Sacred space and pilgrimage
Family: Belief and worship · 26 entries
Entries on this theme
Event
The Settlement of Hajar and Ismail at Mecca
c. 2000 BCEIbrahim leaves his wife Hajar and the infant Ismail in a barren valley by the future site of the House, entrusting them to God; when the water runs out the spring of Zamzam breaks forth, and the Yemeni tribe of Jurhum settles by them with Hajar’s permission.The Raising of the Kaaba’s Foundations
c. 1900 BCEOn the third recorded journey, Ibrahim finds Ismail sharpening arrows beneath a tree by Zamzam; together the aged father and the grown son raise the foundations of the House, and Ibrahim calls mankind to the pilgrimage as commanded.The Command to Sacrifice Ismail
c. 1900 BCEOn one of Ibrahim’s visits to Mecca he is shown in a dream that he must sacrifice his son; father and son submit, and the son is ransomed with a great sacrifice — the trial the Quran recalls in Surat al-Saffat, and which the Raheeq narrative places before Isaac’s birth.The Re-digging of Zamzam
c. 550 CEʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, directed by a dream, re-dug Zamzam and recovered the Jurhumite hoard; Quraysh’s challenge ended in arbitration confirming the well to him.ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s Vow and the Lot
c. 550 CEHis vow to sacrifice a son; the lot fell on ʿAbdullāh, and by an auguress’s counsel camels were raised to one hundred and slaughtered in his stead — fixing the Arab bloodwit at a hundred camels.The rebuilding of the Kaaba
c. 605 CEQuraysh's rebuilding of the Kaaba when Muhammad was thirty-five — a flood-weakened structure rebuilt with 'lawful money only' — and the arbitration over the Black Stone that he settled with the cloak solution.The change of the qibla
c. February 624 CE · Sha'ban 2 AHThe direction of prayer was changed from Jerusalem to the Kaaba in Mecca, about a year and a half after the Hijra.The cleansing of the Kaaba and destruction of idols
January 630 CE · Ramadan 8 AHUpon entering the sacred precinct, the Prophet circumambulated the Kaaba on his mount, toppled three hundred and sixty lead-fastened idols with his staff while reciting Qur'an 17:81, opened the sanctuary with Uthman ibn Talha's key, effaced the wall frescoes inside while reciting Qur'an 3:67, and had Bilal deliver the adhan from atop the roof.The killing of Ibn al-Anwa' and the sermon on Mecca's sanctity
January 630 CE · Ramadan 8 AHAfter the general safety was proclaimed, Khirash ibn Umayya ambushed and killed Ibn al-Anwa' al-Hudhali to settle an old blood dispute; the Prophet strongly condemned the murder, paid the full wergild from his own funds, and the next day delivered a decisive sermon proclaiming the perpetual inviolability of Mecca's blood, trees, and game.The Prophet's Umrah from al-Ji'rana
February 630 CE · Dhu al-Qa'da 8 AHAfter completing the distribution of spoils, the Prophet entered the state of ihram from al-Ji'rana by night, entered Mecca to perform the rites of Umrah, confirmed Attab ibn Asid as governor of Mecca, and departed back to Medina in Dhu al-Qa'dah 8 AH.The demolition of al-Lat
c. December 630 CE · Ramadan 9 AHFulfilling the Thaqif treaty's clause, the Prophet sent Khalid ibn al-Walid who demolished al-Lat at al-Ta'if; al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba struck its gate with the pickaxe after feigning a collapse that terrified the onlookers, and its ornaments and covering were divided the same day.The burial of the Prophet
June 632 CE · Rabi' I 11 AHThe Prophet was buried in the room of Aisha, beside the mosque in Medina; the place later became part of the Prophet's Mosque.
Person
Abraha
c. 520 CEThe Aksumite governor who made himself ruler of Yemen, built the great church of San'a, and marched on Mecca with an elephant — the invader of the 'Year of the Elephant' remembered in Qur'an 105.al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba
Thaqafi Companion renowned for wit and statecraft; he broke the gate of al-Lat with the pickaxe during its demolition in 9 AH, first feigning a collapse that struck terror into the watching Thaqafis.Fadala ibn Umayr al-Laythi
A man of Banu Layth who intended to assassinate the Prophet while he was performing tawaf around the Kaaba during the Conquest; the Prophet called him by name, placed his hand over his chest until his heart calmed, and Fadala embraced Islam.
Building
al-Qullays (the Yemeni Kaaba)
The church Abraha built in Yemen to divert the Arabs’ pilgrimage from Mecca — the ambition that led to the elephant campaign.Dar al-Nadwa
The council house founded by Qusayy on the north side of the mosque of the Kaaba, with its door into the mosque; Quraysh deliberated its grave matters and married off its daughters there.The Kaaba
The House whose foundations Ibrahim and Ismail raised at Mecca; it was a raised mound before the building, then the sanctuary toward which Arabia’s tribes came — custodied successively by Ismail’s line, Jurhum, Khuzaʾa and finally Quraysh under Qusayy.
Place
al-Ji'rana
A settlement between Mecca and Ta'if where the Prophet halted the spoils and captives of Hunayn, received Hawazin's delegation and granted them general amnesty, distributed the shares to al-Mu'allafa Qulubuhum, addressed the Ansar, and entered ihram for Umrah.al-Khaliqa (Dhu al-Khalifa)
Khalifat Bani Abi Ahmad near Medina, where Ali and al-Zubayr caught the woman carrying Hatib's letter to Quraysh and took it from her braided hair.al-Kudayd
A watering place between Usfan and Amaj on the road between Medina and Mecca; there the Prophet broke his fast and the army broke theirs on the march of the Conquest in Ramadan 8 AH.al-Watir
A watering place of Khuza'a in lower Mecca where Banu al-Dil of Banu Bakr made the night attack that broke the Hudaybiyya truce.Usfan
A settlement two stages from Mecca on the Medina road; there Abu Sufyan met Budayl ibn Warqa' coming back from Medina, and there the Prophet's army passed on the march of the conquest.Dhu Tuwa
A valley in lower Mecca where the Prophet halted the army, bowed his head in humility on his mount until his beard nearly touched the saddle, divided the columns for entry, and where Abu Quhafa was brought to embrace Islam.Marr al-Zahran
A major valley stage one stage north of Mecca (modern Wadi Fatima); there the ten-thousand-strong Muslim army encamped and lit ten thousand fires, Abu Sufyan was brought in by al-Abbas, and the tribes paraded in iron before the entry.
Practice
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