Allah, exalted is He, says:

“Indeed, the very first House set up for humankind was the one at Bakkah—blessed and a guidance for all peoples. In it are clear signs, the Station of Abraham; and whoever enters it is safe. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all people, whoever can find a way to it. But whoever disbelieves—surely Allah is Self-Sufficient, above need of all the worlds.” (Āl ʿImrān 96–97)

He also says:

“And [remember] when Abraham was tested by his Lord with certain words and he fulfilled them, He said, ‘I am appointing you a leader for humankind.’ Abraham asked, ‘And from my descendants?’ He answered, ‘My covenant does not extend to the wrongdoers.’

And We made the House a place of return for people and a sanctuary, and We said, ‘Take the Station of Abraham as a place of prayer.’ And We charged Abraham and Ishmael, ‘Purify My House for those who walk around it, those who stay there in devotion, and those who bow and prostrate.’

And when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, make this a secure city and provide its people—those of them who believe in Allah and the Last Day—with produce,’ He said, ‘As for whoever disbelieves, I shall let him enjoy for a little while, then compel him to the punishment of the Fire—what an evil destination!’

And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House they prayed, ‘Our Lord, accept this from us; You alone are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord, make us wholly devoted to You, and from our descendants raise a nation wholly devoted to You; show us our rites and turn toward us. Surely You are the Acceptor of repentance, the Merciful. Our Lord, raise up among them a messenger from among themselves who will recite Your revelations to them, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them. You alone are the Almighty, the All-Wise.’” (al-Baqarah 124–129)

Allah—Most High—relates about His servant and Messenger, His chosen and intimate Friend, the leader of the pure monotheists and the father of the prophets, Abraham—upon him the most excellent blessings and peace—that he built the Ancient House, the first mosque ever established for all people to worship Allah in. Allah appointed its site for him, meaning He guided and directed him to it.

We have transmitted from the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—may Allah be pleased with him—and others that Abraham was guided to its location by revelation from Allah. We have already mentioned, when speaking of the creation of the heavens, that the Kaʿbah lies directly beneath the Populated House (al-Bayt al-Maʿmūr) such that, were it to fall, it would descend upon it; the same is true of the sanctuaries in the heavens. Some of the early scholars said: in every heaven there is a house in which the inhabitants of that heaven worship Allah, and within its own sphere it is like the Kaʿbah is for the people of the earth.

Accordingly, Allah, exalted is He, commanded Abraham—peace be upon him—to build a House for Him that would serve the people of the earth just as those sanctuaries serve the angels of the heavens. Allah directed him to the very spot that had been prepared and designated for it since the day He created the heavens and the earth, as is reported in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: “This town was declared sacred by Allah on the day He created the heavens and the earth; its sanctity remains by Allah’s decree until the Day of Resurrection.”

No sound report from any infallible authority states that the House had been built before the time of the Friend—peace be upon him. Whoever seeks evidence in His words “the site of the House” (al-Ḥajj 26) finds no decisive proof, for the intended meaning is simply its location as fixed in Allah’s knowledge, established by His decree, and venerated by the prophets from Adam’s time until Abraham’s.

It has, however, been mentioned that Adam erected a domed structure over it, that the angels said to him, “We were circumambulating this House before you,” and that the Ark