Mecca: Difference between revisions

'''Mecca''', also known as ''Makkah al-Mukarramah'' (مكة المكرمة, lit. "the Blessed Mecca"), is a city located in the Hijaz region of the Arabian Peninsula and is described by Islamic scriptures as the birthplace of [[Muhammad]] (b. 570), the founder of [[Islam]]. Mecca is host to the [[Kaaba]], the holiest Islamic mosque (and central pagan shrine prior to Muhammad's conquest of Mecca), and thus the site of the annual Islamic pilgrimage called the [[Hajj]] which physically and financially able Muslims are required to attend at least once in their lifetimes (one of the [[Five Pillars]] of Islam). Practicing Muslims face Mecca as they [[Salah|pray]] towards the Kaaba (their ''qibla'', or direction of prayer) five times a day (another one of the Five Pillars of Islam).