CHAPTER 4: QURAISH’S REBUILDING OF THE KA‘BAH FIVE YEARS BEFORE THE START OF HIS PROPHETIC MISSION
Quraish’s Rebuilding of the Ka‘bah Five Years Before the Start of His Prophetic Mission
Allah, Most High, says, “Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for Al-‘Alameen (mankind and the jinn). In it are manifest signs (for example), the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim; whosoever enters it, he attains security. And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka‘bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one’s conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves (i.e. denies Hajj, then he is a disbeliever in Allah), then Allah stands not in need of any of the Al-‘Alameen.” (Soorah Aal ‘Imran 3:96,97). And it has been confirmed in the
Saheehain on the authority of Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “I said, O, Messenger of Allah! Which mosque was built first?” He replied, “The Sacred Mosque (in Makkah).” I asked, “Then which one?” He replied, “Al-Aqsa Mosque.” I then asked him, “How many years passed between the construction of the former and the latter?” He said, “Forty years.” We have discussed this previously and we said that Al-Aqsa Mosque was established by Isra’eel, i.e. Ya‘qoob (Peace be upon him). It is also narrated in the Saheehain: “Verily, this city was made a sanctuary by Allah on the day He created the heavens and the Earth, and it is a sanctuary by His Decree until the Day of Resurrection.”
And Al-Baihaqi narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘As (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Allah sent Jibraeel to Adam and Eve to say to them, Build a House for Allah. Jibraeel laid the designs for them. Then Adam began to dig, while Eve removed the soil, until he struck water. At this point, he was called from beneath, Adam! That is enough! After completing the construction, Adam was directed by Allah, Most High, to circumambulate the House (the Ka‘bah). It was said to him, ‘You are the first man (to be created), and this is the first House to be built.’ Several centuries passed until Nooh made pilgrimage to it, then more centuries passed until Ibrahim laid the foundations.” Al-Baihaqi said, “Ibn Lahee‘ah was alone in narrating it in this way, in a marfoo‘ form.”
I say: It is weak; and it is more correct and safer to say that it is mawqoof at ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr (May Allah be pleased with him). And Allah knows better.
A man asked ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) regarding the Saying of Allah: “Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), in which blessing and guidance for Al-‘Alameen were placed” (Soorah Aal ‘Imran 3:96), “Was it the first House built on the Earth?” ‘Ali replied, “No, but it was the first House in which blessing and guidance were placed for mankind, along with Maqam-e-Ibrahim and whoever enters it is safe. And if you wish, I will inform you how it was built: Verily, Allah, Most High, revealed to Ibrahim (Peace be upon him): “Build Me a House on the Earth.” But he was unable to accomplish it and so Allah sent As-Sakeenah – which is a twisting wind with a head – and each of them followed the other until it finished. Then it encircled the location of the House, as a serpent does and Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) built until he reached the place of the stone and he said to his son, “Find me a stone.” So he searched for a stone and he found one and returned with it. But when he returned, he found that the Black Stone had already been put into place and so he said to his father, “From where did you get this?” He replied, “The one who does not rely on your building brought it: It was brought by Jibraeel from the
heaven and he completed it.” Then time passed and it fell into disrepair and it was repaired by the Amalekites. Then it fell into disrepair again and it was rebuilt by Jurhum. Then it fell into disrepair a third time and it was rebuilt by Quraish and the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), who at that time was a young man. When they wanted to raise the Black Stone, they disagreed regarding who should have the honor of doing it, so they said, “We will appoint as an arbiter the first man to emerge from this gate.” It happened that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was the first person to emerge from the gate and so he arbitrated between them, saying that they should place the Stone on a mantle, then all of the tribes might raise it up.”
Sa‘eed Ibn Yahya Al-Umawi said, “Al-Mu‘ammar Ibn Sulaiman Ar-Raqqi told us, on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn Bishr from Az-Zuhri (who attributed the Hadith to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)), that he said, “Three stone tablets were found in the Maqam (of Ibrahim). On the first tablet it was written: “Verily, I
am Allah, the Owner of Bakkah (Makkah). I made it on the day I made the sun and the moon and I surrounded it with seven pure estates; and I blessed its inhabitants in their meat and their milk.” On the second tablet it said, “Verily, I am Allah, the Owner of Bakkah (Makkah). I created ar-rahim and I derived it from My Name (i.e. Ar-Rahman). So whoever maintains ties of kinship, I will maintain ties with him and whoever cuts them, I will send him away.” On the third tablet, it said, “Verily, I am Allah, the Owner of Bakkah (Makkah). I created goodness and evil and I ordained them. So blessed is the one in whose hands I place goodness and woe to the one in whose hands I place evil.”
And it has been confirmed in the Saheehain on the authority of ‘A’ishah (may Allah be Pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her, “Do you know that when your people (Quraish) rebuilt the Ka‘bah, they decreased it from its original foundation laid by Ibrahim?” I said, “O, Messenger of Allah! Why do you not rebuild it on its original foundation laid by Ibrahim?” He replied, “Were it not for the fact that your people are close to the Jahiliyyah (i.e. they have recently become Muslims) I would have done so.” The sub-narrator, ‘Abdullah (Ibn ‘Umar) (May Allah be pleased with him) stated: ‘A’ishah must have heard this from the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), for in my opinion, the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) had not placed his hand over the two corners of the Ka‘bah opposite Al-Hijr only because the Ka‘bah was not rebuilt on its original foundations laid by Ibrahim (Peace be upon him).” For this reason, when Az-Zubair was able to rebuild it, he did so in accordance with the description mentioned by the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and it appeared in best, most beautiful and perfect form, on the foundations of Al-Khaleel, with two doors at floor level, at the eastern and the western
ends; the people would enter from one end and exit from the other. After Al-Hajjaj had killed Ibn Az-Zubair, he wrote a letter to ‘Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan – who was the Caliph at that time – informing him of what Ibn Az-Zubair had done, they thought that he had done it of his own accord and so he ordered that it be returned to its former
appearance, so they turned their attention to Shami wall and they broke it down and removed the Stone from it, then they compressed its stones on the floor of the Ka‘bah, which caused the level of its door to be raised, then they blocked off the western door, while the eastern door continued as it was. Then during the era of Al-Mahdi, or that of his son, he consulted Malik regarding the possibility of returning the Ka‘bah to the way Az-Zubair had made it. Malik – may Allah have mercy on him – said, “I fear that kings will make it into a game.” So he left it as it was and it remains thus to this day.
