Sublime

The story of Muhammad is immensely bound up with the Islamic focus on Mecca, which today no non-Muslim can enter. Located in the Hijaz, about forty miles inland from Jeddah (the region’s largest city), Mecca—according to Islamic orthodoxy—was an important center of religious worship all the way back to the days of Abraham. There, it is maintained,

When this business was complete, the Prophet made his way to the Ka‘ba. With the help of his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, he lifted the heavy veil covering the sanctuary door and entered the sacred interior. One by one, he carried the idols out before the assembled crowd and, raising them over his head, smashed them to the ground. The various depict

Like their pagan counterparts, Muslim pilgrims travel to Mecca to experience the transformative effects of the Ka‘ba. But unlike the pagan sanctuary, the Muslim Ka‘ba is not a repository of the gods. Rather, it is a symbol for the living presence of the one and only God. The Ka‘ba, it must be understood, has no architectural significance. It is a c

that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt;

But Muhammad, not wishing to ally himself with any particular clan in Yathrib, refuses their offers. “Let go her reins,” he commands. The crowd backs off, and Muhammad’s camel staggers forward a few more steps. It circles an abandoned burial ground now used for drying dates, then stops and kneels, lowering its neck for the Prophet to dismount. Of t