Also, consider the following verse: وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ...

Also, consider the following verse: وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ “And remember Abraham and Isma'il raised the foundations of the House (with this prayer): "Our Lord!

Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-knowing.”[The Holy Qur’an, al-Baqarah 2:127] This verse shows that the foundations of the Ka’ba existed, and all that Abraham and Isma’il did was to build the House.

We can conclude the same thing from the writings of the Commander of the Faithful : أَلا تَرَوْنَ أَنّ اللهَ سُبحانهُ اخْتبَرَ الأوّليِنَ مِن لَدُنْ آدَمَ صَلواتُ اللهِ عَليهِ إلى الآخِرينَ مِن هذا العالمِ بِأحْجارٍ لا تَضُرّ ولا تَنفَعُ ولا تُبصِرُ ولا تَسمَعُ فَجَعلها بَيتَهُ الحَرامَ … ثمّ أَمَر آدَمَ عليهِ السلامُ ووِلدَهُ أن يُثْنوا أَعطافَهُم نحْوَهُ.

“Do you not see that God the Praised One tested the earlier ones from Adam onwards till the later ones in this world, by expecting them to respect stones that neither harm nor benefit, and neither see nor hear – He made them into His Sacred House. God established it to be the place to honor Him….

Then God ordered Adam and his children to turn towards it.” [^4] Therefore, from the above verses and sermon we can conclude that the Ka’ba was built by Adam , destroyed by the tornadoes at the time of Noah and reconstructed by Abraham . Ka’ba’s Privileges It is clear that the Ka’ba was the first House of Worship as the above verse said. Now let us consider its privileges. At first, it is blessed both spiritually and economically.

Its spiritual attractions especially during the pilgrimage season are clear for everyone. Let us first consider it from an economical view. Mecca is located on dry land and from a natural point of view, it is not at all a suitable place to live in. However, Mecca has always been one of the developed towns good for living in, ready for business, and traveling to. Secondly, the Ka’ba is considered a source of guidance for all the people of the world even for those who worshipped idols.

There are many clear signs of the Unity of God and worshipping Him in this House. Its surviving the many attacks by the enemies who intended to destroy it throughout history is in itself one such clear sign. Each one of the following is a great reminder of lasting memories: Zamzam,[^5] Safa and Marwa,[^6] Rokn, Hatim, Hajar ul-Aswad[^7] and Hijr Isma’il. Each of the four sides of the House is called Rukn.

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