Al-Ka'bah
Definition
Al-Ka'bah — the cube-shaped House of Allah — is the structure whose ancient foundations Ibrahim and Ismail raised together, making supplication as they worked: 'Our Lord, accept this from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.' Ibn Kathir notes that the foundations of the Ka'bah predate Ibrahim — they go back to the very beginning of human habitation on earth — but Ibrahim and Ismail rebuilt and elevated them, establishing the site as the focal point of monotheistic worship that it remains to this day. The Ka'bah is the qiblah (direction) toward which over a billion Muslims turn five times a day in prayer — the physical center of a global community united by the faith of a father and son who built with their hands while making du'a.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Al-Ka'bah.
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"Al-Baihaqi mentioned the construction of the Ka'bah before the Prophet's marriage to Khadijah. Peace and blessings be upon him. However, it is well known that Quraysh constructed the Ka'bah after his marriage to Khadijah ten years later. Al-Baihaqi also discussed the construction of the Ka'bah during the time of Abraham as presented in his story, citing the hadith of Ibn Abbas found in Sahih al-Bukhari."
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 2 — From the Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia
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"and Yazid ibn al-Assam did not meet Ali, making it not authentic and Allah knows best. It is narrated that while Ali ibn Abi Talib was performing tawaf of the Ka'bah, he noticed a man clinging to the Ka'bah curtains, praying fervently. The man was saying, O one who is not distracted by hearing, O one whom questioners do not confuse, O one who is not burdened by the insistence of the insistent, grant me the peace of your pardon and the sweetness of your mercy."
— Ibn Kathir, Yusha, al-Khidr & Ilyas
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"Ibn al-Zubayr later fulfilled this vision, constructing it beautifully on Ibrahim's foundations with two ground-level doors. However, after al-Hajjaj killed Ibn al-Zubayr, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ordered the Ka'bah to be returned to its original state, sealing the western door and raising the eastern one. During al-Mahdi's or his son al-Mansur's time, Malik advised against altering the Ka'bah again, fearing it would become a playground for kings."
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 2 — From the Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia
Appears in
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