Al-Masjid al-Haram: Difference between revisions

'''Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām''' (Arabic: {{ia|المسجد الحرام}}) is the best-known and the most sacred [[mosque]] in the Islamic world, located in [[Mecca]] in [[Arabia]] in which the [[Ka'ba]], the [[qibla]] of Muslims, is located. In addition to the Ka'ba, there are other sacred buildings, objects, and places inside al-Masjid al-Haram, such as the [[Black Stone]] (al-Hajar al-Aswad), [[al-Multazam]], [[al-Mustajar]], [[al-Hatim]], and [[Hijr Isma'il]] all of which are of a high religious and spiritual place for Muslims. In Islamic jurisprudence ([[fiqh]]), al-Masjid al-Haram is subject to some special laws in addition to the general laws of [[shari'a]] applied to mosques. In [[Islam]], it is [[wajib|obligatory]] for every Muslim to travel to Mecca (for [[hajj]]) at least once in his or her lifetime if he or she is capable of doing so ([[istita'a]]). There are some rituals of hajj that should be done inside al-Masjid al-Haram.

Islamic sources, and in particular the [[Qur'an]], imply that al-Masjid al-Haram was called so by people of [[Hijaz]] even before the emergence of [[Islam]], and even though there used to be no buildings or walls around the [[Ka'ba]], the area in which the pilgrims circumambulate ([[tawaf]]) around the Ka'ba was known as al-Masjid al-Haram. The descriptive phrase "al-Masjid al-Haram" is repeatedly used in the Quran; for example in a [[verse]] stating that [[polytheist]]s should not be allowed to pilgrim the Ka'ba and perform [[hajj]]:  

                            "{{ia|وَ ما لَهُمْ أَلاَّ يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَ هُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرامِ}}"

"And why should Allah not punish them, when they have barred others from al-Masjid al-Haram (the sacred mosque) {{enote|([[Qur'an 8]]:34)}}

* The material of this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[:fa:مسجد الحرام|مسجد الحرام]]}} in Farsi WikiShia.