer" 2:125
Here,
it is note worthy to say that the Holy House and its Mosque have been subject
to expansions and rennovations, in the past and recent times. Currently,
its surface area is about 193 square meters, which fits about 400 thousand
pilgrims at one time.
As
for the exterior areas, they are 40 thousand square meters,
which can hold about 65 thousand pilgrims. After
the end of the on going renovations, it is expected that the surface
area
would reach 309 thousand square meters, which can fit around 605 thousand
pilgrims at one time.
The Honourable Kaaba
The
Kaaba is located in the middle of the Holy Mosque. It is one big square
shaped room, with an elevation of 15 meters . Its main door is 2 meters
from the ground. As for the corners of the Kaaba, they are called Arkan,
and they are as follows:
The
Northern corner is called the Iraqi Ruqn.
The
Southern corner is called the Yemani Ruqn.
The
Western corner is called the Sammi Ruqn.
The
Eastern corner is called the Black stone Ruqn.
The
Kaaba is standing on a foundation made up of marble, and its walls are
of greyish stones brought from the neighbouring mountains.
The walls are covered with a huge silky textile coloured in black with
some tree drawings. On it was sawn the statement of testimony, and at two
thirds of its height a golden belt of Qur'anic
verses is woven. Across
from the North-western wall, there is a white marble wall, in a Semi-
circular shape, called (Al- Hatim). Its
elevation is 3 feet and thickness 5 feet. Between Al Hatim and Al Kaaba,
Hijr Ishmael
is placed, which is better Known as «Hijr
Ismail
Zam Zam
It
is a sacred wall, also called the wall of Ishmael, and located in the precinct
across the Eastern Ruqn. Its depth is about 140 feet.
Safa and Marwa
They
are two rocks within the honourable precinct. The pilgrims would
jog
between them seven times, as one of the mandatory ceremonies during Al-
Hajj and Umra.
Arafat
It
is a mountain 12 miles east of Mecca, with a height of 150 feet. It is
also called the Mountain of Mercy. The pilgrims go to
it
after Tawaf around Kaaba, to perform the ceremony of standing
there at noon time of the 9th of Dhu'l Hijja. The standing there is meant
as a presence in that place.
Al-Muzdalifa
It
is somewhere on the road between Mina
and Arafat. When
the pilgrims end their ceremony in Arafat at sunset of the 9th of Dhu'l-
Hijja, they walk to Al Muzdalifa
where they stay the night picking up some stones for casting away (Rajem)
the Shaitan later on.
Mina
It
is 6.5 Km away from Mecca, and exists between the mountains, in a narrow
valley, extending from East to West, with a total distance of about
1500 paces.
In
Mina, pilgrims begin casting away the Shaitan by symbolically throwing
stones
at him on the first day of the feast During this time, also, pilgrims present
their Sacrifices (slaughtering the lambs), then shave or shorten their
own hair.
The Mosques of Mecca
1.
The house where Prophet Muhammad (p b. u. h) was born is transformed into
a mosque, and today it exists in the suburb (Shiaab) of Bani
Hashem or Ali.
2.
Dar Al- Arqam, where the Prophet used to meet secretly with his
close
companions.
3
The Rayat mosque at the highest place in Mecca, where the Prophet (p. b.
u, h) fixed the flag at the day of opening Mecca.
4.
The «Jinn» or "Harass", mosque, also called ''Al
Bayaat" mosque, is the place where the Jinn have pledged allegiance to
the Prophet (p b. u. h), after his return from Taef where he was hurt.
Besides
these, there are other mosques like (<Al-Surur) (Al- Muttakee), and
(Dhee- Towa).
One
of the most honourable traces remaining from the time of the Prophet is
''Ghar Hiraa'' .
It
is a cave at the top of the mountain of light «Annoor»,
where the Prophet used to go for worshipping and meditation,
before he was sent and chosen as a Messenger. In it, revelation was
brought down, and from it the Holy Qur'an began its descent.
Another
one is «Ghar Thowr» at
the mountain (Thowr), where the Prophet sought
refuge in his migration from Mecca to Medina.
