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The ORIGINS Of The Kaaba and The Black Stone
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- when Muslims face the Kaaba in prayer five times daily from every corner of the world they're connecting not just to a building in Saudi Arabia they're connecting to this
- ancient lineage of monotheistic worship stretches all the way back to the very first human and actually stretches back beyond humanity into the realm of heaven
- itself during the Hajj up to a 100,000 people might be circling the Cabba at the same time the Kaaba we see today isn't exactly the same structure that existed in Muhammad's
- time in fact it's been rebuilt either partially or completely 12 times through recorded history the most interesting and mysterious element of the entire structure the famous black stone it
- might be a meteorite what do you see if you actually enter into the Kaaba itself so if you are like me if you were not raised Muslim if you don't know all the ins and outs of Islam
- then this will be a great episode to break down what is really going on in Mecca around the Hajj what's up people and welcome back to Religion Camp my name is Mark Gagnon and welcome to my
- tent where I explore the most interesting controversial and fascinating stories from all religions from around the world from all time and uh to all my Muslim friends salam i uh happy
- late Ramadan i missed it but it was during this Ramadan season that I was talking to my Muslim friends and it got me curious about this thing known as the Kaaba the Kaaba is a fascinating
- uh religious pilgrimage site it is the house of God the house of Allah but I didn't know much else about it you know I would see you know pictures of of Muslims in worship but I always assumed
- it was like a giant cube of obsidian that's what I thought a giant black cube i thought the whole thing was just like made out of obsidian which I now have learned is not the case so if you are
- like me if you were not raised Muslim if you don't know all the ins and outs of Islam then this will be a great episode to break down what is really going on in Mecca around the Hajj i'm joined
- here today by my good friend Christos how are you Christos doing well how's everyone doing i They can't respond to you so I hope they're doing well as well also let me just note if I have anything
- incorrect in this episode i'm sorry all right i'm not Muslim i was not raised Muslim this is my best to try to understand culture and people through a deep dive on the things that I find interesting
- and I think there's no better way to understand a culture than to understand the god that they worship so let's start with the Kaaba all right you probably seen like I have this big black cube
- massive crowd circling around it let's throw a picture up right now so anyone that hasn't seen it they can check it out and if you're like me you're probably wondering what is it why is it so
- significant what does it all mean well in order to understand the Cabba an Islamic tradition you got to go all the way back before there was a physical Cabba in Mecca there was this I guess celestial
- prototype the And again my Arabic is very bad my pronunciation is going to be awful okay I just I'm doing my best okay the B al- Mahamore this is also known as the frequented house this is the heavenly
- cabba okay this is the Cabba that exists in the heavens okay and I say heavens plural because in Muslim cosmology it is in the seventh heaven and it is said that 70,000 angels visit it
- daily in order to perform worship circling it in ritual prayer sound familiar because that's what's interesting about Islam as Muslims during the Hajj are performing taw which is the ritual
- circling of the Cabba they're essentially participating in the same cosmic ritual that connects heaven and earth doing on earth what angels are simultaneously doing in heaven now
- there's one angel that's very important to the story the angel Gabriel also known as Gabriel if uh you know any of my Jewish or Christian friends are watching the angel Gabriel told the prophet
- Muhammad peace be upon him while he was visiting the seventh heaven gabriel also told Muhammad that when the 70,000 angels leave they never return but another group of 70,000 angels show up the
- next day in their place a constant turn style of religious worship but did this heavenly concept come down to earth well this is where Adam enters the picture yes the same Adam from the Garden of
- Eden according to Islamic tradition after Adam and Eve were cast out of paradise for eating the forbidden fruit the you know from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they landed in
- different places on earth which is interesting as a Christian we were always taught that Adam and Eve left together but in Islam that is not the case adam landed in what is now known as Sri
- Lanka while Eve ended up in Jedha near modern-day Mecca they were completely separated with no idea where the other was male and female circling the earth without knowing where their partner could be
- adam heartbroken and searching for Eve i mean that's like a terrible day for the record right like as a Christian I think about the Garden of Eden all the time right like you have you're there
- with your girl she breaks the lease agreement and then you guys are kicked out in Islam it's even worse because not only you kicked out you're kicked out you don't even know where your other
- half is so Adam heartbroken searching for Eve wanders the earth during this time the angel Gabriel appears to him and guides him to a spot in the valley of Mecca it's not a random location
- it was directly beneath where the heavenly B al- Mahore stood in the celestial realm again this is the heavenly cabba gabriel instructed Adam to build a simple structure for worship the very
- first Cabba it wasn't the grand cube that we know today but more of a I guess a simple demarcation of sacred space adam constructed it using stones from five sacred mountains cyani Zetun Lebanon
- Jude and Hero each of these mountains has its own significance in various religious traditions topic for a different episode the structure became the very first place of worship dedicated to the one
- God on earth Allah adam would perform his prayers there and he he was doing tawah circling the cabba as Muslims do today sometimes religious scholars like to call this process circumambulating
- basically just means you know worship worshiping in a circle moving around it i wonder if actually I think uh I think Punjabis do a version of this when they get married i remember that
