Who is mecca in islam

The rebels seized tens of thousands of pilgrims as hostages and barricaded themselves in the mosque. The siege lasted two weeks, and resulted in several hundred deaths and significant damage to the shrine, especially the Safa-Marwa gallery.

Pakistani forces carried out the final assault; they were assisted with weapons, logistics and planning by an elite team of French commandos from the French GIGN commando unit.

It has been reported that there are now fewer than 20 structures remaining in Mecca that date back to the time of Muhammad. Other buildings that have been destroyed include the house of Khadijah, the wife of Muhammad, demolished to make way for public lavatories; the house of Abu Bakr, Muhammad's companion, now the site of the local Hilton hotel; the house of Muhammad's grandson Ali-Oraid and the Mosque of abu-Qubais, now the location of the King's palace in Mecca; Muhammad's birthplace, demolished to make way for a library; and the Ottoman-era Ajyad Fortress, demolished for construction of the Abraj Al Bait Towers.

The reason for much of the destruction of historic buildings has been for the construction of hotels, apartments, parking lots, and other infrastructure facilities for Hajj pilgrims.

However, many have been destroyed without any such reason. For example, when the house of Ali-Oraid was discovered, King Fahd himself ordered that it be bulldozed lest it should become a pilgrimage site. The pilgrimage to Mecca attracts millions of Muslims from all over the world. There are two pilgrimages: the Hajj and the Umrah. The Hajj, the 'greater' pilgrimage is performed annually in Mecca and nearby sites. During the Hajj, several million people of varying nationalities worship in unison.

Umrah, the lesser pilgrimage, is not obligatory, but is recommended in the Qur'an. Mecca has been the site of several incidents and failures of crowd control because of the large numbers of people who come to make the Hajj. For example, on 2 July , a pilgrimage to Mecca ended in tragedy when the ventilation system failed in a crowded pedestrian tunnel and 1, people were either suffocated or trampled to death in a stampede.

On 24 September , pilgrims were killed in a stampede at Mina during the stoning-the-Devil ritual at Jamarat.

Mecca houses the Masjid al-Haram, the largest mosque in the world. The mosque surrounds the Kaaba, which Muslims turn towards while offering daily prayer. This mosque is also commonly known as the Haram or Grand Mosque. As mentioned above, because of the Wahhabist hostility to reverence being paid to historic and religious buildings, Mecca has lost most of its heritage in recent years and few buildings from the last 1, years have survived Saudi rule.

Expansion of the city is ongoing and includes the construction of m 1, ft tall Abraj Al Bait Towers across the street from the Masjid al-Haram. The towers were the third tallest building in the world when completed in The construction of the towers involved the demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, which in turn sparked a dispute between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The Zamzam Well is home to a celebrated water spring. The Qishla of Mecca was an Ottoman castle facing the Grand Mosque and defending the city from attack. However, the Saudi government removed the structure to give space for hotels and business buildings near to the Grand Mosque. It is notable for being the location where Muhammad received his first revelations from God through the angel Jibreel, also known as Gabriel to Christians.

Population density in Mecca is very high. Most long-term residents of Mecca live in the Old City, and many work in the industry known locally as the Hajj Industry. Many of these pilgrims have remained and become residents of the city.

The Burmese are an older, more established community who number roughly , Adding to the Hajj-related diversity, the oil-boom of the past 50 years has brought hundreds of thousands of working immigrants.

Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca under Saudi law, and using fraudulent documents to do so may result in arrest and prosecution. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library. Category » Islam. The Covenant of Omar. New artwork by Saudi artist Ahmed Mater using a magnet and iron filings to represent people circling the Ka'ba in Mecca.

Hide Caption. An aerial view shows Muslim pilgrims walking around the Ka'ba in the Grand Mosque of the holy city of Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage rituals on November 7, Hajj certificate dating from17thth century.

An illustration from the Ottoman book Tarih-i Hind-i Garbi, dating from and showing the Ka'ba in Mecca as the center of the world. Water bottle made of Chinese porcelain containing Zamzam water, holy water from a well in Mecca, dating from the 19th century.

Ivory sundial and Qibla pointer, pointing in the direction of Mecca, which Muslims face when they pray. Made by Bayram B. If they abide by your rights, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.

Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. It is your right that they do not make friends with anyone whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste. O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat.

Perform Hajj if you can afford to. All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black and a black has no superiority over a white, except by piety taqwa and good actions.

Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every other Muslim, and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim that belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it is given freely and willingly.

Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves. Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words that I convey to you.

I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example the Sunnah and if you follow these two then you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to the people.

Mecca is the holiest city in the world in Islam. The city of Mecca and the surrounding areas are unsurpassed in its historical and religious significance to more than 1. Prophet Muhammad may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him was born in Mecca. The holiest site in Islam, the Kaaba, is located in Mecca.

The direction of ritual prayer, called the Qiblah, is to the Kaaba in Mecca. The holiest water in the world to Muslims is found in a well named Zamzam in Mecca. Millions of Muslims make pilgrimage to Mecca every year known as Umrah and Hajj. Mecca and Medina will be the only two cities in the world protected by rows of angels that will not let the Anti-Christ Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal enter.

