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“The Ka’ba and Its Symbolism in Islamic Culture”
Brigham Young University
Islamic Art and Architecture (ArtHC 377)
Provo, Utah
12 August 2003
Every day millions of people get on their knees and pray in the direction of a small, architecturally insignificant building called the Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. With the amount of reverence this building is afforded in the Islamic faith, one might expect it to be an amazingly beautiful building which inspires those who look on it with awe. One is slightly shocked to realize that this building is, in reality, a plain box made of wood and brick; its only adornment a simple black veil with writings from the Quran embroidered on it.
The Ka’ba has a long history in the Arab world. Even before Muhammad was visited by the angel Jibrail, the Ka’ba was considered a sacred place. Pagan worshippers placed offerings to the local gods at this spot, expecting their prayers to be answered. After Muhammad introduced the religion of Islam, the Ka’ba was cleansed and considered a holy site. Muhammad taught that originally Adam had built an altar here and offered sacrifices to God. Later, Abraham and Ishmael would do the same.
Every year thousands of Muslims travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to perform Hajj, or the pilgrimage. They go there to stand within the haram (sacred space) and be admitted into the presence of Allah at the Ka’ba. For them, this is one of the most sacred experiences a faithful Muslim can have. One must wear specific clothing and perform sacred rituals before entering the haram. Throughout the rest of the year, the veil worn by men and women is a reminder of this sacred experience. From an outside perspective it appears that the veil as an article of clothing serves to remind them of the veil of the Ka’ba and the division between the sacred and the profane world.
The Ka’ba has a long history as a sacred place. The site itself is believed to have been chosen by Adam and later formalized by Abraham. The edifice of the Ka’ba is surrounded by a space called the haram, which encompasses the entire city of Mecca. Many scholars “…trace the sanctity of the Meccan Haram exclusively to the Ka’ba, the edifice built at God’s express command by Abraham and Ishmael.” (Peters*, 10)
The building itself is not an impressive work of architecture. The name, Ka’ba, literally means “cube” in Arabic and that is exactly what it is. Today, it is a simple structure with four walls and a flat roof. It’s dimensions are 50 feet from the base to the roof; the Northeast and southwest walls are each 40 feet long; and the sidewalls are each 35 feet wide. It has one entrance in the northeastern facade and there are no windows. The only other significant feature is “Built into the eastern corner …about four feet above the ground, is a blackish stone of either lava or basalt, which is fractured and now held together by a silver band.” (Peters*, 9) The last detail is a simple, black covering called the kiswa.
Early accounts describe the appearance of the ancient Ka’ba differently. At the time of Abraham and Ishmael, it was little more than a few stones arranged in the manner of an altar. Tabari describes it this way.
“…the Ka’ba does not appear to be a house at all but rather some kind of enclosure built around a pit or dry well, an enclosure that was …draped with a cloth curtain (kiswa) in a manner to give it the appearance of a tent. Some Arab authors in fact called the early Ka’ba by the same name used to describe the Israelites’ tent or tabernacle in the desert.” (Peters*, 12)
The concept of the Ka’ba being likened to the Israelite tabernacle in the wilderness is very interesting. If one were to take that idea along with the layout of the complex itself one discovers some intriguing similarities between the two structures. First, the haram can only be entered by faithful Muslims who have gone through a ritual cleansing. This is much like the purification rituals that had to be performed before one could enter the Holy Place within the Israelite Tabernacle. The second interesting similarity is that the Holy of Holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant, was a perfect cube. (Peters*, 13)
These two facts help one see that Muslims revere this structure as a holy place or temple. One cannot mistake the nature of this “…place (as) marked; it is physically circumscribed and defined by a temenos or a haram to advise those who come there that this is indeed holy ground.” (Peters, Jerusalem and Mecca, 5) In the Quran, the Ka’ba is mentioned only a few times, but when it is mentioned it is always referred to as ‘the House,’ referring to the House of God. (Peters*, 11)
The Ka’ba today was created by the Quraysh clan out of wood and brick. This change from a tent-like structure to a permanent house is much like what Solomon did with the Israelite tabernacle in Jerusalem. They each built a fixed structure to house deity. The ideas of achieving sacred space through architecture is the oldest Islamic art form. One might say that “Architecture is of course the art par excellence of ordering space and all sacred architecture achieves its basic goal of placing man in the presence of the Divine through the sacralization of the space which it forms …by mean of various architectural techniques.” (Nasr, 44) The Ka’ba places ‘man in the presence of the divine’ by using the symbol of the kiswa, or veil, covering the building.
