21°30N 39°54E, pop (2000e) 1 005 000. Islamic holy city in Mecca province, WC Saudi Arabia; 64 km/40 mi E of its Red Sea port, Jedda; birthplace of Mohammed and site of the Kaba, the chief shrine of Muslim pilgrimage; between 1·5 and 2 million pilgrims visit Mecca annually; city closed to non-Muslims; large bazaars, al-Harram Mosque with the Kaba and sacred Black Stone.
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Mecca Makkah al-Mukarramah مكة المكرمة |
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| Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | |
| Coordinates: 21°25′N 39°49′E | |
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| Province | Makkah |
| Prince | Abdulmajeed bin Abdul Aziz |
| Area | |
| - City | ? |
| - City (2004) | 1,294,168 |
Mecca IPA: [ˈmɛkə] or Makkah IPA: [ˈmækə] (in full: Makkah al-Mukarramah IPA: [(Arabic) mækːæ(t) ælmʊkarˑamæ];
The city is revered as the holiest site of Islam, and a pilgrimage to it is required of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to go, at least once in their lifetime.
Etymology
According to historian Ibn Khaldun, Mecca (often transliterated as "Makkah") was previously known as "Bakkah", although differences exist in identifying what the two terms encompass. Classical Muslim jurist an-Nakhai describes Bakkah as referring to the Kaaba, and Mecca as referring to the city; while az-Zuhri suggests that Bakkah refers to Masjid al-Haram with Mecca referring to the sacred precinct that is the entire city. Mecca is commonly referred to as "the Mother of Villages".
History
The Kaaba, a small cubical building now surrounded by the Sacred Mosque, is said by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and has been a religious center ever since.
Soon before the time of Muhammad, Mecca fell under the control of the Banu Quraish, which, according to traditions, directly descends from Khaidar (Qedar), the second son of Ismail. Historians generally agree that Mecca was a shrine and trading center for a number of generations before the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Some historians believe that Mecca was a waypoint on a land route from southern Arabia north to the Roman and Byzantine empires, and that Arabian and Indian Ocean spices were funneled through Mecca.
According to the Qur'ān, the city was attacked by an Ethiopian Aksumite army lead by Abraha in 570, the year of Muhammad's birth. Muhammad, a member of the Banu Quraish exiled from the city for preaching against paganism, returned to the city in triumph in 630 CE and after removing the cult images from the Kaaba, dedicated it as the center of Muslim pilgrimage. (For further information, see the main article, Conquest of Mecca.)
After the rise of the Islamic empire, Mecca attracted pilgrims from all over the extensive empire, as well as a year-round population of scholars, pious Muslims who wished to live close to the Kaaba, and local inhabitants who served the pilgrims. Due to the difficulty and expense of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage was small compared to the millions that swell Mecca today.
Mecca was never the capital of the Islamic empire; Mecca re-entered Islamic history briefly when it was held by Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, an early Muslim who opposed the Umayyad caliphs. The caliph Yazid I besieged Mecca in 683 CE. For centuries it was governed by the Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca, descendants of Muhammad by his grandson Hassan ibn Ali. Mecca was attacked and sacked by Ismaili Muslims in 930 CE and by Wahhabi Muslims in 1803. In 1926, the Sharifs of Mecca were overthrown by the Saudis, and Mecca was incorporated into Saudi Arabia.
Current status
The city has grown substantially in the last several decades, as the convenience and affordability of jet travel has increased the number of pilgrims participating in the Hajj.
Importance
For Muslims, a pilgrimage to Mecca called the Hajj is required as one of the Five Pillars of the faith.
The focal point of Mecca is the Ka'bah (or Kaaba).
The importance of Mecca for Muslims is inestimable. All Muslims, wherever they are on the earth, are required to pray five times a day in the direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca (located at 21°25′24″N, 39°49′24″E).
Non-Muslims and Mecca
Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca. A number of them pretended to be Muslims and entered the city of Mecca and then the Kaaba to experience the Hajj for themselves. The most famous account of a foreigner's journey to Mecca is A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Mecca and Al-Madina, written by Sir Richard Francis Burton.
Spelling
Mecca has long been the accepted English spelling for the holy city as a transliteration of the original Arabic. In an effort to distinguish between the metaphorical and official references to the holy site, the Saudi Arabian government in the 1980s began promoting a new transliteration, Makkah al-Mukarramah, meaning Mecca the Blessed, which is closer to the original Arabic. Some leading media organizations such as Reuters, the BBC and New York Times continue to use Mecca.
References to Mecca in ancient texts
Crone, in her 1987 book, gives a precis of various Greek and Roman texts thought by some to have referred to Mecca. She argues that there is no hard evidence linking those references to the South Arabian trade to Mecca.
In the Torah/Bible
Some people believe that references to Mecca exist in the texts that compose the Jewish Torah and the Christian Old Testament. Examples of possible references to Mecca include Psalm 84 and the wilderness of Paran, which is mentioned in many passages of the Bible .
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