- from a Indian wedding that I went to i wonder if it's the same thing i wonder if it comes from that same idea of like worship as you move in a circle regardless there's something beautiful about this
- concept right the idea that the very first human also established the very first place of worship and it creates this unbroken chain of monotheistic worship stretching back to the literal beginning
- of time but what happened to Adam's Cabba great question well this is where nature comes in over centuries and millennia the original structure didn't survive floods particularly in the Valley
- of Mecca gradually eroded the original foundation eventually all that remained was just a slight depression in the earth you know a groove a subtle marking of where the first house of worship stood
- fast forward thousands of years to around 2,000 BC this is where Abraham enters the story okay the patriarch recognized in Judaism Christianity and Islam all right the big OG and the Quran and
- Islamic tradition tell us that Abraham followed God's command he brought his wife Hagar and their infant son Ishmael to the empty uninhabited valley of Mecca this is where a major test
- of faith occurs leaving his family in a desolate valley with minimal provisions the famous story goes that after Abraham departed Hagar ran seven times between the hills of Sappa and
- Marwa searching for water for her thirsty child this desperate search is commemorated by Muslims during the Haj in a ritual called Sai when things looked like they couldn't get worse for Hagar her
- poor infant Ishmael was kicking at the ground and miraculously a spring of water gushed forth beneath his feet this is the famous well of Zamzam which still flows today provides water to millions
- of pilgrims annually this water source transformed the Baron Valley and eventually attracted the Durham tribe to settle there and Mecca gradually becomes this inhabited settlement years later when
- Ishmael had grown into a young man Abraham returns to Mecca to visit his son and during this visit Abraham receives a divine revelation a command to rebuild the Cabba in the exact spot where Adam's
- original structure stood now here's where the story gets even more interesting according to tradition Abraham wasn't left to guess where the ancient site was located the angel Gabriel again
- Gabriel I'm going to say Gabriel for the record just because I grew up look I grew up Catholic it's the same angel right the angel Gabriel appears again to Abraham and physically marked the
- footprint of the original structure some accounts even say Gabriel helped Abraham excavate the area until they found the original foundation laid by Adam what's remarkable about the tradition
- is how it connects these two pivotal figures right adam the first human and Abraham the patriarch of Islam and much of modern monotheism the symbolism and having Abraham rebuild what Adam originally
- constructed forms this unbroken spiritual lineage the construction process itself is filled with fascinating details here's a couple abraham and Ishmamail worked together gathering stones from
- surrounding hills as the walls grew higher Abraham needed a way to reach the upper portions this is where the famous Makam Ibrahim the station of Abraham comes into the story according to the
- tradition Abraham stood on a stone while building the upper walls of the Cabba miraculously this stone rose up beneath his feet as needed elevating him to the required height even more amazingly the
- stone softened like clay to receive the imprints of his feet these footprints said to be Abraham's are still preserved today near the Cabba inside a special glass enclosure millions of pilgrims visit
- this stone during their Haj and Umar rituals often praying behind it after completing their tawah the original Cabba was a simple roofless rectangular structure with a foundation about like 3 ft high
- and the walls reaching about like 12 ft tall it had a door elevated above the ground you know to protect from flooding which is common in the valley and unlike today's cube the original
- structure Abraham built may have been rectangular rather than perfectly square although this is of course uh contested by uh Muslim historians Abraham and Ishmael dedicated the completed
- structure to the worship of the one God Allah establishing it as a place of pilgrimage the Quran records a beautiful prayer they made upon its completion after completing the Cabba Abraham made
- a universal call for pilgrimage inviting people from all directions to visit the sacred house islamic tradition holds that he stood on a nearby mountain called out and his voice miraculously
- reached all corners of the earth it said that all souls who would ever be born until the day of judgment heard this call and that those destined to perform the pilgrimage responded with leak here
- I am at your service in Arabic what's up camp family what's up campers two big announcements don't skip this two massive announcements the merch store is back open that's right
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- ones behind me you can see them all here on the website we also got some shirts oh man what is this one right here come on now come on now camp gear for all terrain we got some other ones what
- is this one right here oh this one's beautiful this one might be one of my favorites the colors the colors are absolutely crazy uh this is Camp Gagnon vintage wisdom across the globe come on
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- available on the website campgoods.co check it out link is in the description and by supporting the merchandise you are obviously supporting the show you're supporting me and you're obviously you
- know supporting all the amazing people that make the show happen like Christos who is currently throwing me t-shirts from underneath this desk here so please check that out additionally I'm
- on the road that's right i'm doing my 1 hour of standup comedy some of some of the the greatest jokes ever written okay that's not true but they are my jokes and I wrote them i'll be in Portland
- Maine on April 27th and that one I'm I'm doing with Joey Avery you know Joey Avery a friend of the show he sat across from me many times and I've explained some things to him uh and
- he might be my dumb friend but he is a brilliant stand-up comedian and we will be there in Portland Maine if you are in these areas please come out and we're adding a ton of dates all through the
