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IslamIslam is a religious tradition stressing submission to God according to the revelations to the prophet Muhammad (570/571-632 CE), whom Muslims hold to be the last in a line...
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A Discussion with Alberto Ares, S.J., Institute for Migration Studies, U. P. Comillas, Madrid
July 10, 2012
July 10, 2012
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Kaaba
天房
The Kaaba, a cube-shaped stone monument in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the holiest site in Islam. The exterior is covered by a curtain of black silk and gold called the kiswah. Access to the interior of the Kaaba, which contains Qur’anic inscriptions, is extremely rare. The Kaaba’s eastern cornerstone is known as the Black Stone, a relic traditionally dated to the life of Adam and Eve. Islamic tradition holds that Adam built the first structure on earth in the spot the Kaaba now occupies. The prophet Ibrahim (the biblical Abraham) and his son Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba on the foundations left by Adam. The Kaaba served as the site of a major pilgrimage for pagan Arab tribes until 631 CE, when the prophet Muhammad rededicated it to Islam and made it a central component of the obligatory hajj pilgrimage. The Kaaba is now housed within the Masjid al-Haram, also known as the Sacred Mosque, the largest and holiest mosque in the world.
天房，是沙特阿拉伯麦加的一个立方体状的石碑，是伊斯兰教的圣地。它的外部覆盖了由黑色丝线和金子织成的帷幕，叫“Kiswa”。天房的内部有古兰经的碑文，是极为罕见的。天房的东部基石被称为“黑色的石头”，这一遗迹传统可追溯到亚当和夏娃的生活。伊斯兰教传统认为，亚当在现在天房所在的地点建立了地球上第一个建筑物。先知易卜拉欣（圣经中的亚伯拉罕）和他的儿子以实玛利在亚当留下的基础上重建了天房。天房一直是异教阿拉伯部落的重要朝圣地，直到公元631 年，先知穆罕默德再次把它奉献给伊斯兰教，并让它成为强制性朝圣的重要组成部分。天房现在被安置在“麦加圣寺”中，“麦加圣寺”也被称为“神圣清真寺”，是世界上最大和最神圣的清真寺。