Jabal al-Nour (The Mountain Of Light)
Jabal
al-Nour is located in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia, just outside of Mecca.
Jabal al-Nour translates to “Mountain of Light.” Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him) received his first revelation from Allah (the Glorified
and Exalted) through Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) in the Hira cave which is on this
mountain. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to climb this mountain
often even before receiving his fist revelation from Allah (the Glorified and
Exalted).
Ghar Hira (Cave of Hira)
On Jabal al-Nour is Ghar
Hira (Cave of Hira). It is a small cave about 3.5 meters long and a little over
1.5 meters wide. It is in this cave that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
found the solitude he needed to meditate. The Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) would come here to find solitude In the year 610, when Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was 40 years old, he received his
first divine revelation from Allah (the Glorified and Exalted) through Angel
Jibreel. When Angel Jibreel, appeared to him he said, Read! In the Name of your
Lord, Who has created (all that exists), He has created man from a clot (a
piece of thick coagulated blood), Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who
has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not.
Holy Quran (Al Alaq 96: 1-5).
Jabal Thawr (Thawr Mountain)
It is in this mountain that
the houses the cave where prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed for three days and nights
fleeing persecution from the Quraysh during their migration to Medinah. The
mountain is at the southern end of Mecca and rises about 760 meters above sea
level.
Ghar al-Thawr (Cave of Thawr)
This is the cave in
Mountain Thawr that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took refuge.
The Quraish people almost entered the cave because they believed that Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was in there. But since Allah (the
Glorified and Exalted) commanded a spider to spin a web from a bush across the
entrance of the cave and Allah (the Glorified and Exalted) also commanded two
doves to fly down between the spider and the tree, make a nest and lay eggs.
When the pursuers reached close to the cave's entrance they thought it was
impossible that someone could have entered the cave without ruining the spider
web.
Mina
It is in this city of Mina
near Mecca that the Hajj pilgrims perform the ritual stoning of the Devil (ramy
al-jamarat) on the last day of the Hajj. In the low lying Mina valley is the
Jamarat Valley. Three pillars stand here, representing Satan or the Devil, the
perpetrator of all evil. The pilgrims denounce sin and stone these pillars,
pledging allegiance to God and virtue. Mina is best known for the role it plays
during the annual Hajj pilgrimage when its tent cities provided by the Saudi
government give temporary accommodation to millions of visiting pilgrims. In
the low lying Mina valley is the Jamarat Valley. Three pillars stand here,
representing Satan or the Devil is where pilgrims cast stones at them which is
performed between sunrise and sunset on the last day of the Hajj.
Jabal ar-Rahmah (Mount Arafat)
The Hill of Arafat is also
known as Jabal ar-Rahmah, meaning Mountain of Mercy. On the ninth day of hajj,
pilgrims leave Mina for Mount Arafat where they stand in contemplative vigil
and pray and recite the Qur'an. It is here that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) gave his last sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Hajj
towards the end of his life. A pilgrim's Hajj is considered invalid if they do
not spend the afternoon on Mount Arafat.
Zamzam Well
Allah (the Glorified and
Exalted) created the well to provide Hajira, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim
(Abraham) (peace be upon him), and her baby Prophet Ismail (Ishmael) (peace be
upon him) with water in the hot, dry valley they were in, around the year 2000
BC. In her desperate search for water, Hajira ran seven times back and forth in
the scorching heat between the two hills of Safa and Marwa to provide for her
baby who was dying of thirst. The Zamzam Well is located approximately 20 m (66
ft) east of the Kaaba.
Hajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone)
Hajar al-Aswad (The Black
Stone) is situated on the south-eastern corner of the holy Kaaba which marks
the starting and finishing point for circling the Kaaba (known as tawaaf).
Today, only parts of the stone are present; consisting of 8 pieces of varying sizes.
