Omar Suleiman

It gives us a unified sense of prayer.

So Mecca is our qibla.

It's our place of direction when we are alive and when we are dead.

So actually we pray facing towards it.

When we die, we are also faced towards it in our graves.

And it kind of gives us that unifying spirit.

So this is the valley of Mecca.

also in the Bible, spoken about the Valley of Becca, and where other biblical scholars would also mention Mount Paran.

And it is the place that Adam, in the Quran, Adam, peace be upon him, first had a place constructed there as a place of worship from the angels towards God.

And then when Abraham settles Hagar and Ishmael in Mecca,

they build this house of worship.

And that is where the gushing springs of Zemzum are mentioned, where God sends an angel to give a miracle to Hagar and Ishmael that they can sustain themselves from as they're not left in the desert.

So Ishmael being the firstborn son of Abraham is given a place and there's a story and a history that's going to unfold from that place of Mecca.

And then Isaac is born, peace be upon him, 13 years later.

And there's a story and a history that comes from that.

But ultimately, Mecca is the center.

Mecca is where we turn towards for prayer.

Mecca is where we perform the pilgrimage, the Hajj pilgrimage.

Once in our lives, at least if we can, physically and financially, if we find ourselves capable, we at least perform the Hajj pilgrimage once in our lifetimes.

but there are other pilgrimages throughout the year you can go.