Kaaba

De **Kaaba**, dem sam times refer to am as **al-Kaʽba al-Musharrafa**, be a stone building for de center of Islam ein most important mosque den holiest site, de Masjid al-Haram insyd Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Ebe considered by Muslims e be de *Baytullah* (Arabic: بَيْت ٱللَّٰه, lit. 'House of God') wey ebe de qibla (Arabic: قِبْلَة, direction of prayer) give Muslims around de world. Na dem build de current structure after na de original building be damaged by a fire during de siege of Mecca by de Umayyads insyd 683 CE.

Insyd early Islam, na Muslims face insyd de general direction of Jerusalem as de qibla for dema prayers insyd before dem change de direction make dem face de Kaaba, believe by Muslims e be a result of a Quranic verse revelation to Muhammad.
## History

### Origin

#### Etymology
De literal meaning of de word *Ka'bah* (Arabic: كعبة) be *cube*. Insyd de Qur'an, from de era of de life of Muhammad, na dem mention de Kaaba by de names wey dey follow:

* *al-Bayt* (Arabic: ٱلْبَيْت, lit. 'de house') insyd 2:125 by Allah[Quran 2:125]
* *Baytī* (Arabic: بَيْتِي, lit. 'My House') insyd 22:26 by Allah[Quran 22:26]
* *Baytik al-Muḥarram* (Arabic: بَيْتِكَ ٱلْمُحَرَّم, lit. 'Your Inviolable House') insyd 14:37 by Ibrahim[Quran 14:37]
* *al-Bayt al-Ḥarām* (Arabic: ٱلْبَيْت ٱلْحَرَام, lit. 'The Sacred House') insyd 5:97 by Allah[Quran 5:97]
* *al-Bayt al-ʿAtīq* (Arabic: ٱلْبَيْت ٱلْعَتِيق, lit. 'The Ancient House') insyd 22:29 by Allah[Quran 22:29]

According to historian Eduard Glaser, na de name "Kaaba" fi be related to de southern Arabian anaa Ethiopian word "*mikrab*", wey dey signify a temple. Author Patricia Crone dey dispute dis etymology.

## Architecture den interior
De Kaaba be a cuboid-shaped structure dem make of stones. Ebe approximately 15 m (49 ft 3 in) high plus sides wey dey measure 12 m (39 ft 4 in) × 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) wide (Hawting dey state 10 m (32 ft 10 in). Insyd de Kaaba, dem make de floor of marble den limestone. De interior walls be clad plus tiled, white marble halfway to de roof, plus darker trimmings along de floor. De floor of de interior dey stand about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) above de ground area wer dem dey perform de tawaf.

Each numbered item insyd de following list wey dey correspond to features dem note insyd de diagram image.
# De *Ḥajar al-Aswad* (Arabic: الحجر الأسود, romanized: *al-Hajar al-Aswad*, lit. 'The Black Stone'), dey locate for de Kaaba ein eastern corner. Ebe de location wer Muslims dey start dema circumambulation of de Kaaba, dem know am as de *tawaf*.
# De entrance be a door dem set 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) above de ground for de north-eastern wall of de Kaaba, dem bell de *Bāb ar-Raḥmah* (Arabic: باب الرحمة, romanized: *Bāb ar-Raḥmah*, lit. 'Door of Mercy'), wey sanso dey act as de façade.
# De *Mīzāb ar-Raḥmah*, dem commonly shorten to *Mīzāb* anaa *Meezab* be a rain spout dem make of gold.
# Dis slant structure, wey dey cover three syds of de Kaaba, be known as de *Shadherwaan* (Arabic: شاذروان) wey na dem add am insyd 1627 along plus de *Mīzāb ar-Raḥmah* make e protect de foundation from rainwater.
# De *Hatīm* (dem sanso romanize am as *hateem*) wey dem sanso know am as de *Hijr Ismail*, be a low wall wey na ebe part of de original Kaaba.
# *al-Multazam*, de roughly 2 m (6+1⁄2 ft) space along de wall between de Black Stone den de entry door.
# De Station of Ibrahim *(Maqam Ibrahim)* be a glass den metal enclosure plus wat na dem say e be an imprint of Ibrahim ein feet.
# De corner of de Black Stone. E dey face very slightly southeast from de center of de *Kaaba.* De four corners of de Kaaba roughly point toward de four cardinal directions of de compass.
# De *Rukn al-Yamani* (Arabic: الركن اليمني, romanized: *ar-Rukn al-Yamani*, lit. 'De Yemeni Corner'), dem sanso know am as *Rukn-e-Yamani* anaa *Rukn-e-Yemeni*, be de corner of de *Kaaba* wey dey face slightly southwest from de center of de Kaaba.
# De *Rukn ush-Shami* (Arabic: الركن الشامي, romanized: *ar-Rukn ash-Shami*, lit. 'De Levantine Corner')*,* dem sanso know am as *Rukn-e-Shami*, be de corner of de *Kaaba* wey dey face very slightly northwest from de center of de Kaaba.
# De *Rukn al-'Iraqi* (Arabic: الركن العراقي, romanized: *ar-Rukn al-'Iraqi*, lit. 'De Iraqi Corner'), be de corner wey dey face slightly northeast from de center of de Kaaba.
# Kiswah, de embroidered covering. Kiswa be a black silk den gold curtain wich dem dey replace annually during de Hajj pilgrimage.
# Marble stripe wey dey mark de beginning den end of each circumambulation.
Note: Na dem observe de major (long) axis of de Kaaba make e align plus de rising of de star Canopus toward wich dem dey direct ein southern wall, while ein minor axis (ein east–west facades) roughly align plus de sunrise of summer solstice den de sunset of winter solstice.

