Umm Al Qurameans Mother of all cities this title is given by Allah (Subhana hu wo taala)= ( Holy is He above everything).
Mecca city is alternative for Kaaba( House of Worship to Allah) The First House of Worship chosen by maker of this EARTH for mankind. Long time ago, in the land of Canaan (Iraq, Syria) Abraham dreamt that he should leave his 2nd wife Hajar and his eldest son Ishmael in a deserted place, with no greenery, he went to that place and left the wife and child as per his dream, his wife asked him is it your wish to leave us here in this life less Valley or is it the command of Allah. He did not turn back while answering, he said it is the command of Allah, his wife said; Allah is enough to take care of us.
Abraham used to pray every time to Allah, please Lord send some people to my family and provide for them food and fruits, in response to that prayer (Allah called Ibrahim his friend) the institution of Hajj and the never exhausting well of Zam Zam came about, under the feet of crying Ishmael, his mother was running to get water for her thirsty son between the 2 hillocks Safa and Marwa, she ran 7 times and this well of water in the middle of the desert valley is the cause of people living in Mecca.
No ZamZam no Mecca, Abraham was habituated to visit his family from time to time and see their well being, when he saw they are happy and well provided, he made a cubical stone structure as guided by Allah and he called that house, House of God (Allah) and prayed to Allah to accept this work as suitable to his glory. This story is contrary to the belief that SARAH incited Ibrahim to leave Hajar in another city because she was jealous of her.
This is very stupid noble, souls like SARAH and HAJAR or ABRAHAM who are friends of Allah do not indulge in narrow pursuits of life like you and me, SARAH is the lady who asked ABRAHAM to marry HAJAR because he loved children and maybe young HAJAR will give him his wish.
Abraham attachment with Ishmael and Hajar was diverting him from the worship of Allah and also to spread the children of Abraham in all corners of this globe, God saw it fit to order Ibrahim abandon them in the dry valley, which eventually became Mecca after the dream of Abraham sacrificing his son and eventually Allah accepting his efforts to fulfill that vision. Made the Hajj a thanks giving event for all people who have faith in Abraham and his religion.
Imagine people, who don’t know the history of themselves and their fathers say unimaginable things about this event to suit their mind and its darkness, they attribute bad words to noble people like Abraham, Jesus, Isaac, Ishmael, Job, Jonas, Joseph, Moses and everybody their fancy takes to decline. Noble people are respected by GOD. Who are these useless tongues worthy of? Anyway this is my weak knowledge story of Mecca and its significance, just from India a non Muslim country has 200,000 HAJJ pilgrims flying every year to Mecca.
Imagine how many people are going to Saudi Arabia from all over the world. I don’t have figures and I don’t want to quote them, it’s a very modern city now. ZAMZAM WELL The watershed table of whole of Arabian Peninsula is connected thru rills and channels to this well, even a drop of rain soaking in the sands of Arabia will eventually seep to the watershed area and springs feeding this well. The mineral quality of this water is well know, it is known to cure many ailments in the human body, this water has many useful stories attached to it. The Mecca tribes became prominent due to the vitality of this water. MODES OF TRANSPORT This is reason enough for all muslims to visit Mecca.
To reach there by land at Jeddah International Airport and there are so many Services to go to mecca : Government run Bus service it charges Saudi Riyals 10=00 to take you to mecca best mode I recommend. You can go there in UMRA season, Heavy baggage is to be avoided, there are near Haram Al Shareef now paid bags holding areas, you can deposit your small bags there , around haram you have everything for every type of budget, 5 * Hotels, 4* hotels etc., Mecca City apart from haram has lot of good shopping malls and shopping complexes so now its a very modern City : catering to Visitors of all ages and all likings. I recommend every muslim to visit once in their lifetime.
I can go on and on with this review but these are some to the useful hints I wanted to drop.
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