The Kaaba, pre-Islamic monument, rededicated by Muhammad in 631-32 C.E., multiple renovations, granite masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread (Mecca, Saudi Arabia) Image credit: The Kaaba in the Masjid el Haram, 2010 Tab59, CC BY-SA 2.0. Pilgrimage to a holy site is a core principle of almost all faiths. The Kaaba, meaning cube in Arabic, is a square building elegantly draped in a silk and cotton veil. Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, it is the holiest shrine in Islam. In Islam, Muslims pray five times a day and after 624 CE, these prayers were directed towards Mecca and the Kaaba rather than Jerusalem; this direction—or qibla in Arabic—is marked in all mosques and enables the faithful to know in which direction they should pray. The Qur‘an established the direction of prayer. All Muslims aspire to undertake the hajj, or the annual pilgrimage, to the Kaaba once in their lives if they are able. Prayer five times a day and the hajj are two of the five pillars of Islam, the most fundamental principles of the faith.

The Great Mosque of Mecca, commonly known as the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, is a mosque that surrounds the Kaaba in the city of Mecca, in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia.

Safa and Marwa are two small hills now located in the Great Mosque of Mecca, in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. Muslims travel back and forth between them seven times, during the ritual pilgrimages of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah.

The Hajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone), which is set in the eastern corner of the Ka’bah. Tawaf begins and ends facing this sacred stone. Throughout the ages, countless people including many of the Prophets (upon them be peace), the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) himself, the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them), pious personalities and millions of Muslims who have performed Hajj and Umrah have placed their blessed lips on it.

The Maqame Ebrahim refers to the stone on which Ebrahim (upon him be peace) stood on while he was building the Ka’bah. As Ismail (upon him be peace) passed stones to Ebrahim (upon him be peace), and as Ebrahim (upon him be peace) continued laying them in place the Maqame Ebrahim miraculously continued rising higher and higher as the walls rose. Allah (ﷻ) caused the trace of his footprints to remain on the stone as a reminder to the believers among his descendants.

Masjid e Taneem is a mosque in the Al-Hil area about 5 miles away from the Holy Kaaba, in Taneem, which is near Mecca and acts as Miqat (a station for putting on pilgrims' garments) for people living in Mecca. This mosque is also known as Masjid -e- Ayesha since Prophet Mohammed 's wife Ayesha had put her Ihram (restriction on Pilgrimage) from this place once. If someone is living in Mecca and wants to perform Umra (pilgrimage to Mecca) then he should go to this place, enter into the state of Ihram (in part by putting on pilgrim's garments) and then return to Mecca so that the condition of traveling for the pilgrims is also fulfilled.