Makkah Masjid al-Haram 360° View 4k

Makkah Masjid al-Haram
Masjid al-Haram (Arabic: ٱَلْمَسْجِدُ ٱلْحَرَامُ‎, romanized: al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, lit. 'The Sacred Mosque'), also known as the Sacred Mosque or the Great Mosque of Mecca,[5] is considered to be the most significant mosque in Islam. It encloses the vicinity of the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia. It is among the pilgrimage sites associated with the Hajj, which every Muslim must perform at least once in their lives if able. It is also the main site for the performance of ʿUmrah, the lesser pilgrimage that can be undertaken any time of the year. The rites of both pilgrimages include circumambulating the Kaaba within the mosque. The Great Mosque includes other important significant sites, such as the Black Stone, the Zamzam Well, Maqam Ibrahim, and the hills of Safa and Marwa.
As of 2024, the Great Mosque is both the largest mosque in the world, and the most expensive building in the world. It has undergone major renovations and expansions through the years. It has passed through the control of various caliphs, sultans and kings, and is now under the control of the King of Saudi Arabia who is titled the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
History - Further information: Islamic architecture
The Great Mosque contends with the Masjid As-Sahabah in the Eritrean city of Massawa and Quba Mosque in Medina as the oldest mosque. According to Islamic tradition, Islam as a religion precedes Muhammad, representing previous prophets such as Abraham. Abraham is credited by Muslims with having built the Kaaba in Mecca, and consequently its sanctuary, which according to the Muslim view is seen as the first mosque that ever existed. According to other scholars, Islam started during the lifetime of Muhammad in the 7th century CE,and so did architectural components such as the mosque. In that case, either the Mosque of the Companions or Quba Mosque would be the first mosque that was built in the history of Islam.
Era of Abraham and Ismael
According to Islamic doctrine in the Quran, Abraham together with his son Ismael raised the foundations of a house, which has been identified by commentators as the Kaaba. God showed Abraham the exact site which was previously built by Adam, very near to what is now the Well of Zamzam, where Abraham and Ishmael began work on the construction of the Kaaba.[citation needed] After Abraham had built the Kaaba, an angel brought to him the Black Stone, a celestial stone that, according to tradition, had fallen from Heaven on the nearby hill Abu Qubays.[citation needed] The Black Stone is believed by Islamic scholars to be the only remnant of the original structure made by Abraham.
After placing the Black Stone in the Eastern corner of the Kaaba, Abraham received a revelation, in which God told the aged prophet that he should now go and proclaim the pilgrimage to mankind, so that men may come both from Arabia and from lands far away, on camel and on foot.
Era of Muhammad
Upon Muhammad's victorious return to Mecca in 630 CE, he broke the idols in and around the Kaaba,[25] similar to what, according to the Quran, Abraham did in his homeland. Thus ended polytheistic use of the Kaaba, and began monotheistic rule over it and its sanctuary.
List of former and current Imams
Former Imams
Abdullah Al-Khulaifi (Arabic: عَبْد ٱلله ٱلْخُلَيْفِي), appointed Imam and Khateeb from 1953 till his death in 1993.
Ahmad Khatib (Arabic: أَحْمَد خَطِيْب‎), Islamic Scholar from Indonesia
Ali bin Abdullah Jaber (Arabic: عَلِى بِن عَبْدُ ٱلله جَابِر‎), Imam from 1981 to 1983, guest Imam for Ramadhan 1986-1989
Umar Al-Subayyil (Arabic: عُمَر ٱلسُّبَيِّل‎), Imam and Khateeb from 1993 until 2002, died in 2002
Mohammad Al Subail (Arabic: مُحَمَّد ٱلسُّبَيِّل‎), died in 2012
Abdullah Al-Harazi (Arabic: عَبْد ٱلله الْحَرَازِي‎), former Chairman of Saudi Majlis al-Shura
Ali bin Abdur-Rahman Al-Huthaify (Arabic: عَلِي بِن عَبْدُ ٱلرَّحۡمٰن ٱلْحُذَيْفِي‎), guest Imam for Ramadhan 1981, 1985-1986, 1988-1991, now Chief Imam of The Prophet's Mosque
Salah ibn Muhammad Al-Budair (Arabic: صَلَاح ابْن مُحَمَّد ٱلْبُدَيْر‎), led Taraweeh in Ramadan 1426 (2005) and 1427 (2006), now Deputy Chief Imam of The Prophet's Mosque
Adil al-Kalbani[50] (Arabic: عَادِل ٱلْكَلْبَانِي‎)
Saleh Al-Talib (suspended)
Khalid al Ghamdi He retired as Imam and Khateeb of Masjid Al Haram in September 2018.
Saud Al-Shuraim, appointed Imam and Khateeb in 1412 (1992) and now resigned in 2022.
Current Imams
Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, appointed Imam and Khateeb in 1984.[51]
Salih bin Abdullah al Humaid, appointed Imam and Khateeb in 1984.
Usama Abdul Aziz Al-Khayyat, appointed Imam and Khateeb in 1998.
Abdullah Awad Al Juhany, appointed Imam in 2007 and Khateeb in 2019.
Mahir Al-Muayqali, appointed Imam in 2007, and Khateeb in 2016.
Yasser Al-Dosari, appointed Imam in 2014.
Bandar Baleelah, appointed Imam in 2013, and Khateeb in 2019.
Faisal Jameel Ghazzawi, appointed Imam and Khateeb in 2008.