History > Ibn Al-Zubair

THE CONSTRUCTION BY `ABDULLAH BIN AL-ZUBAIR

1-  In the era of Yazid bin Mu`awiah, the House [Ka`bah] was damaged by fire. `Abdullah bin Al-Zubair left the Ka`bah as it was until the pilgrims came for Hajj. When the pilgrims had departed, he said, "O People! Advise me, is it better to pull down the Ka`bah and then rebuild it or just mend its weak parts. Ibn 'Abbas said, "I think it is better to mend its weak parts, and preserve the shape of the House and the Stones in regard to which people have converted to Islam. Also, it is in that exact position that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was inspired." Ibn Al-Zubair said, "If any of you had a house that was burnt, you would not be satisfied until you had renovated it. What then should be be done about the House of your Lord? I will supplicate the Lord, asking him for true guidance for three days. Then, I will make up my mind. 

2.  When three days had passed, he resolved to pull it down. The people shunned carrying this out, fearing a retribution from Heaven would befall the first to approach it. Finally, a man mounted the roof of the Ka`bah and threw some stones off it. When all saw he had not been afflicted, they did as he did. They demolished it to the last stone. Ibn Al-Zubair put up piers and hung the curtains over them until the building was completed. People began to circumambulate these curtains at all times. Thus, circumambulation of the Ka`bah was never abandoned. 

3.  Ibn Al-Zubair said, "I heard `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) say, 'The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: " If your people had not quite recently abandoned the Ignorance (Unbelief), and it I had sufficient provisions to rebuild it [the Ka`bah], I would have added five cubits to it from the Hijr. Also, I would make two doors; one for people to enter therein and the other to exit." Ibn Al-Zubair said, "Today, I can afford to do it and I do not fear the people. 

4.  When Ibn Al-Zubair demolished the Ka`bah and leveled it to the ground, he uncovered Abraham's foundations and found that they occupied about six cubits of the Hijr. The stones of that foundation looked like camels' necks, red and interlaced. 

5.  During the digging, he accidentally found a grave and said, "This is the grave of the mother of Ishmael (peace be upon him) and he made fifty of the elite witness that. 

6.  `Abdullah bin Muti` Al-'Adawi put a crowbar beneath one of the corners and shook it. All the corners trembled and the walls of the House were shaken. Also, all Mecca violently quivered, and the people became frightened. Thereupon, Ibn Al-Zubair said, Witness!" Then he laid the building on that foundation. He also made two doors at the ground level. The third door he left as it was. 

7.  Ibn Al-Zubair added nine cubits to the height of the Ka`bah, thus, it was twenty cubits high. 

8.  Its walls were two cubits wide. 

9.  He reduced the pillars inside the House to three instead of six as were earlier built by Quraish. 

10.  He brought marble from San`a' and placed it in a hole in the ceiling to let light in. 

11.  He fixed two latches to the door. Their height was eleven cubits. 

12.  He made a crooked wooden ladder to be used to mount it. 

13.  When Ibn Al-Zubair completed the construction of the Ka`bah, he perfumed it inside and outside with scent and saffron. In addition, he covered it with Qabati (Egyptian linen cloth). 

14.  Ibn Al-Zubair sacrificed one hundred she-camels, and circumambulated the House and touched all its corners. 

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History > Al-Hajjaj

THE CONSTRUCTION BY AL-HAJJAJ BIN YUSUF AL-THAQAFI

1-When he entered Mecca following the murder of `Abdullah bin Al-Zubair, Al-Hajjaj wrote to `Abdul-Malik bin Marwan telling him what Ibn Al-Zubair had undertaken. Then, `Abdul-Malik bin Marwan wrote him back to demolish what Ibn Al-Zubair had added to it from the Hijr, restore its old form, wall up the west door and leave the rest as it was.

2. Al-Hajjaj pulled down the wall which was in the Hijr, restored it in its original place, and added that space to the Hijr.

3. He removed the wooden ladder placed inside the Ka`bah by Ibn Al-Zubair.

4. He reduced the door's height by five cubits.

5. He walled up the western door and restored the original door to its old form.

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History > Murad Khan

THE CONSTRUCTION BY SULTAN MURAD KHAN

1- In Mecca, a very heavy rain, started on Wednesday, 19 Sh`ban, 1039 A.H. and developed into a violent torrential rain which swept away most of the Sacred Mosque. On Thursday, the Shami Wall and some parts of the eastern and western walls collapsed. The rain lasted for a long time leaving people in great turmoil.

