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The Ka'ba
A Story by Jamil Momand
The Ka'ba is the House of Allah located in the city of Mecca. Muslims
visit the Ka'ba at least once in their lifetime and this visit is the holy event
known as Hajj. Hajj is performed during a special period of the year.
When Hajj is performed a feeling of peace and tranquility overcomes the heart.
The Ka'ba
was built before Prophet Muhammad's or Prophet Isa's lifetime. It was
built by Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismael. They were among the first
people to visit that part of the world. Allah commanded Ibrahim and Ismael
to build the Ka'ba so that people could come from far and wide in order to
worship the one true God--Allah. While they were building the Ka'ba
Ibrahim and Ismael said this Prayer:
"Our
Lord! Accept this service from us. For you are the All-Knowing and
the All-Hearing. Our Lord! Make of us Muslims, bowing to your will;
and show us our places for the celebration of due rites; and turn to us (in
Mercy); you are the Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. Our Lord! Send
amongst them an Apostle of their own who shall rehearse Your sign to them and
instruct them in scripture and wisdom; and sanctify them; for You are the
Exalted in Might, the Wise."
The Ka'ba
was built from stone and clay. People used to go inside the Ka'ba and
pray. When the population grew, people prayed on the outside in the
direction of the Ka'ba. When Prophet Ibrahim and his son passed away, they
left many believers who also believed in the one true God-Allah.
As the
years passed the people of Mecca gradually became corrupt. First, they
worshipped the stars and planets. Then the people began to make idols out
of rocks and clay. They placed these idols inside the Ka'ba and treated
them like gods. They killed their baby daughters and were cruel to women
and slaves. Even though these things happened, people continued to travel
from far and wide to pay their respects to the Ka'ba. The cities near
Mecca made their own gods and places of worship but nobody travelled to these
places. Only the Ka'ba attracted visitors.
To the
south of Mecca was a place known as Yemen. The ruler of Yemen was a man
named Abrahah. Yemen was a big city but was not as popular as Mecca.
Abrahah grew jealous of the people of Mecca so he made a plan to destroy the
Ka'ba. He gathered together many men to join his army. He also had a
secret weapon: elephants. With the elephants he was sure to crush the
people of Mecca and destroy the Ka'ba. Upon seeing the elephants the
Meccans became terrified. They packed up their belongings and fled to the
mountains to escape Abrahah and his army of elephants.
The day
before the attack Abrahah and his army decided to rest. They were very
happy. They saw that the people of Mecca had gone away and that the Ka'ba
was standing unprotected. The army officers laughed because the next day
they would destroy the Ka'ba without a struggle. Then a flock of birds
came over them and dropped stones of baked clay. These stones made Abrahah
and his army very sick and by the next morning they were all dead. What
was so special about these rocks? Were they sent by Allah? Let's
look in the Quran and find out:
"Do you not see how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?
Did he not make their treacherous plan go astray? He sent against them
flights of birds striking them with stones of baked clay. Then he made
them like an empty field of stalks and straw of which the corn has been eaten
up." Sura CV.
Allah saved the Ka'ba from destruction because He knew that one day the Muslims
would become strong again and use the Ka'ba in the right way. Sixty years
later Prophet Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Ka'ba and, once again, it
became a place for the worship of the One True God-Allah.
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