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Laying the Foundation

When Allah gave His command to Abraham to build the Sacred House, Abraham immediately went to Mecca to carry out Allah's injunction. When he arrived there, he said to his son Ishmael, "Allah has given me a command, so what shall we do?" Ishmael replied, "Do as Allah has commanded you." "Will you," said Abraham, "support me in it?" Ishmael replied, "My support is with you." Thereupon Abraham, pointing to a hill, said, "Allah has commanded me to build a shrine here."

Abraham and Ishmael set forth to lay the foundation of the Sacred House. Ishmael brought the bricks while Abraham laid them until the construction was erected. While engaged in the diligent work of constructing the Holy Shrine, they kept praying to Allah,

"Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: for Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord! Make of us Muslims bowing to Thy (Will); and show us our places for the celebration of (due) rites; and turn unto us (in mercy); for Thou art the Oft-Returning, most Merciful."

They went on until Allah helped them complete the building.

No authentic references state that the Sacred House had been built before Abraham (peace be upon him). However, some people argue that the Sacred House was built before Abraham, supporting their argument by the Qur'anic verses, "Behold! We gave the site, to Abraham, of the (Sacred) House." and "And remember Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House," These verses suggest that the foundations and the site existed before Abraham. Nevertheless, the sound view is that these verses mean that the location and site of the Sacred House had been determined in Allah's Eternal Knowledge the day He created the heavens and the earth. Thus the location of the House had been known, but the actual process of construction was carried out first by Abraham, the Close One to Allah, and his son, Ishmael (peace be upon them both). Other stories related to the construction of the House have been attributed to the Israelites. Such stories are not to be either accepted or rejected, for the best knowledge is with Allah, the All-Knowing.

When Abraham, the Close One to Allah, built the Sacred House, he made it according to the following specifications:

*	Height: 9 cubits.
*	Length (from the Black Stone to the Syrian Corner): 32 cubits.
*	Width (from the Syrian Corner to the Western Corner): 22 cubits.
*	Length (from the Western Corner to the Syrian Corner): 31 cubits.
*	Width (from the Yemeni Corner to the Black Stone): 20 cubits.

He made a door frame on the ground level, but did not fix a door to it. It remained so until Tubba` of Himiar made a door for the Sacred House. Abraham (peace be upon him) founded the House on two pillars: the two Yemeni Corners. Next to the Black Stone, he did not make any pillars, but built it in a half circle as it can be found today. It has been found in some narrations that Abraham (peace be upon him) built the Sacred House when he was one-hundred years old. Best knowledge is with Allah.

Fly just inches to the Ka'ba, to high in the sky, and around the mosque, with the call to prayer playing in the background (requiresrealplayer)

Have a geography lesson! Let you children experience flying from their home to Saudia Arabia. They can map out the states, countries, and bodies of water they cross over before reaching their destination http://earth.google.com/on. Use a map, and let them pin the route.

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