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The Dimensions of the Holy Ka'bah

An old photograp of the Holy Ka'bah

Historians have not come to an agreement as regards the dimensions of the Holy Ka'bah. It is a natural difference resulting from the differences of cubits. There is a difference between the hand cubit and the iron cubit. It is stated in a book entitled: `The History of the Glorified Kabah', that the hand cubit ranges between 46 to 50 centimetres, but the iron cubit is 56.5 centimetres. Later, it was determined that the hand cubit is 48 centimetres. Approaching the dimensions of the Holy Ka'bah in the present-day measure of the cubits does not give accurate information about these dimensions. This leads to confusion since the metre and its fractions are authorized measurements nowadays. The authorities in our country put an end to this confusion. The Hajj Research Centre at Umm UI Qura University in Makkah Al-Mukarramah conducted a study on the traffic in the circumambulation area. The study resulted in a detailed sketch of the Holy Ka'bah and Hijir Ismail. Its particulars are as follows:

1. From the corner of the Black Stone to the Shaini Corner, it is 11.68 metres, including the door of the Holy Ka'bah.
2. From the Yamani Corner to the Western Corner is 12.04 metres.
3. From the corner of the Black Stone to the Yamani Corner is 10.18 metres.
4. From the Shami Corner to the Western Corner is 9.90 metres.

According to the construction done by Abraham (peace be upon him), the height was 4.32 metres after the conversion to the metric unit. In the Quraish building, it was 8.64 metres high, and it was 12.95 metres in the reconstruction by Abdullah IN AI-Zubair (may Allah be pleased with them). The Caliph Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan retained the same height in the work done by Al-Hajjaj.

The recent dimention of the Holy Ka'bah

AI-Sheikh Hussain Basalama mentions in his book `The History of the Glorified Ka'bah', that, with the grace of Allah, he measured the Holy Ka bah in metres from within on Friday 23rd Dhul Qa da, 1352 H. It was 10.15 incites long from the middle of the Yemeni wall to the middle of the Shami wall, and 8.10 metres from the eastern to the middle of the western wall.

N.B. The standard length of the cubit is 48 centimetres.

Next : The Components of the Building Materials Used for the Construction