Kaabas

Ka'abas also spelt Ka'bas (Arabic: الكعبات) are the plural term used to describe houses of worship mainly located in the Arabian Peninsula that are cubic in shape and resemble the Kaaba structure from Mecca. They are mainly dedicated to various gods from the Arabian pantheon, although the term has been used to describe some Christian churches built in a similar style in the Arabian Peninsula.

Architectural style

A typical Kaaba building is shaped like a cube or block and functions as a place for the devotees of a particular god or goddess to worship in.^[1]^[2] The name "Kaaba" was used by ancient Arabians to describe and label these sites because of their resemblance to the Kaaba at Mecca and the purpose of doing pilgrimage to them.^[1]^[2] They were located throughout the Arabian Peninsula, although some of them even appeared in Persia and the region of Mesopotamia.^[a]

List of historical Kaabas

Here is a list of some of these Kaaba structures that are mentioned in the writings of Muslim scholars and historians.

Arabian Peninsula

Ruins of the Kaaba Najran near the ruins of Al-Okhdood

Ruins of the Yemeni Kaaba in the city of Sana'a

Kaaba of Dushara, worshipped by the Nabataeans^[3]
Kaaba of Dhu-Ghabat, worshipped by the Banu Lihyan tribe^[3]
Kaaba of al-Lat, worshipped by the Thaqif tribe^[3]
Kaaba of Dhu al-Khalasa, worshipped by the Daws tribe^[4]^[5]
Kaaba Najran, worshipped by the inhabitants of Najran before their conversion to Christianity^[6]
Yemeni Kaaba, a church built by the Aksumite garrison in Yemen to rival the Kaaba of Mecca^[7]^[b]

Mesopotamia

Kaaba Sindad, used by the migrant Arabs as a place for celebrations to be held instead of a place of worship.^[6]

Persia

The Kaaba of Zoroaster, located in the Naqsh-e Rostam funeral complex

Kaaba of Zoroaster, a place of worship for Zoroastrians. It is unlikely to have been a temple; although it did reportedly contain statues of gods that were destroyed by Bardiya according to inscriptions and texts from the Achaemenid period.^[9]

Fate of the Kaabas

Most of the Kaabas dedicated to pagan gods in the Arabian Peninsula were destroyed after 630 CE on the orders of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who sent his Sahaba to demolish the sanctuaries.^[3]^[7] Among the destroyed Kaabas include that of the Kaaba of al-Lat that was worshipped by the Thaqif.^[7]

Conversion into other places of worship

Maududi reports that the Kaaba Najran in the ancient city of Al-Okhdood became a church after the Aksumites entered Najran as a relief for their Christian brethren who had been persecuted by Dhu Nuwas.^[10] The Kaaba Najran still survives today, although in ruins, and is part of an archaeological site.

The traveller Yaqut al-Hamawi mentions that the Kaaba of Dhu al-Khalasa was converted into a mosque.^[4] The site of the Kaaba of al-Lat is also now where the Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas Mosque stands.^[11]

Notes

^ See the below sources: Kitab al-Asnam and the Encyclopaedia Iranica.
^ Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri mentions that the Yemeni Kaaba was built by Abraha to rival the Kaaba of Mecca. This may indicate the Yemeni Kaaba is the same as the Al-Qalis church which served the exact same purpose.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b al-Hout, Mahmoud Salim (1955). Fi Tariq al-Mithulujia 'aynd al-'Arabi: Bahth Mashab wa' Immaq fi al-Mu'itaqadat wa' al-'Asatir al-'Arabiyat Qabla al-Islam. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar an-Nahar Publishing.
^ ^a ^b al-Hamdani (1940), Kitab al-Iklil; al-Juz' al-Thamin. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jawad `Ali (1955). Tarikh al-'Arab qabl al-Islam (in Arabic). Majma` al-Ilmi al-Iraqi.
^ ^a ^b al-Hamawi, Yaqut (1955). Kitāb Mu'jam al-Buldān. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār Ṣādir lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nash.
^ Muir, William (August 1878). The Life of the Holy Prophet. Kessinger Publishing. p. 219.
^ ^a ^b N.A. Faris (1952). "The Book Of Idols: Being A Translation From The Arabic Of The Kitāb al-Asnām By Hishām Ibn Al-Kalbi". Princeton Oriental Studies. 14. New Jersey: Princeton University Press: 23.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman (2008). The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Dar-us-Salam Publications. ISBN 978-9960899558
^ Ullendorff, Edward (1960). The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People (PDF) (2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
^ "ĀYADANA – Encyclopaedia Iranica". 18 August 2011.
^ Maulana, Maududi (2015). Tafheem-ul-Qur'an. Lahore, Pakistan: Idara Tarjuman ul Qur'an. ISBN 978-9697311224.
^ Abdel Salam, Yasser Ismail (April 2024). "Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas Mosque and the stages of the reconstruction in the period (808–1917 AD)". A New Vision. 25 (3): 149–211 – via Egyptian Knowledge Bank.

[3] See the below sources: Kitab al-Asnam and the Encyclopaedia Iranica.

[10] Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri mentions that the Yemeni Kaaba was built by Abraha to rival the Kaaba of Mecca. This may indicate the Yemeni Kaaba is the same as the Al-Qalis church which served the exact same purpose.^[8]

[:0-1] -Hout, Mahmoud Salim (1955). Fi Tariq al-Mithulujia 'aynd al-'Arabi: Bahth Mashab wa' Immaq fi al-Mu'itaqadat wa' al-'Asatir al-'Arabiyat Qabla al-Islam. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar an-Nahar Publishing.

[:1-2] -Hamdani (1940), Kitab al-Iklil; al-Juz' al-Thamin. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

[:2-4] Jawad `Ali (1955). Tarikh al-'Arab qabl al-Islam (in Arabic). Majma` al-Ilmi al-Iraqi.

[:5-5] -Hamawi, Yaqut (1955). Kitāb Mu'jam al-Buldān. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār Ṣādir lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nash.

[6] Muir, William (August 1878). The Life of the Holy Prophet. Kessinger Publishing. p. 219.

[:3-7] N.A. Faris (1952). "The Book Of Idols: Being A Translation From The Arabic Of The Kitāb al-Asnām By Hishām Ibn Al-Kalbi". Princeton Oriental Studies. 14. New Jersey: Princeton University Press: 23.

[:4-8] Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman (2008). The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Dar-us-Salam Publications. ISBN 978-9960899558

[9] Ullendorff, Edward (1960). The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People (PDF) (2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 September 2021.

[11] "ĀYADANA – Encyclopaedia Iranica". 18 August 2011.

[12] Maulana, Maududi (2015). Tafheem-ul-Qur'an. Lahore, Pakistan: Idara Tarjuman ul Qur'an. ISBN 978-9697311224.

[13] Abdel Salam, Yasser Ismail (April 2024). "Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas Mosque and the stages of the reconstruction in the period (808–1917 AD)". A New Vision. 25 (3): 149–211 – via Egyptian Knowledge Bank.

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