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To the right of the door of The Kaaba, in the east corner of the Ancient House, there is a black stone, the ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلْأَسْوَد, which is venerated by the Muslims the world over. Many pilgrims try to kiss it, as it was kissed by our dear Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . Some believe it was sent down from heaven at the time of Adam عليه السلام, while others link it with Ibrahim عليه السلام, and some state that this was the stone that greeted Prophet Muhammad ﷺ before his prophethood.
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Pilgrimage to the Ancient House was announced by Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام to the world:
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ
Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds.
In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
[Al-Quran 3:96-97, Translation: Sahih International]
The Kaaba is the Qibla of the Muslims. All over the world, Muslims perform their contact prayers facing towards The Kaaba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia . Pilgrims circumambulate The Kaaba seven times. The pilgrimage to The Ancient House is also mentioned in Surah alHajj (The Pilgrimage) as:
وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ
وَأَذِّن فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ
لِّيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَاتٍ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّن بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنْعَامِ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَائِسَ الْفَقِيرَ
ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ عِندَ رَبِّهِ وَأُحِلَّتْ لَكُمُ الْأَنْعَامُ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ
حُنَفَاءَ لِلَّهِ غَيْرَ مُشْرِكِينَ بِهِ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ الطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِي بِهِ الرِّيحُ فِي مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِن تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ
لَكُمْ فِيهَا مَنَافِعُ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ثُمَّ مَحِلُّهَا إِلَى الْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ
And when We assigned* to Ibrahim (the) site (of) the House, "That (do) not associate with Me anything and purify My House for those who circumambulate and those who stand and those who bow, (and) those who prostrate.
And proclaim to [the] mankind [of] the Pilgrimage; they will come to you (on) foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every mountain highway distant.
That they may witness benefits for them, and mention (the) name (of) Allah on days known over what He has provided them of (the) beast (of) cattle. So eat of them and feed the miserable, the poor.
Then let them their prescribed duties and fulfil their vows, and circumambulate the House [the] Ancient."
That and whoever honors (the) sacred rites (of) Allah, then it (is) best for him near his Lord. And are made lawful to you the cattle except what is recited to you. So avoid the abomination of the idols and avoid (the) word false.
Being upright to Allah, not associating partners with Him. And whoever associates partners with Allah then (it is) as though he had fallen from the sky and (had) snatched him the birds, or had blown him the wind to a place far off.
That, and whoever honors (the) Symbols (of) Allah then indeed, it (is) from (the) piety (of) the hearts.
For you therein (are) benefits for a term appointed; then their place of sacrifice (is) at the House the Ancient.
[Al-Quran 22:26-33] Note: I think * should be translated as: drew Abraham to the location of The House... Please read The Ancient House ...
Surah Fajr begins with a series of oaths, and then states:
هَلْ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِي حِجْرٍ
Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of حِجْرٍ?
[Al-Quran 89:5, Translation: Sahih International; edited]
As discussed in two previous posts (1) (2), and for the purpose of this post, I understand the term لِّذِي حِجْرٍ to mean those who possess a stone.
However, the word حِجْرٍ also means a boundary, a partition:
Screenshot from corpus.quran.com
Such a partition is clearly visible near the north-west wall of the Kaaba, but not connected to it. It is popularly known as Hateem. It is also known by the name Hijr-e-Ismail (حجر إسماعيل). People can pray inside the Hijr-e-Ismail, but Tawwaf (circumambulation) is always performed outside this partition.
The Arab Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is a descendant of Prophet Ismail عليه السلام , the elder son of Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام . Surah al-Furqan mentions a forbidden partition (حِجْرًا مَحْجُورًا). The surah begins with the ayat:
تَبٰـرَكَ الَّذِىۡ نَزَّلَ الۡـفُرۡقَانَ عَلٰى عَبۡدِهٖ لِيَكُوۡنَ لِلۡعٰلَمِيۡنَ نَذِيۡرَا ۙ
Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner -
[Al-Quran 25:1, Translation: Saheeh International]
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After the Oaths, ...
Surah alFajr begins with a series of oaths, and then states:
هَلْ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِي حِجْرٍ
Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of حِجْرٍ? [Al-Quran 89:5, Translation: Sahih International; edited]
Surah alFajr then goes on to mention the mighty ancient nations who built amazing buildings, who transgressed in the lands, and caused much corruption. They were destroyed due to their sins.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is building great buildings all across the land. Alongside, many laws are also being changed to make the society and culture more liberal. It is generally moving away from the fundamentalist observance of religion towards the secularist ideals. Also worrying is the inclination of some rich Arabs towards atheism and paganism, especially Hinduism.
As their society is opening up, the news and images coming out of modern KSA are alarming. Though such liberalism has been practiced since many years in other Muslim-majority countries, the Muslim world generally looked up to KSA as the practical example of the implementation of the Shariah, and its effectiveness in maintaining law and order, and the morality of the society.
The Cube vs The Pyramid: There are pyramidical structures found all over the world. Ancient ruins of mighty pyramid-shaped buildings stand to this day. It is believed that they were temples dedicated to the worship of polytheistic deities. Modern hindu and buddhist temples also generally employ pyramidical structures and domes. Among the reasons, as explained on the internet, for such architecture is to focus the electromagnetic energy in the centre onto the statue of their deity, its resonant effect on the body of the chanter, and a distribution of pressure on the broader part of the dome to create a sense of calm.
On the contrary, the cube of The Kaaba is located under the open sky. Muslims do not worship The Kaaba as a deity, rather they believe it to be sacred because Allah has declared it sacred and called it My House. In Surah al-Quraysh we read:
فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَٰذَا الْبَيْتِ
So let them worship (the) Lord (of) this House,
The Right Religion: Surah al-Baqarah (The Heifer), Q2:149, commands us to face in the direction of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, while Surah ar-Rum (The Romans), Q30:43, urges us face the right religion. It goes on to warn:
فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ الْقَيِّمِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصَّدَّعُونَ
مَن كَفَرَ فَعَلَيْهِ كُفْرُهُ وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِأَنفُسِهِمْ يَمْهَدُونَ
لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِن فَضْلِهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ
So set your face to the religion right, before [that] comes a Day not (can be) averted [it] from Allah. That Day, they will be divided.
Whoever disbelieves, then against him (is) his disbelief. And whoever does righteousness, then for themselves they are preparing,
That He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds (out) of His Bounty. Indeed, He (does) not like the disbelievers.
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Image credits
The Black Stone in The Kaaba Wall
Screen shot from Twitter
Hateem / Hijr-e-Ismail
Last updated on: May 7, 2023
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