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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