The Qur'an states that Abraham, together with Ishmael, raised the foundations of the holy house.[15] God had shown Abraham the exact site, very near to the Well of Zamzam, where Abraham and Ishmael began work on the Kaaba's construction or, according to tradition, reconstruction as Muslims generally believe that Adam had made it first and that it had been rebuilt by Noah after the Deluge.[16] After Abraham had built the Kaaba, an angel brought to him the Black Stone, a celestial stone which, according to tradition, had fallen from Heaven on the nearby hill Abu Qubays.[17] According to a saying attributed to Muhammad, the Black Stone had "descended from Paradise whiter than milk but the sins of the sons of Adam had made it black".[18]
Technical drawing of the Kaaba showing dimensions and elements
Left: Conceptual representation of the Kaaba, as built by Abraham according to Arabian tradition; Right: Representation of the Kaaba as it stands today
After the placing of the Black Stone in the Eastern corner of the Kaaba, Abraham received a revelation, in which God told the aged prophet that he should now go and proclaim the pilgrimage to mankind, so that men may come both from Arabia and from lands far away, on camel and on foot.[19] Going by the dates attributed to the patriarchs, Abraham is believed to have been born in roughly 2150 B.C.E, with Isaac being born a hundred years later.[17] Therefore, Islamic scholars have generally assumed that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham in around 2030 B.C.E. However, academic scholars find little evidence to support the claim of Islamic tradition that the Kaaba was built by Abraham.[17] The Kaaba is, therefore, believed by Muslims to be more than a millennium older than the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, which is believed to have been finished in 1007 B.C.E.[17] These dates remain consistent with the Muslim belief that the Kaaba is the oldest mosque in history.
