Who Raised the Foundations of the Ka'aba in Makkah?
من الذي رفع قواعد الكعبة في مكة؟
Ibrahim and his son Ismail, peace be upon them, raised the foundations of the Ka'aba. "And remember when Abraham raised the foundation of the House with Ishmael, both praying, 'Our Lord! Accept this from us. You are indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing'" (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:127).
إبراهيم وابنه إسماعيل عليهما السلام رفعا قواعد الكعبة. وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (سورة البقرة: 127).
1. Building in the Same Valley Where Zamzam Had Sprung Up | البناء في نفس الوادي الذي تفجرت فيه زمزم
By the time Ibrahim and Ismail raised the Ka'aba's foundations, Ismail was no longer the infant left in an empty valley. He had grown up around the well of Zamzam, covered in Which Prophet Had the Zamzam Water Gush at His Feet?, which had drawn other settlers to the valley over the years. Father and son built the Ka'aba together in the very place that had once been empty.
بحلول الوقت الذي رفع فيه إبراهيم وإسماعيل قواعد الكعبة، لم يعد إسماعيل ذلك الرضيع الذي تُرك في واد خال. كان قد نشأ حول بئر زمزم، الذي جذب مستوطنين آخرين إلى الوادي على مر السنين. بنى الأب وابنه الكعبة معا في المكان نفسه الذي كان خاليا في يوم من الأيام.
2. A Prayer of Humility, Not Certainty | دعاء التواضع لا اليقين
Despite building the very House of Allah under direct instruction, Ibrahim and Ismail did not assume their effort was automatically accepted. Their prayer, "Our Lord, accept this from us," is held up by scholars as a model of sincerity, that even the greatest acts of worship should be offered with humility and hope rather than certainty of one's own righteousness.
على الرغم من بنائهما بيت الله بأمر مباشر، لم يفترض إبراهيم وإسماعيل أن عملهما مقبول تلقائيا. ويُعد دعاؤهما "ربنا تقبل منا" نموذجا يستشهد به العلماء للإخلاص، بأن أعظم أعمال العبادة ينبغي أن تُقدَّم بتواضع ورجاء لا بيقين من صلاح النفس.
3. The House That Remains the Center of Prayer Today | البيت الذي ما زال قبلة المسلمين
The Ka'aba that Ibrahim and Ismail raised remains the Qibla toward which Muslims around the world face in prayer, and the center of the Hajj pilgrimage that re-enacts moments from this same family's history, including Hajar's search between Safa and Marwa. Few acts of construction in human history carry the same continuous religious significance.
لا تزال الكعبة التي رفعها إبراهيم وإسماعيل هي القبلة التي يتجه إليها المسلمون في جميع أنحاء العالم في صلاتهم، ومركز فريضة الحج التي تعيد إحياء لحظات من تاريخ هذه الأسرة نفسها، بما في ذلك سعي هاجر بين الصفا والمروة. قلة من أعمال البناء في تاريخ البشرية تحمل هذا القدر نفسه من الأهمية الدينية المستمرة.
Scholarly Insight: Surah Al-Baqarah 2:127 records Ibrahim and Ismail raising the Ka'aba's foundations together and their prayer that Allah accept the work. Read the fuller context in the tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Who built the Ka'aba's foundations?
Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail, as recorded in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:127.
What did Ibrahim and Ismail pray after building the Ka'aba?
They asked Allah to accept their work from them, a prayer of humility rather than certainty.
Is the Ka'aba built in the same valley as the Zamzam well?
Yes, the same valley where Zamzam sprang up beneath Ismail's feet as an infant.