- summer so check out my website the markgagnon.com for all tour dates and updated info come hang out with me i talk to every single person after the show if you want to kick it with me maybe have
- a drink i'll be there and I will see you guys on the road now let's get back to the show here is a bullet imagine this you're 30 ft underground digging through frozen earth with spoons and
- messaul plates nazi guards patrol overhead one wrong move one loose pebble and it's over but on this night in 1944 76 Allied prisoners would attempt the impossible tunneling their way to
- freedom in the largest prisoner of war escape of World War II and centuries earlier in a cold stone chamber a teenage girl in armor stood before her accusers her crime leading armies speaking to
- angels and daring to challenge the most powerful men in Europe jonavar's trial would become one of history's most infamous moments these are just two stories from today in history the newsletter
- that brings you the most fascinating events from the past delivered fresh to your inbox from epic wars to religious rebellions ancient mysteries to modern marvels don't miss another piece of history
- scan the QR code now or click the link in the description to sign up for Today in History what's fascinating is that archaeologists confirm that there has indeed been a structure at this site
- for thousands of years although pinpointing the exact date of the original construction remains challenging the area around Mecca shows evidence of ancient settlements and religious activity
- dating back a millennia but here is something to think about whether you take this origin story literally or view it symbolically it clearly shows what the Cabo represents and how much deeper
- it is than just a physical building it embodies this profound concept of sacred space a meeting point between heaven and earth and the focal point for human devotion to God when Muslims
- face the Cabba in prayer five times daily from every corner of the world they're connecting not just to a building in Saudi Arabia they're not worshiping a building obviously they're
- connecting to this ancient lineage of monotheistic worship according to tradition stretches all the way back to the very first human and actually stretches back beyond humanity into the realm
- of heaven itself and that is just the beginning of the story so Abraham and Ishmael just finished rebuilding the Cabba right establishing the sacred cube as you know this is the house of
- God but there's something missing a way to mark where pilgrims should begin their circulation the tow a starting point for the ritual and this is where we encounter the most interesting and
- mysterious element of the entire structure the famous black stone when people talk about the black stone they're not talking about the whole thing the black stone or the Hajar al-Assad in
- Arabic is set into the eastern corner of the Cabba about 5 feet above the ground it's not particularly large roughly the size of maybe like a basketball or soccer ball but its significance
- in Islamic tradition is massive and the origin story this is wild according to tradition while Abraham and Ishmael were completing the Cabba the angel Gabriel appeared to them once again but this
- time he didn't come empty-handed gabriel presented them with a stone that had come directly from heaven from paradise itself what's fascinating is that this stone wasn't always black tradition
- says that it was originally this dazzling white color so luminous that it could be seen from a day's journey away imagine that brilliant white stone shining like a like a lighthouse in the
- middle of the desert guiding pilgrims towards the Cabba from miles and miles away why is it black now well there's a few explanations in tradition the stone is said to have gradually darkened over
- time by absorbing the sins of those who touched it some traditions specify that it was the sins of those who touched it while in a state of ritual impurity or those who touched it without sincerity
- the stone itself essentially took on humanity's spiritual burden becoming darker with each passing generation now if you are the skeptical scientific type you might be wondering what this
- stone actually is like geologically right like you could tell what it is and it's a fair question while no comprehensive scientific analysis has been permitted in modern times due to the stone's
- sacred status obviously various theories have been proposed some geologists who've even had the chance to view it closely suggest it might be a meteorite which would be fascinating and a really
- interesting twist on obviously the heavenly origin right like a meteor is literally from the heavens if true it you know would make sense that it's not only a metaphorical symbol you know or a spiritual
- symbol of God giving you know Abraham and Ishmael a stone from heaven but a literal astronomical piece of heaven others believe it could be basaltt or or some other type of volcanic rock the fact
- that Arabia has significant volcanic history makes it plausible some speculate it might have been you know some type of impacted glass formed when a meteorite strikes the silicar sand and that
- intense heat fuses into the sand and creates a glass-like material what we do know of the stone now appears as a composite of about eight other small fragments held together in a silver frame
- this fragmentation happened over centuries through you know natural wear and deliberate damage during various political conflicts that we'll get to in a little bit the placement of the black stone serves
- as a you know it serves a practical purpose as well by embedding the stone in the eastern corner of the Cabba it provided a clear marker for where the ritual should begin and end even today
- pilgrims aim to start their seven counterclockwise circuits around the Cabba from the Blackstone corner touching or even kissing it if possible or simply raising their hand toward it in the
- massive crowds now what happened after Abraham and Ishmael's time this is where the story takes some turns after Abraham established the Cabba as a center of monotheistic worship it indeed became
- a major major pilgrimage site various you know Arabian tribes would travel to Mecca to perform rituals and for a time the pure monotheistic tradition continued the descendants of Ishmamail
- who had settled in Mecca around the well of Zam Zam were the primary caretakers of the Cabba but over the centuries we're talking hundreds of years here things began to change the original message
