great mosque

great mosque

The forbidden temple, also known as the Great Mosque of Mecca, is a world-famous mosque and the largest holy temple of Islam. It was built in 630 ad. it is a place that Muslims all over the world yearn for and a holy place for pilgrimage to Mecca.

According to the Koran, murder, robbery and fighting are forbidden here, so it is also called Forbidden temple.

Historical evolution

Renovation and reconstruction

The king of Saudi Arabia has ordered the establishment of a technical leading group for the latest expansion project of Mecca forbidden temple. On the existing basis, the scale of the forbidden temple will continue to expand, which can increase the number of worshippers by 500000. Mecca forbidden temple is located in the center of Mecca holy city, surrounded by high-rise buildings, business district and traffic roads. The expansion of the forbidden temple will inevitably affect the large-scale reconstruction inside and outside the city, which is a huge project.

In the 20th century, Mecca Temple experienced two major expansions, the first was in 1925, when King Abdullah Aziz was in power, and the second was in 1989, when King faht was in power. It has expanded from a small temple that can only accommodate hundreds of thousands of people to the largest mosque in the world with millions of people worshiping today. The inner area of the temple is 356000 square meters.

For decades, small-scale interior decoration and technical renovation have been carried out every year. For example, in 2007, before the beginning of Zhengchao, air-conditioning equipment was installed in the temple, making the worshippers feel comfortable and healthy.

Related reports

"The king ordered the expansion of Mecca forbidden temple and immediately set up a special engineering committee to assess the value of the land around the forbidden temple and study the policy of expropriation and expansion of land," said mitebaziz, Minister of urban and rural planning of Saudi Arabia, at a news conference This expansion plan will also re plan the municipal traffic in Mecca and several pedestrian tunnels in the mountains outside the city. It is a comprehensive project. In the two urban areas of shanmia and subeko in Mecca, one thousand buildings will be demolished, with a purchase value of up to six billion Riyals (Sha dollars). Moreover, it is stipulated that the demolition must be completed within 60 days after the plan is determined, and then the construction of new projects will begin. For the convenience of pedestrians, on the hillside near the back of the forbidden temple, a pedestrian tunnel must be opened to the living area behind the mountain.

The elders of the Shura meeting in Saudi Arabia put forward several supplementary opinions on the preliminary plan for the expansion of the forbidden temple. For example, there is 40000 square meters of peripheral space around the forbidden temple. When the number of people in the temple is crowded, the space can accommodate 100000 people for worship. In order to make it convenient for pilgrims to climb the high-rise hall, automatic elevators were added to the north of the forbidden temple, and cool awnings were built on the open-air worship space on the roof to keep worshippers cool in the sunny day. Eighteen doors were added around the forbidden temple to facilitate the flow of people in and out. Three green domes were added to the roof and 500 marble columns were added between the floors.

The mosque receives more than 10 million Muslims from all over the world every year. Under the protection of the Saudi government, the mosque continues to expand and add new facilities, becoming the pride of Muslims all over the world. The expansion is estimated to cost 40 billion Riyals (equivalent to more than 10 billion US dollars), all invested by the Saudi government.

On Saturday, January 5, Mecca municipal government held a press conference to announce the information of the expansion project of the forbidden temple to the world. "This is the largest expansion project of Mecca forbidden temple, which will change the face of Mecca City," said Mayor Osama al Barr He said that the key parts of the expansion are in the north and northwest of the forbidden temple. The main purpose is to increase the space for worship and improve the external environment of the temple.

The engineering technical supervision team, which is composed of world-class construction experts hired by Saudi government, has been working until the perfect completion date of all projects. All construction and new projects must ensure safety first.

Scale system

Temple size

The forbidden temple is located in the center of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, with a grand scale. It has been expanded and repaired, especially in the Saudi era, with a total area of 180000 square meters, which can accommodate 500000 Muslims to worship at the same time.

There are 25 well carved gates and seven 92 meter high minarets in the forbidden temple. There are six small gates. A 24 meter high wall connects the gate and the minaret. Six towers stand on both sides of the three main gates, and the other tower is adjacent to the dome with a diameter of 35 meters. These seven towers surround the holy temple and symbolize the days of the week. They are towering and typical of Islamic style.

After centuries of expansion and repair, the wall of the temple is 166 meters long in the northwest, 170 meters long in the southeast, 110 meters in the northeast and 111 meters in the southwest. The whole building, walls, domes, steps and passageways of the forbidden temple are paved with pure white marble, which is dazzling and magnificent in the scorching sun. At night, thousands of mercury lamps shine on the forbidden temple as if it were day, which is particularly solemn and solemn.

