Download Islam Religious History: The Kaaba

Islam Religious History: The Kaaba
Roy Hagglund
Hist 134
December 7, 2015
The Kaaba is the most sacred site for Islam. It is found in the holy city of Mecca. This
city is where the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, was born. Before the time of Muhammad, the
Kaaba served as a worship place for polytheistic people. It was home to the symbols for more
than 360 different deities. The Koraysh tribe controlled the city and gained all the revenue
when people would come to see the Kaaba. The Kaaba for Islam has a similar power to the
Holy of Holies for Judaism. The Kaaba is the center of Islam because it is found in the city of
Mecca and the religion places a lot of focus on it.
When Muhammad started preaching about the revelations he received from God, the
Koraysh tribe did not like it. They thought that a monotheistic religion would ruin their revenue
from people coming to see the Kaaba. It is ironic that millions of people today come to see the
Kaaba and worship Islam. The Koraysh tribe boycotted Muhammad’s family for his preaching
of Islam. Muhammad then moved to Medina, where many Jews and Christians lived.
Muhammad could preach his new religion a lot easier now because the people living in Medina
were already monotheistic.
After converting people to Islam, Muhammad decided to take back the city of Mecca.
He marched on Mecca with an army of Muslims and neighboring tribes totaling 10,000 men.
They took the city on December 11, 629. Muhammad ordered his army to destroy the idols of
the 360 different deities. The Kaaba then became the supreme worship place for Muslims. The
Kaaba is so important that it is involved in two of the Five Pillars of Islam called Salat and
Hajj.
The Hajj is a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that is required by every Muslim.1
Jimmy So states about the Hajj, “The hajj, which means "pilgrimage," is a series of rituals
performed between the eighth and 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic
calendar” (So 16). During the Hajj, pilgrims must walk around the Kaaba seven times. The Hajj
is required for every Muslim because it shows them their religious heritage. Mecca is the place
where the prophet, Muhammad was born. It is one of the three holy cities of Islam. There is so
much history of the Islamic religion and the life of Muhammad within its city walls. This is
why every Muslim who is physically and financially capable must make the journey at least
once in their lifetime.
Salat is the prayer that Muslims are required to do because it is one of the Five Pillars of
Islam.2 Muslims must pray five times per day while facing the Kaaba of the holy city of Mecca.
Haeri states here about Salat, “There are two main kinds of prayer for Muslims: the obligatory
salat and the non-obligatory du’a—often glossed as “personal prayer, supplications” (Haeri 9).
Islam is a religion that places a lot of importance on focusing on God. This is shown by people
needing to pray five times per day. The Kaaba is also important because Muslims are facing
towards it when they enter Salat. This is a requirement for Salat no matter where someone is on
the globe. Haeri shows that people pray together during Salat, too, “At times, small groups of
close friends (sometimes just two women) get together to recite special prayers specifically
designated for Friday evenings” (14). Salat is obviously very important in the Islamic religion,
proving that the Kaaba must also be important because Muslims face it during prayer.
The Kaaba used to be a place where polytheistic desert tribes would make the
pilgrimage.3 This is proved in this statement, “But for a month every year, desert clans declared
a moratorium on fighting and embarked on a pilgrimage, descending on Mecca to trade and
worship at the shrines of 360 polytheistic idols” (Tisdale 59). The Koraysh tribe controlled the
revenue when these tribes came to see their deities. When Muhammad started preaching Islam,
the Koraysh tribe thought they would lose this revenue because it was a monotheistic religion.
The Koraysh tribe exiled Muhammad, so he went to the city of Medina.
Muhammad and his wife, Khadija, traveled to Medina to escape persecution in 622 CE.
This event is known as the Hijrah or migration. In Medina, there were many monotheistic
people that followed the religions of Judaism and Christianity. Since these people were already
monotheistic, Islam came as no surprise to them. Medina is the place where Muhammad gained
a lot of followers for the new religion. Before his migration to Mecca, Muhammad did not have
many followers. While Muhammad did get kicked out of Mecca by the Koraysh tribe, it may
have been a good thing because he gained a lot of respect for the new religion. After
Muhammad gained followers of Islam, he could now return to Mecca and claim the holy Kaaba
for Muslims.
The city of Mecca today rakes in a ton of revenue every year when Muslims make the
pilgrimage.4 Pilgrims making the journey must first circle around the Kaaba seven times. A
modern pilgrim describes the circling, “I draw nearer still. I enter the circles of the Kaaba. I
wish to hurry during the first three circumambulations, as the ritual prescribes, and so as to
escape the destiny of the marks inscribed within me, to efface them and to hasten my entry into
a new beginning” (Meddeb 34). Last year, more than 1.2 million Muslims traveled to Mecca
for their pilgrimage. (Mangla) Revenues from people coming for their pilgrimages last year
totaled $18.6 billion. (Mangla) The Hajj is a huge business for Saudi Arabia. This proves that
people will spend a lot of money to make the pilgrimage that is required for all Muslims.
The Kaaba of Islam is compared to the Holy of Holies of Judaism. It is very important
to their religion. The Hajj places focus on the Kaaba when people must circle it seven times.
Another Pillar of Islam, Salat, focuses on the Kaaba because Muslims must face it when they
pray. The Koraysh tribe used to control the revenue from seeing the Kaaba before Muhammad
claimed it for Islam. Muslims spend tons of money in modern times to go see the Kaaba during
their pilgrimage. The Kaaba is a very important part of Islam and there is much to learn about
it.
Notes
1Read
more about the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in So 16-17.
2
Take a more in depth look on Islamic prayer in Haeri 5-34.
3
See Tisdale 59 for a more insightful look on the Kaaba.
4
Read the description of the Hajj by a pilgrim in Meddeb 34.
Bibliography
Haeri, Niloofar. "The Private Performance of Salat Prayers: Repetition, Time, and
Meaning." Anthropological Quarterly 2013: 5-34.
Mangla, Ismat Sarah. "Big Business." 7 October 2014. International Business Times.
Ibtimes.com. Web. 6 December 2015.
Meddeb, Abdelwahab. "The Heart's Infinity." UNESCO Courier May 1995: 34-34.
So, Jimmy. "A Sacred Rite." Newsweek 5 November 2012: 16-17.
Tisdale, Sara Dabney. "The Enduring Call of Islam's Holiest City." U.S. News & World
Report 26 November 2007: 59-59.