Browse Islamic photos uploaded by Muslims from around the world. Watch Mecca Live. Watch Masjid al-Nabawi Live. Prophet Muhammad was the last messenger of Allah. Abu Talib protected the Prophet until he died, approximately 42 years later.

Prophet Muhammad received his first divine revelation from Allah through Angel Jibreel in the Cave of Hira when he was 40 years old. To be recited. Where was the first Surah chapter of the Quran revealed? Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation from Allah through Angel Jibreel in the cave of Hira which is located near Mecca. While Abraham was building the Kaaba, so the legend goes, the angel Gabriel came down and gave Abraham the famous Black Stone, which he placed in the eastern corner of the structure.

There is another squarish stone on the ground a few feet away from the Kaaba with what look like two footprints in it. This is known as the Station of Abraham and is said to be the stone where Abraham stood while watching over the construction of the Kaaba. Today it is encased in a beautifully ornate golden glass-and-metal structure.

There is a famous story in Islam about Mohammed and the Black Stone. The story goes that when construction was finished and it came time to place the Black Stone back in the eastern corner, the final step, the tribes of Mecca argued fiercely over who would get to do the honors. They decided to ask the next man who walked by to decide for them, and that man happened to be Mohammed. His solution was to put the stone on a large cloth and have each of the leaders of the four tribes hold a corner of the cloth and carry the stone to its place.

Mohammed himself then placed the stone into its final position. This was back before Mohammed had received his first revelation from God. The next time Mohammed was involved with the Kaaba, though, would prove to be much less One particularly popular idol was a figure of Hubal, a moon deity worshipped by many in Mecca at the time. Access to the Kaaba and thus the idol was controlled by the powerful Quraysh tribe, of which Mohammed was a member, and they basically capitalized on this to get rich, charging fees and selling wares to pilgrims coming to worship the idol.

When Mohammed began receiving revelations from God he received his first one about five years after the incident with the Black Stone and preaching his message of monotheism, the rich Qurayshi merchants started getting a little antsy.

Worried that the growing popularity of his decidedly anti-idol worshiping message could potentially hurt business, they ran Mohammed and his small band of followers out of town. Ten years later, Mohammed and his now much larger and more powerful army of followers defeated the Quraysh tribe and took control of Mecca. Today, the Kaaba is kept closed during the hajj because of the overwhelming number of people, but those who visit the Kaaba during other times of the year are sometimes allowed to go inside.

There is very little inside it, though — just three tall stone pillars, a small table, some hanging lamp—looking things, and a staircase to the roof. Seven is also a prominent number associated with the divine in many religions, including Christianity and Judaism.

Other rituals include a ceremony where pilgrims throw small pebbles at three large stone walls, called jamarat, to symbolize the stoning the devil that tempted Abraham to defy God, and the slaughtering of an animal usually a sheep to honor the animal Abraham slaughtered instead of his son.

The meat is then given to feed the poor and needy. These days, pilgrims frequently elect to purchase tokens to have an animal slaughtered for them. Today, both hills are enclosed within the Masjid al-Haram Sacred Mosque complex which also houses the Kaaba , and the path between the hills is a long, beautiful indoor gallery with marble floors and air conditioning.

Many also drink from the Zamzam well located there. The only ritual that is solely related to Mohammed is the climbing of Mount Arafat, which is where Mohammed preached his last sermon. On the second day of hajj, pilgrims wake at dawn and walk a short distance to Mount Arafat, where they spend the remainder of the day on or near the mountain in quiet worship and contemplation of God. Although Christians and Jews believe in the God of Abraham, they are not allowed to perform the hajj.

Indeed, the government of Saudi Arabia forbids all non-Muslims from entering the holy city of Mecca at all. The Saudi government takes this very seriously, so the odds that a non-Muslim would be able to slip in unnoticed among the throngs of pilgrims undetected or pretend to be Muslim and get in that way are extremely small.

Legal entry into the country is extremely tightly controlled, and the paperwork required to get a hajj visa is incredibly detailed. Pilgrims must book their hajj trip through a Saudi government—approved hajj travel agent. For a Western Muslim convert to be allowed to go on hajj, he or she must present documentation from an imam Muslim religious leader. The imam must testify in writing that he knows the person in question and that the person is a true convert. Trying to come in on a regular tourist visa and then stealthily making your way to Mecca is also a nonstarter.

Getting a tourist visa as a Westerner is notoriously hard, and the likelihood of you being able to just slip away from your Saudi government minder and travel undetected all the way from the capital Riyadh to Mecca — more than miles away, on the other side of a vast desert — is basically laughable.

That has happened before: In , WND published a three-part series written pseudonymously by someone who claimed to be a white British non-Muslim man who successfully fake-converted to Islam and went on hajj. Women are also allowed — indeed, required, just like every other physically and financially able Muslim is — to perform the hajj.

However, they have to be accompanied by an appropriate male guardian called a mahram. Here are the rules, per the US State Department:. Women must be met by their sponsor upon arrival. Women who are traveling alone and not met by sponsors have experienced delays before being allowed to enter the country or to continue on other flights. Women over 45 may travel without a mahram in an organized group, provided they submit a notarized letter of no objection from the husband, son, or brother, authorizing travel for Hajj with the named group.