## The First Pilgrims: Adam and the Angels
Islamic tradition holds that the Kabe's history extends to the very beginning of human existence. Some scholars narrate that angels built the original structure, and that when Adam was sent down to earth, he was guided to Mekke where he performed Tavaf around this first house of worship. While the specific details vary across scholarly sources — and the chains of narration for pre-Ibrahimic accounts are generally weaker — the theological point is consistent: hac ibadeti to the House of Allah is as old as humanity itself. The Kur'an establishes the Kabe as 'the first House established for mankind' (3:96), and many exegetes understand this to mean it was the first place of organized worship on earth.
## Prophet Ibrahim: The Father of Hac
Ibrahim (Abraham) is the prophet most intimately connected with Hac. He was commanded by Allah to leave his wife Hajar and son Ismail in the barren valley of Mekke, where the miracle of Zamzam occurred. He later returned to build the Kabe with Ismail, raising its walls while praying for acceptance. Most significantly, Allah commanded Ibrahim to 'proclaim to the people the Hac' (Kur'an 22:27) — a command that scholars understand as the formal institution of Hac as a hac ibadeti for all humanity. Every major Hac ritual connects directly to Ibrahim: the Say between Safa and Marwah recalls Hajar's search for water, the stoning of the Cemerat commemorates Ibrahim's rejection of Shaytan's attempts to dissuade him from sacrificing his son, and the Hadi sacrifice recalls Allah's substitution of a ram for Ismail.
## Prophet Ismail and the Continuation
Ismail (Ishmael), who grew up in Mekke and helped his father build the Kabe, continued to maintain the house of worship and perform hac ibadeti after Ibrahim's departure. He married from the Jurhum tribe and his descendants became the custodians of the Kabe for generations. Islamic sources describe Ismail as a devoted guardian of the sacred precinct who upheld the monotheistic worship his father had established. The 'well of Ismail' (Hijr Ismail or Hatim), the semi-circular area adjacent to the Kabe, is named in his honor and is considered part of the original Kabe structure.
## The Seventy Prophets of the Valley
One of the most evocative narrations about prophets and Hac comes from a hadith in which Hz. Peygamber Muhammad (sallallahu aleyhi ve sellem), passing through the valley of Azraq (near modern-day Jordan) on his way to Hac, told his companions: 'Seventy prophets have passed through this valley, all heading for Hac' (narrated by al-Tabarani and others). Some versions mention seeing Prophet Musa (Moses) in a vision, descending from the mountain pass with his companions, reciting the Telbiye loudly. Another narration mentions Prophet Yunus (Jonah) passing through the same valley on a red camel. While scholars discuss the grading of these specific narrations, the broader tradition that many prophets performed Hac is well-established in Islamic thought.
## Prophet Musa and Other Biblical Prophets
Several narrations mention Prophet Musa (Moses) specifically in connection with Hac. In a hadith in Sahih Muslim, Hz. Peygamber Muhammad described seeing Musa during the Night Journey (Isra' and Mi'raj) and noted his appearance, and separate traditions connect Musa to the hac ibadeti routes. While the Torah does not describe Abraham's descendants performing Hac to Mekke, Islamic tradition maintains that the knowledge of the Kabe and its hac ibadeti was preserved among various prophetic lines, even as different nations developed their own forms of worship. The point is not historical documentation in the modern sense, but the theological truth that all prophets worshipped the One God and acknowledged His sacred house.
## Prophet Muhammad's Farewell Hac
The most thoroughly documented prophetic Hac is, of course, the farewell hac ibadeti (Hajjat al-Wada) of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu aleyhi ve sellem) in 632 CE (10 AH). This was his only Hac after the conquest of Mekke, and he performed it with meticulous care, instructing his companions at each station: 'Take your rituals from me, for I do not know if I will perform Hac after this year' (Muslim). Over 100,000 companions accompanied him. His Farewell Sermon at Arafah addressed fundamental principles of justice, equality, and human rights. Every ritual detail of modern Hac — from the Telbiye to the Tavaf to the stoning sequence — is based on his actions during this single hac ibadeti, preserved through multiple chains of narration with extraordinary precision.
## A Chain Linking All Believers
The concept that prophets across millennia performed the same essential rituals at the same sacred site creates a profound sense of continuity for today's haci. When you circle the Kabe, you walk where Ibrahim walked, where generations of prophets walked, where Muhammad (sallallahu aleyhi ve sellem) walked. When you run between Safa and Marwah, you trace Hajar's steps. When you stand at Arafah, you stand where Hz. Peygamber delivered his final public address. Hac is not merely a ritual obligation — it is participation in the longest continuous act of worship in human history, linking every haci to every prophet in an unbroken chain of devotion to the One God.