- of monotheism you know became diluted and mixed with other religious concepts that this wasn't unique to Arabia by the way throughout human history religious practices have often evolved
- or you know transformed as different cultures interact with the traditions by the fifth and sixth centuries AD just before the rise of Islam the Cabba had become something quite different
- from what Abraham had intended it turned into a major pagan shrine of over 360 idols representing different tribal deities of pre-Islamic Arabia now this is a problem these weren't just like
- small trinkets like historical accounts describe a substantial amount of stone and wood carvings placed both inside and around the original Cabba the most prominent was kubal a large
- human-shaped statue that stood inside the cabba itself one key practice associated with kubal was divination tribes would consult the deity by using specially marked arrows stored in the cabba these
- arrows were drawn to make decisions on important matters like marriage and you know other disputes each arrow had an inscription or a mark such as yes or no or even just blank like try again the
- result was considered the will of the gods and the decision usually was followed each tribe during this time had its own patron deity but they recognized and respected each other's gods as well
- kind of this sort of you know religious diplomatic agreement you could say when tribes would come to pilgrim to you know do a pilgrimage in Mecca they would pay sort of like an homage to their
- own specific deity while also acknowledging the others but here's something that might surprise you despite the shift to polytheism in the region many elements of the original Abrahamic
- rituals were preserved though often with you know some different meanings for example the taw the circling of the Cabba continued and the reverence for the black stone stayed the same and you know
- the running between the hills of Sappa and Marwa so during this time that the Cabba in this holy Muslim pilgrimage site was basically taken over by pagans they were doing all sorts of wild
- things for example these pagan idol worshippers would circle the Cabba typically naked they would perform this same ritual this to completely naked they believed that uh you know in order to honor
- their deity or to honor their god that they would appear before it in a state of absolute purity without the impurity of clothing that they had worn while potentially committing sins and it was
- this rebirth or returning to the initial state of purity that we all have when we're born and this practice would later get forbidden in Islam muhammad actually came in and outlawed and cleared
- out these idol worshippers and these pagans from the sacred site this introduces the concept of which basically you know this is where you have these white garments that are worn during the
- pilgrimage to symbolize purity and the equality of all believers another pre-Islamic tradition or a pagan tradition you could say involved hanging poems inside the cabba these poems were known as
- uh the suspended ods which would be written in gold and displayed inside the cabba as a high honor these poems were a collection of seven to 10 long Arabic poems considered the pinnacle of
- pre-Islamic Arabic poetry composed by famous poets during the fifth and sixth century throughout this period the Cabba underwent several renovations and rebuilding one significant reconstruction happened
- when Muhammad peace be upon him was about 35 years old before he received his first revelation a fire had damaged the structure and then heavy rains had weakened its walls the Kuresh decided to rebuild
- it using money from legitimate trade only no money from gambling usery or prostitution obviously these things are known as haram during this reconstruction something interesting happened the
- tribes couldn't raise enough pure money to rebuild the Cabba to its original dimensions so they reduced its size slightly leaving out sections of the original foundation this excluded portion is
- marked today by a small curve in the wall known as the Hatim which stands near the northwest side of the Cabba we should get a picture so people can see that muslims consider the area within
- the curved wall to be a part of the original Cabba which is why praying in this space is considered equivalent to praying inside the Cabba itself despite all these changes and the proliferation of
- idol worship a small minority of people in Arabia still maintained this monotheistic belief in Allah these monotheists were known as the hunafa or the singular the khanif meaning meaning
- those who turned away from idol worship and turn toward Allah himself these hunafa would sometimes retreat to caves in the mountains around Mecca for spiritual contemplation much like Muhammad himself
- would do before receiving his first revelation in the cave of Hia this represented a continuous thread of monotheistic tradition that had never completely died out despite this sort of pagan
- takeover so by the time of Muhammad's birth in 570 AD the Cabba had a complex and layered religious significance on one hand it was the center of the Arabian polytheist pagan sort of takeover housing
- all these different idols on the other hand it still retained the elements of the Abrahamic heritage including the Blackstone and sort of the basic ritual practices and the widespread
- recognition that it had been built as a house for one God by Abraham this dual identity both as this pagan shrine and a structure for Allah would prove crucial during the early days of
- Islam it allowed Muhammad to reclaimed the Cabba for monotheism without completely rejecting the cultural and historical significance it held to the people he could also present his message not
- as something entirely new but as a return to the original purpose of the Cabba as the pure house of Allah created by Adam and then rebuilt by Abraham as it had been known for centuries so now we've
- seen how the Cababa's gone from Adam's original place of worship to Abraham's reconstruction to then a pagan house of idols and this is where we get to Muhammad the birth of him in 570 AD
- this is a pivotal point in understanding Islam of course as well as the Cabba's role if you're like me you probably read a news story and you're like "This is crazy what is the truth about this is
- this a partisan spin is this funded by some media company or some country by their state sponsored media to try to warp my brain i genuinely read news articles now with so much skepticism because
