INSIDE IT

INSIDE IT
Literally, Ka'bah in Arabic means a high place with respect and prestige. The word Ka'bah may also be a derivative of a word meaning cube. Some other names of Ka'bah include: Bait al-Ateeq which means, according to one meaning, the earliest and ancient. It also means independent and liberating.

The current height of the Ka'bah is 39 feet, 6 inches, and the total size comes to 627 square feet. The inside room of the Ka'bah is 13 x 9 meters. The walls of the Ka'bah are one meter thick in its width. The floor inside is 2.2 meters higher than the place where people perform Tawaaf. The ceiling and roof are two levels made out of wood. They were reconstructed with teak which is capped with stainless steel. The walls are all made of stone. The stones inside are unpolished, while the ones outside are polished.

Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi is the president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He had the opportunity to go inside the Ka'bah in October 1998. He described the following features inside the Ka'bah:

. there are two pillars inside (others report 3 pillars)
. there is a table on the side to put items like perfume
. there are two lantern-type lamps hanging from the ceiling
. the space can accommodate about 50 people
. there are no electric lights inside
. the walls and floors are of marble
. there are no windows inside
. there is only one door
. the upper inside walls of the Ka'bah were covered with a kind of curtain that has the Kalimaat written on it

The Ka'bah is the building towards which Muslims face five times a day, everyday, in prayer. It may not rival skyscrapers in height or mansions in width, but its impact on history and human beings is unmatched.

Courtesy of: Ummu Maisarah

salam