سورة المائدة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Aban ibn Taghlib said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: جَعَلَ اللهُ الْکَعْبَةَ الْبَیْتَ الْحَرامَ قِیاماً لِلنَّاسِ [Allah has made the Kaaba, the Sacred House, a maintenance for the people]. He said: "Allah made it for their religion and their worldly life."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Abdillah said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "A group of these storytellers say: 'When a person performs Hajj once and then does not go for Hajj again, and instead gives its money in charity and maintains ties of kinship, it is better for him than Hajj.'" He said: "They have lied. If people did this, this House would be abandoned, whereas Allah the Exalted made it a maintenance for the people."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): جَعَلَ اللهُ الْکَعْبَةَ الْبَیْتَ الْحَرامَ قِیاماً لِلنَّاس [Allah has made the Kaaba, the sacred house, a maintenance for the people]; as long as the House stands and the people go on Hajj to it, they will not be destroyed, and if the Kaaba is destroyed and disappears and they abandon the Hajj, they will be destroyed.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever comes to this House and wishes to gain something for this world and the hereafter, he will attain it.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): جَعَلَ اللهُ الْکَعْبَةَ الْبَیْتَ الْحَرامَ قِیاماً لِلنَّاسِ [Allah has made the Kaaba, the sacred house, a maintenance for the people] — meaning they find security, and if the Kaaba did not exist, they would perish and be destroyed and would not endure. The people of the Jahiliyya used to find security through it, so that if a man met the killer of his father or his son in the sanctuary, he would not kill him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hanan said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Why has the House of Allah been called Baytullah al-Haram (the Sacred House of Allah)?" He said: "Because it is forbidden for the polytheists to enter it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked: "Why is the Kaaba called Kaaba?" He said: "Because it is four-sided." He was asked: "Why is it four-sided?" He said: "Because it faces the Bayt al-Ma'mur, and that is four-sided." He was asked: "Why is the Bayt al-Ma'mur four-sided?" He said: "Because it faces the Throne, and that is four-sided." He was asked: "Why is the Throne four-sided?" He said: "Because the words upon which Islam is built are four, and they are: سبحان اللَّه و الحمد للَّه و لا اله الّا اللَّه و اللَّه اکبر [Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)- It is narrated from Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): A group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and asked him about various matters. Among the questions they asked, one of them said: "Why is the Kaaba called the Kaaba?" The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Because it is located in the middle of the world."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him)- Dawud ibn Kathir said: ... Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "O Dawud, we are what is meant by prayer, zakat, fasting, hajj, the sacred month, the sacred land, the House of the Kaaba, the qibla of Allah, and the Face of Allah; Allah the Exalted said: 'So whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah.' (Baqara/115)."