- I have no idea if this is from the right or the left and what the agenda is and why it's being presented in front of me and that is why I follow and support Ground News that's right so
- even before I started working with this company on the podcast I've been following them on Instagram because I just thought they gave a very very great unbiased nonpartisan approach to media it's
- awesome basically you're going to get a headline and they will show you sort of the different media splits as it comes to understanding the story they will compare the reporting from different
- outlets across the political spectrum in one place to show you how the framing and word choice can affect our understanding of a story i mean here's a story that my mom sent me from
- a couple months ago robberies assaults surge in Central Park leaving New Yorkers and NYC tourists terrified what is the purpose of this story who was writing it where is it coming from
- now I can go to ground news read this headline and be able to make an assessment as to whether or not this is predominantly being reported by the right-wing or by the leftwing and make some
- type of deduction like oh this is actually being used you know as some sort of political apparatus so if you're like me if you're a truth seeker if you're trying to find unbiased news I would
- absolutely recommend Ground News it is completely independent nonpartisan subscriberfunded it allows readers to think critically about the world around them and it doesn't tell them what to think
- but instead lets them think for themselves and ultimately it avoids misinformation and tries to heal polarization within our country which I think is absolutely amazing so don't let misinformation
- and sensationalism influence how you think save a massive 40% on Ground News's top tier Vantage plan with my link ground.news/gagnon jagg or scan my QR code right here or go to the description and click
- on the link this unlocks access to all of their news analysis features something that I think is I don't know super important to have yeah make decisions based on facts not spin this November
- check them out here is a bullet imagine this you're 30 feet underground digging through frozen earth with spoons and messaul plates nazi guards patrol overhead one wrong move one loose pebble
- and it's over but on this night in 1944 76 Allied prisoners would attempt the impossible tunneling their way to freedom in the largest prisoner of war escape of World War II and centuries
- earlier in a cold stone chamber a teenage girl in armor stood before her accusers her crime leading armies speaking to angels and daring to challenge the most powerful men in Europe jonavar's trial
- would become one of history's most infamous moments these are just two stories from today in history the newsletter that brings you the most fascinating events from the past delivered
- fresh to your inbox from epic wars to religious rebellions ancient mysteries to modern marvels don't miss another piece of history scan the QR code now or click the link in the description to
- sign up for Today in History by the time Muhammad was born the Cabba had been under control of its own tribe the Qurations they were the masters of Mecca and the Cabba was essentially you know
- their golden goose right they basically thought if they controlled the most important religious site in Arabia which brought them not only tremendous prestige but also a ton of economic benefit for
- the flow of pilgrims and traders which is why some people have alleged you know I it kind of makes sense it becomes a pagan site because the more people that go to worship you know the
- more money you can make the cures had developed a whole economic system around the cabba in its season they organized trade fairs to coincide with religious gatherings created a calendar of sacred
- months when fighting was prohibited and collected various fees and offerings from visitors in many ways they were brilliant business operators who understood the connection between religion and
- commerce muhammad's earliest connection to the Cabba came long before his prophetic mission began this was when he was about 35 years old still an ordinary merchant with no idea of the
- religious role that he was going to fulfill the cabba needed significant repairs right this is what we mentioned earlier this flooding had come in and damaged the walls there had been a fire
- that weakened the structure so the cures decided it was time for a renovation they dismantled the Cabba down to its foundation began rebuilding it only using pure money for the sacred task
- no funds obtained through gambling prostitution or other dubious means would be accepted this limited their budget considerably forcing them to build the smaller Cabba like we mentioned before what
- we didn't mention is as the rebuild was nearing its completion a serious problem emerged who would have the honor of returning the sacred black stone to its place in the eastern corner various cures
- subclans began arguing over the task remember these were you know proud tribal Arabs for whom the honor was deadly serious and the matter almost escalated to bloodshed the deadlock continued for
- several days until someone suggested that they let the next person to enter the sanctuary make the decision as fate would have it that person was who else than Muhammad peace be upon him just assume
- peace be upon him for all of them okay i don't want to get in trouble with the Muslims all right who had the reputation for fairness and wisdom his nickname was alamin meaning the trustworthy
- one muhammad's solution was simple and brilliant he asked for a cloth to be spread out and placed the black stone in the center then he invited a representative from each of the quarreling clans
- to grasp an edge of the cloth and lift it together when they had raised the stone to the right height Muhammad himself stepped in and positioned it in its corner everyone was satisfied with the
- outcome each clan had participated equally in the sacred task and bloodshed was avoided it's a really interesting and cool moment in history right a the future prophet of Islam still years
- away from receiving his first revelation already playing a crucial role in the Cabba story and in retrospect it seems almost symbolic of how Muhammad would later unite all of these same
- tribes under the banner of Islam fast forward several years and everything had changed muhammad had received revelations declaring that there was only one God and he began preaching against
