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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Hajar al-Aswad

The picture above shows the Hajar al-Aswad (The
Black Stone), which is set in the eastern corner
of the Ka’bah. Tawaf is started and ended by
facing this sacred stone. Throughout the ages,
innumerable people including many of the
Prophets (upon them be peace), the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on
him) himself, the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased
with them), pious personalities and millions of
Muslims who have performed Hajj and Umrah
have placed their blessed lips on it.
The Hajar al-Aswad was brought from Jannah
and presented to Ebrahim (upon him be peace)
to be placed on the corner of the Ka’bah. Ibn
Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)
narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be on him) said: “The Black Stone
came down from Paradise and it was whiter
than milk, but the sins of the sons of Adam
turned it black.” [Tirmidhi]
Du’as are accepted at the Hajar al-Aswad and
on the Day of Judgement it will testify in
favour of all those who kissed it. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said:
“By Allah! On the Day of Qiyamah, Allah will
present the Hajar al-Aswad in such a manner
that it will have two eyes and a tongue to
testify to the Imaan (faith) of all those who
kissed it.” [Tirmidhi]
When the Quraysh demolished the Holy Ka’bah
in order to reconstruct it, a dispute arose when
the building reached the level of the Black
Stone. They differed on the issue of who was
eligible to restore the Black Stone to its
original place. A civil war was about to break
out. Banu Abdu’d-Dar brought a bowl full of
blood and all of the tribes inserted their hands
in it, which meant that they had made up their
minds to fight one another. But Abu Umayya
Ibn al-Mugheera , their elder, asked Quraysh to
agree on the judgement of the first person to
come through the Bani Shaibah gate and they
all agreed on this suggestion. The first to come
through this gate was the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be on him). This was five
years before his mission. He put the Black
Stone in the middle of a piece of cloth, and
asked a representative of each tribe to hold
one of the edges of the cloth and raise it close
to its place. Then the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be on him) picked it up with
his own noble hands and restored it to its
original place. This was how the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him)
prevented a war from breaking out among the
Quraysh by a supreme demonstration of
wisdom.
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)
relates that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be on him), while leaning against the
Ka’bah said: “The Hajr al-Aswad and al-
Maqam (Ebrahim) are two jewels from the
jewels of Paradise. Had Allah (Glorified and
Exalted is He) not concealed their radiance,
they would illuminate everything between the
East and the West.” [Tirmidhi]
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once
kissed the Hajar al-Aswad and said, “I know
well that you are just a stone that can do
neither good nor harm. Had I not seen the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on
him) kiss you, I would not have done so.”
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) made
the statement because there were many people
who were newly converted to Islam and he did
not want them to get the impression that
Muslims also revered stones as the Arabs
revered and worshipped stone idols during the
Period of Ignorance. Umar (may Allah be
pleased with him) made it clear that he was
following the Sunnah practice of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and
that although the stone is blessed, it can do
neither harm nor good.
The Hajar al-Aswad was stolen from the
Ka’bah around 930 CE by Qarmatian warriors
who were an Ismaeeli Shia sect. They sacked
Makkah, desecrating the Well of Zamzam with
Muslim corpses and carried the Black Stone
away to their base in Ihsaa, in medieval
Bahrain. According to the historian Al-Juwayni,
the stone was returned in around 952 CE and
restored to its original location.
The Hajar al-Aswad was originally a complete
stone but due to various historical incidents
now consists of eight pieces of varying sizes
affixed to a large stone and encased in a silver
frame. The silver frame was first made by
Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with
him) and replaced by later Khalifas as the need
arose.
Six (additional) pieces are claimed to be in
Istanbul, Turkey. One is displayed in the
mihrab of the Blue Mosque, one above the
entrance of the tomb of Sulaiman the
Magnificent and four in the Sokullu Sehit
Mehmet Pasa Camii mosque (one over the
mihrab, one below the lower pulpit, another is
above the upper pulpit and the last is over the
entrance door). The authenticity of these
additional pieces has been questioned,
although the Turks did rule over what is now
Saudi Arabia for many years and hold many
historical Islamic relics. And Allah (Glorified
and Exalted is He) knows best.
Note that when kissing the Hajar al-Aswad,
one should neither push people nor harm
anyone because while kissing the Hajar al-
Aswad is Sunnah, causing harm to people is a
forbidden act (haram). When the area is
crowded, it will suffice to merely point towards
the Hajar al-Aswad with one’s hand or a stick
while reciting the Takbeer and then to kiss the
hand or stick. Although the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be on him) kissed the
Hajar al-Aswad directly, he also pointed
towards it when the area was crowded, it is
therefore clear that both kissing it and pointing
towards it are Sunnah.
References: The History of Makkah Mukarramah–
Dr Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani, Holy Makkah –
Shaikh Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, Wikipedia

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