سورة آل عمران

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) regarding this saying of Allah the Exalted: إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکَّةَ مُبارَکاً [Indeed the first house appointed for men is the one at Bakka, blessed]; there are several views. Among them is that the meaning is that the first house which was made a qiblah for the worship and prayer of the accountable [mukallaf] people, and the destination of their hajj, and the place for performing the rites of hajj, is this house which is in Makkah — although before it there existed houses which did not have these characteristics.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): a man asked him: "Is it the first house?" He said: "No, before it there were also houses; but it is the first house that was built for people and is blessed. In it is guidance, mercy and blessing. The first one who built it was Ibrahim (peace be upon him). After him, a group of Arabs from the tribe of Jurhum built it. Then it was destroyed and the Amaliqah built it. It was destroyed again and the Quraysh built it."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکَّةَ مُبارَکاً [Indeed the first house appointed for men is the one at Bakka, blessed] — and before it there was no house to which people would go for hajj — is Bayt al-Haram, and before it there were many houses, but it is the first blessed house and a means of guidance for people. This saying has been narrated from Imam Ali (peace be upon him).

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): On the twenty-fifth of Dhu al-Qa'dah, the House of Allah was founded, and it is the first mercy placed upon the face of the earth, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic made it مَثابَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَ أَمْنا [a place of return and security for the people].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): On one of the stones of the House of the Ka'bah a writing was found with this content: "I am Allah, the Owner of Makkah; I created it on the very day I created the heavens and the earth, and the sun and the moon, and I created those two mountains and surrounded them with seven angels." And on another stone it was also written: "This is Bayt Allah al-Haram which is in Makkah. Allah has taken upon Himself the sustenance of its people from three ways; He has made meat and water blessed for them. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was the first one who gifted and bestowed it."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): The reason for placing the House of Allah in the middle of the earth is that it is the very place from beneath which the earth was spread out, and every wind that blows in the world truly issues forth from beneath the Syrian corner (al-Rukn al-Shami). It is the first spot placed upon the earth, because it is in the middle, so that the obligation [of pilgrimage] upon the people of the East and the West concerning it is equal.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Abdullah ibn Salam said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), tell me: what was the first cornerstone that Allah placed on the earth?' He said: 'The corner which is in Makkah, and this verse alludes to it: إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکَّةَ مُبارَکاً [Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Bakkah, blessed].'

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was asked about the first mosque that was appointed for people. He said: 'Al-Masjid al-Haram, and then Bayt al-Maqdis.'

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Makkah was named Umm al-Qura (the Mother of Towns) because it was the first spot on the earth that Allah created, on the basis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکَّةَ مُبارَکاً [Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Bakkah, blessed].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When Allah wished to create the earth, He commanded the winds, so they blew upon the water and it became waves, then it foamed and became a single piece of foam. He gathered it at the place of the Ka'bah and made mountains of foam from it, and then spread out the earth from beneath it. This is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکَّةَ مُبارَکاً [Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Bakkah, blessed].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked: "Was the Hajj performed before the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)?" He said: "Yes, and its confirmation in the Qur'an is the statement of Shuʿayb (peace be upon him) when he said to Musa (peace be upon him) at the time of the marriage: on the condition that you work for me for eight years (Qasas/27), and he did not say ثَمَانِیَ سِنِینَ [eight years]; rather he expressed the number of years by 'Hajj' and did not use the term سنة (year). And Adam and Nuh (peace be upon them) performed the Hajj, and Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him) performed the Hajj of the House with the jinn, mankind, birds and the wind. And Musa (peace be upon him) performed the Hajj mounted on a red camel, saying لَبَّیْکَ لَبَّیْکَ [Here I am, here I am]. And the House of Allah is just as Allah said: أَوَّلَ بَیْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکَّةَ مُبارَکاً وَ هُدیً لِلْعالَمِین [The first house appointed for men is the one at Bakka, blessed and a guidance for the nations]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The site of the Kaaba was a white hillock of land which shone like the light of the sun and the moon.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Makkah has five names: Umm al-Qura, Makkah, Bakkah, and al-Bassasa — [they called it Bassasa] because whenever people committed injustice there, it would drive the wrongdoers out and destroy them. And its other name is Umm Ruhm, because whenever they adhered to this city, they became recipients of divine mercy.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Makkah is the entire city, and Bakkah is the location of that stone where the people crowd together.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The location of the House of Allah is called Bakkah, and Makkah is the name of the city.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Bakkah is the location of the House of the Ka'bah, and Makkah is the sanctuary, and this is what Allah has said: وَمَن دَخَلَهُ کَانَ آمِنًا [And whoever enters it is safe].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The entire sanctuary is the Maqam of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and whoever enters the Maqam of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) — that is, the sanctuary — is in safety.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکَّةَ [Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Bakkah] — the meaning of Bakkah is that people push one another aside in the crowd.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Ja'far narrates from his brother Imam Musa Kazim (peace be upon him) and says: I asked him: "Why is Makkah called Bakkah?" He said: "Because there people push one another with their hands; that is, in that Masjid, around the Ka'bah, people push one another aside with their hands."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Makkah has been called Bakkah because people gather together in that place.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Sinan said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Why is the Kaaba called Bakka?" He answered: "Because of the weeping of the people around it and inside it."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Makkah has been named Bakka for this reason: that men and women crowd together in it, and women there pray in front of you, and on your right and left, and alongside you, and there is no objection to that; but in other cities this is disliked (makruh).