- idol worship and faced increasing persecution from the Quresh who saw his monotheistic message as a threat to their Cabba centered ecosystem basically the Quraysh was like hey if a bunch
- of people are coming here we're making more money but now you're saying there's only one God that's going to affect our bottom line eventually the pressure became so intense that Muhammad
- and his followers fled Mecca from Medina in 622 AD this is known as the famous hijra that marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar during his time in Medina Muslims prayed facing Jerusalem
- but according to Islamic tradition around 16 months after the Hijra Muhammad received a revelation while leading prayers instructing him to change the kibla this is the prayer direction
- from Jerusalem to the Cabba in Mecca the Quran describes the moment like this we have seen you turning your face toward heaven so we will surely to turn you toward a kibla with which you will be
- pleased so turn your face toward al masjid al- Haram this was a pivotal moment that reconnected Islam to the abra Abrahamic legacy of the Cabba by directing prayers toward the Cabba even while
- it still housed idols muhammad was signaling that his mission wasn't to establish something entirely new but to restore the pure monotheism of Abraham that had been corrupted over time the
- story culminates in 6:30 AD when Muhammad returned to Mecca at the head of an army of 10,000 Muslims after years of conflict the Qur surrendered the city without a fight muhammad's first act upon
- entering Mecca was to go directly to the Cabba he circled it seven times on his camel then entered the sanctuary itself inside he faced the ultimate symbolic moment of his mission the Cabba contained
- 360 idols representing various tribal deities from all over Arabia and Muhammad destroyed them all reportedly reciting as he did so quote "Truth has come and falsehood has vanished." Indeed falsehood
- is bound to vanish bars with his act the Cabba was restored to its original purpose as the center of the worship of Allah so now we've gotten to the point in the story where the Cabba has now been
- reclaimed by Muhammad and by the followers of Allah to be the house of monotheistic worship of the one God but that does not mean that the Cabba has been unchanged since then you know some
- ancient buildings just seem to sit there forever well the Cabba isn't one despite its simple appearance the sacred cube has had quite the eventful history i mean floods fires warfare you
- know thefts reconstructions all sorts of things so first off something that surprises many people the Cabba we say we see today isn't exactly the same structure that existed in Muhammad's time in fact
- it's been rebuilt either partially or completely 12 times through recorded history think about that a building so sacred to millions of people that they face their direction five times a day
- in prayer has been you know basically rebuilt and reconstructed into a more perfect version notice how it says direction people don't pray to the Cabba i think this is a big thing that I
- didn't really know growing up you know not growing up Muslim i never understood it it's not a prayer to the Cabba they pray in the direction of the Cabba and again this is called the Kibla so if the
- Cabba was ever destroyed like history has shown us people would still pray in the same direction regardless the first major damage occurred soon after Muhammad's death by 683 just 50 years
- after Muhammad had cleansed the Cabba of idols the Muslim community was experiencing its first civil war during this conflict known as the second Fitna the Umayyad forces laid siege to Mecca
- where Abdullah Abin al- Zabir was taking refuge basically a giant war had broken out they were launching projectiles you know flaming you know projectiles and catapults and a lightning strike
- the structure burns down and the intense heat actually causes the black stone to crack into three pieces they eventually rebuild it and put those three pieces into a silver framing
- that holds it together fast forward again it then gets retaken back and then rebuilt once again this pattern of damage and reconstruction continued throughout the centuries but in 9:30 AD something
- happened that stunned the Islamic world the theft of the black stone itself a radical iseli Shia sect known as Karmmatians led by Abu Tahir al Janabi attacked Mecca during the Hajj season these
- weren't your typical raiders they had a mission to challenge what they saw as a corruption of mainstream Islam these pilgrims basically came in they killed people filled the sacred well of
- Zamzam with their bodies and then committed what many considered the ultimate sacrilege they pried the black stone from its place in the Cabba's corner and took it back to their
- headquarters in Al Assa in modern-day eastern Saudi Arabia for 22 years the Blackstone remained in their hands they demanded an enormous ransom believing that pilgrims would not come to Mecca
- without the sacred stone thus crippling their enemies but here's the thing the pilgrims continued to come they simply performed their taw around the Cabba with its empty corner pointing
- to where the stone had been and then eventually in 952 AD the stone was returned although there's some historical debate about whether a ransom was paid or not some accounts suggest that they
- began experiencing misfortunes they attributed to possessing the stone unjustly whatever the reason it had been returned but it had sustained further damage and now was in even more pieces the
- 11th century brought more changes and the heavy rains continued to damage the Cabba once again but perhaps the most extensive reconstruction happened in 1630 during Ottoman times mecca
- experienced catastrophic flooding as rainwater came down from the surrounding mountains into the valley where the Cabba sits the force of water was so strong that it collapsed three
- of the walls leaving only the wall containing the black stone intact sultan Marad IV ordered a complete rebuild and the original stones were recovered from the flood waters where possible
- and supplemented with new stones from the nearby hills the Ottoman reconstruction established much of what we see today including the dimensions of the basic structure though these physical
- changes something even more interesting was happening a political contest over who would control the Cabba you see in his Islamic history being the custodian of the two holy mosques in