2. Then, Muslims began to prepare for rebuilding the Ka`bah. The work went on under the supervision of Sultan Murad Khan, until it was completed, with Allah's aid, on the second of Dhul-Hijjah, 1040 A.H. This construction took about six and a half months.

3. This was the last time the Ka`bah was rebuilt and still maintains the same form. During the Saudi era, successive expansions followed. This will be discussed in the section on the Expansions of the Sanctuary. 

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When Abraham and his son Ishmael passed the trial successfully, Allah redeemed Ishmael's life with a white ram that had sound eyes and horns which Abraham found tied to a tree near Thabir Mount. So he sacrificed it at Mina.
Afterwards, this act has been perpetuated by the rituals of Hajj, especially the rite of sacrifice.

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Qur'an Stories > Laying the Foundation

When Allah gave His command to Abraham to build the Sacred House, Abraham immediately went to Mecca to carry out Allah's injunction. When he arrived there, he said to his son Ishmael, "Allah has given me a command, so what shall we do?" Ishmael replied, "Do as Allah has commanded you." "Will you," said Abraham, "support me in it?" Ishmael replied, "My support is with you." Thereupon Abraham, pointing to a hill, said, "Allah has commanded me to build a shrine here."
Abraham and Ishmael set forth to lay the foundation of the Sacred House. Ishmael brought the bricks while Abraham laid them until the construction was erected. While engaged in the diligent work of constructing the Holy Shrine, they kept praying to Allah, "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: for Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord! Make of us Muslims bowing to Thy (Will); and show us our places for the celebration of (due) rites; and turn unto us (in mercy); for Thou art the Oft-Returning, most Merciful." They went on until Allah helped them complete the building.
No authentic references state that the Sacred House had been built before Abraham (peace be upon him). However, some people argue that the Sacred House was built before Abraham, supporting their argument by the Qur'anic verses, "Behold! We gave the site, to Abraham, of the (Sacred) House." and "And remember Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House," These verses suggest that the foundations and the site existed before Abraham. Nevertheless, the sound view is that these verses mean that the location and site of the Sacred House had been determined in Allah's Eternal Knowledge the day He created the heavens and the earth. Thus the location of the House had been known, but the actual process of construction was carried out first by Abraham, the Close One to Allah, and his son, Ishmael (peace be upon them both). Other stories related to the construction of the House have been attributed to the Israelites. Such stories are not to be either accepted or rejected, for the best knowledge is with Allah, the All-Knowing.
When Abraham, the Close One to Allah, built the Sacred House, he made it according to the following specifications:
 

He made a door frame on the ground level, but did not fix a door to it. It remained so until Tubba` of Himiar made a door for the Sacred House. Abraham (peace be upon him) founded the House on two pillars: the two Yemeni Corners. Next to the Black Stone, he did not make any pillars, but built it in a half circle as it can be found today. It has been found in some narrations that Abraham (peace be upon him) built the Sacred House when he was one-hundred years old. Best knowledge is with Allah.

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Qur'an Stories > The Hajj Call

When Abraham (peace be upon him) completed the construction of the Ka`bah, Allah, the Exalted and Almighty, commanded him to call all people on earth to perform Hajj [Pilgrimage] to the Sacred House, "And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men; they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways." Abraham, the Close One to Allah, said, "O my Lord! How can the range of my voice reach all people?" Allah, the Almighty, said, "You call, and I will convey your call."

Thereupon, Abraham (peace be upon him) mounted Mount Abu Qubais, covered his ears with his fingers and moved his head once towards the east and once towards the west while calling, "O people! Allah has ordained that you should perform Hajj to the Sacred House. So answer your Lord's call." Allah, the Almighty, conveyed Abraham's message to all children of Adam, and to those still in the loins of their fathers and the wombs of their mothers. So all pilgrims answered his call saying, "O Allah! Here I am, at Thy call."

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Qur'an Stories > Abraham's Hajj

After Abraham (peace be upon him) carried out Allah's command to call all people to go on pilgrimage, Gabriel accompanied him and showed him the hills of Safa and Marwah, and defined for him the boundaries of the Sacred Mosque. Gabriel commanded Abraham to divide these boundaries by a wall.

