The Sacredness of the Kaʿba in the Light of the Qurʾān: An Analytical Study

Document Type : Original Research Article

Author

Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

In this paper, I intend to examine the Qurʾān's description of the Kaʿba as the most sacred shrine for Muslims. In other words, I aim to identify the characteristics that the Qurʾān attributes to the Kaʿba, which emphasize its sacredness. To this end, I first analyze the Qurʾānic names that refer directly to the Kaʿba, as well as those referring to al-Masjid al-Ḥarām—the mosque at whose center the Kaʿba is located—and to Mecca, the city in which al-Masjid al-Ḥarām stands. I then show how these names reflect the Kaʿba’s sacredness. In the next step, I discuss the relevant Qurʾānic verses concerning the Kaʿba to show how their content affirms its sacredness and what specific attributes they ascribe to it. Based on these two lines of examination, I conclude that the Qurʾān introduces the Kaʿba not merely as a sacred place, but also as the most sacred one.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  • al-Qurni, A. H., Y. A. Hassanin, K. A. M. Zein, and M. A. F. Abdulghani. 2024. "Holy Kaaba Names in the Holy Qur’ān: A Stylistic Study." Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 14 (1): 372–386. https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.141.22.
  • al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad. 1992. Mufradāt Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān. Kitāb al-Kāf, 712. Damascus/Beirut: Dār al-Shāmiyya. [In Arabic].
  • al-Ṭabarī. 1987. The History of al-Ṭabarī. Vol. 2, Prophets and Patriarchs. Translated and annotated by William M. Brinner. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
  • al-Ṭabarsī, Abū ʿAlī al-Faḍl ibn al-Ḥasan. 1988. Majmaʿ al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Vol. 9. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa. [In Arabic].
  • al-Ṭūsī, Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan. n.d. al-Tibyān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī. [In Arabic].
  • Azadinejad, F. 2013. "Bayt al-ʿAtīq [The Ancient House]." In Encyclopedia of Hajj and the Two Sacred Sanctuaries, 4:703–706. Tehran: Mashar Publication. [In Persian].
  • "Bayt al-ʿAtīq." 2022. The Encyclopedia of Ḥajj and Pilgrimage. https://hajj.ir/fa/86758. [In Persian].
  • "Bayt al-Ma’mūr." 2025. Islamic Encyclopedia. Institute for Research and Publication of the Teachings of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH). https://wiki.ahlolbait.com/بیت_المعمور. [In Persian].
  • Edgar, S. 2002. "The Five Pillars of Islam in the Hadith." Studia Antiqua 2 (1): 9. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studiaantiqua/vol2/iss1/9.
  • Eliade, M. 1987. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. Translated by W. R. Trask. New York: Harcourt.
  • Glubb, J. B., and A. S. Abdo. 2025. "Mecca." In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Mecca.
  • "Ḥajj." 2021. Islamic Encyclopedia. Institute for Research and Publication of the Teachings of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH). https://wiki.ahlolbait.com/حج. [In Persian].
  • Hassanzadeh, S. 2018. "An Analysis of the Narrative of the Kaaba in the Qur’an and Hadith with Emphasis on the Verse 'Indeed, the First House [of Worship] Established for Mankind...'." Miqat-e Ḥajj 26 (102): 81–107. https://miqat.hajj.ir/article_61819. [In Persian].
  • Helmy, M. 2021. "Sacred Places: The Interaction Between Space, Time and Faith." In Advances in Utopian Studies and Sacred Architecture, edited by C. Gambardella, 29–37. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  • Jannati, M. E. 1992. "The Names of the Kaaba in the Qur’an." Miqāt Ḥajj, no. 1: 37–46. https://miqat.hajj.ir/article_37182. [In Persian].
  • "Kaʿba." 2024. Islamic Encyclopedia. Institute for Research and Publication of the Teachings of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH). https://wiki.ahlolbait.com/کعبه. [In Persian].
  • Karimi Nia, M. 2014. "Bayt al-Ḥarām." In Encyclopedia of the World of Islam, 5:133. Tehran: The Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundation. [In Persian].
  • King, D. A. 1982. The Kaaba and the Sacred Geography of Islam. Revisited 2024.
  • Makarem Shirazi, N., et al. 2007. Selected Excerpts from Tafsir al-Nemuneh. Edited by A. A. Babaei. Vol. 1. Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiya. [In Persian].
  • "Makkah." 2025. Islamic Encyclopedia. Institute for Research and Publication of the Teachings of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH). https://wiki.ahlolbait.com/مکه. [In Persian].
  • Marefat, M. H. 2014. "Bayt al-Ma’mūr." In Encyclopedia of the World of Islam, Vol. 5. Tehran: The Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundation. [In Persian].
  • Najafi, M. H. 1996. "The Entry of Non-Believers into Mosques and Holy Places." Fiqh, no. 10: 132–171. https://jf.isca.ac.ir/article_4092. [In Persian].
  • O'Meara, S. 2021. The Kaʿba Orientations: Readings in Islam’s Ancient House. 1st ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Peters, F. E. 1994. The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  • Pickthall, M. M. 1930. The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an: An Explanatory Translation.
  • Qara'ati, M. 2004. Tafsīr-i Nūr. 11th ed. Tehran: Cultural Center for Lessons from the Qur’an. [In Persian].
  • "Qiblah." 2020. Islamic Encyclopedia. Institute for Research and Publication of the Teachings of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH). https://wiki.ahlolbait.com/قبله. [In Persian].
  • Rindahl, S. G. 2017. "Sacred Spaces and Holy Places." Doctoral dissertation, San Antonio, TX.
  • Saheeh International, trans. 2004. The Qur’an: English Meanings. Rev. ed. Jeddah: Al-Muntada al-Islami.
  • Saleh, S. M. H. 2018. "A Comparative Study of Holy Places and Times in the Qur'an and the Bible." Maʿrifat 27 (247): 77–89. [In Persian].
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. 1995. al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Islamic Publications Office. [In Arabic].
  • "Umm al-Qurā." 2026. WikiHaj. Institute for Ḥajj and Pilgrimage. [In Persian].

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics