The City of Mecca
The city of Mecca has been an important commercial and social center for the people of the Arabian Peninsula for thousands of years. It is situated in the Valley of Abraham, an inland valley surrounded by a rocky, rugged landscape.
In English, the word “mecca” has become a common noun that is used to describe a center of activity, or a place that many people visit or hope to visit. For example, you may hear people say, “Hawaii is a mecca for surfers” or “New York City is a mecca for tourists.”
Mecca and the Prophet Abraham
In Arabic, Mecca means “the place of the drinking cup.” This name comes from the story of the Prophet Abraham. Abraham was unable to have children with his wife Sarah, so he married an Egyptian woman named Hajar. After the birth of Abraham and Hajar's son, Ishmael, God ordered Abraham to take his new family to a valley and leave them there. When Hajar saw Abraham leaving, she asked him, “Did God give you a command to leave us here alone?” When he answered in the affirmative, she reportedly said, “Then God will not abandon us.”
Hajar and her son struggled through hunger and thirst, and Hajar called upon God to help them. Muslims believe that it was then that the spring of Zamzam miraculously appeared to nourish the child and his mother. From that time, the place became known as Mecca. Today, the spring of Zamzam still nourishes the city.
It is believed that Abraham later returned to visit Ishmael, and together they built a stone building dedicated to the worship of the One True God. This building is today known as the Ka'aba (“the cube”). In honor of the Prophet Abraham, Mecca has long been a center of worship and pilgrimage. It was a simple stone structure, a hollow cube with a small doorway on one side.
Mecca was once known as the city of Bakka. The Qur'an makes reference to the ancient name of the city. “The most important shrine established for people is the one in Bakka, a blessed beacon for all people. In it are clear signs — the station of Abraham. Anyone who enters it shall be granted safe passage.” (Qur'an 3:96). The name Bakka means “lacking water.”
Pilgrimage
Later generations abandoned or modified the faith of Abraham. Abraham's monotheistic teachings were muddied by the addition of various pagan elements, and the Bedouin peoples placed their idols inside the Ka'aba for safekeeping.
Entire clans came to worship and make offerings. They would clap their hands and dance in celebration of the gods. Because they felt it was not right to worship the gods in the same clothes they wore during their daily lives, they would remove them and dance around in the nude. Merchants traveled through for trade fairs and for pilgrimage celebrations to honor the idols.
The Year of the Elephant
During the latter part of the sixth century, Mecca's southern neighbor, Yemen, was under the rule of an Ethiopian governor, Abraha (a.k.a. Abramos, 530–570
Abraha's army marched on Mecca, supported by a “cavalry” of elephants, an animal the Arabs had never seen before. As he approached Mecca, Abraha sent word that he did not want to hurt anyone; he wanted only to destroy the Ka'aba. If anyone resisted, however, they would be crushed.
One of the leaders of Mecca, Abdul-Muttalib, was a monotheist who had not let his faith be corrupted by idolatry. He sent back the following response: “By God, we do not want to fight you. So far as this House is concerned, it is the House of God. If God wants to save His House, He will save it. And if He leaves it unprotected, no one can save it.”
The great cathedral built by Abraha was known as Al-Qulais. The name comes from the transliteration into Arabic of the Greek word ekklesia, meaning “church.” The cathedral no longer stands, but its former location near the old market in Yemen's capital city is still known as Al-Qulais.
When Abraha's army moved on Mecca, Abdul-Muttalib told the Meccans to leave the city and seek refuge in the surrounding hills. He and a few other tribal elders remained in the precincts of the Ka'aba at first, praying for God to protect His House. Then they went to the hills to wait. Arab tradition holds that as Abraha's army approached the Ka'aba to destroy it, a flock of small birds flew over them, dropping pebbles from their beaks and claws. The stones destroyed the army and injured Abraha himself; he died on his retreat back to Yemen. Abdul-Muttalib later helped negotiate a peace treaty between the two neighboring states.
It was shortly after this incident, which became known as the Year of the Elephant (570