- Mecca and Medina was a enormous religious you know legitimacy and carried with it a ton of authority over the years many different dynasties fought for control of this region and ultimately the Ottomans
- claimed the prestigious title of the custodians of the two holy mosques the Ottoman Empire held this honor for nearly four centuries until World War I when Sharif Hussein of Mecca declared the Arab
- revolt against the Ottoman rule and since then the Saudi royal family has held the title of custodian of the two holy mosques with the current custodian being King Salman bin Abdul Aziz through all these
- political changes the Blackstone itself continues to face challenges centuries of being touched and kissed by millions of pilgrims along with previous damage of fire and theft had taken their toll
- today the original stone exists as eight small fragments of different sizes held together in a silver frame that's been replaced many times throughout history with the current silver frame
- dating back to 1956 only about 20 to 30% of what's visible of the silver frame today is actually the original black stone the rest is a type of cement filling called straw which holds the fragments
- together the largest piece of the original stone is estimated to be about the size of maybe a date in modern times the Cababa structure has been relatively stable though it continued to receive
- you know regular maintenance the major changes have instead been to the surrounding area the Masid Al- Haram the sacred mosque that contains the Cabba had been expanded numerous times to
- accommodate for even more pilgrims over the centuries the most significant recent event affecting the Cabba occurred in 1979 when extremist militants seized the Grand Mosque
- taking hundreds of pilgrims hostage in a two-week standoff saudi forces eventually reclaimed the mosque but not before there have been some damage to the surroundings today Saudi authorities take
- extraordinary measures to protect the Cabo from both natural disaster and human threats the building is regularly maintained with the kiswah which is the black cloth covering the
- Cabba and it is replaced annually during the Haj flood control systems have also been installed to prevent any type of devastation to damage the structure to this day modern technology has even
- been employed to preserve the black stone in 2021 Saudi authorities released rare detailed images of the stone creating a new photographic technique called focus stacking these images are now used
- for study and documentation allow allowing close examination without physical touching what's so fascinating about this story of the Cabba being rebuilt is that the Muslim devotion to the site
- and all worshiping in the same direction has been unchanged whether it's you know damage or natural disaster or theft all Muslims since the beginning of Abraham have all been pointed towards the same
- direction and I think there's something profound about that right this continued uh spiritual significance that transcends the physical building the Cabba has never been revered for its you know
- architectural magnificence or anything like that the power lies in the connection to Abraham Adam Muhammad and ultimately God himself and that takes us to the Cabba as we know it today but
- to truly understand this remarkable structure we need to look beyond the physical building and look how it connects the physical and the spiritual world in Islamic mystical tradition specifically
- Sufism the Cabba isn't simply a building in Mecca it's seen as the earthly reflection of divine reality a mirror of what exists in heaven itself so that raises the question what do you
- see if you actually enter into the Cabba itself well this is pretty interesting because not many people get to do it it is you know such a sacred place and so many millions of pilgrims go there
- every year but surprisingly the interior is quite modest there are three wooden pillars supporting the roof a small prayer area that can accommodate about maybe a dozen people and some hanging lamps
- that illuminate the space the marble floors and walls feature inscriptions and prayers and Quranic verses while the ceilings reportedly bear the names of various rulers and dignitaries who've
- restored the Cabba throughout the centuries kind of like a historical record preserved in the most sacred space in Islam now while the interior remains generally unchanged the way
- the Cabba is maintained has evolved dramatically with modern technology the most visible example like I mentioned before is the kiswah the Kiswa is the obvious you know beautiful black drape
- that goes over the Cabba itself and gives it its iconic black cube look it has been handcrafted in Cairo for many years but is now created in Mecca itself dedicated you know basically with an entire
- group of you know highly skilled artisans that actually craft and put in the ornate calligraphy that contain Quranic verses around the Cabba it is said that the Kiswah costs about $5 million
- to produce annually i mean the Kisswa itself you know uses 700 kg of silk and 120 kg of gold and silver thread it weighs about 1,500 lb and they only use it for one year but at the end of the
- year oftent times it is you know cut up and given to different museums different groups and even potentially given as gifts another interesting feature of the Cabba that most visitors don't
- really understand is the misab a golden rainwater spout extending from the roof mecca doesn't get a ton of rainfall but when it does specifically during the Haj pilgrims will position themselves
- under the spout hoping to catch a few drops of the water it is believed that the water flowing from the Cabba itself is especially blessed a divine gift directly from Islam's most holy structure
- notably in 2012 there has been some construction around the Cabba for example the Macau Royal Clock Tower which stands nearly 2,000 ft over the Grand Mosque it's the world's third tallest
- building and houses luxury hotels where wealthy pilgrims can perform their prayers while looking directly down at the Cabba from their rooms a premium view that obviously you can imagine
- is quite expensive the modern development has sparked countless debates within the Muslim community as traditional scholars worry that the spiritual focus is shifting from the
- simple sacred cabba to these massive commercial structures surrounding it they question whether the you know luxury and the commercialization around the mosque might distract from the true
- purpose a you know devotion and dedication to God others argue that these developments are necessary to accommodate the growing number of people and to ensure that many more people will
