by Khadija Husain

Created on: July 11, 2008

Five times a day, over a billion Muslims around the globe face toward the city of Makkah to pray. As the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad, Makkah is considered to be the holiest city in Islam. Other important and holy Muslim cities include Jerusalem, as well as the city of Medina which like Makkah also known as Mecca is located in Saudi Arabia. Makkah is home to the most sacred mosque in Islam known as Masjid al Haram Sharif or the House of God.

Makkah continues to be venerated today by Muslims not only for it's historical religious significance but because it is central to one the basic five tenets of Islam. These tenets more commonly known as the five pillars of Islam, include faith in one God, daily prayer, fasting, charity and pilgrimage to Makkah. This pilgrimage known as Hajj is incumbent on all Muslims once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able to. For this reason, millions of Muslims from all nationalities and backgrounds congregate in the city of Makkah, once a year, in order to fulfill a major religious obligation by performing Hajj. The Hajj pilgrimage is a commemoration of historical events that took place during the lifetime of Prophet Abraham, his son Prophet Ishmael and Prophet Muhammad.

According to Islamic history, Prophet Abraham was instructed by God to leave his wife Haggar, who was the slave of his first wife Sarah, and their infant child Ishmael in the city of Makkah. Haggar ran frantically seven times between two mountains Safaa and Marwa, desperately searching for water in the deserts of Makkah. Ishmael lay crying between the two mountains, and it is believed that he kicked the sand to reveal the miraculous fountain of water called Zamzam. To this day Zamzam water continues to flow and is available to drink everywhere inside the Holy Mosque of Makkah. Muslims believe that the Prophet Abraham and his son Prophet Ishmael were ordered by God to build a place of worship in the city of Makkah. Inside this mosque is a black cube structure which houses a black stone called Kaaba. It is to this structure that Muslims all over the world turn towards and pray thereby signifying the unity of praying to one God. During Hajj, Muslims will walk around the Kaaba seven times in order to perform their pilgrimage and also to walk seven times between the mountains of Safaa and Marwa symbolizing the desperation of Prophet Abraham's wife Haggar.

It was in Makkah that the majority of the Quran, or the Muslim holy book, was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. The Quran is considered by Muslims to be the final word of God, finishing the message brought forth in the Torah and the Bible. Prophet Muhammad was born in the city of Makkah and spent most of his adulthood there, teaching the people of Arabia about Islam. Although the city of Makkah has modernized and become a bustling city of commerce, Makkah continue to be historically and religiously vital to Muslims all over the world and is indeed literally and figuratively the center of Islam.

Learn more about this author, Khadija Husain.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.