Question:
Assalamualaikum,
Is Ka’bah mentioned in Qur’an and if yes is it mentioned in any other books before Qur’an?
Answer:
Firstly one should understand that Al-Ka’bah is the House of Allah. Therefore one will find that in some Aayaat Allah (S.W.T.) uses the term Ka’bah e.g. “ … provided the offering is delivered to the Ka’bah” (Al-Ma’edah, Verse 95), “Allah made the Ka’bah – which is the Inviolable House – a means for man to sustain (their needs) ” (Al-Ma’edah, Verse 97), while in many other Aayaat Allah refers to it as Baitullah (House of Allah) e.g. “And when Ebrahim u and Ismail u were raising the plinth of the Baitullah, (they supplicated): “O our Rabb! Accept from us. Undoubtedly only Thou Art the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”
In Surah Baqarah, verse 144 Allah (S.W.T.) mentions: “Indeed We see the raising of thy face (anxiously) often towards the sky. Now We shall indeed turn thee towards that Qiblah of which thou art pleased. So turn thy face towards the Inviolable Masjid. And wherever you people be, turn your faces towards it. And indeed the people of the Scripture know for sure that the command from thy Sustainer is indeed veritable. And Allah is not oblivious of what they do.”
In the commentary of this Ayah, the renowned Mufassir Ibne Katheer states that: “The Yahood and Nasaara had a negative attitude towards the conversion of Qiblah, as mention of it was made in their books, thus proving that Nabi (S.A.W.) was a true prophet of Allah.” (Mukhtasar Tafseer Ibne Katheer, Vol.1, Page 139-140)
From the above explanation it is quite evident that mention of the Ka’bah was made in the books revealed before the Qur’an. However, we have not come across the name of any book in which it was mentioned.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best
Mufti Muhammad Ashraf
Darul Iftaa
Jameah Mahmoodiyah
Springs
12 February 2005
03 Muharram 1426