The kiswa is made every year in Cairo, Egypt and sent about a month before Hajj to replace the previous one. The kiswa is made of black silk. There are eight panels or strips sewn together. The strips “are called athwab (singular thob, a word used for a dress).” (El Guindi, 95.) There appears to be a band of gold surrounding the Ka’ba. This band is “made out of gold brocade, which consist of eight ahzima (singular hizam, or belt), each mounted on one of the supporting panels. Quranic verses (are) sewn with gold thread onto the belts.” (El Guindi, 95) Covering the entrance is a “burqu’ (married woman’s veil), embroidered with the gold and silver thread and made of black silk and red and green satin.” (El Guindi, 95)
These terms used to describe the kiswa are the identical terms used when talking about female attire, particularly that of a bride. Even the color scheme is similar to what would be traditionally used for the colors of a wedding dress. The color black is used to symbolize Muhammad, as well as life; red is a lucky color and also represents fertility; and green is the traditional color of Islam used to represent paradise. Sir Richard Burton was the first to see what he called “…a relation between key elements in the rites of preparation of the Ka’ba for the annual pilgrimage and metaphorically ‘dressing’ the Ka’ba like a bride.” (El Guindi, 95)
Veiling then becomes a symbol of sacredness and Ka’ba’s kiswa can be likened to a mashrabiyya screen. (Which can be likened to the idea of a Catholic confessional. The confessor can be seen but the one taking confession cannot be seen.) The mashrabiyya was traditionally used in the harem, which is considered a place of sanctity. In fact, the basic word H-R-M in Arabic is the same word used for haram, a holy place surrounding a sacred site, and harem, the place of women. Since there are so many similarities one might say that women in Islamic society are seen as sacred and treated accordingly. (In many cases daughters are viewed as gifts from God and to have many daughters, as Muhammad did, means that you are highly favored of God.) Thus, veiling as clothing can be likened to the veil of the Ka’ba and vice versa.
Men and women use the veil in dress but because the kiswa is described in terms of a bridal gown it is easier to look at the symbolism of female attire to see what the meaning is behind the kiswa. The veil is used as a silent communicator throughout the Islamic world. To understand this one must go back to the idea of a veil as a mashrabiyya, which “ …embodies the essence of traditional notions of Arab privacy--who has the ‘right to see whom,’ who has the ‘right not to see whom,’ and who chooses not to see whom.’” (El Guindi, 94-95)
If one were to apply this idea to the Ka’ba, which is considered the House of God, one can see that the veil acts as a physical representation of the division between God and man. Not because God is insignificant and needs to be hidden but because God being God has the right to choose whom he allows to enter his presence. The presence of the veil allows God to be “…enhoused and in the end made to dwell beside his worshippers in cities.” (Peters, Jerusalem and Mecca, 6) The kiswa then reminds Muslims that because of its presence, God is with them and at the time of Hajj they are permitted to enter his presence, after they have undergone the proper purification rituals.
It is almost as if women who are veiled are symbolic as a daily reminder of the presence of God in the life of a Muslim. When Muslims perform the ritual of prayer five times a day, they must purify themselves and that space then becomes sacred for the time that they are praying. Women must dress as if they were in the mosque, covered from head to toe and with their faces veiled.
Veiling helps one see that sacredness is not stationary because “veiling is mobile. …A woman carries ‘her’ privacy and sanctity with her, much the same way as when a Muslim worships in any space, converting it to sacred and private.” (El Guindi, 95) It is a way to remind the people that it does not matter where you are because wherever you are that space then becomes sacred through the act of worship being performed there.
The qiblah, which denotes the direction of Mecca, in every mosque is veiled. It is as if you are in the presence of God in every mosque because of the symbolic meaning of the veil. One could say that there is a sense of divine power every time the call to prayer is issued. “The Ka’bah chosen by God as the direction of prayer or qiblah of Muslims…determines and polarizes direction and creates an invisible set of ‘lines of force’ which attract all points …toward the centre.” (Nasr, 45) In other words, the Ka’ba is the axle upon which the wheel of Islam turns in the same sense as the wife or mother is the center of the home.
