Two years later, Muhammad performed his only Hajj, prophesizing his own death later that year, according to Islamic scholarship. Since Muhammad's time, the Kaaba has remained quite literally a cornerstone of the faith, but it has gone through some major changes over the centuries. It was damaged in two seventh century sieges of Mecca. During the Hajj of , a rebellious Isamaili Shiite Muslim group known as the Qarmatians sacked the Kaaba and stole from it the Black Stone, a revered, potentially extraterrestrial relic believed by Muslims to have been given to Adam and Eve by God himself.
The Black Stone was ultimately returned some years later. The Kaaba continued to see extensive makeovers over the ages, including one that took place after heavy rains in the 17th century. With technological advancements of the modern era, the unprecedented number of pilgrims coming to Hajj prompted the Saudi government to begin major renovations to the surrounding complex in the s with the Saudi Binladin Group, a multinational construction conglomerate founded in by the father of infamous Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
A second project was ongoing during Hajj when violence struck the sacred site once again. Hundreds of militants disguised as pilgrims seized the compound, demanding the fall of the Saudi royal family and recognition of one of their leaders, Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani, as the Mehdi, or savior of Islam.
Tradition holds that God then brought forth a spring that runs to this day. Islamic tradition holds that the Kaaba was built by Ibrahim and Ismail as a house of monotheistic worship thousands of years ago. Over the years, the Kaaba was reconstructed and attracted different kinds of pilgrims who once lived in the Arabian Peninsula. In pre-Islamic times, the Kaaba was used to house pagan idols worshipped by local tribes. Observant Muslims around the world face toward the Kaaba during their five daily prayers.
Women forgo makeup and perfume and wear loose-fitting clothing and a head covering, while men dress in seamless, white terrycloth garments. The white garments are forbidden to contain any stitching — a restriction meant to emphasize the equality of all Muslims and prevent wealthier pilgrims from differentiating themselves with more elaborate garments.
Muslims are forbidden from engaging in sexual intercourse, cutting their hair or trimming nails while in the state of ihram. Those who cannot afford the hajj are sometimes financed by charities or community leaders. Others save their entire lives to make the journey. A few even walk thousands of miles by foot to Saudi Arabia, taking months to arrive. While following a route the Prophet Muhammad once walked, the rites of hajj are believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael, as they are named in the Bible.
Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but then God stayed his hand, sparing his son. In the Christian and Jewish versions of the story, Abraham is ordered to kill his other son, Isaac. Tradition holds that God then brought forth a spring that runs to this day. That spring, known as the sacred well of Zamzam, is believed to possess healing powers, and pilgrims often return from the hajj with bottles of its water as gifts.
Islamic tradition holds that the Kaaba was built by Ibrahim and Ismail as a house of monotheistic worship thousands of years ago. Over the years, the Kaaba was reconstructed and attracted different kinds of pilgrims, including early Christians who once lived in the Arabian Peninsula.
In pre-Islamic times, the Kaaba was used to house pagan idols worshiped by local tribes. Observant Muslims around the world face toward the Kaaba during their five daily prayers. That means the days in a month are based on the phases of the moon.
That makes the Islamic year around 11 days shorter than the calendar you use in school. That one is called the Gregorian calendar. It moves back around ten days every year on the Gregorian calendar. Pilgrims circle the Kaaba while keeping socially distanced.
The Kaaba is a large square building in the middle of the Great Mosque of Mecca. During Hajj, pilgrims must walk around it seven times counterclockwise. This way the Kaaba stays on their left side. Muslims pray five times in a day, wherever they are in the world.
They face the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.
0コメント