What is ka'aba? Who built it? What is its role?

[Ahmed Mateen]

Salaam all,

Using the quran would someone please shed some light on the following:

1. What does ka'aba mean according to arabic lexicon?
2. What that cube-building has anything to do inside the mosque?
3. What is the role of that building according to quran?
4. Why we spin arround it? And why 7 times?
5. Why people prostrate to ka'aba while praying in the grand mosque?
6. What is inside that cube-building?
7. Is it possible that the cube-building was actually a mosque itself and not a sacred object?
8. Why it is dressed black?
9. What is its relation with black stone?
10. We know that in quran masjidil aqsa doesn't refer to any building or mosque but later people attributed that to a mosque in Palestine. So is it possible that Ka'aba was also not a building but later people attributed it as such?
(An additional but related question):
11. If prophet mohammed and arabs were the descendants of Prophet Ismail then what does the following verse mean:

36:6 That you may warn a people whose ancestors were not warned, and who are, therefore, unaware of what is right and what is wrong.

Thanks

[Arnold Yasin Mol]

Salaam Brother,

This is again a very controversial subject for many people. But the Quran demands us to always envestigate ourselves and never follow information blindly.

17:36 And you shall not follow blindly any information of which you have no direct knowledge. (Using your faculties of perception and conception) you must verify it for yourself. In the Court of your Lord, you will be held
accountable for your hearing, Sight, and the faculty of reasoning. (And so, the insane and the disabled will have their incapacities taken into account in a court of law)

When it comes to history, we must always combine archeology and historical writings in the best way, guided by the Quran. Using historical writings is very difficult, as what is written is always determined by the winner or conquerer. Many truths have been erased out of the historybooks because a ruler or priesthood didn't like it. We always encounter contradictions and thus have to dig deeper and deeper.

Archeology is also very difficult, as it is interpretated theories based on physical evidence. This is why you will never find a subject or physical evidence without atleast several theories. Every archeologist will interpretate it differently.

So let's investigate some questions. First of all we must remember that the Quranic System of Deen is not based on rituals, relics, supernatural beliefs. It is a Divine Social System of Law and Guidance for Mankind and thus, all subjects must be approached as such.

Sadly, under the influence of the priesthood, from Persian, Jewish, Christian and Pagan backgrounds and under the supervision of the monarchy 300 years after the Prophet. The Divine Social Law System was changed into a mere religion, completely focussed on rituals and worship.

With this shift of approach, many pagan beliefs were incorperated into the fold of Islam. History was partialy re-written and concocted and people slided back into the state of Ignorance. When this clergy and monarch dust is dusted of from the Quran, its prestige System is shown.

As Dr.Shabbir beautifully has explained in his Quran Exposition, QXP, many terms which were seen as titles of objects, rituals or buildings, were in reality descriptions of the Quranic Social System.

Here are some examples:

2:114 Who can be a greater transgressor than the one who forbids
from submitting to the Prescribed Way of Life? And thus hinders
His Name from becoming Eminent, and strives for ruining the
System! They have no right to be part thereof except in awe and
humility. (Otherwise) theirs is humiliation in this world and a
tremendous suffering in the Hereafter.[9]Masajid’ = Mosques = Prescriptions of the
Divine System of Life = Voluntary collective submission and
discussion on how best to follow the Divine Commands = Centers
that the Islamic government will establish to implement the
Quranic Order in the society and manage social welfare. These
are Centers where people have open access to their office
bearers, where government decrees are announced and every
member of the society can voice his opinion without fear. 'Masjid' =
Mosque = Sincere and focused collective submission or obedience
7:29[/b].]

As you can see, Masjid is not directly a building. It is a description of an act, submission to the Divine Commands, and a building can be called Masjid, when it is fulfilling the System that follows these commands.

Words are thus not to be approached as titles, but as descriptions.

Masjid Al-Haram can be approached from several ways. Al-Haram means Limitations/Restrictions, together with Masjid it can mean 'A place that follows the Divine Restrictions'. And thus is a description of a form of institution inside the Divine System.

The question now is, is it also a title for the building in Mecca?

In the Quran, there are several requirments:
1. First and foremost it is anywhere the people who administer it do not setup any partners with Allah (22:26).
2. In this location, the people who administer it invite ALL PEOPLE to the "hajj" (22:27), not just people from a certain religion.
3. They purify it from all forms of idolatry (22:26).
4. The house is not just a place of assembly but it is a SAFE place of assembly (2:125).

Hajj's Classic Arabic meaning is 'Debate', this was also the main thing done on the gatherings of tribes. People traded, solved tribal wars, arranged marriages and so on. It was a safe time of the year were people debated until both sides agreed on something.

