Before Islam, the Quraysh knew the Kabah was special, but they misused the holy site in pursuit of idolatry. As a result, the Prophet avoided the Kabah in his early years, wishing to stay away from shirk and obscenity. But that would change once he received revelation. As he learned about what the Kabah truly stood fora symbol of monotheism in a lost worldhe began to spend more time there to establish the rituals of Hajj.