The fact that it is forbidden to fly over the Kaaba in Mecca

Hundreds of thousands of social media users in several languages ​​around the world are circulating a post claiming that planes cannot fly over the Kaaba in Mecca, because it is the center of the Earth and gravity.

This claim, which has been circulating for years as a scientific fact, is in fact nothing but a fantasy.

The publishers of this news claim that the Kaaba is the center of the Earth, that it is located in a spot devoid of any tilt or deviation, and that it is the center of Earth's gravity.

Therefore, “it is impossible to fly over it, whether from birds or planes, because it is a center of magnetic attraction,” according to the publications that talk about cases of conversion to Islam because of this information.

The publication elaborates on the physical features of the Kaaba, including that it is “the first point to receive the sunrise” and that it is “the meeting point of cosmic radiation.”

These posts have received hundreds of thousands of shares and interactions around the world, in many languages, and on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

The Kaaba in the Qur'an

The Qur’an mentioned the Kaaba as “the first house set up for people” for the worship of the One God, and that the Prophet Abraham was the one who raised its foundations - along with Ismail - to be a house of worship intended for residents as well as those who pass the way in that dry valley in the heart of the desert.

With the passage of time, according to Islamic belief, the Arabs deviated from the religion of the Prophet Abraham, and worshiped God through idols, until the Prophet Muhammad came and destroyed the idols, and established the worship of the One God without an intermediary, as the Prophet Abraham did.

Other than that, the Qur’an does not mention any physical properties that are superior to the Kaaba than those mentioned in the publication.

The truth of the post

From a scientific point of view, these alleged properties have no basis.

The author of the publication confused the Earth's gravity with its magnetic field, which are two completely separate things.

Gravity is the force of attraction that bodies form on each other, just as the Earth attracts everything on it or what flies above it or swims in its orbit.

The magnetic field is a "field" surrounding magnetic objects.

gravity

The publication states that the Kaaba is the center of Earth's gravity.

This claim contradicts the simplest rules of physics.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Vincent Lessur, in charge of magnetic observatories at the Geophysics Institute in Paris, said: "Gravity is the force of attraction exerted by one mass on another, and for the Kaaba to be a center of gravity, its mass must be huge, knowing that its mass is relative to the mass of the Earth not remember".

magnetic center of attraction

As for saying that the Kaaba is the center of Earth's magnetic attraction, it is also a claim that violates the simplest rules of physics.

"It is true that the Earth has a magnetic field, but its center is the flaming core of the Earth," said Julien Hubert, a researcher at the French Center for Scientific Research and a specialist in fluid dynamics.

The Earth's core, which is rich in dissolved minerals, creates an electric current that rotates around itself, which generates the Earth's magnetic field," according to what specialized scientific studies explain.

Is it forbidden to fly over the Kaaba then?

Yes, the Saudi authorities actually prohibit flying over Mecca.

This information was confirmed to AFP by the Syndicate of French Pilots, and it was previously confirmed by Saudi navigators.

But this action has nothing to do with the reasons mentioned in these misleading publications, but rather out of respect for the Holy City.

And the Saudi Anti-Rumours Authority had previously published a video clip in which a Saudi pilot and navigation official explained that the reason for the ban on flying over Mecca is to respect the holy places and not disturb the pilgrims there.

However, this prohibition has some exceptions.

Helicopters sometimes fly over the city, especially rescue helicopters, as happened in 2006, after the collapse of a building inhabited by pilgrims, killing 76 people and wounding about sixty.

According to the Syndicate of French Pilots, Mecca is not the only place in the world where it is prohibited to fly, but there are also other sites where it is prohibited to fly or restricted, whether for religious reasons as well, or for other reasons such as the presence of a nuclear reactor, for example, which are detailed in a report distributed by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

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