96. " verily the first house (of worship) set up for mankind is the one at
bekka (mecca), blessed and a guidance for the worlds."

commentary:
 one of the objections of the children of israel was that they said why
muslims had taken the ka`bah as their qiblah instead of jerusalem which
has been built 1500 years before christ by solomon. this verse is an
answer to them that the ka`bah has existed from the beginning day and it is
the first house, viz, its ancientness and its date is further than any other
places of worship.

by the way, it is cited in tafsir-almizan (vol. 3, p. 583, persion
version) that there are many traditions upon the expansion of the earth
/dahw-ul-`ard/,1 while there is no scientific reason to oppose it and it does
not differ from the verses of the qur'an.
in nahjul-balaq­ah, sermon 192, imam amir-ul mu'mineen ali (a.s.)
says: "... allah, the glorified, has tried all the people among those who came
before, beginning with adam, upto the last ones in this world with stones (of
ka`bah)... " 2
it is understood from this statement that the ka`bah has existed from
the time of adam (a.s.) and its background is further than any other
worshipping place.

in the qur'an and the traditions of ahlul-bayt (a.s.), the ka`bah has
been referred to with different terms. some of them are as follows:

1. the ka`bah is the first house: sura 'al-i-`imran, no. 3, verse 96.

2. ka`bah, a maintenance for the people: sura al-ma'idah, no 5,
verse 97.

3. the ka`bah, the ancient (free) house: sura al-hajj, no. 22,
verse 29.

4. the ka`bah, the house, a resort and a secure sanctuary for the
people: sura al-baqarah, no. 2, verse 125.

5. the ka`bah is a sign of islam: nahjul-balaqah.

explanations:
 1. ka`bah is the secret of the guidance of people, an inclusive
guidance for all, since it is the qiblah of all. it is similar to the holy
qur'an and the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.) that have been revealed and
who have been appointed for all human kind.

2. when allah wills, the stones of ka`bah will be blessed and will
guide human beings. besides that, looking at ka`bah is counted worship,
and, by his command, abraham and ishmael (a.s.) become its particular
servants.

3. the qur'an, the messenger and the ka`bah are independent for
they are specific to allah. neither is the quran made up and finished by
any individual, nor the prophet pays the allegiance of any one, nor the
ka`bah belongs to a particular person.

4. ka`bah is the first point in the earth.

5. ka`bah is the first house built for the worship of people.

6. the goodness and blessings of ka`bah are not only for the
believers, but they are for all.

" verily the first house (of worship) set up for mankind is the one at bakka
(mecca), blessed and a guidance for the worlds. "

1 the term /dahv-ul-ard/ means that the earth was expanded 
and extended from beneath the ka`bah.
 2 nahjul-balaq­ah, sermon 192