Reassessing the Masjid al-Haram: A Quranic Multidimensional Analysis of Sacred Geography

This study investigates the Qur’anic characteristics of the Masjid al-Harām and the region of Bakkah by employing a Qur’an-only hermeneutic framework grounded in historical geography, ecology, agriculture, environmental studies, geopolitics, and linguistics. The Qur’an describes the Sacred House as the “first House established for humanity” located in Bakkah (Qur’an 3:96), positioned in a barren valley with no cultivation (Qur’an 14:37), embedded within a mountainous environment, marked by secure geopolitical protection (Qur’an 29:67), and surrounded by distinct ecological and agricultural constraints (Qur’an 14:37; 80:24–32). This research argues that these Qur’anic features do not correspond to the environmental, historical, or geographical conditions of present-day Mecca. Instead, the Qur’anic descriptions align more consistently with the Mount Hermon–Bakka Valley region in the Levant, where a barren, elevated, mountainous, and historically ancient valley exists, matching the Qur’an’s multilayered profile of Bakkah. The Qur’an situates the Abrahamic settlement, the barren valley, and the House’s geopolitical centrality in a region that predates later Islamic historical narratives and does not depend on extra-Qur’anic sources. The findings challenge traditional assumptions and propose a re-evaluation of the location of the Masjid al-Harām through a strictly Qur’anic lens.