Mecca
This article forms part of the seriesIslam |
| Vocabulary of Islam |
| Five Pillars |
| Profession of faith |
| Prayer - Alms |
| Fasting |
| Pilgrimage to Mecca |
| Holy Cities |
| Mecca - Medina |
| Jerusalem |
| Najaf - Karbala - Kufa |
| Events |
| Hijra - Islamic calendar - Eid ul-Fitr |
| Eid ul-Adha - Aashura - Arba'in |
| Buildings |
| Mosque - Minaret |
| Mihrab - Kaaba |
| Islamic architecture |
| Functional Religious Roles |
| Muezzin - Imam - Mullah |
| Ayatollah - Mufti |
| Interpretive Texts & Practices |
| Qur'an - Hadith - Sunnah |
| Fiqh - Fatwa - Sharia |
| Sects |
| Sunni (Schools of thought: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) |
| Shi'a: Ithna Asharia, Ismailiyah, Zaiddiyah |
| Others: Mu'tazili - Kharijite |
| Movements |
| Sufism |
| Wahhabism - Salafism |
| Non-Mainstream Sects/Movements |
| Ahmadiyyah |
| Related Faiths |
| Druze; Bahá'í Faith |
- ''This article is about the holy city in Saudi Arabia. For other uses, see Mecca (disambiguation)
The city is revered as the holiest site of Islam, and a pilgrimage to it is required of all Muslims who can afford to go. The term 'Mecca' has come into common usage metaphorically to mean any all-important site for any particular group of people.
In the 1980s the government of Saudi Arabia changed the official English transliteration of the city's name from 'Mecca', as it had been known to Westerners for centuries, to 'Makkah'. See below for the reasons.
The importance of Makkah
For Muslims, a pilgrimage to Makkah is required as one of the Five Pillars of the faith. Every year about three million gather for the major pilgrimage or 'Hajj', during the Muslim month of Dhu'l-Hijjah, and many more perform the minor pilgrimage or 'Umrah', which may be performed at any time of year. Few non-Muslims have ever seen the rites and rituals of the Hajj as non-Muslims are strictly prohibited from entering Makkah and Madinah.The focal point of Makkah is the Ka'bah, the "House of God" believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and his son Ishmael, and is covered in a gold-embroidered black fabric. The Pilgrims circle the Ka'bah seven times and may also try to touch or kiss its cornerstone, the Black Stone. Pilgrims then drink from the well of Zamzam. The water of Zamzam is believed to have special properties. Few pilgrims return from the Hajj without a large plastic bottle of the Zamzam water.
During the Hajj the pilgrims travel to Mina, a small village, where the Devil, symbolised by stone columns, is ritually stoned. In some years the hysterical crowds have crushed people to death during this ritual. They then proceed to the Hill of Arafat (sometimes called the Mountain, but it is only 70 meters high), a site for prayers, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his final Sermon.
The importance of Makkah for Muslims is inestimable. All Muslims, wherever they are on the earth, pray five times a day in the direction of the Ka'bah in Makkah (located at ). The direction of prayer is known as the qiblah.
The al-Masjid al-Haram (or 'The Sacred Mosque'), is for Muslims the holiest mosque on Earth. Both the mosque and the city itself are strictly off-limits to non-Muslims.
The Prophet Muhammad
The prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah in 571 CE. In the year 622 CE he moved to Madinah, which also became a holy city.
Non-Muslims and Makkah
Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Makkah. Road blocks are stationed along roads leading to the city. The most celebrated case of a non-Muslim visiting Makkah was the visit by the British explorer Sir Richard Burton in 1853. Burton disguised himself as an Afghani Muslim to visit and write his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca.
The Holy Sites
The religious center of the Makkah is the Haram Mosque and the well of Zamzam.
The present Haram, meaning "sanctuary", dates from 1570 (978 AH), and takes the form of a central quadrangle surrounded by stone walls. Around the inner sanctuary is a marble pavement, the al-Mataf. The holiest shrine of Islam, the Ka'bah, is situated at the heart of the Holy Mosque's central courtyard.
The Haram Mosque dates back to 638 (7 AH) when the ever increasing number of Muslims led the second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab (Umar), to develop the site.
Is Makkah the city of the Valley of Bakkah?
Some have identified Makkah as the ancient city Bakkah, the Biblical "valley of Baca" in Psalm 84, but this association is controversial. It is known that the name Bakkah was changed to Makkah at some time, which is location identified in the Qur'an. Muslims also believe it is the same location as mentioned in the Old Testament, yet many Christians may be hesitant to believe it.
The spelling of the name
For most English-speakers, Mecca has long been the accepted spelling for the holy city. The word is a transliteration of the original Arabic, and has become part of the English language. The word Mecca is nowadays used to mean not only the city in Saudi Arabia but any center of activity sought or converged upon by a group of people with a common interest. Las Vegas, for example, is sometimes described as 'the Mecca of gambling' (even though gambling of money is strictly prohibited by Islamic law). This adapted usage is seen as irreverent or even sacriligious to many Muslims.
In an effort to distinguish between the metaphorical and official references to the holy site, the Saudi Arabian government began promoting a new transliteration, 'Makkah al-Mukarramah', in the 1980s. Many English-speaking Muslims now consider this the preferred spelling, as it is closer to the original Arabic. While this new usage has been officially adopted by the U.S. Department of State, it has not yet permeated the active vocabulary of English-speakers at large.
Incidents in Makkah
The Hajj brings together huge numbers of pilgrims. With such a vast number of people in one place at one time, failures in crowd control and other organisational errors can lead to disaster. Some of the recent tragedies have included:
- In November 1979 a group of around 200 militant Muslims occupied Mecca's Grand Mosque. They were driven out by French commandos (allowed into the city under these special circumstances despite their being non-Muslims) after bloody fighting.
- On July 31, 1987 Iranian pilgrims rioted, causing the deaths of over 400 people.
- On July 9, 1989 two bombs exploded, killing one pilgrim and wounding a further 16. Saudi authorities beheaded 16 Kuwaiti Shiite Muslims for the bombings after originally blaming Iranian terrorists.
- On July 2, 1990 a stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel leading to Mecca led to the deaths of 1402 pilgrims.
- In 1994 a stampede killed 270 pilgrims.
- On April 15, 1997 over 340 Muslim pilgrims were killed in a tent fire.
- On February 1, 2004 244 Muslim pilgrims were killed and another 244 injured in a stampede during the stoning of the devil ritual.
The perceived failure to prevent these events, or to react appropriately to them, has led to strong criticism of the Saudi Arabian authorities by Muslims and onlookers outside Islam alike. It should be noted that such events are common enough across all religious celebrations.
See also
Other uses of the name
External links
- Pictures of Mecca
- Mention of the Kaaba's coordinates
- Mecca Information
- Is it the Glory of Mecca or Zion in Isiah, Chapter 60?
