>

The Construction of the Holy Ka'bah
by Sultan Murad Khan


Rains flooded the Holy Mosque and led to the collapse of most of the Sacred House.

Rains flooded the Holy Mosque and led to the collapse of most of the Sacred House.

On Wednesday, 19th Sha'ban, 1039 H., a heavy rain fell on Makkah Al-Mukarramah and continued up till Thursday evening. This caused torrential flooding, never before seen in Makkah. The Holy Mosque was heavily affected by the rains up to the middle of the wall of the Holy Ka'bah and consequently the walls collapsed one after the other. This happened during the reign of Al-Shareef Masaud Ibn ldrees Ibn Hasan, Amir of Makkah. Necessary steps were taken to collect the properties of the Holy Ka'bah, put them in a safe place, as well as cleaning up the Holy Mosque. Learned and influential people held a meeting to look into the question of what to do for the rebuilding of the Holy Ka'bah and it was decided that they should write to Sultan Murad Khan. Then they fitted a wooden screen around the Holy Ka'bah six cubits wide.

Picture on the left : Sultan Murad Khan II

 

There arrived at Jeddah a ship laden with all the equipment required for the rebuilding of the Holy Kabah. The work started towards the end of Jumad Al-Awwal, 1040 H. It was done as it was during the period of AI-Hajjaj. The layout, progress and history of the building might be summarized in the following points:

  1. Sultan Murad rebuilt the Holy Ka'bah as it was constructed at the time of AI-Hajjaj without any additions or reductions.
  2. If we take the date of the building from the time of demolishing the remainder of its rubble, then it would be Saturday, the end of Jumad Al-Awwal, 1040 H. But if we start from the laying of the first foundation of the building, it would be on Sunday 23rd Jumad AI-Thani,1040 H. The complete construction of the Holy Ka'bah was on the second of Dhul Hijah, 1040 H. This was the last extant reconstruction of the Holy Ka'bah until the recent comprehensive renovation of the Holy Ka'bah by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, may Allah, the Almighty, grant him success.
  3. In the demolishing process, they reached the first layer of stones on the floor of the building, and erected the present building on it. The dimensions of the Holy Ka'bah were not changed even by one centimetre.
  4. The stones needed to complete the building were taken from Ka'bah mountain at Al-Shubeikah.
  5. On the demolition of the Holy Ka'bah, all comers were pulled down except the corner of the Black Stone. The stone at the top of the Black Stone was uncovered and the area surrounding it was thoroughly repaired without removing it.
  6. It was found that the colour of the hidden part of the Black Stone was white just like the marble of Abraham's Station.
  7. A plaque was fixed inside the Holy Ka'bah in which the name of Sultan Murad and the date of the construction were inscribed.
   
   
The Holy Ka'bah information center | www.kabahinfo.net | Contact web master here