THE GRAND MOSQUE
LOCATION:MAKKAH------
Makkah is located in a valley some 277
meters (909 feet) above sea level, surrounded by the barren, arid hills of the
sirat mountains which range from 375 to 766 meters (1,000 to 2,490 feet) in
height. There are four gaps in the mountains which give access to the holy city
of makkah. The north provides access to makkah from mina, muzdalifah, arafat
and ta'if. The north west gap provides access from madinah. The western gap
gives access from jeddah. And the southern gap opens the way into makkah from
yemen.
IN ITS
LONG HISTORY MAKKAH HAS ALSO BEEN KNOWN AS BAKKAH. IN ANCIENT TIMES, MAKKAH WAS
CHIEFLY NOTABLE AS A STAGING POST ON THE TRADE ROUTE LINKING THE SPICE
PRODUCERS OF THE EAST WITH MESOPOTAMIA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. MAKKAH LAY ABOUT
MIDWAY BETWEEN MARIB, ONE OF THE MAIN CITIES, PERHAPS THE CAPITAL, OF THE
KINGDOM OF SHEBA (YEMEN) AND PETRA (IN JORDAN), A CITY FOUNDED BY NABATEAN
ARABS AROUND THE 6TH CENTURY CE AND WHICH BECAME A THRIVING CENTER WITH
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS SPREADING INTO SYRIA. THE RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF MAKKAH
WAS ESTABLISHED LONG BEFORE ISLAMIC TIMES. IT WAS IN MAKKAH THAT ALLAH
COMMANDED IBRAHIM TO LEAVE HAAJAR AND HIS YOUNG SON ISHMAEL; IT WAS IN MAKKAH
THAT ALLAH BROUGHT FORTH WATER FROM THE WELL OF ZAMZAM WHICH SAVED THE LIFE OF
ISHMAEL AND HIS MOTHER AND THEN ALLOWED MAKKAH TO DEVELOP AS A HABITABLE PLACE;
IT WAS IN MAKKAH THAT ALLAH INSTRUCTED IBRAHIM TO BUILD "THE HOUSE OF
GOD" (THE HOLY KAABA). AS A RESULT, FROM EARLIEST TIMES, MAKKAH BECAME A
PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE AND, ALTHOUGH AS CENTURIES PASSED THE PURE FAITH OF THE
PROPHET IBRAHIM BECAME CORRUPTED BY IDOLATRY AND PAGANISM, MAKKAH RETAINED ITS
HOLD ON THE MINDS OF MEN AS A PLACE WHERE MEN SHOULD WORSHIP. WHEN MAKKAH CAME
UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE QURAYSH TRIBE, IT WAS A NOTED TRADING CENTER, A PLACE
FOR PILGRIMAGE AND THE SITE OF FESTIVALS CHIEFLY REMARKABLE FOR INTENSELY
FOUGHT POETRY COMPETITIONS AND THE EXCESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF THE IDOLATORS. THE
PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) WAS BORN IN MAKKAH IN 570 CE. WHEN,
FOLLOWING REVELATIONS, MUHAMMAD OPPOSED THE PAGANISM OF THE MAKKAN
ESTABLISHMENT AND BEGAN TO SPREAD THE WORD OF ISLAM, HE WAS FORCED BY THE
MAKKANS TO LEAVE THE CITY. HE WENT TO MADINAH WHICH PROVED MORE RECEPTIVE TO
HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE WILL OF GOD. IN 630 CE, THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE
UPON HIM) RETURNED TO MAKKAH, TAKING THE CITY WITHOUT RESISTANCE AND PURGING IT
OF ALL ELEMENTS OF IDOLATRY. HE CLEARED THE KAABA OF THE 360 "GODS"
WITHIN, DEDICATING THE KAABA ONCE MORE TO THE PURE WORSHIP OF THE ONE AND ONLY
GOD, AND ESTABLISHING MAKKAH AS A PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE FOR ALL MUSLIMS. FROM
THAT TIME, THE HOLY CITY OF MAKKAH HAS BEEN THE HEART OF THE MUSLIM WORLD. IT
GREW IN IMPORTANCE AS ISLAM SPREAD AND, FOR THE MOST PART, RETAINED A LARGE
DEGREE OF INDEPENDENCE. WHEN THE SEAT OF MUSLIM POWER MOVED TO DAMASCUS AND
THEN LATER TO IRAQ UNDER THE ABASSID CALIPHATE, MAKKAH ACKNOWLEDGED EACH IN
TURN. IN 1269 CE, THE MAMLUK SULTANS FROM EGYPT ASSERTED THEIR POWER OVER
MAKKAH. AND IN 1517 CE, THE TURKS UNDER THE OTTOMANS IN CONSTANTINOPLE HELD
SWAY OVER THE HOLY CITY. NEVERTHELESS, THROUGHOUT THESE GREAT SHIFTS IN POWER
IN THE REGION, THE DESCENDANTS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM)
REMAINED THE LOCAL RULERS OF MAKKAH. WHEN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE COLLAPSED AT THE
END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, ABDUL AZIZ AL SAUD (IBN SAUD) CAME OUT OF CENTRAL
ARABIA, THE NAJD, AND, ARMED WITH A DEEP COMMITMENT TO THE PURE FORM OF ISLAM,
TOOK CONTROL OF MAKKAH, ACCEPTING GUARDIANSHIP OF THE HOLY SITES AS A PRIME
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE KINGDOM HE FOUNDED, THE MODERN STATE OF SAUDI ARABIA.
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