Quran Garden

Session 424

Chapter 3

Verse 96

A continuation

The first House of worship to be established for humankind was the one at Bacca. It is a blessed place and a source of guidance for the whole worlds. (Chapter 3: Verse 96)

Imam Ali, may God be pleased with him, said that a man came to our beloved Muhammad and asked: "Is this, the Ka'aba, the first House of God?"  He, peace be upon him, explained that there were many Houses of God before that, but it is the first House established for humankind.   

Prophet Muhammad clarified that God made the Ka'aba the first House of worship for humans, but for the creations before humans, there were surely many Houses of God which we are not aware of.  This is also consistent with geological discoveries.  When we hear of fossil discoveries dating back millions of years, some people question: how can it be possible when we Adam is much more recent?  We answer that you are right.  The family tree of all our beloved prophets and messengers tells us that, approximately, there were five generations to reach Idris from Adam, then three generations to Noah, eleven to Abraham, and about thirty to Muhammad, peace be upon them all.  This means that our human experience is measured in the tens of thousands of years, not millions. 

But who said that Adam was the first creature to inhabit the earth? Religion did not say that! Quite the opposite.  God says that Adam was the first of the human race, but there were many creations before.  Listen to the following verses,

Do you not see that God has created the heavens and the earth with ultimate reason? If He so wills He could take you away from the earth and raise a new creation. (14:19)

And in another chapter,

And the Jinn We created before, from the fire of scorching wind. (15:27)

Lastly,

When your Lord said to the angels, "I am putting a successor on the earth," they said, "Why put on it one who will cause corruption and shed blood when we glorify You with praise and exault You?" He said, "I know what you do not know." (2:30)

It is clear that the angles had observed other creations, before Adam, that caused corruption and bloodshed.  We know that, at a minimum, the Jinn were created before us.  Thus, there is no room for debate that there were many Houses of God before the Ka'aba, and that the Ka'aba was the first House of worship built for human beings. 

Had God wanted to teach us that the Ka'aba is the very first House on earth, he would have said, "The first House of worship to be established on earth was the one at Bacca," but He did not.  Instead, God informed us that "The first House of worship to be established for humankind was the one at Bacca."   

But what does 'first' mean? Is it the beginning? And so there must be a second, a third and a last?  No, some things have a beginning but do not have an end.  For example, the number one is first, but you can count from there to infinity and beyond.  Paradise has an entrance but has no ending in space or time.   

How about the phrase "established for humankind"?  This is our clue for how old the Ka'aba is!  Allah specified that His House was established for humans, and since our beloved Adam is a human, he had the same heavenly rights as all other humans.  Allah would not deprive him or his family of the House of God.  Thus, we understand that the Ka'aba must have existed before Adam.   

Some people are quick to point out that prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, was the one who built the Ka'aba.  They recite verses such as the following as proof,

As Abraham raised the foundations of the House with Ishmael: "Our Lord, accept it from us! Indeed You are the All-hearing, the All-knowing." (2:127)

            We answer that such understanding is incorrect.  What does it mean to raise a foundation? To 'raise' is to elevate or to move something to a higher position.  All architectural structures have specific lengths, widths, and heights.  Abraham was commanded to raise the foundation, suggesting that the length and width were already established, and all he had to do was increase the third dimension: height.   In other words, the House existed before Abraham, but its structure was lost -probably after the flood in Noah's time-.  Thus, God wanted it rebuilt so its location could be seen by people again. 

Another proof are the many extensions and levels that have been added to the Sacred House since.  If you were blessed with a visit to Mecca and you prayed on the top level of the Haram, you know that you did not prostrate towards the Ka'aba directly because it was below you.  However, your prayer was complete because all you have to do is face the direction of the foundation of the Ka'aba; the height does not matter.  The Ka'ba is not the House; rather, it is the landmark that guides us to the location of the House of God. 

Perhaps the strongest evidence that the Sacred House existed before Abraham and Ishmael raised can be found in the following verse narrating the supplication of Prophet Abraham when He left his wife and, then infant, son Ishmael behind,

Our Lord, I left some of my offspring in an uncultivated valley, close to Your Sacred House, Lord, so that they may keep up the prayer. Make people's hearts turn to them, and provide them with produce, so that they may be thankful. (14:37)

            Clearly, this supplication was made when Ishmael was an infant, many years before helping his Dad raise the foundation of the Ka'ba.  Yet, in his prayer, Abraham mentioned that he left his wife and son near the Sacred House of God.  God says,

The first House of worship to be established for humankind was the one at Bacca. It is a blessed place and a source of guidance for the whole worlds. (Chapter 3: Verse 96)