Great
Mosque
The
Great Mosque in Makkah is the most sacred places in Islam
in addition to the Holy Mosque in Jerusalem. The Holy Mosque
in Makkah houses the Ka'ba,, which Allah commanded Prophet
Abraham and his son, Ishmael to build four thousand year ago.
After the peaceful
re-conquest of Makkah in the year 630 AD by Prophet Muhammad
p.b.u.h., it was consisted of an open circular plaza less
than 2,000 square meters. In 638, after flash floods had damaged
the Holy Mosque, Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khatab repaired the damage
and enclosed the courtyard, extending the area by 500 square
meters.
In 646, Caliph
Uthman Bin Affan further added another 1,700 square meters.
It was once again enlarged by 3,300 square meter in 684 by
Abdullah Bin Al-Zubair. In 754, 5,300 square meter were added
by Abu Ja'far Al-Mansour. After this, two successive extensions
by Muhammad Al-Mahdi and Mutadil Al-Abassi increased the mosque
area by 15,000 and 1,300 square meter, respectively.
In 918 Al-Muqtadri
Al-Abassi added 950-square-meter, thus increasing the Holy
Mosque area to a total of 30,200 square meters. King Abdul
Aziz initiated modern-era expansion and in 1976 the Holy mosque
could accomodate 300,000 people.
In 1988, King
Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz laid the foundation stone of a 4 years
project, which has increased the mosque area into a total
of 360,000 square and accommodate more than one million worshippers
at any one time.
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