What is Mecca?

ما مكة المكرمة؟

Mecca is Umm al-Qura. It is the birthplace of the Prophet ﷺ, the home of the Kaaba and the Haram, the qibla of the Muslims, and the destination of pilgrimage to the Ancient House. It lies in a valley without cultivation, at the spring of Zamzam.

Depth

At a glance

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History-writing and social thought

Overview

Mecca is the mother of the cities: the birthplace of the Prophet, the home of the Kaaba and the sacred precinct, and the qibla of Muslims, the ancient house of God. It lies in a valley without crops, beside the spring of Zamzam. 1

People and things also explored

Disputing the count of raids and sariyas· Orientalism· Stopping the genealogy at Ma'add· Ibn Khaldun completes the Muqaddima· Abd al-Jabbar al-Jumurd· Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti· Abd al-Rahman Badawi· Abu al-Arab al-Tamimi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad

Sources

  1. Wikidata
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “What is Mecca?”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/questions/what-is-mecca/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Related

Disputing the count of raids and sariyas

The maghazi arithmetic disputes: Ibn Ishaq's twenty-six raids versus the twenty-seven that split Wadi'l-Qura from Khaybar; nine pitched battles common to both lists with al-Waqidi adding Wadi'l-Qura and al-Ghaba for eleven; and the sariya counts ranging from thirty-five to al-Waqidi's forty-eight (in al-Tabari's chain) to sixty-six.