decision. They were very reluctant to pull the Kaʿbah down, yet they could not see how they could achieve their goal of preserving the building if they limited their activity to patchy repair work. Eventually they made up their minds and set a time for starting.
It was ʿĀ’idh ibn ʿImrān ibn Makhzūm, a maternal uncle of the Prophet’s father, who started the work. He removed one of the stones, only to find it flying back to its original position. Apparently, he was a man of wisdom. When he saw the stone flying back, he said: “People of Quraysh, select the best of your money for building the Kaʿbah. Do not include in the building fund any money earned by a whore or from usury, or anything taken by force from any person.” This shows that even in the darkest days of paganism, the Arabs recognized that adultery and usury were evil. A place built for the worship of God should not be financed by any earnings from such evil sources.
The chiefs of Makkah themselves and the noblemen in all the clans of the Quraysh were personally involved in the building work. They considered this an honour not to be missed. They organized the work so that each pair of men would work together, removing stones and relaying them in their proper positions. Women also shared in the work and carried the mortar which would hold the stones together. The Prophet himself shared in the building work, joining his uncle, al-ʿAbbās, in his shifts.
It is also said that when the men of the Quraysh met to start the demolition in order to rebuild the Kaʿbah, nobody was prepared to begin. They were extremely reluctant to pull the building down, fearing that something would happen to them. Al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, one of their chiefs, volunteered to start. He took his axe and moved forward, repeating these words: “My Lord, we mean no offence. My Lord, we are only working for a good purpose.” He then began to work, pulling down part of the building, near the corner of the Black Stone. No one joined him. They felt it was better for them to wait that night. They said to one another: “We will wait for tonight. If something happens to al-Walīd, then we will not continue with our project, but will put the part he has removed back as it was. If he is still all right, then God has accepted what we are doing and we will proceed.”
Al-Walīd was among the first to report for his work shift the following morning. He continued with the demolition and others joined him. When they reached the foundation laid down by Abraham, they found sharp green stones held tightly together. One report suggests that one man inserted a lever between two of these stones to pull them apart. When the stone gave way, the whole town was shaken. They immediately stopped the demolition work and started rebuilding.
At the time, the Kaʿbah was much lower than it is now. Its height was equal to the length of nine arms. The Quraysh decided to double it. When the Kaʿbah was rebuilt about 90 years later by ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, he increased its height to the present one, which is equal to the length of 27 arms. The increased height meant that many more stones were needed. All the Quraysh clans were working hard at that task. Each clan worked on its own. When they thought they had gathered enough stones, they put up the building, taking great pride in their work. Apparently, each clan wanted to have more of the honour of building the Kaʿbah for itself. Old jealousies were coming to the surface and disagreements frequently flared up. It was when the time came to restore the Black Stone9 to its position that the dispute among the clans was at its fiercest. Each clan wanted that honour for itself. Tempers were high and people started to call for a resolution of the dispute by the sword. In no time, they were ready to engage in battle.
Four or five nights passed, with tension at its highest. An alliance was formed by the clans of ʿAbd al-Dār and ʿAdiy ibn Kaʿb to fight to the bitter end. The alliance was sealed with blood. Some wise men, however, tried to resolve the dispute. A meeting was called in the mosque itself and discussions were held on how to resolve the dispute amicably. That, however, was not easy to achieve. Finally, the eldest man in the Quraysh, Abū Umayyah ibn al-Mughīrah, made a suggestion which was met with unanimous approval. He suggested that the first man to enter the mosque be asked to arbitrate in the dispute, and whatever judgement he made was to be honoured by all.
The first man to enter was none other than Muhammad. He had not yet received his revelations and he knew nothing about prophethood. Nevertheless, he was well respected for his integrity and fairness. When they saw him, all of them expressed their pleasure. They said: “This is the man of trust, al-amīn, and we accept him as arbitrator.” They put the matter in dispute to him. He immediately recognized that it was a very sensitive issue which needed to be approached with a great deal of tact. He asked them to bring a garment and to select a representative from each clan. When they had done so, he placed the Black Stone on the garment and asked those clan representatives to lift the garment jointly, with the Black Stone on it, and move it to its position. When they had lifted it to its exact spot he himself placed it there and secured it in position. Everyone was satisfied with this solution, which ensured that no clan could boast of monopolizing the honour of restoring the Black Stone to its position. They all had a share in that honourable task. Moreover, this solution enhanced Muhammad’s standing among his people.10
NOTES
1. Amīn Duwaydār, Ṣuwar Min Ḥayāt al-Rasūl, Dar al-Maʿārif, 4th edition, Cairo, pp. 80-81.
2. Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dār al-Qalam, Beirut, Vol. 1, pp. 197-198.
3. Ibid., pp. 140-141. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, ʿUyūn al-Athar, Dār al-Turāth, Madinah, 1996, pp. 113-114.
4. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 141-142.
5. Amīn Duwaydār, op.cit., p. 84.
6. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 198-200. Also Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., pp. 115-117 and Amīn Duwaydār, op.cit., pp. 85-87.
7. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 200-201. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., p. 118.
8. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 202.
9. The Black Stone is an easily distinguished stone, placed a little below shoulder level at one corner of the Kaʿbah. The act of worship which is particularly associated with the Kaʿbah, and never stops except when congregational prayer is held, is ṭawāf, which means walking round the Kaʿbah seven times in an anti-clockwise direction. Ṭawāf is one of the duties of Islamic pilgrimage and ʿUmrah (mini-pilgrimage). It is also a recommended act of worship at all times. Moreover, it is the way to offer greetings to the Kaʿbah.
It is said that when Abraham completed the building of the Kaʿbah, with the help of his son, Ishmael, God commanded him to do the ṭawāf. He was not able to keep a correct count of the rounds he made. He felt that other worshippers would be similarly confused. He prayed God to give him a sign to be used for counting rounds. The Angel Gabriel brought him the Black Stone.
When one starts ṭawāf, and at the completion of each round, one should kiss the Black Stone or touch it with one’s hand, if it is possible, or signal to it from a distance, if the place is too crowded. As one does so, one should repeat this declaration: “There is no deity save God, God is supreme.” The significance of this particular action is best expressed by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the second greatest figure among the companions of Prophet Muhammad and his second successor as ruler of the Islamic state, and a distinguished scholar. He addressed the Black Stone in these words: “I know that you are a stone which can cause no harm or benefit. Had it not been for the fact that I saw God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) kissing you, I would not have kissed you.”
10. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp., 204-211. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., pp. 121-124.