With the Ka’ba determining the directions of prayer for all Muslims, it is as if every Muslim brings the nature of that holy building into the mosque or their home, depending on where they are when the call to prayer is issued. They turn their homes into an extension of the House of God by the ritual performed and by the fact that the very nature of prayer invites the Divine into their homes for that frame of time. The symbolism of veiling then is very profound in that it uses an ordinary device which is seen everywhere to constantly remind people of the presence of the divine. Every simple thing teaches and testifies of God’s hand in their lives and reminds them to give thanks in all things.
The clothing worn while on Hajj is different from the clothing worn everyday, The journey to Meccas requires special purification rituals, the most important of which is ihram. It is such an important ritual that “…depending on where one comes from, the pilgrim pauses and places him-or herself in ihram. The latter is a verbal noun and refers to turning oneself into an inviolable state when entering the inviolable space (haram) of Mecca.” (Tayob, 99) One must be completely clean when entering the haram and symbolically entering the presence of deity.
The clothing worn while in this state of ihram has become a status symbol in a way. When one returns from Hajj, one wears white, which is the symbolic color of deity. It is also the color symbolic of death and may suggest that the old creature has died and the individual has experienced a rebirth. One returns to normal, everyday attire but all know by the colors you wear that you have been to the holy place and performed one of the five pillars of Islam. While in Mecca and the haram
“For men, the clothing of ihram consists of two pieces of unseamed cloth, one wrapped around the waist and one bound over the let shoulder and leaving the right shoulder bare. Women must not wear a face veil. Many Muslim cultures have also included the wearing of white for women during the Hajj itself.” (Tayob, 99)
This is one of the only times that women are prohibited from wearing a face veil. Due to the sacred nature of being in the presence of the Ka’ba one must conclude that to wear a face veil would be considered an imitation of the kiswa of the Ka’ba separating one from God and would, therefore, be considered sacrilegious. Since one is in the actual sanctuary of the Ka’ba, the everyday reminders are not necessary nor does one need to orient oneself with the qiblah. It is here that many Muslims feel they are given a glimpse of the nature of God.
For many Muslims, the Ka’ba is the symbol of their religion. It is considered “the center of our faith, prayers, love, life, and death.” (Shariati, 21) When one performs Hajj and, for many, see the Ka’ba for the first time, it is sometimes a shock. Ali Shariati explained that his first experience seeing the Ka’ba in person as somewhat confusing at first because it is such a plain building. He continued to explain that “It reflects no architectural skill, beauty, art, inscription, nor quality.” (Shariati, 21) It is amazing that something that has no beauty and was built without any relative skill could inspire so many and cause them to treat it with such reverence and respect.
Amazingly enough that is the nature of Islamic art. It is designed so that when one views it one is awed by the simplicity and must look for the greater purpose behind the image and building. Everything is used to teach, especially an empty, square building covered by a black veil. The most appropriate defining statement about the Ka’ba and its place in Islamic society is said by Ali Shariati, “How good it is to see the Kabba empty! It reminds you that your presence is for the sake of performing Hajj. It is not your destination. Moreover, it is your guide to show the direction.” (Shariati, 21)
Every symbol in Islamic culture is a vehicle used to tell you that this life is a journey and that the things one sees and the rituals one performs are there to help you reach the destination of paradise. One wants to return to the presence of God and to the place one was before this life. Veiling the Ka’ba reminds Muslims that one is separated from deity and that in order to enter the presence of Allah, one must be diligent and give praise and credit to Allah.
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- El Guindi, Fadwa, Veil: Modesty, Privacy, and Resistance (Oxford, New York, 1999).
- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Islamic Art and Spirituality (Albany, 1987).
- Peters*, F.E., The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places (New Jersey, 1994).
- Peters, F. E., Jerusalem and Mecca: The Typology of the Holy City in the Near East (New York, 1986).
- Ruggles, D. Fairchild edit, “Vision and Power: An Introduction,” Women, Patronage, and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies (Albany, 2000) 1-15.
- Shariati, Ali, Hajj (Houston, 1980) Behzadnia, Ali A. And Denny, Najila, translators.
- Shirazi, Faegheh, The Veil Unveiled: The Hijab in Modern Culture (Gainesville, 2001).
- Tabbaa, Yasser, “Dayfa Khatun, Regent Quenn and Architectural Patron,” in D. Fairchild Ruggles, edit., Women Patronage, and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies (Albany, 2000) 17-34.
- Tayob, Abdulkader, Islam: A Short Introduction (Oxford, 1999.)
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