Category: Q n A

In the year of the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Mecca from the side of Kada. `Urwa used to
enter through both places and he often entered through Kada’ which was nearer of the two to his
dwelling place.

`Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said “No doubt, I know that you are a stone and
can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) kissing you I would not
have kissed you.”

When the Ka`ba was built, the Prophet (ﷺ) and `Abbas went to bring stones (for its construction). Al
`Abbas said to the Prophet, “Take off your waist sheet and put it on your neck.” (When the Prophet (ﷺ)
took it off) he fell on the ground with his eyes open towards the sky and said, “Give me my waist
sheet.” And he covered himself with it.

“Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), Usama bin Zaid, Bilal, and `Uthman bin abu Talha entered the Ka`ba and then
closed its door. When they opened the door I was the first person to enter (the Ka`ba). I met Bilal and
asked him, “Did Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) offer a prayer inside (the Ka`ba)?” Bilal replied in the affirmative and
said, “(The Prophet (ﷺ) offered the prayer) in between the two right pillars.”

(the wife of the Prophet) that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said to her, “Do you know that when your people
(Quraish) rebuilt the Ka`ba, they decreased it from its original foundation laid by Abraham?” I said,
“O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! Why don’t you rebuild it on its original foundation laid by Abraham?” He replied,
“Were it not for the fact that your people are close to the Pre-Islamic Period of ignorance (i.e. they
have recently become Muslims) I would have done so.” The sub-narrator, `Abdullah (bin `Umar )
stated: `Aisha ‘must have heard this from Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) for in my opinion Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had not
placed his hand over the two corners of the Ka`ba opposite Al-Hijr only because the Ka`ba was not
rebuilt on its original foundations laid by Abraham.

Whenever Ibn `Umar entered the Ka`ba he used to walk straight keeping the door at his back on
entering, and used to proceed on till about three cubits from the wall in front of him, and then he
would offer the prayer there aiming at the place where Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) prayed, as Bilal had told him.
There is no harm for any person to offer the prayer at any place inside the Ka`ba.

I asked the Prophet (ﷺ) whether the round wall (near Ka`ba) was part of the Ka`ba. The Prophet (ﷺ) replied in
the affirmative. I further said, “What is wrong with them, why have they not included it in the building
of the Ka`ba?” He said, “Don’t you see that your people (Quraish) ran short of money (so they could
not include it inside the building of Ka`ba)?” I asked, “What about its gate? Why is it so high?” He
replied, “Your people did this so as to admit into it whomever they liked and prevent whomever they
liked. Were your people not close to the Pre-Islamic Period of ignorance (i.e. they have recently
embraced Islam) and were I not afraid that they would dislike it, surely I would have included the
(area of the) wall inside the building of the Ka`ba and I would have lowered its gate to the level of the
ground.”

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said to me, “Were your people not close to the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance, I
would have demolished the Ka`ba and would have rebuilt it on its original foundations laid by
Abraham (for Quraish had curtailed its building), and I would have built a back door (too).”

`Aisha said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to her, “O Aisha! Were your nation not close to the Pre-Islamic
Period of Ignorance, I would have had the Ka`ba demolished and would have included in it the portion
which had been left, and would have made it at a level with the ground and would have made two
doors for it, one towards the east and the other towards the west, and then by doing this it would have
been built on the foundations laid by Abraham.” That was what urged Ibn-Az-Zubair to demolish the
Ka`ba. Jazz said, “I saw Ibn-Az-Zubair when he demolished and rebuilt the Ka`ba and included in it a
portion of Al-Hijr (the unroofed portion of Ka`ba which is at present in the form of a compound
towards the northwest of the Ka`ba). I saw the original foundations of Abraham which were of stones
resembling the humps of camels.” So Jarir asked Yazid, “Where was the place of those stones?” Jazz
said, “I will just now show it to you.” So Jarir accompanied Yazid and entered Al-Hijr, and Jazz
pointed to a place and said, “Here it is.” Jarir said, “It appeared to me about six cubits from Al-Hijr or
so.”

On the Day of the Conquest of Mecca, Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Allah has made this town a sanctuary.
Its thorny bushes should not be cut, its game should not be chased, and its fallen things should not be
picked up except by one who would announce it publicly.”