Ep. 10 (Final): A New Beginning | History of The Ka’bah

In this episode we take a look at the significance of the Ka’bah in the life of the prophet (SAW) after migrating to Madinah. Surely the first and most significant event involving the Ka’bah after Hijrah was the turning of the Qiblah towards Ka’bah. We know that the prophet (SAW) prayed towards Bayt Al-Maqdis for the first 16 or 17 months after migrating. Here, a question arises; did he also pray towards Bayt Al-Maqdis at Makkah, when he was living there? We’ve hinted towards the answer to this in the previous episode where we referenced some narrations that mentioned the prophet (SAW) praying towards Baitullah in such a way that he was also facing Bayt Al-Maqdis; basically, he was aligning the two Qiblas by praying from the side of Al Hajar Al-Aswad and Al Rukn Al-Yamani. He was in fact praying towards Bayt Al-Maqdis, but not compromising the Qibla of the Ka’bah. After 16 or 17 months, after Hijra, and after the prophet (SAW) desired to have the Qibla changed towards the Ka’bah, finally the instructions came, that [“We have certainly seen the turning of your face, (O Muhammad,) towards the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a Qibla with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward Al-Masjid Al-Haram. And wherever you (believers) are, turn your faces toward it (in prayer). Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.”] “Now you can change your Qibla towards Al-Masjid Al-Haram.” The prophet (SAW) prayed one salah to Bayt Al-Maqdis and the next salah he offered to Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and the story of the sahaba (RA) who heard another companion announcing that the Qibla had been changed and then changed their Qibla right in salah resulting in the Masjid being named Masjid Al-Qiblatain, this is well known as famous.

This was a major incident. Of course, there were some people that were extremely displeased; the people of the book, especially from the Jewish community at that time, felt very offended that the prophet (SAW) had left the Qibla of the prophets of Bani Isra’il. However, this was something that Allah (SWT) had already designated that was going to happen. He had already promised the prophet (SAW), “Shortly, we will change your direction to a Qibla that you will be content with.” Let’s fast forward a little bit. Sahaba (RA) are migrating one by one. The prophet (SAW) left Makkah with a very heavy heart; he announced that the people to Makkah that it was the most beloved place to Allah (SWT), and had he not been compelled to leave, he would rather not. Like this, in small groups, the sahaba (RA) had completed the migration towards Madinah. A few years later, the prophet (SAW) sees a dream in which he and his companions are performing tawaf of the Ka’bah, and they are cutting their hair or shaving their heads after fulfilling their rites at the Ka’bah, and in the sixth year of Hijrah, the prophet (SAW) takes his companions, all in the state of ihram, with the intention to become Umrah, they are stopped, and in the process that follows, they are stopped, and in the process that follows, the treaty of Hudaybiyyah is drawn up, in which the prophet (SAW) and his companions are not able to perform Umrah that year, but they are allowed to come the following year and stay for three days. Later, the treaty of Hudaybiyyah is in effect, one year later the prophet (SAW) has a chance to come back and perform Umrah, and there was a person who had the keys of the Ka’bah, and the keys of the Ka’bah stayed with his family. His name was Uthman ibn Talha. In previous years, when the prophet (SAW) still lived in Makkah, and Quraysh used to open the doors of the Ka’bah on Mondays and Thursdays, once the prophet (SAW) wanted to go in, and Uthman ibn Talha stopped him, ridiculed him and reprimanded him for changing his religion and so on and so forth. He used his authority of having the key of the Ka’bah to give the prophet (SAW) a hard time. The prophet (SAW) told him, “O Uthman, the day will come when I will have the key of the Ka’bah, and I will place it in the hands of whomsoever I choose.” This man, Uthman ibn Talha, became very impressed with the prophet (SAW), and touched by him when he saw him coming for Umrah, and at that time he decided to accept Islam and migrate to Madinah. When he migrated to Madinah, he had the key of the Ka’bah with him, he accepted Islam, took Bay’ah on the hands of the prophet (SAW), and the prophet (SAW) then asked him for the key, which he passed over to the prophet (SAW), to which the prophet (SAW) then gave back to Uthman ibn Talha. He said, “Remember that conversation we had, and remember those words that I said?” And Uthman remembered what the prophet (SAW) said about giving the key to whosoever he chooses.

