Nanak in Mecca

During his extensive travels, Guru Nanak also visited Mecca, the holy city for Moslems. For the visit he changed his dress to the blue robes of a Moslem dervish going to a pilgrimage and took with him a staff, a prayer carpet and his own prayer book.

When they reached Mecca, Nanak and Mardana went to a small mosque outside the city, where pilgrims could go for rest. After the evening prayers the pilgrims soon fell asleep. The keeper of the mosque, Mulla Jiwan, was making his nightly rounds when he saw one of the pilgrims, Guru Nanak, sleeping with his feet towards the Kaba, the holy city of Mecca.

"How dare you sleep with your feet in the direction of Mecca?" he shouted. He grabbed hold of Guru Nanak's feet and pulled him around so that he was facing a different direction. To everyone's amazement the Kaba had also moved to that direction. Guru Nanak said: "The house of God is in every direction. Turn my feet where it is not." Indeed, wherever Jiwan turned the Guru's feer, the Kaba would be seen. The other pilgrims and Jiwan were struck with wonder at the truth of Nanak's words and at the miracle that they had just witnessed. Jiwan begged forgiveness of the Guru for being so rude.

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