Inside the Ka’bah

The diagram above shows a rare view of what the

interior of the Ka’bah looks like. The construction

made by Ebrahim (upon him be peace) contained

no roof, it was the Quraysh who raised the walls

of the Ka’bah and added a roof. Today, only a

privileged few have had the opportunity to step

inside the Ka’bah.

During the times of Jahiliyyah (Ignorance), a

man and woman from the Yemenite tribe of

Jurhum called Isaf and Na’ilah committed

adultery inside the Ka’bah. Allah (Glorified and

Exalted is He) turned them into stones. When

they were found the next day, they were

carried outside and were set up at the Ka’bah

as a warning. Over time these two stones were

worshipped along with the other idols. One of

the stones was placed right next to the

Ka’bah; the other one was set up at the spring

of Zamzam. Finally, the Quraysh ordered that

the stone next to the Ka’bah to be carried to

the other one at Zamzam. From then on,

people slaughtered their sacrificial animals at

that spot.

When Islam began to spread, the Quraysh

became more embittered and could not

tolerate the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allah be on him) any longer. The chiefs drew

up a document which called for the social and

economic boycott of the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allah be on him) and all those

who supported him and his family. All of them

signed this document on 1st Muharram of the

seventh year of the Prophethood and the scroll

was hung up inside the Ka’bah to give it full

sanctity. For three long years the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and

his kinsmen were ostracized in a narrow valley

in Makkah. Food was so scarce that they had

to resort to eating leaves of trees and their

children’s cries could be heard all over the

valley. At last by the Grace of Allah, the scroll

was eaten up by white ants save for the name

of Allah and the boycott was uplifted.

When the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allah be on him) arrived in Makkah on the day

of victory, he made tawaf around the Ka’bah

seven times and touched the Hajar al-Aswad

with his staff. He then asked Uthman bin Talha

to open the door of the Ka’bah. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be on him)

entered the Ka’bah accompanied by Usama bin

Zaid, Bilal and Uthman bin Talha (may Allah be

pleased with them). He closed the door,

performed prayer and stayed for some time.

Inside the Ka’bah were statues of Ebrahim

(upon him be peace) and Ismail (upon him be

peace), along with pictures of angels and a

picture of Ebrahim (upon him be peace) with

divining arrows in his hand. It has also been

reported that there was an icon painting of the

Virgin Mary and the child Christ which had

been done by a Christian. The Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allah be on him) ordered all of

them to be destroyed.

The two horns of the ram which Ebrahim (upon

him be peace) slaughtered were hung inside

the Holy Ka’bah. When Abdullah bin Zubair

(may Allah be pleased with him) demolished

the Ka’bah to rebuild it, he found the horns

had disintegrated due to previous damage and

age.

The Quraysh had erected their chief idol, Hubal,

within the centre of Ka’bah. It was made of

red carnelian and shaped like a human with the

right hand broken which the Quraysh had

replaced with gold. In front of the idol were

seven arrows of fate and when the pagan

Arabs were undecided on a matter they would

go to Hubal and throw the arrows in front of

him and took ‘advice’ based on how the

arrows appeared.

Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had

made a vow that if he ever had ten sons he

would sacrifice one of them to God in front of

the Ka’bah. When he subsequently fathered ten

grown up sons up he announced his vow to

them and had their names written on arrows of

fate which were mixed and then one drawn

out. Destiny fell upon Abdullah, his youngest

and dearest son, who was to become the

father of the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allah be on him). Not wanting to sacrifice

Abdullah, Abdul Muttalib consulted a

soothsayer to see how he could be exonerated

from his vow and in return for Abdullah’s life

he gave away 100 camels. Hence the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) is

called the descendant of the “two sacrificed

ones” (Ismail (upon him be peace) and his

own father, Abdullah). Similarly, he is referred

to as the descendant of the “two elders held

for ransom,” for Ismail (upon him be peace)

was ransomed for a ram and his father for a

hundred camels.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be

on him) had Hubal destroyed after the

conquest of Makkah.

References: Kabahinfo.com, Symbols of Islam –

Tanja Al-Hariri-Wendel, Muhammed the last

Prophet – Sayyed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, When

the Moon Split – Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri,

Muhammad – Martin Lings