Masjid al-Haram (Great Mosque of Mecca)

Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the largest mosque in the world. It surrounds the Kaaba, the most sacred shrine in all of Islam. Also called the Great Mosque of Mecca, Masjid al-Haram hosts millions of Islamic faithful each year. It can hold up to four million people at a time and encompasses 3.8 million square feet (353,000 square meters). The oldest parts of the modern structure can be traced to the sixteenth century. Mecca is a holy place for Muslims because it is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

Background

The religion of Islam began with the Prophet Muhammad, who was born in Mecca about 571 and died in 632. Muslims, as the followers of Islam are known, must adhere to the Five Pillars of Islam, which are considered the foundation for life as a Muslim. Shahada, the first pillar, is the Arabic term for the declaration of faith in one God (Allah) and his messenger, the Prophet Muhammad. The second of the pillars is Salah, the ritual prayer that all Muslims are required to recite five times a day. Muslims pray facing Mecca. Prayers are performed at dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset, and nightfall.

Zakat, the third pillar, refers to the act of giving a portion of one’s wealth to those in need. The rate is normally about 2.5 percent of a person’s annual wealth, including savings and nonessential property. The fourth pillar is Sawm, which refers to the act of daily fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. This symbolizes sharing the hunger and thirst of the needy and a reminder of it being a religious duty to help those less fortunate. Hajj is the final pillar and refers to making a pilgrimage to the Masjid al-Haram and the Kaaba in Mecca. All Muslims who are healthy and can afford the trip are required to make at least one pilgrimage to the Great Mosque of Mecca in their lifetimes.

Overview

At the center of the Masjid al-Haram is the Kaaba, a large cube-shaped structure towards which Muslims around the world pray. The origins of the Kaaba are uncertain, but it is believed that it was a polytheist sanctuary and pilgrimage site for local Indigenous groups in the Arabian Peninsula prior to the rise of Islam. According to Islamic tradition, the Quran says the Kaaba was built by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael. They are said to have rebuilt the shrine on a holy site originally constructed by Adam. Tradition also holds that an angel presented Abraham with a holy black stone that fell from the heavens. The stone is housed within the Kaaba.

The Masjid al-Haram began as a wall built around the Kaaba in 638 by the second Islamic caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab. The caliphs that followed him added ceiling-like structures, columns, and décor. Around 775, Abbasid caliph Al-Mahdi conducted a great renovation by expanding the structure and relocating the outer walls so the Kaaba would be in the center. Flood and fire damaged the mosque in the fourteenth century, and it was rebuilt once again. Improvements were made to the building in 1571 when the flat roof was replaced with small domes. The mosque was renovated several more times in the modern era. An electric lighting system was installed during the reign of Hussein bin Ali, the emir of Mecca, in the early twentieth century. In 1948, technology made way for a public-address system.

More expansion came at the hands of Saudi Arabia, which flourished with oil wealth, enabling additional construction projects. Enlargement of the mosque began in 1955 and was completed in 1973, increasing the total area of the structure from about 290,000 square feet (26,940 square meters) to about 1.6 million square feet (149,000 square meters). With a desire to make room for increasing numbers of pilgrims, Saudi King Fahd began another expansion in 1984. To ease congestion during the Hajj, the mosque was fitted with escalators and pedestrian tunnels. A modern communications system and an advanced indoor and outdoor air-conditioning system were also constructed. After the enlargement, the mosque was increased to about 3.8 million square feet. Into the twenty-first century, improvements on the mosque continued as part of the Saudi government's Saudi Vision 2030, a project which aimed to optimize pilgrimage experience and promote economic development. Improvements focused on increasing capacity and improving the mosque's facilities.

While in the mosque, worshipers pray in concentric circles outwards around the Kaaba. They make their focus the middle of the Kaaba, a large granite structure shaped like a cube. The structure is about 50 feet (15 meters) tall and 35 by 40 feet (11 by 12 meters) at the base. The floor is limestone and marble, and the walls are lined with white marble. A black silk curtain with gold calligraphy covers the Kaaba. At its eastern corner is the black stone (al-Hajaru). Muslims who make the pilgrimage must walk around the stone seven times and kiss or touch it. At the northern corner of the Kaaba is the Rukn-al-Iraqi (The Iraqi Corner), while at the western corner is the Rukn-al-Shami (The Levantine Corner), and at the south is the Rukn-al-Yamani (The Yemeni Corner).

Around the Kaaba, the mosque is comprised of three different levels with nine minarets about 292 feet (89 meters) in height. Inside the mosque is a large area reserved for those wishing to circle the Kaaba. Right next to the Kaaba is the Maqam Ibrahim, or Station of Abraham. The small square stone is said to still have an imprint of one of Abraham’s feet. The Zamzam Well is east of the Kaaba. This is believed to have been the water sent by God to aid Abraham’s son Ismael and his mother when they were dying of thirst in the desert. Each year, millions drink the Zamzam water from the well that is distributed to every water fountain within the mosque. The Prophet Muhammad said that the water is blessed by God and is thought to be a cure for illnesses.

Bibliography

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Ayoub, Omar. “Masjid Al-Haram: Its History, Key Structures And Lesser-Known Facts.” Zamzam, 2 Sept. 2021, zamzam.com/blog/masjid-al-haram. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

“The Five Pillars.” The Pluralism Project Harvard University, hwpi.harvard.edu/files/pluralism/files/the‗five‗pillars‗1.pdf. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

Hill, Bryan. “The Kaaba Black Stone: A Holy Stone from Outer Space?” Ancient Origins, 3 Apr. 2020, www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/kaaba-black-stone-holy-stone-outer-space-003661. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.

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“Masjid al-Haram and the Kaaba.” Mecca, mecca.net/pictures-and-information-about-the-kaaba-and-masjid-al-haram. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.