As for the Sacred Mosque, the first person to move back the houses from the vicinity of the Ka‘bah was ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him). He purchased them from their owners and demolished them. Then, when ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan (May Allah be pleased with him) became Caliph, he extended the area of the Mosque by purchasing more houses. When Ibn Az-Zubair was Governor, he improved its construction and increased the number of its doors, but he did not increase it in any other way. When ‘Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan sought advice in the matter, he increased the height of its walls and he ordered that the Ka‘bah be covered with silk brocade. The person who was entrusted with this task was Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yoosuf and we have mentioned already the story of the building of the House and the Ahadeeth pertaining to that in the explanation of Allah’s Saying in Soorah Al-Baqarah: And (remember) when Ibrahim and (his son) Isma‘eel were raising the foundations of the House (the Ka‘bah at Makkah) (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:127)
Ibn Ishaq said, “When they had finished rebuilding the Ka‘bah and built it as they wished, Az-Zubair Ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib said, regarding the matter of the snake which caused Quraish to fear rebuilding the Ka‘bah,
I was amazed to see the eagle swoop down,
On the snake, and it was confused,
And it had used to recoil and sometimes pounce,
When we tried to repair the foundations, it attacked,
And made us afraid to rebuild and we were in dread,
And when we feared that we would be prevented,
The eagle came rushing and it attacked,
And seized it, allowing us to build without hindrance,
So we began to concentrate on our building,
Like digging the foundations and shifting the dirt,
In the morning, we raised the foundations of it,
And we were without garments on our flesh,
The Owner thereby honored Banu Lu’ayy,
And none of them left its foundations,
And Banu ‘Adiyy had gathered there,
Along with Murrah, but Kilab preceded them,
And the Owner had thereby honored us,
And with Allah reward is sought.
Ibn Ishaq described how the Quraish had innovated in calling themselves Al-Hums, which means to be harsh and hard in religious matters. They did this because of their excessive veneration of the Sacred Precincts, due to which they would not leave the Sacred Precincts on the night of ‘Arafah. They used to say, “We are the sons of the Sacred Mosque and the inhabitants of the House of Allah (SWT).” And so they would not stand upon ‘Arafah, even though they knew that this was one of the rites practiced by Ibrahim (Peace be upon him). So determined were they in the practice of these wicked innovations that they would not abandon them at any cost. They would not store dried yoghurt or ghee and they would not use animal fat while they were in a state of ihram. Nor would they enter a tent made of camel hair, or seek shade except in a house of adobe bricks, as long as they were in a state of ihram. Also, out of a deeply-rooted misconception, they would not allow the Hajj and ‘Umrah pilgrims to eat any food except the food of Quraish and they would not allow them to perform circumambulation of the Ka‘bah except in garments provided by Quraish and if they were unable to find anyone from Quraish or their associated tribes, such as Kinanah and Khuza‘ah to provide them with a garment, they had to circumambulate naked, even the women. For this reason, when a woman was forced to circumambulate naked, she would place her hand over her private parts and say,
Today part or all of it appears,
And what appears of it I do not declare it lawful.
If one of those who found one of these so-called Ahmasi garments performed the circumambulation in his own clothes, he would be obliged to discard them after completing the rite and he would not be allowed to use them after that. In addition neither he nor anyone else was allowed to touch them. The Arabs used to call these garments ‘Al-Laqy’ (that which is discarded). One of the poets said regarding this
(Al-BahrAt-Taweel),
It is sad enough that he is,
Like a discarded garment,
Before those circumambulating the Ka‘bah.
Ibn Ishaq said, “They continued in this manner until Allah sent Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and revealed the Qur’an to him, rejecting their innovations. He, Most High, says, ‘Then depart from the place whence all the people depart.’ (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:199). It means the majority of the Arabs depart from ‘Arafat. ‘…and ask Allah for His Forgiveness. Truly, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful’.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:199). We have mentioned previously that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to stand at ‘Arafat even before Revelation came to him and this conformity with Allah’s Divine Will was granted to him by Allah. And Allah revealed to him a rejection of the prohibitions regarding clothing and food that they used to practice: “O, Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes), while praying and going round (performing tawaf of) the Ka‘bah, and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance). Say (O, Muhammad), ‘Who has forbidden the adoration with clothes given by Allah, which He has produced for his slaves, and At-Tayyibat (all kinds of halal [lawful] things) of food?’ Say, ‘They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe (and) exclusively for them (the Believers) on the Day of Resurrection (and the disbelievers will not share them).’ Thus We explain the Ayat (Islamic laws) in detail for people who have knowledge.” (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:31,32). And Ziyad Al-Bakka’i said, on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, “I do not know if these innovations of theirs began before the Year of the Elephant or after that.”
By Ibn Katheer
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