To read more on Hajj, please see:

http://ourbeacon.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=455

Question:
1. What does ka'aba mean according to arabic lexicon?
A: In Classic Arabic it refers to a base of something. This is the common thread that runs accross the different forms and their meanings. For example, the word "ka3b" can mean heel (the base of the foot). It is also used in rural areas of Arabia as "ka3b al-wadi" (the base of the valley). The word "muka3ab" means cube (a shape with many bases). The word "tak3iba" means the base that grape vines climb on.

Question:
2. What that cube-building has anything to do inside the mosque?
A: The first persons to build a mosque around the Kaaba were the Ottomans in 1200AD/600AH. Before that, no specific walls were build as far as I know.

Question:
3. What is the role of that building according to quran?
A: If we can correctly assume the Kaaba is the Masjid Al-Haram, then several theories can be interpretated. I presented above a list of the Quranic requirments which the Masjid Al-Haram must be. Today, the Kaaba and the rules related to it do not fulfill these requirments.

Mecca is closed for non-Muslims, which goes directly against 22:27 which invites ALL people from Earth to come to the Hajj, the Annual Debate to solve issues. This must be solved before it can be accepted again as the Masjid Al-Haram. Also, not allowing any people to the Masjid Al-Haram is done by the opposers of the System, not the upholders.

5:2 ....Let not your hatred (or disapproval) of a people lead you to
transgression, because they prevented you from going to the Sacred Masjid (48:25). Help one another in acts of collective benefit and in being mindful of God, and do not help one another in deeds that hurt humanity and in creating a wedge between people. Be mindful of God’s Laws. His Law of Requital is strong in grasping.

The chaos surrounding the current organisation of Hajj makes it no safe place ot assemble, several people die each year because of bad organising. This must be solved again before it stands up to the requirments given in the Quran.

The idolatry must be erased from this place, as commanded in the Quran. In the current situation, we can see for example the so-called footprints of Abraham in a golden cage. This type of footprints can be found all over the Earth in pagan religions. The Quranic meaning was distorted by this Pagan understanding.

2:125 ...Emulate the stature/maqam of Abraham, following his example and knowing what he stood for....['Maqam-i-IbRaheem = The stature of Abraham = The stand he took.]

Maqam is commenly misunderstood as a real 'footprint' or 'standing place' to link it with the pagan symbol next to the Kaaba, but Maqam comes from the same root as Mustaqeem, Qama, meaning to stand firm/walk straigth, also 'iqama' from Iqama-A-Salat, observing the following of the Commands, comes from the same root.

So at the current moment, Mecca and the Kaaba do not stand up to the Quranic requirments for the Masjid Al-Haram. When we look at verse 5:2, we can see also that in the time of the Prophet, this was the same case. And he was ordered to make it the place be in accord with the requirments. Thus we are asked the same thing.

The Masjid of Security in Makkah must be a safe Sanctuary, a model of amnesty, and a Meeting point for all mankind. 2:125, 2:144-148, 3:96, 5:2, 5:97, 9:18, 22:25-28,
48:25.

In ancient Arabian Pagantry, cube formations were common, and represented gods. They were called beth-el's, meaning, 'house of god'. They believed gods truly lived in those cubes. There are thus some people who believe the Kaaba is also such a pagan cube and reject the Kaaba as the Masjid Al-Haram.

But I believe this is to fast a judgement. One interresting difference is that, that there has not be found such a large cube building as the Kaaba on ancient sites. Also we do not know if the ancient Arabians copied their beth-el's from the Kaaba, which was also know as the beth-el, and that they formed their own idolatry around these cube structures. So the famous history of the Kaaba made it become the rolemodel for every other beth-el in the region. Copying the House of God to makes houses for their gods.

Thus, more research must be done on this matter, and no conclusive theory can accepted yet, as there are to many holes yet to be filled. What we do know is, that the current state of Mecca does not uphold the requirments of the Quran, and that the current understanding of Hajj is false and is mostly based on pagan rituals.

Question:
4. Why we spin arround it? And why 7 times?
A: This is a beautiful example of pagan rituals. In many pagan cultures, people walked around their temple or idol 7 times. These were mostly idols representing the sun or moon, and the spinning represented their cycles. These have no bases in the Quran, and were probably adopted again when the monarchs of the 9th century seperated the Quran from State and to create a new meaning for Hajj for the people. Thus pagan rituals out of the time of Ignorance were re-established to fill in the gap they created.

Many rituals of the current Hajj are mostly pagan. The walking between Safa and Marwa are also pagan rituals and have no place in the Divine System of Deen. The Quran itself addresses these issues from a non-ritual point of view. But again, to create the gap between the Quran and State, understandings were changed to match them with the pagan rituals. And there are also different meanings possible for the words Safa and Marwa in Classic Arabic. Also, the Quran does not mention Hagar, and I cannot accept the story that a beloved and wise Prophet as Abraham could leave a child and wife in the middle of nowhere.

