The
Black Stone, the corner stone of the Ka`bah, was put by Ibrahim,
peace and blessings be upon him, as a sign or symbol of being the
corner stone in the Kingdom of Allah. This is referred to in the
Psalms. In the Psalm 118, we read: “The stone refused by builder
hath become the corner stone.”
The
sons of Isma`il were seen as being outcast by Allah and that the
Covenant was made with the sons of Isaac only. This is the view of
Jews. Though being refused by the builders, as clarified by Prophet
David, this stone would be the corner stone.
Jesus
later clarified to his followers that the orchard of grapes (the
Kingdom of God) will be given to other farmers. In the Gospel of
Matthew, chapter 21, we read: “Jesus said unto them: ‘Have not
thou read in books: The stone all builders refused hath been made
the corner stone by God. This occurred though we think of as
surprising. Thus I say unto you, the Kingdom of God is taken from
you and given to a nation who will grow it.”
This
rejected stone refers to the nation refused, the sons of Isma`il
and this Black Stone is the sole and only stone cut without human
hands. This Black Stone will preserve the House of Abraham and the
nation is that of the true religion, Islam, the heirs of Abraham.
Allah the Almighty says in His Glorious Qur’an: {Abraham was not
a Jew, nor yet a Christian; but he was an upright man who had
surrendered (to Allah), and he was not of the idolaters}. (Al
`Imran: 67)
Description
of the Black Stone
The
Black Stone is fixed in the eastern-south corner of the Ka`bah. It
is one and half a meter above the ground level. It has a diameter
of about thirty centimeters. The Stone is a hard rock of irregular
oval shape, black with reddish tint; it has red dots and yellow
wavy lines which appeared when some broken pieces were soldered and
joined.
The
Stone was removed from its original place many times by the tribes
of Gurhum, Iyad, the `Amaliqah (i.e. the Giants), and Khuza`ah.
Finally, it was taken by Al-Qaramitah who kept it from 317 A.H to
339 A.H when the Abbaside Caliph, Al-Muti` Lillah send it back to
Makkah and covered it with a belt of silver and fixed it in its
original place.
In
363 A.H a man entered the Mosque and tried to smash the stone but a
man from Yemen stabbed him with a dagger and killed him. Also, in
414 A.H some Batini Shiite men tried to break the Stone but were
killed on he spot. In Muharram 1351 A.H an Afghani man stole a
piece of the Stone and another piece of the drape of the Ka`bah and
two pieces of the silver belt and consequently he was sentenced to
death. Later in Rabi` Ath-Thani, late King `Abdul-`Aziz Al Sa`ud
put the stolen pieces back in their original places.
During
the reign of the Sultan `Abdul Majid II, he sent a golden belt to
be used for fixing the Black Stone. This occurred in 1268 A.H and
was the first time the Black Stone is placed in a golden belt. In
1281 A.H Sultan `Abdul `Aziz the Ottoman sent another silver belt.
In 1331 A.H the silver cover was replaced with another and in 1290
A.H a silver cover with a hole in the middle was made so as to
enable people to see the Stone and kiss it.
The
First One Who Fixed It With Silver:
It
was Ibn Az-Zubair who used silver in fixing the Black Stone when it
caught fire. Later, as the silver became unstable, Caliph Harun
Ar-Rashid ordered for fixing the corner of the Ka`bah and the Black
Stone by diamonds and covering it with silver.
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