What Is the Kaaba? The House of God in Mecca

Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة, also spelled Ka’bah) is pronounced KAA-bah. The name means “the cube”.

Meaning

The Kaaba is a simple stone building, roughly cube-shaped, standing in the courtyard of the Sacred Mosque in Mecca. It is usually draped in a black cloth embroidered with verses of the Qur’an in gold. Muslims call it “the House of God” — not because God lives in it, but because it is dedicated to His worship alone. The Qur’an describes it as the first house of worship set up for humanity:

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍۢ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِى بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًۭا وَهُدًۭى لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٩٦﴾

Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds.

Muslims believe that Abraham (peace be upon him) and his son Ishmael raised its foundations (Qur’an 2:127), and that Muhammad ﷺ later cleared it of idols and restored it to the worship of the One God.

Facing the Kaaba

Wherever they are in the world, Muslims face the direction of the Kaaba, called the qibla, when they pray. This creates a striking picture: circles of people around the globe, all turned towards one point, praying to one God. Pilgrims on Hajj and Umrah walk around it seven times in an act of worship called tawaf.

A common misunderstanding

Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or the black stone set in one of its corners. They worship God alone; the Kaaba is a direction and a symbol of unity, not an object of worship.

Note

To read about the prophet who built it, see Abraham in Islam, and for the great pilgrimage, see Hajj.