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