By MeccaGuide
/ December 29, 2022 December 29, 2022
Islamic History in Mecca
An opportunity to travel to Makkah is the greatest blessing for many Muslims all over the world. The Prophet Muhammad was born in this city, which is also where the Quran was originally given to him, making it the holiest city in Islam. It is also a constant in the life of devout Muslims, who face Makkah in order to do five daily prayers.
One of the five pillars of the faith is the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the city, although the shorter Umrah pilgrimage is also performed by millions of people every year in the city.
Prophet Ibrahim is directly responsible for the founding of Makkah, its history, and its foundations, as he obeyed Allah’s instruction to leave his wife Haajar and son Isma’il there. Ibrahim once travelled to Makkah from ancient Syria with his wife Haajar and son Isma’il, who was still a nursing infant, according to a lengthy narrative from the Prophet that Imam Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas.
Makkah had no water at the time, and no one lived there. Ibrahim led the two of them into the shade of a tree and left them with a flask of water and a bag of dates before leaving for ancient Syria.His wife Haajar contacted him as he was walking away and asked, “Where are you going? How can you abandon us here in this barren valley where there are no people and no other living things? After saying it a few times and getting no response, she enquired: “Did Allah order you to do this?” Yes, Ibrahim retorted. She then remarked, “Then He won’t leave us.”
Ibrahim went for a time before stopping and standing on a tiny hill. He raised his hands in prayer and said, as Allah tells us, “Our Lord! In order for my descendants to establish prayer, our Lord, I have relocated some of them to an uninhabited valley close to your holy House. So make people’s hearts tilt in their direction, and give them from the fruits so they can be thankful. When Allah granted Haajar and her son access to the Zam-zam well, people began to arrive in Makkah from all over the world. The Jurhum tribe, where Isma’il grew up and married, was the first tribe to live there.
Ibrahim visited Makkah frequently to assess their situation, and Allah later gave him the order to construct the Ka’bah. Allah states: “And when Ibrahim was laying the foundation of the House, and Isma’il, (saying): ‘Our Lord! Just accept it from us. You are the Hearing and the Knowing, in fact. The massive Grand Mosque, which can hold up to 4 million worshippers, lies at the centre of Makkah. The Kaaba, a cube covered in black silk with gold calligraphy in the centre, serves as the piece’s main point.
The Kaaba, the holiest mosque in Islam, is where pilgrims do the Umrah by dressing appropriately, following the mandated rituals, such as the tawaf (circumambulating the Kaaba seven times), and walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa. The Hajj occurs in the final month of the Islamic calendar, Dhu’l Hijja, and involves a number of rituals that must be performed. Every capable Muslim should perform the Hajj at least once in their lifetime.
The Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah, and that is also where the beginning of his prophetic role was signalled. It is where he first experienced revelation; on top of one of its tall mountains is the renowned Cave Hira, where the Quran was delivered to him. Muhammad explained to us that Muslims should face the Ka’bah when they pray, and that one prayer in the Sacred Mosque is equal to 100,000 prayers in any other mosque.
Intimate, fascinating museums abound in Makkah, illuminating the city’s long history as the centre of international trade and the cradle of Islam. The Masjid Al Haram in Makkah and the Masjid An Nabawi in Medina were built over a period of many years, and visitors can browse intricate marble arches, salvaged wooden doors, and other elements that were saved and restored from earlier iterations of the mosques as part of the Exhibition of the Two Holy Mosques.
