- Also spelled:
- Kaʿbah or Kaʿba
- On the Web:
- Al Jazeera - WhatÂ’s inside the Kaaba and what covers it? The story of the Kiswah (Oct. 19, 2026)
Kaaba
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What is the Kaaba?
The Kaaba, meaning "cube" in Arabic, is a cube-shaped shrine located in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims consider it the most sacred spot on Earth, orienting themselves toward it during their five daily prayers.
The Kaaba is about 50 feet (15 meters) high, with a base of approximately 35 by 40 feet (10 by 12 meters), constructed of gray stone and marble. Inside, three pillars support the roof, with silver and gold lamps suspended. The Kaaba is typically covered with a black brocade cloth known as the kiswah, which is replaced annually. In the eastern corner lies the Black Stone, traditionally believed to have been given to Adam to obtain forgiveness and said to have turned black by absorbing the sins of pilgrims.
The Kaaba was a polytheistic sanctuary before Islam. The Quran states that Abraham and Ishmael raised the Kaaba's foundations. When Muhammad's forces conquered Mecca in 630, he ordered the destruction of the pagan idols housed in the shrine and ordered it cleansed of all signs of polytheism.
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Where is the Kaaba located?
The Kaaba, meaning "cube" in Arabic, is Islam's most sacred shrine. This cube-shaped structure is situated in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, at the center of the Great Mosque. The Kaaba is approximately 50 feet (15 meters) high, with its base measuring about 35 by 40 feet (10 by 12 meters). The Kaaba is central to Muslim worship, as Muslims orient themselves toward it during their five daily prayers.
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Why is the Kaaba important to Muslims?
The Kaaba is of immense importance to Muslims as the most sacred spot on Earth. Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, within the Great Mosque, it is the direction (qiblah) toward which Muslims turn during their five daily prayers.
Muslims aspire to visit the Kaaba on pilgrimage, or hajj, as commanded in the Qur'an. The Kaaba is a cube-shaped structure about 50 feet (15 meters) high, constructed of gray stone and marble. The Black Stone is in its eastern corner. Pilgrims walk around the Kaaba counterclockwise seven times, and may touch or kiss the Black Stone. The Kaaba has been the focal point of Muslim piety since Prophet Muhammad ordered it cleansed of polytheism in 630.
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What does the Kaaba look like?
The Kaaba, meaning "cube" in Arabic, is a cube-shaped structure about 50 feet (15 meters) high, with a base of approximately 35 by 40 feet (10 by 12 meters). It is made of gray stone and marble, with its corners oriented towards the points of the compass.
Inside, the Kaaba contains three pillars supporting the roof and suspended silver and gold lamps. The Black Stone (al-Ḥajar al-Aswad) is in the eastern corner, held together by a silver band.
Most of the year, the Kaaba is covered with a black brocade cloth known as the kiswah, which is changed annually. Embroidered on the kiswah in gold are the Muslim profession of faith (shahādah) and Qurʾānic verses in ornamental calligraphy.
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What is the significance of the Black Stone in the Kaaba?
The Black Stone is a Muslim relic that is located in the eastern corner of the Kaaba, a shrine in the Great Mosque of Mecca. The Stone, now in broken pieces held together by a silver band, is believed to date back to the pre-Islamic religion of the Arabs. Islamic tradition holds that God gave the stone to Adam to obtain forgiveness for his sins after he was expelled from paradise. According to legend, the stone was originally white but has become black over time by absorbing the sins of pilgrims who have kissed and touched it.
Muslims on the hajj are encouraged to touch or kiss the Black Stone while walking around the Kaaba.
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How is the Kaaba involved in the Hajj pilgrimage?
The Kaaba is central to the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim must make once in their life if they are able.
During the hajj, pilgrims enter Mecca and perform specific rituals, including walking around the Kaaba seven times counterclockwise. If possible, they kiss or touch the Black Stone in the Kaaba. This ritual of walking in circles seven times (\u1e6daw\u0101f) is a required part of the hajj or \u02bfumrah pilgrimage. After completion of the hajj, a believer may add the title \u1e25\u0101jj or \u1e25ajj\u012b (for a male) or \u1e25\u0101jjah (for a female) to their name.
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Kaaba, shrine located near the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and considered by Muslims everywhere to be the most sacred spot on Earth. Muslims orient themselves toward this small shrine during the five daily prayers, bury their dead facing its meridian, and cherish the ambition of visiting it on pilgrimage, or hajj, in accord with the command set out in the Qurʾān.
The cube-shaped structure (the word kaʿbah means “cube” in Arabic) is roughly 50 feet (15 meters) high, and it is about 35 by 40 feet (10 by 12 meters) at its base. Constructed of gray stone and marble, it is oriented so that its corners roughly correspond to the points of the compass. The interior contains nothing but the three pillars supporting the roof and a number of suspended silver and gold lamps. During most of the year the Kaaba is covered with an enormous cloth of black brocade, the kiswah.
Located in the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone (al-Ḥajar al-Aswad), whose now broken pieces are surrounded by a ring of stone and held together by a heavy silver band. According to tradition, this stone was given to Adam on his expulsion from paradise in order to obtain forgiveness of his sins. Legend has it that the stone was originally white but has become black by absorbing the sins of the countless thousands of pilgrims who have kissed and touched it.
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Every Muslim who makes the hajj or ʿumrah pilgrimage is required to walk around the Kaaba counterclockwise seven times. While performing this ritual of walking in seven circles (ṭawāf) around the Kaaba, they are encouraged to touch or kiss the Black Stone if possible, though doing so is not mandatory.
The kiswah is changed annually, a tradition which since 2022 has been set on the first day of the Islamic month of Muḥarram—-the start of the new year on the Hijri calendar. A ceremonial washing of the Kaaba, which in recent times has been led by a representative of the Saudi government, also takes place in Muḥarram using perfume and water from the nearby sacred well of Zamzam.
The early history of the Kaaba is not well known, but it is certain that in the period before the rise of Islam it was a polytheist sanctuary and was a site of pilgrimage for people throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The Qurʾān says of Abraham and Ishmael that they “raised the foundations” of the Kaaba. The exact sense is ambiguous, but many Muslims have interpreted the phrase to mean that they rebuilt a shrine first erected by Adam of which only the foundations still existed. The Kaaba has been destroyed, damaged, and subsequently rebuilt several times since. In 930 the Black Stone itself was carried away by an extreme Shiʿi sect known as the Qarmatians and held almost 20 years for ransom. During Muhammad’s early ministry, the Kaaba was the qiblah, or direction of prayer, for the Muslim community. After the Muslim migration, or Hijrah, to Medina, the qiblah briefly switched to Jerusalem before returning to the Kaaba. When Muhammad’s forces conquered Mecca in 630, he ordered the destruction of the pagan idols housed in the shrine and ordered it cleansed of all signs of polytheism. The Kaaba has since been the focal point of Muslim piety.