Main buildings

A little south of the center of the forbidden Temple Square is the towering cubic temple. Kelbai, which means "square house". The three pillars stand upright in the temple. On the northeast side of the temple, there are two golden gates, 3 meters high and 2 meters wide, about 2 meters above the ground. They are made of 286 kilograms of pure gold. The temple, also known as Tianfang, is covered with black silk curtains that come down from the sky all the year round. Sutras are embroidered on the waist of the curtains and on the door curtains with gold and silver threads. The curtains are replaced once a year. This tradition has lasted for more than 1300 years. On the wall one and a half meters high in the southeast corner of the Tianfang, there is a 30 cm long meteorite inlaid with a silver frame, namely the famous basalt, which is brown and slightly red. It is regarded as a sacred object by Muslims. It is said that it is also a relic of Ibrahim. When pilgrims walk around the Tianfang anticlockwise, they all try to kiss or raise their hands to show respect. Facing the Blackstone to the east of the Tianfang, there is a small pavilion with four pillars and a square copper fence. In the pavilion, there are footprints left by Ibrahim when he built the Tianfang.

Every December of the Islamic calendar, devout Muslims from all over the world trudge to the Great Mosque of Mecca to pay homage to the Holy Land and sacred stones and perform their religious duties.

As the first temple of Islam, kelbai temple is the center of Muslim pilgrimage all over the world. The temple of kelbai is in the middle of the forbidden Temple Square. Kelbai is a transliteration of Arabic, which means "square house". The temple is also called the heavenly house (the house of Allah). The temple is built of gray rock on the outskirts of Mecca. The height of the temple is more than 14 meters. The four corners of the temple are called Iraq corner, Syria corner, Yemen corner and black corner according to the direction. The gate is made of gold, located in the northeast corner, 3 meters high and 2 meters wide, about 2 meters above the ground. The hall is paved with marble and supported by three pillars. The hall is paved with marble and supported by three pillars. The temple is covered with black silk curtains from top to bottom all the year round. The middle waist of the curtain and the door curtain are embroidered with the Koran scriptures with gold and silver thread. The curtains are replaced every year. It is said that this tradition has lasted for more than 1300 years since the founding of Islam. Every year, the temple is ceremoniously washed twice in July and December of the Islamic calendar. When washing, the king of Saudi Arabia also attends in person. The washed water is collected by pilgrims from all countries participating in the grand ceremony, put in some containers and given to famous officials. On the 1.5-meter-high wall in the southeast corner of the Tianfang, there is a 30 cm long brown meteorite with reddish color, namely the famous black stone, or basaltic stone, which is regarded as a deity by Muslims. It is said that it was left by the prophet Ibrahim.

Walking around the Xuanshi is also a necessary ritual in Pilgrimage activities. Groups of pilgrims gather together to form a stream of people. They walk around kelbai and Xuanshi anticlockwise for seven times. When people pass the stone, they try to kiss or raise their hands to show respect. To the east of the Tianfang, facing the Xuanshi, there is a small pavilion with four pillars and a round top, surrounded by square copper fences. It is said that there is a place where Ibrahim left his footprints when he built the Tianfang. In the Grand Mosque of Mecca, there is an ancient well, 24 meters deep, cool and sweet. It is called "seeping spring". Muslims regard it as holy water and believe that there are blessings in the spring. When pilgrims return, they often bring some holy water in large bottles and small jars back to their hometown as precious gifts to relatives and friends.

Myths and legends

The Great Mosque of Mecca, the holy land of Muslims.

Ibrahim is a legendary figure in Islam. He is known as "Allah's best friend".

It is said that at that time, Ibrahim's father and his people worshipped idols. In order to make them believe in Allah, Ibrahim asked Allah to show the God who revived the rotten things. Allah asked Ibrahim to capture four birds, dismember them one by one, and then put them on the four peaks. When Ibrahim called out a few times, all parts of the bird automatically gathered and returned to their original shape, and the bird spread its wings again in the blue sky.

Although people were shocked by this scene, they still worshipped their idols when they returned home.

In a hurry, Ibrahim ran to the temple and smashed all the jade, wood and clay idols. The people were so angry that they caught him and tied him up with thick ropes. Then they set off a huge fire in the square and threw Ibrahim into the fire to make him accept the most severe punishment.

Ibrahim jumped out of the fire and continued to preach the teachings of Islam.

Chinese PinYin : Da Qing Zhen Si