Macca and the Ka’ba is a big issue in Islamic history. Muslims believe that Ka’ba has been built by the prophet Ibrahim (AS) Abraham, in his life time. But the little do they know that Ka’ba or Macca was not even exist before the seventh century. There was no such thing found in the earlier maps of the world.
Think about for a moment, Ibrahim (AS) was born in Ur, Chaldea, Sumer (present day Iraq) in C. 2150 BCE. He died in C. 1975 BCE, at the age of 175 years. Roughly, he lived about 4000 years ago. And according to the historical accounts, Ka’ba was built in C. 608 CE.
According to The Cambridge History of Islam: Islamic Society and Civilization, “In the first two years of the Hijra the qibla or direction of prayer was on the north side of the building, that is towards Jerusalem; but after a sudden revelation the Prophet changed it towards the Ka’ba in Mecca. Orientation of prayer or qibla was an accepted custom in many religions, but was particularly important among the Semitic people.
P.K Hitti in his The History of Arabs writes, “The pagan Ka’ba, which became the Palladium of Islam, was an unpretentious cube-like (hence the name) building of primitive simplicity, originally roofless, serving as a shelter for a black meteorite which was venerated as a fetish. At the birth of Islam, the structure was that rebuilt in 6o8 probably by an Abyssinian from the wreckage of a Byzantine or Abyssinian ship destroyed on the shore of the Red Sea.3 The usual sacred territory (taram) spread around it. Annual pilgrimages were made thither and special sacrifices offered.
The Encyclopedia Britannica mentions, “The early history of the Kaaba is not well known, but it is certain that in the period before the rise of Islam it was a polytheist sanctuary and was a site of pilgrimage for people throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The Quran says of Abraham and Ishmael that they “raised the foundations” of the Kaaba.
The Kaaba has been destroyed, damaged, and subsequently rebuilt several times since. In 930 the Black Stone itself was carried away by an extreme Shi’i sect known as the Qarmatians and held almost 20 years for ransom.
During Muhammad’s early ministry, the Kaaba was the qiblah, or direction of prayer, for the Muslim community. After the Muslim migration, or Hijrah, to Medina, the qiblah briefly switched to Jerusalem before returning to the Kaaba.
When Muhammad’s forces conquered Mecca in 630, he ordered the destruction of the pagan idols housed in the shrine and ordered it cleansed of all signs of polytheism.
The cube-shaped structure is roughly 50 feet (15 meters) high, and it is about 35 by 40 feet (10 by 14 meters) at its base. The interior contains nothing but the three pillars supporting the roof and a number of suspended silver and gold lamps. The Kaaba was a sanctuary in pre-Islamic times. The Quraysh tribe, who ruled Mecca, rebuilt the pre-Islamic Kaaba in c. 608 C.E. with alternating courses of masonry and wood.
SmartHistory points out “Muhammad was driven out of Mecca in 620 C.E. to Yathrib, which is now known as Medina. Upon his return to Mecca in 629/30 C.E., the shrine became the focal point for Muslim worship and pilgrimage. The pre-Islamic Kaaba housed the Black Stone and statues of pagan gods.
During the civil war between the caliph Abd al-Malik and Ibn Zubair who controlled Mecca, the Kaaba was set on fire in 683 C.E. Reportedly, the Black Stone broke into three pieces and Ibn Zubair reassembled it with silver. After regaining control of Mecca, Abd al-Malik restored the part of the building that Muhammad is thought to have designed. None of these renovations can be confirmed through study of the building or archaeological evidence; these changes are only outlined in later literary sources”.
Islamic scholars telling us today that Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael built the Ka’ba in Saudi Arabia. But the reality is that he came out from Ur and went to Canan following Allah’s direction. Yes, he became the father of Ishmael through his maidservant Hajera (Hagar) when he was 100 years old. Later, his wife Sarah bore him a child in her very old age. And they gave him the name Isaac.
If we carefully look into the history, we will find that when Ibrahim (AS) died, and his two sons Ishmael and Isaac buried him in a cave of Machpelah near Marme, in the field of Ephorn son of Zohar the Hittie. This field Abraham has bought from the Hitties. There he was buried with his Sarah (Genesis 25:9-19).
Those who insists that Abraham built the Ka’ba with Ishmael, they tend to forget that Abraham allowed his maidservant Hager (mother of Ishmael) and Ishmael to go away long before when Sarah and Hager’s dispute was growing extremely. So, Abraham sent her away with her son Ishmael to the border side of Egypt.
It was Hager’s parents where she went to. Now, if you look back to the history, you’ll find that Saudi Arabia was not even discovered during that time. There was no sign of Saudi Arabia in the world map. No historians have any record of Macca or Saudi in their maps.
On the other hand, the distance between Egypt border and today’s Macca is little over 1200 miles. It is impossible for anyone to walk over there those days or even go with camel ride. The mountain reign and desert are not fun to walk especially if it is 1200 miles. It would take more than a year to have such journey.
It is clear when Abraham died, his son Ishmael and his mother returned to the funeral of Abraham. It was thousands year BC. If Ishmael ever reached to Macca, he would have no way to return to his father’s funeral. Practically, the distance is not easy to cope up without airplane.
Secondly, Abraham died in C. 1975 BCE, when there was no car, train or airplane. Besides, Saudi was not to the world in those days. Thirdly, we know that Abraham was not an idol worshiper. The people (Quraish) who built Kaba were the worshipers of the idol and they placed 360 idols inside of that temple.
The history tells us that when Muhammad (sm) invaded Macca, he broke all those idols as per his cleaning drive. Are we thinking like child and believing that Abraham was just lived in a few years apart from Muhammad? In conclusion, we can boldly say that neither Abram nor Ishmael were ever involved building Ka’ba. It is just an Arabian myth to cover the truth with untruth stories.
How ca we forget that, Abraham was a monotheist, worshiper of one God for which he can be positioned as Muslim or believer, as per Islamic view. But he has nothing to do with Islam. He trusted one God, the God of Israel, the Yahweh. And there was no Islamic influence in his life time.
Consequently, he was a descendent of Israelites and none of the Banu Quraish tribe. Neither his son Ishmael was idol worshiper. He too was Jew as per his father’s identity. See Genesis chapter 12 verse 1-5, for further information on Abraham.
Prophets like Moses (Musa), Joshua, Elija, Elisha, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hezekiah, Daniel, David (Dawood), Solomon, including the prophets of the Book of the people- all were Jews. Even Isa Al Mashie (Jesus Christ) is no exception. They were all greatly closed to God and never disobeyed Him. Their
transgressions were not noteworthy except some minor faults. Purity and holiness were dominant elements of their character.
Furthermore, God’s hands of correction and punishment did not spare those prophets who did not hesitate to sin and caused them to turn back to Him after fierce rebuke and consequences. We cannot hope to rescue ourselves from the gutter of darkness without knowing it.
Hope it is now clear that Abraham or Ishmael were ever involved building Ka’ba. They never even travelled that far.