Stoning the devil has also no bases in the Quran, and for example, Dr.Shabbir's research has shown this was propably an ancient custom for mocking three traitors of Mecca.

And the list is much longer. All of these wrong rituals all were incorperated to fill in the gap between Quran and State. Hajj is about solving Global Issues and has nothing to do with personal salvation rituals.

Question:
5. Why people prostrate to ka'aba while praying in that mosque?
A: This can have several understandings. The Quran says clearly God is everywhere:

2:115 Unto God belong the East and the West.
Wherever you go, whichever way you turn, there is God’s
Countenance (Presence), and you remain in His Dominion.
Indeed, God is All Embracing, All Knowing. (3:95)

So the only reason can be again by understanding the main purpose of the Quran, which is unity of the people. But this purpose is mostly neglected, and facing the Kaaba has taken on a religious meaning, where the person's personal salvation is depending on directing their prayer in the right way, instead of understanding the social issue behind it.

This is again the result of the seperation between Quran and State.

The building has been rebuild several times, in the 90's also by the Saudie government. And thus it cannot be sacred as it is not the orginal building anymore.

Question:
6. What is inside that cube-building?
A: it is supposed to be empty, but who knows what the rulers have put in there. This is why we cannot accept Mecca as the Masjid Al-Haram as long it does not stand up to the requirments and that we know for sure the kaaba is not filled with idols. But we most also never forget that the Quranic Deen has no religious approaches, only social and scientific ones.

Question:
7. Is it possible that the cube-building was actually a mosque and not a sacred object?
A: Yes, this could be. It has been rebuild several times over the centuries. The historical accounts also tell the story of Mohammed and the inhabitants rebuilding it after a flood, which were and are common. Who knows how the building looked like before Mohammed's time? The only concern is, to make it stand up to the Quranic requirments for Hajj and as central point for the Islamic Government.

I believe it is not unlikely at all, that it did meet up to the requirments in the time of the Prophet after he established the Deen.

Question:
8. Why it dressed black?
A: This has its origin in pagan ritual, were Al-laat/Venus/Aphrodite statues were covered in black as only the priests had to right to see the idol. Ancient pagans represented Al-laat as a cube with a face on it, and covered it. This probably was incorperated later on by the Meccans, and later on turned into decoration which it is still today.

As long as it is free of shirk, free of idols on the robe, this still can be just approached as decoration, and there is no need to link it to the original pagan custom.

Interresting side note is, that the black dress and the black burqa, the complete black covering for women as followed by some Muslims, come from the ancient pagan custom. The wives of the priests were covered also completely in black, to mark them out as the wives of the priests. Later on this was incorperated all over Arabia and Persia, and later falsely incorperated into Islam.

Question:
9. What is its relation with black stone?
A: Black stones as the one on the Kaaba can be found also in other pagan cultures. These black stones, mostly meteorites, were venerated and worshipped as gods. Mostly also they are connected with the Aphrodite/Al-laat worship. Its placement on the corner of the Kaaba is intruiging as it directly points to the point when the sun comes up in its longest cycle. And thus is probably connected with pagan sun-worship out of the time of ignorance. Kissing the stone represents kissing the birth of the new sun.

Historical records say the Prophet left the stone of the Kaaba as a marker for the beginning of the spinning, but as we know this cannot be true as it is not in the Quran, and also has nothign to do with the Social purpose of Hajj. This was probably incorperated later on together with the pagan rituals. And the black stone was put on the Kaaba. Maybe it was there in the time of Muhammed and later removed, or it was never on it, and only later on placed on the Kaaba when all different pagan rituals were incorperated into Islam.

We cannot tell. But we do know it does not belong there. And has no meaning at all for the Quranic Hajj.

Question:
10. We know that in quran Masjidil Aqsa doesn't refer to any building or mosque but later people attributed that to a mosque in Palestine. So is it possible that Ka'aba was also not a building but later people attributed it as such?

This can be possible. But you make a slight mistake here. The building in Jerusalem was called Masjid Al-Aqsa from the beginning as far as we know. But it was never seen as the Masjid Al-Aqsa from the Quran. This concept was created later under the influence of Jews rioting for the rigth to rebuild their temple. They accussed the Muslims of not having any history with the place. As an answer, the Miraaj myth was connected with the Masjid on the Temple mount.

