A REFLECTION BY DR ALI SHARIATI (1933-1977)
The building is uncomplicated. Black rocks of “Ajoon” are laid on top of each other. There is no
design or decoration involved. Its name, Kaabah, means a “cube” – but why a “cube”?
Why is it so simple and lacking in color and ornamentation? It is because Almighty Allah has no
“shape”, no color and none is similar to Him. No pattern or visualization of Allah that man
imagines can represent Him. Being omnipotent and omnipresent, Allah is “absolute”.
Although Kaaba has no direction (because of its cubic shape), by facing the Kaaba when
performing prayers, you choose Allah’s direction and face Him. Kaaba’s absence of direction
may seem difficult to comprehend. However, universality and absoluteness prevails. The six
sides of the cube encompasses all directions and simultaneously their sum symbolizes no
direction!
The skirt of Hagar was the area in which Ismail was raised. The house of Hagar is there. Her
grave is near the third column of the Kaaba.
What a surprise since no one, not even prophets, are supposed to be buried in mosques but in this
case, the house of a maid is located next to Allah’s house! Hagar, the mother of Ismail is buried
there. The Kaaba extends toward her grave.
Adapted from a section of the book “Hajj” by Dr. Ali Shariati. Translated by Dr. Ali A. Behzadnia
Many Muslims believe Hagar and her son, Ishmael, are buried beside the Kaaba, in a semi-enclosed area
which Muslims circumambulate during Hajj.[4]
Each numbered item in the following list corresponds to features noted in the diagram image, on
right.
1. Al-Ħajaru al-Aswad, "the Black Stone", is located on the Kaaba's eastern corner. Its
northern corner is known as the Ruknu l-ˤĪrāqī, "the Iraqi corner", its western as the
Ruknu sh-Shāmī, "the Levantine corner", and its southern as Ruknu l-Yamanī, "the
Yemeni corner".[1][12] The four corners of the Kaaba roughly point toward the four
cardinal directions of the compass.[1] Its major (long) axis is aligned with the rising of the
star Canopus toward which its southern wall is directed, while its minor axis (its eastwest facades) roughly align with the sunrise of summer solstice and the sunset of winter
solstice.[13][14]
2. The entrance is a door set 2.13 m (7 ft) above the ground on the north-eastern wall of the
Kaaba, which acts as the façade.[1] In 1979 the 300 kg gold doors made by chief artist
Ahmad bin Ibrahim Badr, replaced the old silver doors made by his father, Ibrahim Badr
in 1942.[15] There is a wooden staircase on wheels, usually stored in the mosque between
the arch-shaped gate of Banū Shaybah and the Zamzam Well.
3. Meezab-i Rahmat, rainwater spout made of gold. Added in the rebuilding of 1627 after
the previous year's rain caused three of the four walls to collapse.
4. Gutter, added in 1627 to protect the foundation from groundwater.
5. Hatim (also romanized as hateem), a low wall originally part of the Kaaba. It is a semicircular wall opposite, but not connected to, the north-west wall of the Kaaba known as
the hatīm. This is 90 cm (35 in) in height and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in width, and is composed of
white marble. At one time the space lying between the hatīm and the Kaaba belonged to
the Kaaba itself, and for this reason it is not entered during the tawaf. According to
western scholars the space contains the remains of Hagar and Ishmael as it is called hidjr
Ismail[16]  Gibb, Hamilton A.R. and Kramers, J.H. (1965) Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam.
Ithaca:Cornell University Press. pp. 191–198.
6. Al-Multazam, the roughly 2 meter space along the wall between the Black Stone and the
entry door. It is sometimes considered pious or desirable for a hajji to touch this area of
the Kaaba, or perform dua here.
7. The Station of Abraham (Maqam Ibrahim), a glass and metal enclosure with what is said
to be an imprint of Abraham's foot. Abraham is said to have stood on this stone during
the construction of the upper parts of the Kaaba, raising Ismail on his shoulders for the
uppermost parts.[17]
8. Corner of the Black Stone (East).
9. Corner of Yemen (South-West). Pilgrims traditionally acknowledge a large vertical stone
that forms this corner.
10. Corner of Syria (North-West).
11. Corner of Iraq (North-East). This inside corner, behind a curtain, contains the Babut
Taubah, Door of Repentance, which leads to a staircase to the roof.
12. Kiswah, the embroidered covering. Kiswa is a black silk and gold curtain which is
replaced annually during the Hajj pilgrimage.[18][19] Two-thirds of the way up is a band of
gold-embroidered Quranic text, including the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.
13. Marble stripe marking the beginning and end of each circumambulation.
14. The station of Gabriel.[20]
https://questionauthorityrespectfully.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/lexicology-of-kaaba/
Left: Conceptual representation of the Kaaba, as built by Ibrahim. Right: Representation of the Kaaba as
it stands today.
 Title: Shorter encyclopaedia of Islam.
 Uniform Title: ʻUlūm-i Islāmiyah kī ek Urdū insāʼiklopīḍiyā. Selections.
 Contributor: H. A. R. Gibb, (Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen), 1895-1971, editor. J. H.
Kramers, (Johannes Hendrik), 1891-1951, editor. Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van
Wetenschappen.
 Subjects: Islam -- Dictionaries Islam Dictionaries
 Description: "Includes all the articles contained in the first edition and Supplement of the
Encyclopaedia of Islam which relate particularly to the religion and law of Islam."
Photomechanical reprint.
 Publisher: Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University Press
 Creation Date: 1965
 Format: viii, 671 pages illustrations 27 cm