Allah showed Ibrahim the site of the House and commanded him to purify it for those who circle it, stand, bow and prostrate (22:26). With Ismaʿil he raised its foundations, praying for acceptance and for a messenger from their descendants (2:127–129). The Quran calls it the first House established for humankind, at Bakkah — blessed and a guidance for the worlds (3:96).
Ibrahim left Hajar and the infant Ismaʿil in the barren valley by the site of the House, praying for them (14:37). As Hajar searched for water, running between the hills of Safa and Marwah, Allah brought forth the spring of Zamzam — the origin of the saʿi of Hajj and ʿUmrah.
According to the historical reports, the Arab tribe of Jurhum settled by the water with Hajar's permission, and Ismaʿil grew up among them and married from them. Over the centuries the people of Makkah drifted from Ibrahim's pure worship into idolatry.
Around the 5th century CE, Qusayy ibn Kilab — an ancestor of the Prophet ﷺ — gathered the clans of Quraysh in Makkah and organised the care of the pilgrims: giving them water and food and holding the keys of the Kaʿbah. (Dates are approximate.)
Around 570 CE, Abrahah, the Abyssinian ruler of Yemen, marched on Makkah with an elephant to destroy the Kaʿbah. Allah sent flocks of birds with stones of baked clay that destroyed the army (surah 105). The Prophet ﷺ was born in that year.
Around 605 CE, after damage from floods, Quraysh rebuilt the Kaʿbah from lawful wealth only; lacking enough, they left part of Ibrahim's foundation outside — the Hijr (Hatim). When the clans disputed who would place the Black Stone, they agreed to accept the judgement of the next man to enter: Muhammad ﷺ, then about 35. He placed the Stone on a cloth, had each clan lift a corner, and set it in place himself.
In 8 AH (630 CE) the Prophet ﷺ entered Makkah, removed the 360 idols around the Kaʿbah, reciting "Truth has come and falsehood has perished" (17:81), and restored the House to the worship of Allah alone. Bilal gave the call to prayer from its roof.
After the Kaʿbah was damaged by fire during the siege of Makkah (c. 64 AH / 683 CE), ʿAbdullah ibn al-Zubayr rebuilt it on Ibrahim's foundations, including the Hijr, with two doors — following a hadith of ʿAʾishah. In 74 AH al-Hajjaj restored the Quraysh dimensions, which remain today.
The early Abbasid caliphs, especially al-Mahdi (around 160s AH / 770s–780s CE), greatly enlarged Masjid al-Haram with colonnades so the Kaʿbah stood closer to the centre of the courtyard.
Ottoman sultans rebuilt the mosque's arcades with domed porticoes in the late 16th century, and after a severe flood in 1039 AH (c. 1630 CE) the Kaʿbah's walls were rebuilt under Sultan Murad IV on the same foundations.
From the mid-1950s onwards, successive Saudi expansions — the largest in the 1980s–2000s and the project begun in 2008 — have enlarged Masjid al-Haram to hold millions of worshippers, with new floors, the mataf extension and modern services for pilgrims.
Prepared from standard sources; pending scholar review.