## Significance insyd Islam
De *Kaaba* be de holiest site insyd Islam, wey na dem often bell am by names such as de *Bayt Allah* (Arabic: بيت الله, romanized: *Bayt Allah*, lit. 'House of Allah'). den *Bayt Allah al-Haram* (Arabic: بيت الله الحرام, romanized: *Bayt Allah il-Haram*, lit. 'De Sacred House of Allah').

### Tawaf
De five types of ṭawāf be:

* *Ṭawāf al-Qudūm* (arrival ṭawāf) be performed by those wey no dey reside insyd Mecca once dem reach de Holy City.
* *Ṭawāf aṭ-Ṭaḥīyah* (greeting ṭawāf) be performed after dem enter *al-Masjid al-Haram* for any oda times wey ebe mustahab.
* *Ṭawāf al-'Umrah* (Umrah ṭawāf) dey refer to de ṭawāf performed specifically for Umrah.
* *Ṭawāf al-Wadā*' ("farewell ṭawāf") be performed before dem lef Mecca.
* *Ṭawāf az-Zīyārah* (ṭawāf of visiting), *Ṭawāf al-'Ifāḍah* (ṭawāf of compensation) anaa *Ṭawāf al-Ḥajj* (Hajj ṭawāf) be performed after dem plete de Hajj.

## Gallery


File:Gate of Ka-bah.JPG|De *Mīzāb al-Raḥmah D*e *Bāb at-Tawbah*, "Door of Repentance"
File:Kaaba mirror edit jj.jpg|De Kaaba plus de signature minarets. Na dem print a similar view for de obverse side of 500-riyal (approximately 133 USD) notes insyd Saudi Arabia.
File:Maqam Ibrahim, Makkah.jpg|De Station of Ibrahim (*Maqam Ibrahim*)
File:Meezab -e- rehmat.jpg|De Mīzāb al-Raḥmah


## References

## Bibliography
* Amstrong, Karen (1997). *[https://books.google.com/books?id=TZltAAAAMAAJ Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths]*. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780345391681.
* 
* 
* 
*Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi *The book of Idols*, translated with introduction and notes by Nabih Amin Faris 1952
* 
*Mohamed, Mamdouh N. (1996). *Hajj to Umrah: From A to Z*. Amana Publications. .
* 
*Peterson, Andrew (1997). *Dictionary of Islamic Architecture* London: Routledge.
*[1915] *The Book of History, a History of All Nations From the Earliest Times to the Present*, Viscount Bryce (Introduction), The Grolier Society.

## External links

*Ka'bah info: Everything you want to know about the Holy Ka'bah Archived 1 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
*SA's Official Live Webcam of the Kaaba
*Former door of the Kaaba (ca. 1635)