Inside the Kaaba: what is there, and how pilgrims can pray “inside”

A room, not a block

From the courtyard the Kaaba looks like a solid black cube, but it is a room with walls of stone. The door is on the eastern side, about two metres above the ground, so a set of wheeled stairs is brought when it opens.

Inside, the floor and the lower walls are marble. The upper walls and the ceiling are covered with cloth. The room is not large: roughly the size of a big family hall.

What you would see inside

• Three wooden pillars in a row, holding up the roof
• Old lamps hanging from the ceiling, gifts from past centuries
• Plaques on the walls that record the repairs of the House over the years
• A small door in one corner, called Bab at-Tawbah, with stairs that lead up to the roof
• Nothing to worship: no statue, no picture and no grave

Before the conquest of Makkah there were idols inside and around the Kaaba. The Prophet ﷺ had them all taken out before he entered it (Bukhari 1601).

When the Prophet ﷺ went inside

At the conquest of Makkah the Prophet ﷺ entered the Kaaba with Usamah, Bilal and Uthman ibn Talhah (RA), the keeper of its key. Bilal (RA) later told Ibn Umar (RA) that the Prophet ﷺ prayed inside, between the pillars (Bukhari 505).

When he came out, he prayed two rak’ahs facing the Kaaba and said, “This is the qiblah” (Bukhari 398). The direction of prayer is the House itself, not what is inside it.

The yearly washing

Once a year the inside of the Kaaba is washed in a small ceremony. Zamzam water mixed with rose water is used to wash the floor and walls, which are then wiped with cloths and perfumed with oud. In recent years this has been done near the start of the Islamic year.

Only a small group takes part: the keepers of the Kaaba, officials and invited guests. Pilgrims in the courtyard sometimes see the door open from a distance on that day.

Why pilgrims cannot go in

• Going inside the Kaaba is not part of Umrah or Hajj, and nothing in the rites needs it
• The door is kept closed to protect the House and because of the very large crowds
• The key is held by the Bani Shaybah family, the keepers since the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and the door opens only on official occasions
• If anyone offers to “take you inside the Kaaba” for money, it is not true

Praying “inside” the Kaaba: the Hijr Ismail

Aisha (RA) wished to pray inside the House. The Prophet ﷺ took her by the hand into the Hijr, the low curved wall beside the Kaaba, and told her to pray there, because it is part of the House (Abu Dawud 2028).

So the place is open to everyone. When the area is not closed for crowd control, you can enter the Hijr Ismail, pray two rak’ahs of nafl and make du’a. Be gentle: it gets very crowded, and women often find a calmer time late at night or after Fajr.