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Lesson The virtues of Makkah and The Sacred Mosque
Virtues of Makkah Al-Mukarramah: This pure city has a great status and many virtues, including the following:
Abdullah bin Uday bin Al-Hamra, may God be pleased with him, said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ standing on Al-Hazura [which is a place in Makkah], and he said: «I swear by God that you are the best part of God’s earth and the part dearest to Him. Had I not been expelled from you I would not have gone out.» (At-Tirmidhi, 3925) In another narration, he said: «The most beloved of Allah’s land to me.» (Ibn Majah, 3108).
2. It is the place made sacred by Allah
Allah has forbidden His creation to shed blood therein, or to wrong anyone therein, to hunt its game, or to cut down any of its trees and grass. Allah says: ( [Say, O Muhammad], "I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this city, who made it sacred and to whom [belongs] all things. And I am commanded to be of the Muslims [those who submit to Allah].) [An-Naml:91]
The Prophet ﷺ said: «It was Allah and not the people, that made Makkah sacred; so it is not permissible for any person believing in Allah and the Last Day to shed blood in it or to cut a tree to reduce its size.» (Al-Bukhari, 104, Muslim, 1354)
The noble companion Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari said: "O Messenger of Allah! Which mosque was built first?' He said: «Al-Masjid Al-Haram (in Makkah).» I said: 'Then which?' He said: «then Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem).» I said: 'How many years between them?' He said: «Forty years, but the whole earth is a mosque for you, so pray wherever you are when the time for prayer comes in.» [(Al-Bukhari, 3366, Muslim, 520)
2. It houses the Kaaba:
The Kaaba is a cube-shaped building located at the center of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. It is the direction towards which Muslims everywhere turn in all their prayers. Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael built the Kaaba following Allah's command. It was rebuilt several times. The Quran says; (And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], "Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.") [Surah al-Baqarah, 127] Quraish were content to have the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ lay the Black Stone in its proper place when the Kaaba was rebuilt.
3. The multiplication of reward for prayers offered in it:
The Prophet ﷺ said: «One prayer in my mosque is better than one thousand prayers elsewhere, except the Sacred Mosque, and one prayer in the Sacred Mosque is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere.» (Ibn Majah, 1406, Ahmad, 14694)
4. Allah made the Hajj obligatory to His Sacred House for the one who can find a way there.
Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) proclaimed pilgrimage to the people as they came to perform it from all regions, and prophets (peace be upon them) as the Prophet ﷺ informed us. Regarding Allah’s command to Ibrahim in this respect, the Quran states: (And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass.) [Al-Hajj:27]