On the 7th of Dhul-Hijjah, after sunset, Abraham (peace be upon him) delivered a sermon at Mecca. He was standing while his son Ishmael sat down, listening to him. On the next day, they went on foot proclaiming Talbiah (i.e. saying, "O Allah! Here I am at Thy call). Each was carrying a staff to lean on and a waterskin to drink from. So it was called the Day of Tarwiah [Watering]. They went to Mina, and there they performed the Noon, Afternoon, Sunset, Night and Morning Prayers. Abraham and Ishmael stayed at Mina until the sun rose over Mount Thabir, then they went on foot, accompanied by Gabriel, to `Arafah. Gabriel showed them the sites at `Arafah, which Abraham had visited earlier. So Abraham said, "I know this site and I know that site. "So it was called Mount `Arafah [Knowledge].

When the sun set, Gabriel escorted them to a place which is now the site of the Holy Mosque. There Abraham stood up to deliver a short sermon, while Ishmael sat, listening to him. Then, Abraham, along with Ishmael, combined the Noon and Afternoon Prayers. Afterwards, Gabriel led them to the nearby hills, and there they kept praying and supplicating to Allah until the sun set, and its glittering light disappeared from the distant horizon of the arid desert. Then they set out from `Arafah on foot until they reached a place called Juma`. There they stopped, performed Sunset and Night Prayers, and stayed until the break of dawn. Then they went to Quzah.

When the sun was about to rise, they walked along until they reached Muhassir. They hastened their pace until they crossed it, then returned to their normal pace. They threw seven pebbles, which they gathered from Juma`, at the Jamrat Al-`Aqabah. Then they left Mina at dawn to offer a sacrifice and cut their hair. Then they spent some days at Mina to throw the pebbles. There they threw the pebbles every day before noon, riding no animals in their way to or from the throwing place. They returned on the 'Day of Return', and performed Noon Prayer at Al-Abtah. Throughout all these rituals, they were accompanied by Gabriel (peace be upon him). 

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Stories > The Companions of The Elephant

Abrahah built a unique church in San`a called Al-Qullais and wrote to Negus, "I have built a church the like of which has not been built for a king before you. Yet, I shall not find rest until I make the Arabs divert their Pilgrimage to it (instead of the Ka`bah)." When the news of Abrahah's letter to Negus reached the Arabs, a man from the Kinanah tribe became so enraged that he went to Al-Qullais, found a hiding place inside it, and defecated. Abrahah, on learning about this, became so furious that he swore he would demolish the Ka`bah. He gave the order to the Abyssinians to march towards the Ka`bah, and took an elephant with him. Meanwhile, the Arabs were greatly perturbed to learn about Abrahah's plan.

Abrahah dispatched a cavalry troop to Mecca headed by Al-Aswad bin Mafsul, who captured the property of the Kinanah and other tribes. Among the spoils were two hundred camels belonging to `Abdul-Muttalib, the chief of the Quraish.

At first, the Kinanah and Huzail intended to fight against the Abyssinians, yet they gave up the idea when they realized that their enemy greatly overpowered them both in number and ordnance. Then Abrahah sent a man called Hanatah Al-Himiari to Mecca with a message to `Abdul-Muttalib informing him that Abrahah had no intention to fight them, and that he was coming to Mecca for a specific purpose (to demolish the Ka`bah). He, further, told `Abdul-Muttalib that Abrahah wished to meet him if he also had no intention to fight. `Abdul-Muttalib replied, "By Allah neither have we the intention, nor enough power to fight him. The Ka`bah is Allah's House; He alone can defend His house, or else let them demolish it." `Abdul-Muttalib took some of his sons and went with the messenger to meet Abrahah. When he saw some Abyssinian soldiers, he asked them about a prisoner called Dha Nafar who was his friend. When he met his prisoned friend, he said, "O Dha Nafar, could you not find a solution for this problem?" "A prisoner like me who expects his death sentence at any moment is of no avail to you," replied Dha Nafar. "Yet I can ask my friend Anis who takes care of the elephant to arrange a meeting for you with the king, so that you could convey your wishes to him." So, Dha Nafar sent for Anis saying, "I have a friend called `Abdul-Muttalib who is well-known for his generosity and high status among his people. He is also the owner of the well in Mecca. I ask you to speak well of him to the king and try to get him permission to approach the king to present his case concerning the two hundred camels which the king has seized." 

