Ka'ba

Ka'ba is the qibla toward which Muslims should face in prayer.

Kaʿba is a roofed, squared building inside al-Masjid al-Haram, with its exterior covered by grayish stones. Throughout the year, this building is covered with a black curtain with its top margin crocheted with golden strings. Height of Kaʿba is approximately 15 meters. The dimensions of Ka'ba are, the door side i.e. from al-Rukn al-Aswad to al-Rukn al-Iraqi 11.68 meters, from al-Rukn al-Iraqi to al-Rukn al-Shāmī where Hijr Ismaʿil stands 9.90 meters, from al-Rukn al-Shāmī to al-Rukn al-Yamanī 12.4 meters and from al-Rukn al-Yamanī to al-Rukn al-Aswad 10.18 meters.

Gate

The gate of the House is located in its eastern side and stands two meters high above the ground. It is closed during the year, and opens only when they want to wash the House from inside or when there is any high ranking visitor from Islamic countries.

Corners of Ka’bah

Each of the four corners (rukn) of the House has a special name, as: al-Rukn al-Iraqi (the corner toward Iraq) for the northern, al-Rukn al-Shāmī (the corner toward Syria) for the western, al-Rukn al-Yamanī (the corner toward Yemen) for the southern, and al-Rukn al-Aswad (the corner in which al-Hajar al-Aswad is placed) for the eastern corner. During 1996 CE reconstruction activities, its internal walls were repaired and new stones were incorporated on them.

Al-Hajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone)

Al-Hajar al-Aswad (the Black Stone), located in the eastern corner with an approximate height of 1.5 meter, is a black reddish, oval stone with red spots on it with a diameter of 30 centimeters framed in a silver casing.

Waterspout

The Waterspout is located on the roof of the Ka’bah, between al-Rukn al-Iraqi and al-Rukn al-Shāmī, above Hijr Isma’il. It is said that it was first installed by al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf to prevent concentration of rainwater on the roof. According to traditions, prayers under the waterspout of Ka’bah are granted.

Multazam

The part of the House wall between al-Rukn al-Aswad and the gate of Ka’bah is called Multazam owing to the pilgrims feel bound to pray at this point.

Mustajar

Mustajar is located beside al-Rukna al-Yamani and opposite to the gate while at the times when Ka’bah had two gates, its other gate was located at this place, which was removed later. It is said that this part of Ka’bah wall was split for Fatimah-bint-Asad to give birth to Imam Ali (a.s) who is thus called the Infant of Ka’bah.

Shazravan

A small protrusion around Ka’bah wall, except Hijr –Isma’il wing, is called Shazravan.