Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred Mosque)
The holiest mosque in Islam, located in Mecca, which surrounds the Kaaba.
Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred Mosque) in Mecca is the holiest mosque and the holiest place in Islam. It surrounds the Kaaba, toward which Muslims face in prayer five times daily. The mosque is the destination for Hajj and Umrah and can accommodate over two million worshippers.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "One prayer in Masjid al-Haram is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere" (Sunan Ibn Majah). This enormous reward makes prayer in Masjid al-Haram the most valuable prayer a Muslim can perform.
The mosque contains several sacred sites: the Kaaba, al-Hajar al-Aswad (the Black Stone), Maqam Ibrahim (Abraham's Station), the Zamzam well, Safa and Marwa. The qibla direction emanates from the Kaaba, and all of the world's mosques are oriented toward this sacred house. Allah says in the Quran: "The first house established for the people is the one at Bakkah — blessed and a guidance for all the worlds" (3:96).
Related terms
Waqt (Prayer Time)
The specific time interval within which a prayer must be performed.
Jannah (Paradise)
The eternal paradise, the reward for faith and good deeds.
Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence)
Islamic legal theory that defines the methods for deriving legal rules from the sacred sources.
Salat al-Ayat (Prayer of the Signs)
An obligatory prayer performed during natural phenomena such as solar and lunar eclipses.
Mutahhirat (Purifying Agents)
The agents and methods that purify impure things according to Shia fiqh.
Salat al-Ghufaylah (Prayer Between Maghrib and Isha)
A specially recommended prayer prayed between Maghrib and Isha in Shia Islam.