Some narrations mention a similar incident at the time of the conquest of Makkah. Let’s fast forward a little bit and go to the conquest of Makkah before talking about the story of Uthman ibn Talha once again. The prophet (SAW), in the eighth year, after Hijrah, enters into Makkah. He enters with his head lowered out of humility, as a conqueror, but he is entering in a very humble fashion. One of his people, Saad ibn Ubadah (RA), announced to Abu Sufiyan, who had not yet accepted Islam, that, “Today is going to be the day of slaughter, and today, even the sanctity of the Ka’bah will not be maintained; there will be bloodshed.” Abu Sufiyan came to the prophet (SAW) and complained to him about the things that Saad had said. The prophet (SAW) did not like these words; in fact, he said, “Today is a day of showing kindness, and today is a day in which Allah (SWT) is going to amplify the sanctity of the Ka’bah. This is the day in which the Ka’bah is going to be given a new cloth to cover it.” The prophet (SAW) gave people a chance to take protection, either in the Ka’bah itself, or Al-Masjid Al-Haram, or in the house of Abu Sufiyan, or in the house of some other individuals, to the extent that he said that anyone who enters an aforementioned house and closes the door is safe, and nobody will do anything to them. The prophet (SAW) gave instructions that nobody is to be hurt, except for those who come out with arms and weapons against the Muslims and try to attack them. There were a couple of exceptions; for example, a man named Abdul-uza ibn Khattal, who had killed someone and had escaped was there, clutching onto the cloth of the Ka’bah in an effort to escape from his sentence; he and one more person were condemned to death because of previous acts. The prophet (SAW) otherwise enters peacefully and has the Ka’bah cleaned out. At that time, the Ka’bah had about 360 idols, and it had pictures inside the Ka’bah painted of previous prophets, like Ibrahim (AS) holding superstitious arrows that he is using to make decisions. The prophet (SAW) had these paintings removed and washed away and entered the Ka’bah, holding a stick in his hands. Upon pointing the stick at an idol and reciting, [“And say Truth has now arrived and falsehood perished; for falsehood by its nature is bound to perish.” Quran 17: 81] the idols would fall on their own without anyone touching it. Then, the prophet (SAW) asks for the key to the Ka’bah. Some narrations mention that he performed tawaf first, pointing to Al Hajar Al-Aswad with his stick, but regardless, here is where we revisit the story of Uthman ibn Talha. The narrations that mention that the prophet (SAW) obtained the key from Uthman ibn Talha do not contradict the previous narrations that we mention – that he had already migrated and accepted Islam – because the prophet (SAW) had handed the key over to him and he was still in possession of it. This is why he asked for the key to be brought to him. Some narrations mention that the prophet (SAW) sent Ali (RA) to get the key from Uthman ibn Talha. Others, however, mention that Uthman Ibn Talha tried to escape, and that he was hiding on top of the Ka’bah; however, most scholars do not give too much emphasis or importance to these narrations. They say that Uthman ibn Talha was already a Muslim, and that there are some narrations that hint towards Uthman ibn Talha having passed the key to his mother, and the prophet (SAW) sending someone to fetch the key from his mother, but in any case, the prophet (SAW) takes the key and asks if there is anybody that would like to say something. Sahaba (RA), those from Quraysh, wanted to have the key, and wanted to be, once again, in charge of the Ka’bah and have full authority of the Ka’bah now that they are the conquerors of Makkah, but the prophet (SAW) gives the key back to Uthman, and he said, “Take this. It will remain with you until the Day of Judgement. Only a tyrant could take it away from you.” At that time, Uthman ibn Talha was the oldest in his family. The prophet (SAW) told him, “This is a day of dutifulness and fulfilling promises. Allah (SWT) has told us, [“Allah commands you to deliver trusts to those worthy of them; and when you judge, excellent is the admonition Allah gives you. Allah is between people, to judge with justice; All-Hearing, All-Seeing.”] This key is going to stay with your family.” His eldest son was Shaiba, and from him, the Shaibi family name was established, and even today, the Shaibi family continues to be the keyholders of the Ka’bah. The prophet (SAW) goes inside the Ka’bah, makes du’a near one of the various pillars, and prays two rakats; then, the prophet (SAW) comes out and gives a khutba. This is another major incident regarding the Ka’bah.

After this, the prophet (SAW) comes back for Hajj, and this is a vast chapter in and of itself; of course, the Ka’bah is at the centre of Hajj, but we won’t go into the details of the Hajj of the prophet (SAW) in this particular series, but perhaps we will cover it in other series with the tawfiq of Allah (SWT). What matters here is that, before the prophet (SAW)’s time, and during his life, the Ka’bah has been an iconic monument that represents Tawhid and attachment to Allah (SWT), and during the prophet (SAW)’s time, it represents the centre of where all the activities involving prophethood took place from, and all things eventually come back to the Ka’bah, and until the Day of Judgement, the Ka’bah will remain the center of the Muslims and a point of unity; not just in the direction that we face when we pray, but also as an abiding message that tawhid brings us all together. Our belief in Allah (SWT) and the deen of Allah (SWT); in this lies our unity, and when we unify ourselves around these important things, then it is very much possible that we can overcome our differences and find unity even amongst the most difficult differences. May Allah (SWT) increase our love for him, his deen, and his house, and may Allah (SWT) make us from those who visit his house again and again.