There is no place on Earth as
venerated, as central or as holy to
as many people as Mecca. By any
objective standard, this valley in
the Hijaz region of Arabia is the
most celebrated place on Earth.
Thousands circle the sacred Kaaba
at the centre of the Haram
sanctuary 24 hours a day. Millions
of homes are adorned with
pictures of it and over a billion
face it five times a day.
The Kaaba is the epicenter of
Mecca.
The cube shaped building is at the
heart of the most well-known real
estate in the history of mankind;
it is shrouded in black and its fair
share of mystery.
Here are just a few things that
most people may not know about
the Kaaba:
10. It has been reconstructed
several times
The Kaaba that we see today is
not exactly the same Kaaba that
was constructed by Prophets
Ibrahim and Ismail From
time to time, it has needed
rebuilding after natural and man-
made disasters.
Of course, we all know of the
major reconstruction that took
place during the life of the
Prophet before he became a
Prophet . This is the occasion
when the Prophet averted
major bloodshed by his quick
thinking on how to place the
Black Stone using a cloth that
every tribe could lift up.
Since then, there has been an
average of one major
reconstruction every few
centuries. The last renovation
took place in 1996 and was
extremely thorough, leading to
the replacement of many of the
stones and re-strengthening the
foundations and a new roof. This
is likely to be the last
reconstruction for many centuries
(inshā'Allāh) as modern
techniques mean that the building
is more secure and stable than
ever before.

9. It used to have two doors …
and a window
The original Kaaba used to have a
door for entrance and another for
exit. For a considerable period of
time it also had a window
situated to one side. The current
Kaaba only has one door and no
window.

8. It used to be multi- coloured We are so
used to
the Kaaba being covered in the
trademark black Kiswah with gold
banding that we can't imagine it being
any other colour. However, this tradition seems to have started at the
time of the Abbasids (whose household
colour was black) and before this the
Kaaba was covered in multiple colours
including green, red and even white.

7. The keys are in the hands of one family At the time of the Prophet , each aspect to do with the rites of Hajj was in
the hands of different sub-groups of
the Quraish. Every one of these would
eventually lose control of their
guardianship of a particular rite except
one. On the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet was given the keys to the Kaaba and instead of keeping it in his
own possession; he returned them
back to the Osman ibn Talha ® of the
Bani Shaiba family. They had been the
traditional key keepers of the Kaaba for centuries; and the Prophet confirmed them in that role till the end
of time by these words “Take it, O Bani Talha, eternally up to the Day of Resurrection, and it will not be taken from you unless by an unjust, oppressive tyrant.” Whether Caliph, Sultan or King – the
most powerful men in the world have
all had to bow to the words of the Prophet and ask permission from this small Makkan family before they
can enter the Kaaba

6. It used to be open to everyone Until recently, the Kaaba was opened
twice a week for anyone to enter and
pray. However, due to the rapid
expansion in the number of pilgrims
and other factors, the Kaaba is now
opened only twice a year for dignitaries and exclusive guests only. Watch the video attached here to
witness the doors of the Kaaba being
opened (at 50 seconds) – and the
simultaneous gasps of a Million people
as they cry out at this auspicious
moment.

5. You used to be able to swim around it One of the problems with having the
Kaaba situated at the bottom of a valley
is that when it rains – valleys tend to
flood. This was not an uncommon
occurrence in Mecca and the cause of a
lot of trouble before the days of flood control systems and sewage. For days
on end the Kaaba would be half
submerged in water. Did that stop
Muslims from performing the Tawaf? Of
course not. As the picture below amply
shows – Muslims just started swimming around the Kaaba. Modern adjustments to the surrounding
landscape and flood prevention
techniques mean we may never see
such sights again. Or will we? Check out
this recent video.

4. The inside contains plaques commemorating the rulers who renovated it For years many have wondered what it
looks like inside the Kaaba. Relying on
second or third hand accounts from
those who were lucky enough to enter
just wasn't satisfying enough. Then one
lucky person who went inside took his camera phone in with him and Millions
have seen the shaky footage online. The interior of the Kaaba is now lined
with marble and a green cloth covering
the upper walls. Fixed into the walls are
plaques each commemorating the
refurbishment or rebuilding of the
House of Allāh by the ruler of the day. Watch the video below of the only place
on Earth that you can pray in any
direction you want, the House of Allāh,
the first place of worship for mankind –
the Kaaba.

3. There are two kaabas! Directly above the Kaaba in heaven is
an exact replica. This Kaaba was
mentioned in the Qurʾān and by the Prophet . The Messenger of Allāh said narrating about the journey of 'Isra wal
Miraaj “Then I was shown Al-Bait-al-Ma'mur (i.e. Allāh's House). I asked Gabriel about it and he said, This is Al Bait-ul- Ma'mur where 70,000 angels perform prayers daily and when they leave they never return to it (but always a fresh batch comes into it daily).”

2. The Black Stone is broken Ever wondered how the Black Stone
came to be in the silver casing that
surrounds it? Some say it was broken by a stone fired
by the Umayyad army laying siege to
Mecca whilst it was under the control of
Abdullah ibn Zubair ®. However, most agree that it was most
damaged in the middle ages by an
extreme heretical Ismaili group from
Bahrain called the Qarmatians who had
declared that the Hajj was an act of
superstition. They decided to make their point by killing tens of thousands
of hujjaj
and
dumping
their
bodies in the well of
Zamzam. As if this
act of treachery was not enough, these
devils took the Black Stone to the East
of Arabia and then Kufa in Iraq where
they held it ransom until they were
forced to return it by the Abassid Caliph. When they returned it, it was in pieces
and the only way to keep them
together was by encasing them in a
silver casing. Some historians narrate
that there are still some missing pieces
of the stone floating around.

1. It's not supposed to be a cube shape Yes, ladies and gentleman… the most
famous cube in the world actually
started out shaped as a rectangle. I'll give you a moment to pick your jaws
off the floor. Right, where were we? Oh yeah, the Kaaba was never meant to
be a cube. The original dimensions of
The House included the semi-circular
area known as the Hijr Ismail. When the Kaaba was rebuilt just a few years before the Prophet received his first revelation, the Quraish agreed
to only use income from pure sources
to complete the rebuild. That meant no
money from gambling, looting,
prostitution, interest etc. In the ultimate
sign of how deeply mired in wrongdoing the Jahili Quraish were,
there was not enough untainted money
in this very wealthy trading city to
rebuild the Kaaba to its original size and
shape! They settled for a smaller version of the
Kaaba and put a mud brick wall (called
“Hijr Ismail” although it has no
connection to the Prophet Ismail (A)
himself) to indicate the original
dimensions. Towards the end of his life, the Prophet intended to rebuild the Kaaba on its original foundations but
passed away before he could fulfill his
wish. Apart from a brief interlude of a
few years during the reign of Caliph
Abdullah ibn Zubair ®, the Kaaba has
remained the same shape that the Prophet saw it in. The history of the Kaaba is not just an
interesting story from our past. The
Kaaba is a real and present symbol that
connects all Muslims together wherever
they may be. It also connects us to our
glorious and not-so-glorious past so that we may derive lessons and feel that
we are a part of an eternal mission. In a
day and age where Muslims are
increasingly disconnected from our
history,as well as each other, the
Kabaa reminds us of our shared heritage and bonds. It is a symbol of
unity in an Ummah sorely in need of it.

source: www.muslimmatters.org/2012/11/15/ten-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-kaaba/

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Hmn! Quite an interesting read. Thanks op.