page_title: Mecca
section_title: The mountains of Safa and Marwah
hierarchical_section_title: Mecca / Significance in Islam / al-Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred Mosque) / The mountains of Safa and Marwah
caption_attribution_description: English: Panorama of Masjid al-Haram on Mecca, Saudi Arabia العربية: صورة بانورامية للمسجد الحرام في مكة بالسعودية
context_page_description: Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah and commonly shortened to Makkah, is the holiest city in Islam and the capital of the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 m above sea level. Its last recorded population was 1,578,722 in 2015. estimated metro population in 2020 is 2.042 million, making it the third-most populated city in the kingdom. Pilgrims more than triple this number every year during the Ḥajj pilgrimage, observed in the twelfth Hijri month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah.
  Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad. The Hira cave located atop the Jabal al-Nur is located just outside the city and is the location where Muslims believe the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad. Visiting Mecca for the Hajj is an obligation upon all able Muslims. The Great Mosque of Mecca, known as the Masjid al-Haram is home to the Ka'bah, believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael, is one of Islam's holiest sites and the direction of prayer for all Muslims, cementing Mecca's significance in Islam.
context_section_description: Muslims believe that in the divine revelation to Muhammad, the Qur'an, Allah describes the mountains of Safa and Marwah as symbols of his divinity. Walking between the two mountains seven times, 4 times from Safa to Marwah and 3 times from Marwah interchangeably, is considered a mandatory pillar (rukn) of 'Umrah.
caption: Panorama of the al-Masjid al-Haram, also known as the Grand Mosque of Makkah, during the Hajj pilgrimage
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