Ep. 08: Prophetic Placement | History of The Ka’bah

Let us continue our story of the Ka’bah. We have now traveled 35 years in the future. The prophet (SAW) is a young man who has spent his entire life in Makkah. During this time, as a woman was burning incense, which was a habit the Arabs would partake as a way of revering the Ka’bah, somehow she started a fire, and the fire was such that it began to burn the Ka’bah, and a significant portion of the Ka’bah was burnt that year. One of the old relics that the Arabs had preserved from the time of Isma’il (AS) that was hung on the wall of the Ka’bah outside, the horns of the ram Ibrahim (AS) slaughtered in place of his son, was also burnt, and a significant portion of the Ka’bah was was burnt. Unfortunately, in that same year, a great flood damaged what was left of the structure of the Ka’bah, so the Quraysh got together, held their council and agreed on reconstructing the Ka’bah.

Of course, this was going to be a very exciting project; however, because of their reverence and esteem for Allah (SWT)’s house, they had placed certain conditions for what type of wealth could be used in the construction of Baitullah. It could not be wealth that was taken unjustly or acquired through theft or robbery; it could not be wealth that was made through interest of any kind of unethical earnings, and it could only be constructed using wealth that was considered halal through their views. When they looked at the resources that they had, they found that, in fact, the resources they had were very limited due to these conditions. Then they also needed good material, which they did not know where to procure from. Around that time, a ship had crashed off the coast of Jaddah, which was a Byzantine ship whose owner had been saved. The ship was crashed, but its wood was largely intact, so they made a deal with the captain of the ship for its wood. This was a major portion of the material they were going to use for the restructuring for the Ka’bah. Now, everyone is participating, including all of the public figures in this time; some modifications were made to the structure of Ibrahim (AS), some for practical reasons and others due to a lack of resources. For example, the structure of Ibrahim (AS) had two doors, and both doors were at ground level. There was one right next to Hajr al-Aswad, at the same place where existing door is, and there was one door opposite of it from the back, and the Ka’bah at that time had no ceiling. So, they figured that, because they are now putting a ceiling on the Ka’bah, there is no chance of flooding inside, so there is no need for two doors. Another change that they made was that they raised the height of the structure. Ibrahim (AS)’s structure was close to 4 and a half metres tall, and the new builders expanded it by about another 4 metres to this height, making it about 9 metres tall. This added to the prominence and impressiveness of this structure. The roof was made, and to drain water off of the roof, a drainpipe was added to one side that is opposite to the side of the doors. Another change that they made because of practical reasons was shortening the length of the Ka’bah and the part of the Hateem, the area that Ibrahim (AS) constructed in a round fashion, was squared off, and they placed some stones on the outside to indicate that it used to be part of the Ka’bah. Another modification that they made, which was more of a political move, was that they raised the door and made it high off of the ground, and for the first time they put locks on the doors so that the general public do not have access to it. Why was it political? Because they wanted to be selective as to who they allowed to enter. They wanted it to be by their authority, so it was to maintain a sort of control and authority over that Ka’bah. The one door that was left of the Ka’bah was raised off the ground and locked.

During this construction, the prophet (SAW), who was a young man of 35, was also participating, along with the other participants of Quraysh, and he would carry the bricks, stones and material on his bare back and shoulders. Because of this, his back became scratched and bruised. His uncle, Abbas, told him to take his lower garment and place it around his neck to cushion his shoulders and back because he was getting wounded, and just as he was considering doing this, he fainted. This was Allah (SWT)’s way of saving the prophet (SAW) from exposing his body to other people. Now, the construction is mostly complete, but there is one very important step, and that is placing the Black Stone. Everyone wanted to have that honor and distinction of placing the Black Stone in its place; this caused a large argument and dispute to erupt amongst the chieftains of Quraysh, and every one of them claimed that they were more entitled to do so. Finally, in order to stop the fighting, they said, “Why don’t we agree to this? The next person that walks into the area of the Ka’bah – we will give them this responsibility?” And so, the next person to walk in was the Prophet (SAW), and when the people saw him, they all agreed that he was the most eligible person to do it. They said, “Al Amin (the most trustworthy person) is here.” So, the prophet (SAW) then, instead of doing the whole thing himself, came up with a solution that would make everyone happy; and that was that he had the Black Stone placed on a very large sheet, and he had the chieftains of the tribe all grab a corner of the sheet, so all of them would have the honor of carrying the stone to the spot, and once they had brought it over, then the prophet (SAW), with his own blessed hands, placed the stone in its proper spot, where we see it even today. This was our prophet (SAW)’s participation in the construction of the Ka’bah, and, in that aspect also, he bears construction and similarity to his great forefather, Ibrahim (AS), who had constructed the Ka’bah as they knew it.