Kabah The Description about The

Cube
Every year millions of Muslims travel to Mecca for the hajj, one of
the five pillars of Islam. Muslims travel to Islams most sacred mosque,
al-Masjid al-Haram, during the six-day pilgrimage. Mecca is thought to
be the place where Ishmael and his mother Hagar were provided with a
spring of water in the desert. As it is the most sacred place in Islam,
non-Muslims are forbidden from entering.
The Ka'aba is a semi-cubic building that stands about 15 meters
high and 10-12 meters wide. It is an ancient, simple structure made of
granite. In the SE corner, a black meteorite (the "Black Stone") is
embedded in a silver frame. Stairs on the north side lead to a door
which allows entry to the interior, which is hollow and empty.
Builded in a Sacred Black Stones meteorite that Muslims believe
was placed by Abraham and Ishmael in a corner of the Kaaba, a
symbol of God's covenant with Abraham and Ishmael and, by
extension, with the Muslim community itself. It is embedded in the
eastern corner of the Kaaba.The Ka'aba is covered with a kiswah, a
black silk cloth which is embroidered in gold with verses from the
Qur'an. The kiswah is re-done and replaced once a year.
According to the Quran, the Ka'aba was built by the prophet Abraham
and his son Ishmael as a house of monotheistic worship.
However, by the time of Muhammad, the Ka'aba had been taken over
by pagan Arabs to house their numerous tribal gods. In 630 A.D.,
Muhammad and his followers took over leadership of Mecca after years
of persecution. Muhammad destroyed the idols inside the Ka'aba and
re-dedicated it as a house of monotheistic worship.
It should be noted that Muslims do not worship the Ka'aba and its
environs. Rather, it serves as a focal and unifying point among the
Muslim people. During daily prayers, Muslims face toward the Ka'aba
from wherever they are in the world (this is known as "facing the
qiblah"). During the annual pilgrimage ("Hajj"), Muslims walk around

around the Ka'aba in a counter-clockwise direction (a ritual known as

"tawaf").
In the center of the mosque, there is a black, box-shaped
building, which has sparked questions from those unfamiliar with the
Islamic culture. Here is everything to know about the most sacred
space in the Muslim world.It is called the Kaaba, or "the cube."

Muslims believe the Kaaba was originally built by Abraham and

Ishmael, but the site was re-dedicated by Muhammad and has been
reconstructed since. When Muslims pray, wherever they are, they turn
toward the Kaaba, and during the hajj, pilgrims walk counterclockwise
around it seven times.
The Kaaba is made of granite from the hills near Mecca. The
structure is 50 feet high (15.24 meters), 35 feet (10.67 meters) wide
and 40 feet long (12.19 meters) long. Inside the Kaaba, the floor is
made of marble and limestone. The interior walls, measuring 43 feet
(13 meters) by 30 feet (9 meters), are clad with tiled, white marble
halfway to the roof, with darker trimmings along the floor. It is covered
by a black silk cloth decorated with gold-embroidered calligraphy. This
cloth is known as the kiswa, and it is replaced yearly.
The Kaaba in Makkah is a cube-shaped building that is made of stone.
In Islamic tradition, it is covered with a cloth to both protect and
beautify this ancient structure.
The modern kiswa is 100% pure silk, dyed black, and embellished with
gold embroidery. Approximately 670 kilograms of silk is used to
fabricate each kiswa. To give it additional strength, it is lined with
strong cotton cloth on the inside. When draped on the Kaaba, it looks
like a black cube.
About three-fourths of the way up, a meter-wide panel of intricate gold
embroidery surrounds the cube. The embroidery is of various Islamic
phrases and verses from the Holy Quran, such as There is no god but
Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah or Glory be to Allah,
and Praise be to Allah, and Glory is to Allah the Great. These are

embroidered onto the silk using 125 kilograms of pure gold thread and
25 kilograms of pure silver thread, in the Thuluth style of Arabic
calligraphy.
The kiswa is actually made of several different panels which are
assembled together, and fixed to the ground with copper rings. The
panel covering the door of the Kaaba on the north-east wall is the
most heavily embellished. Sometimes the edges near the ground are
lifted in order to protect the cloth from damage.
The total cost of manufacturing the kiswa comes to $6 million USD
each year.