Jeddah Dawah Center The Holy Ka'bah holds great respect in the heart of every Muslim in the world, but it was attacked more than 1400 years back when a king planned to erect a magnificent temple in the city after demolishing the Ka'bah completely. The king's name was Abraha, whose idea was to destroy the Holy Ka'bah and its image since he was jealous of its nobility and honor. To demolish the Holy Ka'bah, he planned an attack on Makkah. It was a grave day for the people of Makkah when they decided to evacuate their town for the fear they had from the first attack on the Holy City. Abraha owned a very special elephant with whose help he wanted to demolish the Ka'bah but on the day of attack, the elephant sat on the way and refused to move to Makkah. The soldiers beat and pushed him , but he didn't move. When the army was on its way to attack Makkah, suddenly an enormous flock of birds appeared carrying tiny stones in their mouth and started dropping them on to the army. Although the small birds were hitting the army with tiny stones, whatever body part was hit by the stones was splitting the body and killed the soldiers on the spot. Abraha managed to escape from there but could not reach Yamen and died on his way back. This was indeed Allah's way of saving His House. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: Have you (O Muhammad [peace be upon him]) not seen how your Lord dealt with the wwners of the Elephant? Did He not make their plot go astray? [105:1-2]. Years after the incident, the Holy Ka'bah continues to have a special and noble place for every Muslim as all the Muslims turn towards it 5 times for their prayers. And the honor has been given to those who serve this House. May Allah reward the family of King Abdul Aziz who have been serving this House, its pilgrims and visitors with pride. Several years ago, separate prayer niches were set up around the Ka'bah, one for each Imam from different schools of thoughts (madhabs). When the time for Salah came, an Imam from one of the school of thought would lead the congregation with his followers, then another imam from one of the other school of thought would lead his congregation of followers and so on. These separate places of prayer for each of the scholars remained around the Ka'bah until the first quarter of the twentieth century when Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud and his army conquered Makkah in 1924 and united all worshippers behind a single Imam regardless of his or their school of thought. As Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: “And (remember) when We made the House (the Ka'bah at Makkah) a place of resort for mankind and a place of safety. And take you (people) the Maqâm (place) of Ibrâhîm (Abraham) [or the stone on which Ibrâhîm (Abraham) stood while he was building the Ka'bah] as a place of prayer, and We commanded Ibrâhîm (Abraham) and Ismâ'îl (Ishmael) that they should purify My House (the Ka'bah) for those who are circumambulating it, or staying (I'tikâf), or bowing or prostrating themselves (there, in prayer).” The Mosque has been expanded tremendously since then. Allah has chosen Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Abdullah to serve His House and to maintain its sanctity. May Allah Protect the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its scholars and those who are serving His Holy House. __
