Masjid al-Haram Al-Masjid Al-Haram Location in present-day Saudi Arabia Location Mecca, present-day Saudi Arabia. Established At the time of Abraham Branch/tra dition IslamAdministration Saudi Arabian government Leadership Imam(s): Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais Saud Al-Shuraim Maher Al Mueaqly Architectural information Capacity900,000 worshippers (increased to 4,000,000 worshippers during the Hajjperiod)Minaret(s) 9Minaret height 89 m (292 ft). Al-Masjid Al-HaramorMasjidil Haram.The Sacred MosqueorThe Grand Mosque is in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds one of Islams holiest places, the Kaaba. Muslims face in the direction of the Kaabawhile performing Salat. One of the Five Pillars of Islamrequires every Muslim to perform the Hajjpilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so, including circumambulationof the Kaaba. The current structure covers an area of 356,800 square metres (88.2 acres) including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to two million worshipers during the Hajj period, one of the largest annual gatheringsof people in the world. Unlike many other mosques which are segregated, men and women can worship at Al-Masjid Al-Haram together. HISTORY The Quran states that Ibrahim, together with his son Ishmael, raised the foundations of a house[Quran 2:127] that is identified by most commentators as the Kaaba. Allah had shown Ibrahim the exact site, very near to the Well of Zamzam, where Ibrahim and Ishmael began work on the Kaabas construction in circa 2130 BCE. After Ibrahim had built the Kaaba, an angel brought to him the Black Stone, a celestial stone that, according to tradition, had fallen from Heaven on the nearby hill Abu Qubays. According to a saying attributed to Muhammad, the Black Stone had descended from Paradise whiter than milk but the sins of the sons of Adam had made it black. The Black Stone is believed to be the only remnant of the original structure made by Ibrahim. After the placing of the Black Stone in the Eastern corner of the Kaaba, Ibrahim received a revelation, in which Allah told the aged prophet that he should now go and proclaim the pilgrimage to mankind, so that men may come both from Arabia and from lands far away, on camel and on foot.[Quran 22:27] Going by the dates attributed to the patriarchs, Ishmael is believed to have been born around 2150 BCE, with Isaac being born a hundred years later. Therefore, Islamic scholars have generally assumed that the Kaaba was constructed by Ibrahim around 2130 BC. The Kaaba is, therefore, believed by Muslims to be more than a millennium older than Solomons Temple in Jerusalem, which is believed to have been finished in 1007 BCE These dates remain consistent with the Muslim belief that the Kaaba is the first and thus oldest mosque in history. In Samaritan literature, the Samaritan Book of the Secrets of Moses (Asatir) claims that Ishmael and his eldest son Nebaioth built the Kaaba as well as the city of Mecca. The Secrets of Moses or Asatir book was suggested by some opinion to have been compiled in the 10th century, while another opinion in 1927 suggested that it was written no later than the second half of the 3rd century BCE. FIRST ISLAMIC ERA Upon Muhammads victorious return to Meccain 630, he and his son-in-law, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, broke the idols in and around the Kaaba and ended its pagan use. This began the Islamic rule over the Kaaba and the building of Al-Masjid Al-Haram around it. The first major renovation to the mosque took place in 692. Before this renovation, which included the mosques outer walls being raised and decoration added to the ceiling, the mosque was a small open area with the Kaaba at the center. By the end of the 8th century, the Mosques old wooden columns had been replaced with marble columns and the wings of the prayer hall had been extended on both sides along with the addition of a minaret. The spread of Islam in the Middle East and the influx of pilgrims required an almost complete rebuilding of the site which included adding more marble and three more minarets.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 02:43:09 +0000
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