Points on the History of the Ka’bah
The total area of Musjidul Haraam including the old musjid (Turkish), the new extension (Saudi), the roof and all the piazzas (open spaces outside the Musjid walls) is 380,000 m²
This has a total capacity for 820,000 worshippers on ordinary days and one million during the Hajj and on other special occasions.
The part of Musjidul Haraam which was built during the Ottoman (Turkish) era is indicated by light brown coloured bricks. It was completed in 1576 CE in the reign of Sultan Murad Uthmani.
The first person to make lighting facilities available to those performing Tawaaf and Salaah around the Ka’bah was Uqbah bin Azraq bin Amr whose house was next to the Haram. There were no walls around the Mataaf in those days and he placed a large candlestick on the wall of his house.
Today high-tech electricity systems supply power to the Haram. The daily electricity consumption of the entire Musjidul Haraam is 9-10 mega watts.
Once platforms and terraces were added to the Haram, birds, especially pigeons, started dwelling there. In the Ottoman era seeds were provided for them.
Al Kurdi has mentioned that this species of pigeon is unique to Makkah and the Haram. Some scholars say they are offspring of the birds which pelted As-habul Feel (the army with elephants who came to destroy the Ka’bah). These birds flew in from the direction of the sea at Jeddah.%
From: Umm al-Qura, Bilal bin Ahmad
Email: bilal@vaid.co.za
MUSJIDUL HARAAM