- continue to do the great pilgrimage every year what's remarkable throughout all these changes is how the Cabba itself has remained essentially unchanged despite the massive skyscrapers around
- it the Cabba continues its primary focus serving as the Kibla the direction of prayer for Muslims worldwide maybe the most interesting or impressive thing about the modern Cabba isn't the building
- but the logistics of managing the millions of visitors during the Hajj up to a 100,000 people might be circling the Cabba at the same time it's not 100,000 pilgrims it's 100,000 all at
- once that's like having a packed stadium crowd all moving around a single point but without chaos so how do they make it work the Saudi authorities have developed a multi-level system
- there's a ground floor immediately surrounding the Cabba called the Mataf the roof of the mosque and several floors between each level has a clear entry and exit point with pathways marked on the
- floor so people don't get lost they also have a specific time slot the area closest to the Cabba has times reserved for the elderly and disabled pilgrims and a woman-only period so everyone has
- a chance to approach the Blackstone safely during busy times there's even a cue for those wanting to touch or kiss the Black Stones with guards keeping things moving but behind the scenes it's
- all high-tech the mosque has thousands of cameras and sensors that feed into a command center staff watch for dangerous crowds or medical emergencies and can quickly send help to specific areas using
- a grid system that maps the entire complex of the mosque that houses the Cabba interestingly Mecca can hit 120° Fahrenheit in the summer but yet the marble floors around the Cabba stay cool
- that's because they have pipes with chilled water running beneath the marble plus massive air conditioning units that pump out cold air keeping everyone in a safe environment what
- surprises many first-time visitors is the mix of people circling the Cabba at first glance you might see West Africans walking with Indonesians wealthy Arabs besides South Asian workers elderly
- people in wheelchairs and even people from Europe or America taking it all in it might be the most diverse gathering of humans anywhere with people from every continent ethnicity language and social
- class moving together around a single point after thousands of years and many historical changes this simple black cube still draws people from around the world so we've traveled through
- 4,000 years of history together from the story of Adam building the first structure to Abraham to Ishmael's reconstruction through its years as a pagan shrine Muhammad's reclamation for monotheism
- centuries of political struggles and finally the modern pilgrimage experience i guess what makes the Cabba so fascinating and important isn't necessarily the architecture it is the amazing
- ability to organize billions of people from around the world across any time and any place think about it when a Muslim in Tokyo or Toronto or you know Morocco or even in Saudi Arabia turn
- toward Mecca to pray they're participating in something that links them directly to Abraham the rituals performed around the Cabba today and the taw the kissing of the stone the
- prayers they're essentially the same ones that have been practiced for thousands of years the Cabba has witnessed empires rise and fall it's withtood floods and fires and thieves and sieges
- its caretakers have changed from prophets to tribes to khalifs to kings yet throughout all of this the core purpose has remained the exact same to serve as the focal point for worship of one God
- for Muslims the Cabba represents the spiritual center of their faith but even if you're not Muslim there's something powerful to appreciate here too right the Cabba shows how a simple symbol
- can unite people across you know vastly different languages and cultures and social status so next time you see the Cabba whether it's in a news clip or a photo just know that it's more than you know
- a giant black you know structure or a simple cube maybe a meteorite it is a testament to something far bigger than any one person place or moment in time and maybe that's the important thing that we
- can all take away from the Cabba in this Muslim tradition is that you know this beautiful house of God can be shared by so many people and that many times a day millions potentially billions
- of people around the world are all focused on one central site all for God i found that very interesting i did not know so much of this about the Cabba and about you know Mecca in Saudi Arabia
- again you hear these terms like oh the Mecca you know it's like it's used colloquially but actually understanding the history is very fascinating especially for someone like me that grew up you
- know Catholic um yeah understanding the the site I guess in Catholicism we have like the Vatican you know is very similar but it sort of lacks the uh centralized ritual purpose that Muslims have i
- found it very enlightening i don't know i think it's fascinating and I have uh a ton of respect for for the Muslims that that uh you know perform the Hajj and actually go there and and you know
- worship together with their brothers from around the world so what do you think if you're Muslim did we get this right tell me if there's anything I missed write in the comments below and if you're
- not Muslim what do you think of the Hajj what do you think of the Cabba and what do you think of uh you know this sacred site in Mecca and this you know amazing pilgrimage both the historical
- elements but also the modern logistics of making it all happen again this is religion camp if you are interested in uh you know the world of religious history and deep diving into theological
- and the divine this is the place for you if you have suggestions for videos or concepts you would like to see if you feel like your faith is not represented please comment it below i read all
- the comments every last one the good and the bad so I'd love to know what you guys are thinking but as always thank you so much for tuning in i really appreciate it and you're welcome back on the 10th
- anytime peace be with you if you've made it to the end of this episode you are clearly someone who understands that beneath every historical event lies a deeper truth waiting to be uncovered you're
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Zum Nachlesen
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