Photo: Ka'bah (Hajj)

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Worshippers doing tawaf around the Ka'ba and praying inside the Hateem area

The hateem is a part of the Ka'ba, the walls of the Ka'ba used to be where the walls of the Hateem is now. The first man on earth - Prophet Adam (as) - first built the Kaaba. He (as) was told by Allah to build it "benath" Allah's throne, i.e. the throne of Allah is "above" the Kaba. However, the throne is symbolic in its nature as Allah is not a physical being that needs to rule from a throne. During time, the Kaba was destroyed and it was later re-built by the Prophets Ibrahim (as) and his son Ismail (as). Before the time of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), pagans worshipped at Kaaba, as they used to have their idol gods within the Kaba) until prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers conquested Makkah in a peaceful manner without any blood shed. Since then it has since been a place of worship for Muslims. Muslims from all over the world face the Kaba when they pray their five daily prayers. Also, many travel to Makkah for the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) or the Hajj (annual pilgrimage). The Hajj is compulsory on every Muslim to do once in their lifetime, if he or she have the financial and medical means for it. One of the rites of the pilgrimage is tawaf - to circumambulate the Kaba counter clock wise. One tawaf is 7 rounds, and is one of the two main rituals of the Umrah

Source: www.muslimphotos.net