THE KAABA

The Kaaba is a construction housing the black stone that was worshipped in the pre-Islamic era. The Kaaba is covered with a canopy of black silk embroidered with gold thread and depicting suras from the Koran. From 630 onwards, Muslims turned to the Kaaba at prayer time, wherever they were in the world. Pilgrims going to Mecca make 7 times around it during the tawaf rite. In Arabic, the term ka'ba refers to a cubic-shaped building. The word is mentioned in Surah 5(The Table), verse 97 in the following words: "God has established the Ka'ba, the Sacred House, as a gathering place for people. He has established the holy month, the offering and the garlands, so that you may know that truly God knows all that is in the heavens and on earth; and that truly God is omniscient. This verse is important because it reveals the existence of a "house of God" and because it reiterates sacrificial acts practiced before the advent of Islam.

The black stone and the pre-Islamic era. Mecca was a place of pilgrimage before the advent of Islam, and the Kaaba probably already existed. The Arabs worshipped betyls, uncarved stones of quadrangular shape. They often came from meteorites which, for the ancient peoples, were the manifestation of a deity. Maximus of Tyre, a philosopher of the second century, reports in his Dissertations: "The Arabs also worship, but I know not what. As for the sensible object of their worship, I have seen it, it is a quadrangular stone". The archaeological study of Arab tribes has revealed the worship of stones in the desert, meteorites, but also trees or springs. The objects of worship are traditionally surrounded by a haram, an enclosure that defines the sacred area. This is true of the Kaaba and its black stone, which was the object of the most important pilgrimage in Arabia. In addition, the Kaaba was built at the bottom of a valley near a spring. The Qur'an gives more details about this pilgrimage and the origins of the black stone. The Sura of the Table refers to animals brought as offerings, wearing garlands around their necks. The Kaaba was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. In other Islamic traditions, it would be the work of Adam. The stone is said to have come down from Heaven to show Adam where to build the first temple on Earth. The origin of the black stone is unknown. Samples and analysis are forbidden. Some think that it is a meteorite stone. It burst under the effect of heat during the fire of 684, was stolen in 930 by the Qarmates, a Shiite current of Islam. It is now enshrined in the northeast corner of the Kaaba and placed in a silver frame. The Kaaba also housed statues of deities and betyls left by pilgrims. In particular, the three daughters of God, Al-Lat, Manat and Al-Uzza, are said to have been worshipped there.

The Kaaba in Islam. When the prophet Mohammed returned to Mecca in 630, he rid the Kaaba of the statues and idols it contained. The building is now an empty house, the House of God, who alone can be worshipped. The Kaaba was destroyed twelve times in its history, ten times before the advent of Islam and three times after. It was burned down in 684 and 692, during the struggles for the leadership of the Caliphate by the Umayyads. In 1630, the walls collapsed due to heavy rains. It is rebuilt each time. Today, the Kaaba is a granite construction, whose stone was extracted from the surrounding mountains. It is a false cube. The shortest wall is 9.90 meters and the longest 12.01 meters, for a height of 12.95 meters. Only one raised opening has been made. The wooden double door is plated with 280 kg of pure gold. It is opened three times a year to clean the floor with water from the Zamzam spring, supposedly discovered by Hagar, Abraham's wife. The walls are covered with white marble slabs up to three meters from the floor and lined with green silk hangings on which are woven the shahada (profession of faith) and some of the 99 names of Allah. Three carved teak columns support the false ceiling. A staircase leads to the terrace. The access door is called "the door of repentance". It is hung with a silk embroidered with gold and silver threads. This door is opened once a year in order to change the kiswa, the black silk canopy that covers the building. This one is embroidered with gold thread of Koranic verses. Since the foundation of the Saudi kingdom, the kiswas have been made in a workshop next to the Great Mosque. It was once made in Egypt, given by Egyptian sultans. But the tradition of covering the Kaaba is much older. It dates back to the first century when emirs from all over the Peninsula and the Arab world offered woolen blankets and colorful silks when they went on pilgrimage to Mecca. The kiswas were piled on top of each other, threatening to collapse under their weight. In 775, the Caliph Al-Mahdi ordered that only one canopy be left. The tradition of the black color appeared in the 13th century, although later on, colored kiswas could be offered. A beautiful example of red silk is on display at the House of Islamic Arts in Jeddah.