Islamic History Magazine - Masjid al-Haram: A small Courtyard around the Kaaba to the Largest Mosque

In this issue

The Grand Mosque in Mecca is the largest and holiest mosque in Islam. It is located in the center of Mecca city and west of Saudi Arabia. In the center of the Grand Mosque is the Kaaba, which according to Islamic beliefs was the first house built on earth for the worship of Allah.
According to Muslims, this place is the most sacred in the world and is their Qibla.

Since it was forbidden to kill or kill those who entered the premises of this mosque at the time of the conquest of Mecca, the mosque was named 'Masjid al-Haram'.

Mosque around the Kaaba

This mosque was built around the Kaaba. It started with a small courtyard around the Kaaba, meaning that initially, the total area of the mosque was the Kaaba and the small courtyard around it. However, over the centuries, this mosque has been expanded and rebuilt. Now it is the largest mosque in the world in terms of capacity, where three million people can gather simultaneously.

According to Islamic belief, the construction of this mosque began during the time of Prophet Abraham, who built the Grand Mosque with his son Prophet Ismail.