Reason #59: What makes the Kabah special?

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As you may know, it is mandatory for Muslims to pray the 5 daily prayers. What you may not know is that they all have to pray towards a particular direction (Qibla) and that it to this very house, the Kabah. Located in the heart of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, this house is where the nearly 2 billions people are to pray towards.

So what makes the Kabah special? Is it alive? Are the bricks holy? Has this house stayed the same since its inception? Did God send it down from the heavens? No, no, no, and no!

And perhaps that’s the wisdom behind why God chose a house Muslim are to pray towards. See, the core tenant of Islam is monotheism and Islam emphasizes that you lose the concept of one God, you lose your claim of being a Muslim and a true worshipper of God.

History has sadly shown us that without guidance, mankind falls for the most obvious routes for polytheism. You create a statue to commemorate a pious person and generations later, people will attribute divinity to him. You preserve a 1000 year old tree and people will think it’s holy.

Thus, that is perhaps why we have a house. How can one worship a house? If you do, which part of the house? With the bricks and coverings change over time, how can you?

However, you cannot just rely on people. Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) made sure his followers are not superficial people and wanted to keep things in perspective. As one of his companions, Abdullah ibn Umar رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ reported:

I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, circling around the Kabah and saying, “How pure you are and how pure is your fragrance! How great you are and how great is your sanctity! By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity of the believer is greater to Allah than your sanctity, in his wealth, his life, and to assume nothing of him but good.”1

  1. Sunan Ibn Mājah 3932. Grade: Sahih li ghayrihi (authentic due to external evidence) according to Al-Albani

Reason #58: Converts to Islam come from all walks of life

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When you hear the stories of people who converted to Islam and analyze their backgrounds, you will come to a profound conclusion – that they come from all walks of life.

There are former Christians, Jewish people, Hindus, and Buddhists who converted to Islam.

Atheists, agnostics, and former Muslims as well.

So have Islamophobes!

Kids who haven’t reached puberty and people in their 80s and 90s.

Converts also come from all ethnicities. You can find stories of Native Americans converting. People in remote villages in the middle of nowhere. Israelis who grew up in Israel. Who would’ve guessed?

As Allah told Prophet Muhammad, and consequently anyone who reads the Qur’an,

You surely cannot guide whoever you like ‘O Prophet’, but it is Allah Who guides whoever He wills, and He knows best who are ‘fit to be’ guided.

[Qur’an 28:56]

Guidance is in the Hands of God, not us. We have no idea who will become Muslim, nor who will leave it.

But the Qur’an also teaches that those who are sincere, humble, and look for guidance, they will find it. And that’s the only similarity you will find. You won’t it in their background or ethnicity, but you will in their personalities. Such people tend to be humbled by the truth, willing to accept it regardless of what it may be. So the question we have to have ourselves – how humble are we really?