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The
Great
Mosque
of
Mecca,also
known
as
al-Masjid
al-Ḥarām
(Arabic:
اَلْمَسْجِدُ
ٱلْحَرَامُ,
romanized:
al-Masjid
al-Ḥarām,
lit.
'The
Sacred
Mosque'),[6]
is
a
mosque
that
surrounds
the
Kaaba
in
Mecca,
in
the
Makkah
Province
of
Saudi
Arabia.
It
is
a
site
of
pilgrimage
in
the
Hajj,
which
every
Muslim
must
do
at
least
once
in
their
lives
if
able,
and
is
also
the
main
phase
for
the
ʿUmrah,
the
lesser
pilgrimage
that
can
be
undertaken
any
time
of
the
year.
The
rites
of
both
pilgrimages
include
circumambulating
the
Kaaba
within
the
mosque.
The
Great
Mosque
includes
other
important
significant
sites,
including
the
Black
Stone,
the
Zamzam
Well,
Maqam
Ibrahim,
and
the
hills
of
Safa
and
Marwa.
As
of
August
2020,
the
Great
Mosque
is
the
largest
mosque
and
the
eighth
largest
building
in
the
world.
The
Great
Mosque
has
undergone
major
renovations
and
expansions
through
the
years.It
has
passed
through
the
control
of
various
caliphs,
sultans
and
kings,
and
is
now
under
the
control
of
the
King
of
Saudi
Arabia
who
is
titled
the
Custodian
of
the
Two
Holy
Mosques.
The
Great
Mosque
contends
with
the
Mosque
of
the
Companions
in
the
Eritrean
city
of
Massawa[10]
and
Quba
Mosque
in
Medina
as
the
oldest
mosque.According
to
one
set
of
views,
Islam
as
a
religion
preceded
Prophet
Muhammad,
representing
previous
prophets
such
as
Abraham.[15]
Abraham
is
credited
with
having
built
the
Kaaba
in
Mecca,
and
consequently
its
sanctuary,
which
according
to
this
view
is
seen
as
the
first
mosque[16]
that
ever
existed.
According
to
another
set
of
views,
Islam
started
during
the
lifetime
of
Prophet
Muhammad
in
the
7th
century
CE,and
so
did
architectural
components
such
as
the
mosque.
In
that
case,
either
the
Mosque
of
the
Companions[21]
or
Quba
Mosque
would
be
the
first
mosque
that
was
built
in
the
history
of
Islam.
Era
of
Abraham
and
Ishmael Edit
According
to
the
Quran,
Abraham
together
with
his
son
Ishmael
raised
the
foundations
of
a
house,which
has
been
identified
by
commentators[by
whom?]
as
the
Kaaba.
God
showed
Abraham
the
exact
site,
very
near
to
what
is
now
the
Well
of
Zamzam,
where
Abraham
and
Ishmael
began
work
on
the
construction
of
the
Kaaba.
After
Abraham
had
built
the
Kaaba,
an
angel
brought
to
him
the
Black
Stone,
a
celestial
stone
that,
according
to
tradition,
had
fallen
from
Heaven
on
the
nearby
hill
Abu
Qubays.
The
Black
Stone
is
believed[by
whom?]
to
be
the
only
remnant
of
the
original
structure
made
by
Abraham.
After
placing
the
Black
Stone
in
the
Eastern
corner
of
the
Kaaba,
Abraham
received
a
revelation,
in
which
God
told
the
aged
prophet
that
he
should
now
go
and
proclaim
the
pilgrimage
to
mankind,
so
that
men
may
come
both
from
Arabia
and
from
lands
far
away,
on
camel
and
on
foot.
Era
of
Muhammad
Upon
Muhammad's
victorious
return
to
Mecca
in
630
CE,
he
and
his
cousin,
Ali
Ibn
Abi
Talib,
broke
the
idols
in
and
around
the
Kaaba,[24][better
source
needed]
similar
to
what,
according
to
the
Quran,
Abraham
did
in
his
homeland.[citation
needed]
Thus
ended
polytheistic
use
of
the
Kaaba,
and
began
monotheistic
rule
over
it
and
its
sanctuary.
Umayyad
era
The
first
major
renovation
to
the
mosque
took
place
in
692
on
the
orders
of
Abd
al-Malik
ibn
Marwan.Before
this
renovation,
which
included
the
mosque's
outer
walls
being
raised
and
decoration
added
to
the
ceiling,
the
mosque
was
a
small
open
area
with
the
Kaaba
at
the
center.
By
the
end
of
the
8th
century,
the
mosque's
old
wooden
columns
had
been
replaced
with
marble
columns
and
the
wings
of
the
prayer
hall
had
been
extended
on
both
sides
along
with
the
addition
of
a
minaret
on
the
orders
of
Al-Walid
I.The
spread
of
Islam
in
the
Middle
East
and
the
influx
of
pilgrims
required
an
almost
complete
rebuilding
of
the
site
which
included
adding
more
marble
and
three
more
minarets.
Ottoman
era
In
1570,
Sultan
Selim
II
commissioned
the
chief
architect
Mimar
Sinan
to
renovate
the
mosque.
This
renovation
resulted
in
the
replacement
of
the
flat
roof
with
domes
decorated
with
calligraphy
internally,
and
the
placement
of
new
support
columns
which
are
acknowledged
as
the
earliest
architectural
features
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