These are affixed to a larger stone, encased in a silver frame and attached to
the corner of the Kaaba about 1.5 meters above the ground. Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) informed us of three main virtues of the Stone: 1) Allah
sent it down to earth from paradise whiter than milk; however the sins of
mankind turned it black. 2) It will come on the Day of Judgment with two eyes
with which it will see and a tongue with which it will speak and will testify
for those who have touched it in truth and sincerity. 3) Touching the Stone is
also one of the means by which Allah erases sins.
Nimra Mosque
Nimra mosque is located
next to Mount Arafat. Part of the mosque is actually within the borders of
Mount Arafat.
Al-Khaif Mosque
Al-Khaif Mosque is located
in Mina. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed here during
hajj. Pilgrims also pray in the Mosque during their stay at Mina.
Masjid Biah/Masjid Uqbah
Masjid Biah/Uqbah is
located in Mina, near Jamarat. It is here that the Ansar of Medina who were of
the Banu Khazraj and the Banu Aws tribes pledged their allegiance with Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Taneem Mosque (Masjid Ayesha)
The mosque is roughly 4.5
miles (7.2 km) from Masjid al-Haram. This mosque is also known as Masjid
Ayesha. "When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed his
pilgrimage, he advised his companions to start with the Umrah and wait for the
pilgrimage days to start on their major duty. However, Ayesha was on her
menstrual period and was unable to perform the Umrah on her arrival. When she
mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that she would go
back having performed the pilgrimage only while others did both duties, he told
her brother to take her to the nearest point outside the Haram area. He took
her to Taneem where she started her Ihram again and came back to perform the
Umrah." (Shakoor, Ahamed A.).
Al-Masjid al-Haram (The Holy
Mosque)
The Masjid al-Haram was built around the Kaaba. It
is also the largest mosque in the world. It was first built under the
leadership of the Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab (634-644) and has been modified
continuously under several Muslim rulers. Omar, the first Caliph, ordered the
demolition of some houses surrounding the Kaaba in order to accommodate the
growing number of pilgrims and built a 1.5 meter high wall to delineate a large
prayer area. During the reign of his successor Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan
(644-656), the prayer space was enlarged and was covered with a roof carried on
wooden columns and arches. In 692, after Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan
conquered Mecca from Ibn Zubayr, the guardian of the holy site, the outer walls
of the mosque were raised, the ceiling was covered with teak and the column
capitals were painted in gold. His son, al-Walid (705-715), contributed to the
Mosque of al-Haram by replacing the wooden columns with marble ones and by
decorating its arches with mosaics. Later, Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur
(754-775) added mosaics to the columns. He also doubled the size of the
northern and western wings of the prayer hall and erected the minaret of Bab
al-Umra on the northwest corner. In 777, due to the growing number of pilgrims,
Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785) ordered the rebuilding of the mosque,
demolishing more houses around the Ka'ba. The new mosque enclosure centered on the Kaaba, measured 196 meters by 142
meters. It was built on a grid plan, with marble columns from Egypt and Syria,
decorated with gilt teak wooden inlay. Al-Mahdi also built three minarets crowned
with crenellations and placed above Bab al-Salam, Bab Ali and Bab al-Wadi of
the mosque.
Kaaba (Kaba/Ka'bah/Ka'ba)
The very first construction
of the Kaaba was done by Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son
Ishmeel as a house of worhip to one God. Allah (the Glorified and Exalted) says
in the Quran that this was the first house that was built for humanity to
worship Allah (the Glorified and Exalted). Soon after Prophet Ibrahim (peace be
upon him) died, people started filling the Kaaba with idols. It was not until
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) defeated the
idol-worshippers that the idols inside the Kaaba were destroyed.
One of the Five Pillars of
Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his
or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims
to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction. This
circumambulation (Tawaf), is also performed by pilgrims during Umrah.
Muslims around the world
face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing
the Qiblah.
As mentioned in this verse
in the Quran, "Verily, We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad's) face
towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a Qiblah (prayer direction)
that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of Masjid al-Haram.
And wheresoever you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that
direction." [2:144 ]
Source: http://www.mecca.net
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