An Early Mention of the Ka'ba in Ancient Sources

 

Yasir Qadhi

 

‏٧‏ س  · 

An Early Mention of the Ka'ba in Ancient Sources

According to our Islamic sources, the Ka'ba was built by Ibrahīm (as) and venerated for many thousands of years by all Arabs.

There is of course a lot of debate whether the Ka'ba is mentioned in sources outside of Arabia; obviously such a reference, especially if found in ancient sources, would confirm the centrality of Makkah and its importance.

One reputed source is a report by Aristōn, a military general who was sent by King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ruled 283– 246 BCE) on a fact-finding mission down the coast of Arabia. The goal of this mission was to gather information and document facts for strategic purposes and a potential invasion. Obviously, the original report is long gone (we are talking 800 years before the beginning of Islam!), however, later sources continued to copy the information in this report, and it eventually made its way to a Greek historian during the reign of Julius Caesar by the name of Diodorus Siculus (1st century BCE), who wrote a monumental history of the world entitled Bibliotheca Historica. Parts of this work still survive.

In it, while discussing Arabia, Diodorus writes that south of the Gulf of Aqaba “... a very sacred temple has been established there, which is highly revered by all the Arabs.”

This might well be the earliest reference to Makkah and the Ka'ba. Note that Diodorus himself didn't travel to Arabia, and he is using Aristōn's report that was written around 250 BC.

Unfortunately, some modern skeptics cast doubt on this allusion, claiming that it can't be Makkah because the geographic location mentioned in this work would not be exactly precise. But this can easily be explained by claiming that, firstly, to expect such precision from an ancient Greek author writing from a source written centuries before him while never having visited Arabia himself is a stretch; and secondly (and more importantly) there is *no* sacred temple reported or found in any other place of Arabia that would universally be revered by all of the Arabs other than Makkah. Clearly, there is a minor error of precise geographic location, but there is no question that this is a reference to the Ka'ba in Makkah - a “... very sacred temple ...which is highly revered by all the Arabs.”

Hence, it can be said that the Ka'ba was indeed referenced by sources in antiquity outside of the lands of Islam.

Note: the painting below is one of the earliest preserved images of the Ka'ba dating to the 1700s.

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