Kaaba - News, Updates, Images & Quotes

The Black Stone is believed to have been a gift from God to Adam when he and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden and later became a symbol of God’s covenant with Abraham, Ismail, and thus the Muslim community. Curiously, there is no record of this in ancient Jewish texts — a fact that would be consistent with Muhammad making up the story in order to connect his new religion with ancient Judaism. Muslims believe it was originally white, but went black by absorbing sins; it thus serves as a symbol of human degradation and need for God’s forgiveness.

— About.com; http://atheism.about.com/od/muslimholysitestexts/p/KaabaMecca.htm view

Measuring about 12 inches in diameter, the Black Stone is probably a meteorite, though no scientific tests have ever been done on it. When they walk around the Kaaba, Muslim pilgrims often try to reach out and touch or kiss the Black Stone. Today it is worn and cracked from centuries of pilgrimages and is only held together by a wide silver band. Muslims insist that the Black Stone is not an idol: prayers are directed to God alone. In practice, Muslim behavior appears to treat the black stone like an idol; such practice may be consistent with pre-Islamic, pagan ritual practices involving the Kaaba.

— About.com; http://atheism.about.com/od/muslimholysitestexts/p/KaabaMecca.htm view

According to Muslim traditions, Adam built the original Kaaba as a copy of and directly below God’s throne in heaven. This Kaaba was destroyed during the great Flood, leaving behind nothing but the foundation. The current Kaaba was rebuilt by Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Ishmael (Ismail). A gilded cage near the Kaaba holds a stone preserving a footprint of Abraham. There is no reference to the Kaaba in ancient Jews texts and these Muslim traditions are likely just an attempt to establish a more ancient pedigree for Islam — perhaps in part to help Muhammad convert the Jews, which ultimately failed anyway.

— About.com; http://atheism.about.com/od/muslimholysitestexts/p/KaabaMecca.htm view

The Kaaba is Islam’s holiest site and, as such, knowing more about it is critical to knowing more about Islam itself. The history of the Kaaba is intertwined with the origin of Islam because it appears that Muhammad used the Kaaba for political purposes, promoting new stories about the Kaaba's history in order to connect his new created religion with ancient Judaism. These efforts failed, but the stories remain and continue to feed the idea that Islam is the most valid religion. Knowing more about the Kaaba thus means knowing that not everything Muslims believe about Islam and Muhammad is true.

— About.com; http://atheism.about.com/od/muslimholysitestexts/p/KaabaMecca.htm view

The religious centre of Mecca was a large, black, granite stone called the Kaaba, which in some traditions is said to have fallen to earth from the Sirius star system.

— Mark Booth; The Secret History of the World view

The symbol that was used in the religious context for Saturn, was the square. A square, a square box. And, it was black, and that is why Mecca is a great square black box. The home of Mecca is a square, black box. Because it has to do with the symbol of Saturn, which is square. It has nothing to do with black, because of Negro, it has to do simply with assigned color to that particular planet.

— Jordan Maxwell; Matrix of Power view