What is inside the Kaaba?.

The gaze of all Muslims of our planet five times a day turn towards this mysterious structure. The oldest temple, according to legend, built by angels, attracts the attention of not only the faithful - not at all pretentious forms, but by what is hidden behind its walls. It is almost impossible to get inside the building these days - the doors open only for the heads of state, and even then not always. Nevertheless, the wealth of words allows you to describe everything that is inside the Kaaba, down to the smallest detail, and by watching the video in 3D, everyone will be able to imagine that they have been there personally.

The Kaaba and surroundings

Before entering, it would be nice to explore the space surrounding the Kaaba - especially since there are a lot of interesting objects around it. The Forbidden Mosque surrounds the temple from all sides, like a fortress; as if on a guard of honor, its nine minarets froze. Two of them are the tallest in the world - 105 meters.

Kaaba, aka Beytullah (House of God), rests on an ancient foundation of gray-blue blocks, which, according to the chroniclers, resemble camel humps. The base of the building is not a cube, but a short rectangle with sides equal to 10 m 10 cm (north and south walls) and exactly 12 m (east and west walls). The height of the walls is 16 meters, of which 0.9 m protrude above the flat roof in the form of a parapet. The walls of the Kaaba are one meter thick. They are made of blocks, hewn from a solid reddish stone and then polished. Along the perimeter there is a low base (az-shazarvan) with a bevel outward.

The structure suffered many times as a result of wars and was damaged by powerful mudflows, but people restored it every time. It is believed that the Kaaba was rebuilt at least five times:

  • the first time - by the angels, before the creation of man;
  • the second time - by Adam;
  • Ibrahim (Abraham) re-erected the Kaaba for the third time;
  • then the Kaaba was expanded to the north, which is now reminiscent of a semicircular platform surrounded by a low wall - Hijr Ismail. There is a gutter made of pure gold from the roof, through which rainwater flows. When the Prophet Muhammad was 25 years old, the temple was rebuilt by the Quraysh, returning it to its original appearance;
  • Muhammad's associate, Ibn al-Zubair, rebuilt the Kaaba from the ruins after the flood.

To prevent the sand of the desert from scratching the walls of the Kaaba, they are covered with a kiswa, a special cloth. This tradition originated in the first century AD and is still supported today. The cover for the House of God is made at a special factory in Kiswa from black Yemeni silk and embroidered with gold - calligraphic suras from the Koran. Gold embroidery is located in the form of a double belt - at a height of about 10 meters above the ground. The coverlet is attached to the silver rings - the upper row is located on the roof, and the lower one is mounted in the base. The kiswah is changed once a year.

The legendary Black Stone is built into the eastern corner of the House of God at a height of 1.1 m. Someone speaks of four, citing the fact that there are four supreme angels in Islam - Jabrail, Mikail, Azrael and Israfil. President of the North American Islamic Society Muzammil Siddiqi visited the Kaaba in 1998 (two years earlier, a large-scale reconstruction of the temple was carried out); he claims that there are only two columns left. Be that as it may, the presence of three supports is considered canonical.

Between the columns, opposite the door, there is a simple wooden table with incense. Oil for lamps, spare cords for kiswa and other accessories are kept in drawers of the table.

The stone floor slabs are very hard and cannot be scratched. They are difficult to process even with modern tools. But one plate, the mihrab, is different from the others. It is reddish in color with rounded corners. It is located against the wall directly opposite the entrance and is so worn down that it has become noticeably lower than the rest. The mihrab is cherished because the Prophet prayed on it.

On the walls there are inscriptions about those rulers who ever took part in the construction or renovation of the temple. The last of them dates back to 1996. The upper third of the walls and the ceiling are covered with green silk, on which the verses of the Koran and the Shahad are embroidered in gold - evidence that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet. The inscriptions are repeated many times in the form of a pattern. Like the outer cover, the fabrics of the interior are changed once a year.

Note: It is considered extremely impolite to look at the ceiling of the Ka'bah.

On the right hand is a small enclosure with a gilded door called the Door of Repentance (bab-at-tauba). Behind it is a staircase leading to the roof. You can get there through a narrow single-leaf hatch that opens outward. It is square, made of wood and covered with silver plates. Climbing up, you can find that the ceiling of the Kaaba is double - the lower one is made of teak planks and is supported by teak beams, and the roof itself is made of translucent marble slabs. This type of white marble is mined only in Yemen. During the renovation in 1996, all wooden parts of the structure were treated with modern impregnations.

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The video will help to visualize the interior of the Kaaba:

The House of God is furnished with strict simplicity. There is nothing superfluous here that would distract attention and prevent you from turning to higher forces.

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When performing namaz, the faithful becomes face to the qibla (landmark). The Kaaba has been serving as such since 622, and earlier it was considered Jerusalem. Inside the Kaaba, you can pray in any direction.

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