The Ka`bah as a Jewish Sukkah: Why Muhammad Prayed Towards Jerusalem and Mecca

There is no disputing the centrality of the Ka`bah for Muslims today. This Meccan holy site is the locus of prayer, the architectural qubt, pole or axis towards which practicing Muslims turn in prayer. Today it is not uncommon to hear anecdotal accounts of what someone heard from an astronaut about the Ka`bah emanating a beam of light into space, or the site playing havoc with ones compass, and similar such accounts. It is thus clear that whatever the perception and function of the Ka`bah in Muḥammad’s time, it became much more to the Muslim community. It has been the focal point for various insurrections over the centuries, even right up to 1979. It is similarly the place foretold by Shī`ī narration as being the site of the rise of the Imām al-Mahdī, who is said to destroy it and reveal a treasure buried beneath. What if, however, the Ka`bah served another purpose originally; and what if this might then explain why Muḥammad would have seen praying towards it as a continuation of a primordial faith, bearing in mind that the Qur’ān repeats that there is “no change” in God’s religion, nor in the message of the prophets throughout history.