Meanings of the Words

Mecca is the city that houses the Sacred Mosque and the Kaaba, indicating Qibla, the direction for prayer. Believers the world over face Mecca at least five times a day to answer Allah’s call. The great pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, takes place here. Mecca is the land of prophets, the Station of Abraham, and the place where the prophet Muhammad received his revelation.

The Kaaba is a simple cube-shaped building, considered by Muslims to be the first house ever dedicated to God on Earth. It is a sanctuary proclaimed to be holy by God and his Messenger, the prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that God created the Kaaba. He placed it at the centre of the world so that believers can complete an act of adoration by walking around it. Adam, the first man, built the Kaaba. It was destroyed in the Flood in the time of Noah. Then Abraham, aided by his son Ishmael, rebuilt it on God’s orders and dedicated it to devotion to the One God, the Merciful. It has been rebuilt several times over the past 15 centuries, due to the effects of weather and human damage, particularly in the era of the prophet.

The Black Stone is set in the south-eastern corner of the Kaaba, the monument at the centre of the al-Haram mosque at Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. According to Muslim tradition, this stone dates back to the time of Adam and Eve. It was set intact in the wall of the Kaaba by the prophet Muhammad in 605, seven years before he received his first revelation.

The crescent was adopted by all Turks in the 12^th century, often accompanied by a star, in reference to the 53^rd sura in the Koran, known as “The Star.” In the 19^th century, it became the symbol of Islam.

It is an open latticework structure. Used to cover windows and balconies opening to the outside, it allows one to see without being seen. It lets air in and protects against the sun. Mashrabiyas were invented in the East, most likely Egypt.

The Hajj is the name of the great pilgrimage that Muslims make to the holy places of the city of Mecca. It is the fifth pillar of Islam: each believer must make the hajj at least once in his life, if he is physically and financially able. The pilgrimage consists of a series of efforts and sacrifices. Combined, they are considered to be a way of calming the soul, or mastering it. During the pilgrimage, specifically on the first day, Muslims must perform the Tawaf, seven anti-clockwise circumambulations of the Kaaba. The Tawaf begins at the southeast corner, where the Black Stone is located.

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheist religion that professes the existence of only one God, based on the revelation to the prophet Muhammad in Mecca, in Arabia, in the 7^th century. The Muslim religion was revealed in Arabic and is defined as the continuation of the original religion of Adam, Noah, and all the prophets, including Jesus. Islam describes itself as a return to the pure monotheism of Abraham, in terms of its beliefs. The holy book of Islam is the Koran. It contains Allah’s revelations, orally transmitted by his prophet Muhammad. The Koran recognizes the divine origin of all the holy books of Judaism and Christianity, while considering that their current scriptures have been falsified. The Pew Research Centre estimated that, in 2010, there were 1.59 billion followers of Islam.