The Ka'bah
The first House of worship; its rebuilding and the Black Stone.
The first House built for the worship of Allah (Quran 3:96), built by Ibrahim & Ismail (as) in Mecca — the focal point of the sanctuary and later the qibla.
Significance
- Site of Hajj rites since Ibrahim (as); by the Prophet’s ﷺ time surrounded by ~360 idols — see Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic Arabia) and Amr ibn Luhay al-Khuza'i (who first placed Hubal here).
- Not the bricks but the land is sacred; the structure has been rebuilt many times.
The rebuilding (EP 009) — see Rebuilding of the Ka'bah
When the Prophet ﷺ was ~35, fire and a flood damaged the Ka’bah. Quraysh rebuilt it using marble/wood from a wrecked Byzantine ship at Jeddah. Two lasting changes were made: it was built square (leaving part of Ibrahim’s foundation outside — the Hijr Ismail, where one may still pray “inside” it), and the door was raised. A dispute over who would set the Black Stone back was resolved by the Prophet ﷺ, who had every clan lift it together on a cloth and placed it himself.
Cross-references
Rebuilding of the Ka'bah · Mecca · The Year of the Elephant · Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic Arabia) · Muhammad ﷺ
Sources
- S003 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 009 (rebuilding), EP 004–006 (sanctity & idols).