So, for those of you curious, I can't guarantee that I'll get 100% of the details right, but let just one Muslim explain their view on why to you why this incredible photograph is a sight that literally stopped me in my tracks earlier today.
Obviously, my views are my own. I do not speak for any Muslim but myself. My knowledge is not flawless. As Muslims would say, الله أعلم - Allah knows best. Regardless, I'll try my best to explain why this photo matters in a few minutes of your time.
The black cube at the center is الكعبة, or transliterated "al Kabaa" (literally: "cube", although the word obviously precedes the English word "cube"). It is the holiest site in any denomination of Islam that I'm aware of.
The Kabaa is said to have been built by the prophet Abraham - yes, the Abraham that "Abrahamic" stems from, and his son Ismail. It is referred to as al-Bayt, or "the house" - the "of Allah" is implied. It is located in the city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.
Mecca is an important location to Islam for many reasons, most notably for the requirement of حَجّ (Hajj) - or pilgrimage. Any able-bodied Muslim that can afford the journey should perform Hajj at least once in their lives. Finally praying in Mecca is highly emotional for many.
Hajj is one of the "Pillars of Islam" - the most important requirements to life as a Muslim. Five of them are Shahada - the declaration of faith, the 1st thing a newborn hears & the last they aim to speak. Salat - prayer. Zakat - alms for the poor. Sawm - fasting, and the Hajj.
To facilitate the many Muslims coming for pilgrimage, the Great Mosque of Mecca was built - it's the structure you see surrounding the Kabaa. It is said to be able to facilitate more than a million worshippers. Especially for religious holidays and Hajj, it frequently does.
I've not been, but every story I've been told about Hajj is intense. It involves many rituals, across many days. One of the most notable is the طَوَاف (Tawaf) - which involves circling the Kabaa seven times, counterclockwise. This ritual is repeated multiple times during Hajj.
The second important thing about the Kabaa is actually something peculiar about every Mosque in the world. Try and see if you can spot the difference between these three mosques in Bangladesh, Turkey, & the UK, and this last photo from Mecca.
In the photos from around the world, people pray in one direction. In the final one, they pray towards a single point from a circle.
Actually: they're all praying towards a single point on Earth - and the direction of prayer is called the قبلة (Qibla, literally: direction).
Actually: they're all praying towards a single point on Earth - and the direction of prayer is called the قبلة (Qibla, literally: direction).
Every mosque in the world is built to face the Qibla, so that they might all pray towards it. Every Muslim prayer - individual or communal - if possible, should face the Qibla. And the Qibla *always* points towards the Kabaa, in Mecca.
That's why that circle happens in Mecca.
That's why that circle happens in Mecca.
Muslims tend to pray on mats or rugs, to not have their head touch the ground. These mats are treated carefully, as they're expected to be clean (as are the people praying). Many personal mats include a compass to help with establishing Qibla.
(Nowadays, there's an app for that)
(Nowadays, there's an app for that)
Either way: it would not be an exaggeration to say that Kabaa - and with it, Mecca - are the center-point of Islam. As such, the mosque is frequently filled with people, year round, but moreso during religious holidays, all trying to be as close to that point as possible.
There's 24/7 livestreams of it nowadays, but back in the day there were 24/7 satellite channels. The imams that lead prayer there are appreciated for their incredible faith & knowledge & emotion & voice & intonation for prayer recital and the Athan, the call to prayer.
When I was growing up, with my Muslim father, the Great Mosque of Mecca was frequently the channel on our TV when there wasn't soccer or news on TV. It was on for religious holidays. It was on late at night. When I visit him today, 30 years later, the same thing is true.
All this to explain just how incredible it is that I did not know the ground of the mosque is white.
My eyes have always had this enormous crowd of fellow Muslims to focus on. You don't notice there's a floor. You don't consider there is one.
Today, I know the floor is white.
My eyes have always had this enormous crowd of fellow Muslims to focus on. You don't notice there's a floor. You don't consider there is one.
Today, I know the floor is white.
Part of me feels like this is an apocalyptic event: Mecca would not be empty unless the world had ended. It simply does not seem like a plausible reality.
But the other part of me is incredibly hopeful seeing this image in response to the frankly scary reality of COVID-19.
But the other part of me is incredibly hopeful seeing this image in response to the frankly scary reality of COVID-19.
Because if this Kabaa, this center of Islam, can be empty in a world with almost 2 billion Muslims that would give anything to be able to pray there even just once in their lives, then surely it should be possible to practice social distancing where-ever we may live.
I hope that after COVID-19 is under control in the future, I will never have see the floor around the Kabaa again.
But today, I will take these floors as a reminder, to care for one another, and to not risk anothers' health for anything less important than Hajj is to Muslims.
But today, I will take these floors as a reminder, to care for one another, and to not risk anothers' health for anything less important than Hajj is to Muslims.
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