After Anis conveyed this message to the king, `Abdul-Muttalib was given permission to have an audience with him. When the king saw `Abdul-Muttalib, he was so impressed by his good countenance and solemn appearance that he refrained from speaking with him from a higher place. Yet he did not like to be seen sitting with him on his own divan. So he descended from his divan, and sat on the rug at the foot of the divan and permitted `Abdul-Muttalib to sit beside him.Then, he told his interpreter to ask `Abdul-Muttalib to present his plea. Thereupon `Abdul-Muttalib requested that the king give him back the two hundred camels which he had taken. Thereupon, the king said to his interpreter, "Tell him that I was very impressed when I first saw him, but I have changed my mind after listening to him. How can he discuss the case of the two hundred camels that I have taken, rather than the matter of demolishing the Ka`bah, which represents a sacrosanct site for him and for his forefathers?" `Abdul-Muttalib replied, "As for the camels, I am their lord, so I have a just cause to defend them. But with regard to the House, its Lord will protect it." "Nonsense!" replied the king, "In no way could He stand in my way or prevent me from doing that." "So be it," were the last words uttered by `Abdul-Muttalib. It was then that the king gave the camels back to him.

`Abdul-Muttalib returned home and told the Quraish what had happened, and advised them to evacuate Mecca and to take the mountain top for shelter. Then, while the assemblies of people surrounded him, he grasped the ring of the Ka`bah's door, and flew into a storm of invocation to Allah, asking Him to destroy and strike down Abrahah and his soldiers.

The following morning Abrahah mobilized his army and prepared his elephant which was called Mahmud. When they led the elephant in the direction of Mecca, the Meccan Nufail bin Habib drew near the elephant and whispered in its ear, "O Mahmud! Kneel down, or return with guided steps; for thou art in a land which has been declared sacred by Allah." On hearing these words, the elephant kneeled down. Enraged, the Abyssinians beat it hard to urge it to stand up, but it was useless. When they directed it in other directions such as towards Yemen and Syria, it would rise up hastily, but kneeled down when directed towards Mecca.

Before long Allah sent hook-like birds coming from the direction of the sea . Each bird carried three stones; one in its beak and two in its legs. These stones were the size of lentils or chick-peas, but were so lethal that they fell upon no one without killing him, and very few survived. The Abyssinians scattered here and there falling down, seeking refuge and finding none. As for Abrahah, he was so badly injured that his fingers fell off. He continued his suffering until he reached San`a where he succumbed. 

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Qur'an Stories > The Begining of Revelation

`A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reports: The first revelation experiences of the Prophet were in the form of visions in his sleep which later came to pass. At that stage, whenever he saw a vision, it was as true as the bright gleam of dawn. Later he became fond of going to Hira' Cave and worshipping Allah therein for many nights. Then he would go to his wife Khadijah to get provisions and return again to the cave. A divine revelation came to him while he was in Hira' Cave. An angel appeared to him and said "Read!", He replied, "I am unlettered." The angel then hugged the Prophet until he became exhausted, and after letting him go said, "Read!" The Prophet said, "I am unlettered." For the second time, the angel hugged him until he became tired, and after letting him go said, "Read!" The Prophet again replied, "I am unlettered." For the third time the angel hugged him until he became so tired and after letting him go said, "Read! In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created - created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Read! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He who taught (The use of) the pen, taught man that which he knew not. "
The Prophet (peace be upon him) returned home having committed those verses to his heart, and he was trembling. He entered the house and found Khadijah bint Khuwailid and said to her, "Cover me! Cover me!" Khadijah and her household covered him until his fears were allayed. He told Khadijah what had happened and said, "I fear for myself." Khadijah said, "Do not fear, by Allah, He will never humiliate you. By Allah, you strengthen the ties of relationship, you bear people's burdens, you help the destitute, you are a host to guests, and you help against the troubles which afflict people." Then Khadijah took him to her cousin Waraqah bin Naufal bin Asad bin`Abdul-`Uzza. He was a Christian and used to write from the Gospel in Hebrew. He was then an old, blind man, and Khadijah said to him, "O my cousin, listen to your nephew." Waraqah bin Naufal said, "What did you see my nephew?" Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) told him what he had seen. Waraqah said to him, "This is like the message that was revealed to Moses. I wish I were young. I wish I could be alive when your people drive you out." Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) asked, "Will my people drive me out?" Waraqah said, "Yes, for no man has come with what you have brought, but was opposed. If I were to live during your era, I would give you great support."

Not long after that, Waraqah died and the revelation stopped for some time. 

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In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Surah  Al` Alaq -96

[1] Proclaim! (or Read!) In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created,

 [2] Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:

 [3] Proclaim! and thy Lord is Most Bountiful,

 [4] He Who taught (the use of) the Pen,

[5] Taught man that which he knew not.

 [6] Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds,

 [7] In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient.

 [8] Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all).

 [9] Seest thou one who forbids,

 [10] A votary when he (turns) to pray?

 [11] Seest thou if he is on (the road of) Guidance?

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Hajj type

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