When Ishmael – son of Abraham and Hagar – was born, Abraham’s other wife, Sarah, became jealous, so she asked Abraham to keep them away from her. Allah, the Exalted, inspired Abraham to take them to Makkah. He would visit them from time to time. Once, he stayed away from them for a period of time, and upon returning he saw Ishmael shooting arrows near the well of Zamzam. When he saw him, he embraced him the way a father would embrace his son, and said, “O Ishmael, Allah has commanded me to build a House here.” Together they erected the walls of the House of Allah. Ishmael gathered the rocks and Abraham set them. As the walls were being erected, he placed a stone where he stood and Ibraheem and his son supplicated to Allah saying , O Allah accept from us, for indeed You are All-Hearing and All-Seeing.” Muslims all over the world face the Ka’bah during their prayers; it is the first House of Allah. Allah says: Indeed, the first House of worship established for mankind was at Bakkah – blessed and a guidance for the worlds. (3:96)

It is a symbol of Muslim’s unity. Muslims face the Ka’bah with their hearts and bodies. Allah says: And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing (2:115)

When the Muslims circumambulate around the House, they are not worshipping it, for they worship Allah alone. Allah says: Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them [saving them] from hunger and made them safe from fear. (106:3-4)