As I explained before. We cannot know if the building did or did not meeet up to the Quranic requirments in the time of the Prophet. Also this does not matter now. What does matter is as long Mecca does not meet up the Quranic requirments, we as an Ummah cannot accept it anymore as Masjid Al-Haram. This must be changed. Or we must decide on a new center for our Ummah. But I believe, that when we truly unite, Mecca will be made to meet up to the requirments. And then the history does not even matter anymore, only the present situation which upholds the Quranic demands for the Masjid Al-Haram.


Question:
11. If prophet mohammed and arabs were the descendants of Prophet Ismail then what does the following verse mean: 36:6 That you may warn a people whose ancestors were not warned, and who are, therefore, unaware of what is right and what is wrong."

A: I do not know if we can completely rely on the ancient myths surrounding Ismael. The Quranic requirments is that Mohammed decended from Abraham's line. But if the people of Mecca had any knowledge of a Divine Message, the verse denies. So we can assume no memory of the Message of Abraham had really survived, and thus the gap between Ismael and Muhammed was to great. Thus the verse is valid, as no ancestor/forefather had taught them any part of a Message given, as the messenger was way before them to know.

But several ideas are possible.

[Mahmood Qasmi]

Salam folks,
Mateen you have raised very important questions and Arnold has very beautifully answered them. I too agree that if the current Ka'bah can indeed stand the litmus test of the actual requirements of being a "ka'b" (base) for the "hajj" (debate), then this is not a pagan symbol.

The main idols we currently face are the notions of people who think that islam is a religion and not a utilitarian socioeconomic movement, that God is an emotional tyrant who will zapp you if you do not pray 5 times a day, that "non-muslims" are somehow less human than "muslims", and that people who do not necessarily believe in "tradition" have bought a one-way ticket to eternal hell.

Let us maintain our focus and handle the more advanced/obscure issues after we have addressed the main ones.

[Ahmed Mateen]

Salaam bro Arnold,

Thanks for your beautiful reply, it really helped and cleared lots of things. I have few more questions however, would you pleasae explain.....

11. You said:"But if the people of Mecca had any knowledge of a Divine Message, the verse denies. So we can assume no memory of the Message of Abraham had really survived," You assumed no memory of previous message survived....okey, these are not the people who are saying no warner has come to us before, if that is said by people then we can assume that they forgot but it is said by He Who never forgets anything. The god himself is saying that their forefathers have never received any warner before. If there forefathers never received any warner then how can Ismael be ancestor of prophet Mohammed? And also which verse you referred when said "The Quranic requirments is that Mohammed decended from Abraham's line.". That would be contradiction if there is any verse saying prophet Mohammed is among the Zuriyyat of Ibrahim.

10. In question 10, I also meant that in quran masjidil aqsa doesn't refer to any physical building...but would you please elaborate what do you mean when you said "The building in Jerusalem was called Masjid Al-Aqsa from the beginning as far as we know." from the begining? What do you mean by begining?

You have beautifully explaind what I wanted to know but then you said "But I believe, that when we truly unite, Mecca will be made to meet up to the requirments". I have doubts if Ibrahim ever came to that place in his life. 36:6 clearly denies that.

5. You said"So the only reason can be again by understanding the main purpose of the Quran, which is unity of the people." I couldn't understand that to achieve unity how could we prostrate to a stone cube? This is pure shirk and Idol worshiping. The god has clearly told us in the quran how to achieve unity. Prostrating to a stone cube to achieve unity is purely against the laws of quran.

3. You said:"But I believe this is to fast a judgement. One interresting difference is that, that there has not be found such a large cube building as the Kaaba on ancient sites." This is also interesting to note that the current cube-building is constructed by saudis, no one knows how big it was in the time of prophet and also there are many similar djinn blocks are found in arabia.

You said:"Thus, more research must be done on this matter, and no conclusive theory can accepted yet, as there are to many holes yet to be filled." So how can we know the truth? Obviously we cannot rely on the history written by criminals and we have to ask the quran about truth. It is very clear from the quran that the house, if it was a physical building, was built by Ibrahim and his son Ismael that is:

a. Ka'aba = Masjidil haram = baytil haram. (how can we call the current cube-block as masjidil haram and baytil haram)?

b. If it was built for whole of humanity, how many prophets have ever visited that place according to quran? Infact according to 36:6 none of the prophet have ever visited the place where prophet mohammed was born.

c. According to 2:125 both Ibrahim and Ismael were commanded to keep the house pure, which shows the house wasn't assigned only to Ismael but to both of them and in 22:26, only the Ibrahim was commanded to keep the house pure and in 22:27 he was commanded to call the people to that place which clearly shows that he never ever left that place where he built that house.

Thanks.

[Arnold Yasin Mol]

Salaam,

As I'm in the middle of ending my college studies, this subject have to wait till I have more time to answer all the questions.