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.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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