What the Kaaba Teaches Us God

There was once an old shaykh who said, “I don’t pray until I see the ka’ba right before my eyes.” He did not intend hyperbole. Among Muslims, the Kaaba and the qibla, the direction that leads to the Kaba, are sacred. Islam requires Muslims to have a relationship with the Kaaba. At a minimum, one must orient herself accordingly, but for some devotees, connection with the Kaaba takes on a profound spiritual form. Of the five pillars of Islam, the hajj is a dynamic symbol of an aspirant’s movement toward God. One goes toward the Kaaba linearly from her residence, and she also goes around it. The heart’s journey to God is both straight and roundabout. We have all had the experiences of gaining closeness to God in a way that felt logical and clear and a way that felt indirect and circuitous. All metaphors for God are lacking.