The Important Role That The Prophet (Peace be upon him)
Played In The Rebuilding Of The Ka’bah”
When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was 35 years old, which was about five
years before he received revelation for the first time, Quraish’s
chieftains gathered to discuss an important matter: the rebuilding
of the Ka’bah. Due to flood waters and other causes, the walls of
the Ka’bah began to split; the damage was so severe that the
Quraish feared that the edifice of the Ka’bah would simply
collapse at any time.
The Ka’bah was still upon the construction of Ibraaheem Alaihissalaam, it was
slightly higher than the height of the average man, and it consisted
of stones stacked up one on top of another, without any clay to hold
them together. What the Quraish wanted to do was not a simple
renovation; rather, they wanted to first destroy the edifice of the
Ka’bah and then rebuild it with a roof. But they were afraid, feeling
that doing so might be a form of sacrilege that would lead to evil
repercussions.
Al-Waleed ibn Al-Mugheerah, chief of the
Makhzoom clan, said to the others, “I will begin with its
destruction’ He picked up an axe, stood beside the Ka’bah, and
said, “O Allah, we have not gone astray, and we want only that
which is good.”
In the end, they decided to begin by demolishing only a part of the
Ka’bah, and then to wait one night. If, during the night, they saw
an evil portent, they would stop destroying the Ka’bah and fix the
part they had already destroyed. But if, during the night, they saw
no warning sign, they would continue with the demolition and
reconstruction of the Ka’bah. Since nothing happened
that night, they did the latter.
Each subtribe was assigned the task of working on one side of the
Ka’bah. And though the work involved physical labor that was
normally performed by the lower classes, the chieftains and
noblemen participated as well, since the work was considered
sacred in nature. And so Makkan chieftains would pick up stones
and raise them up onto the new structure of the Ka’bah.
When the reconstruction project was almost completed, a heated
argument broke out. The only step that remained in the
reconstruction was to place the Black Stone in its place; the
problem was that every chieftain wanted the honour of picking
up the Black Stone and placing it in the corner of the Ka’bah.
Makkah’s oldest chieftain, Umayyah ibn Al-Mugheerah,
said, “O people of Quraish, concerning that over which you
differ, appoint the first person to enter the door of the Masjid to
act as judge over you’
After they agreed to follow Umayyah’s
suggestion, they all anxiously waited to see who it was that was
going to enter the door. To their mutual satisfaction, it was
Muhammad(Peace be upon him) ibn ‘Abdullah and upon seeing him, they all
exclaimed, “Here is the Trustworthy One. We are indeed pleased’
After they told him about their dispute, the Prophet(Peace be upon him) said, “Bring
me a robe.” When they brought one to him, he placed the Black
Stone in its middle with his hands and said, “Let each tribe (i.e.,
subtribe) hold one corner of the robe’ So the leader of each
subtribe held one corner of the robe; then, together, they raised it
and carried it to its place, at which point the Prophet (Peace be upon him) removed it
from the robe and put it in its proper place. Everyone was satisfied,
and war was averted.
The reconstruction effort was a success. The Ka’bah was now 18
arm-spans high, and six wooden columns were used to hold up
the roof. The door of the Ka’bah was elevated slightly above
ground level; stairs were constructed between the ground and
the door to permit entry.
Morals and Lessons
1) The way in which the Prophet(Peace be upon him) brought an end to the dispute
was both wise and just.What was so wonderful
about the Prophet’s solution was that he was able to satisfy
the members of all subtribes; this was an example of how Allah guided the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to make wise and correct decisions
even before the period of Prophethood. Allah decreed for the
Prophet to enter the As-Safaa door, in order to resolve the
difficult crisis that was brewing.
2) The events that took place during Quraish’ s rebuilding of the
Ka’bah underscore two important points: First, the Prophet’s
high status and ranking among the Quraish. And second,
Quraish’ s self -contradictory attitude after the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
declared his Prophethood, for they were calling him a liar,
when only a few years earlier they had all declared that he was
the “Truthful, Trustworthy One’
3) The Prophet(Peace be upon him) gained two important honours during the
rebuilding of the Ka’bah: First, the honour of preventing
bloodshed between Quraish’ s subtribes. And second, he
had the honour of doing what the Quraish were competing for,
namely, the honour of placing the Black Stone in its place.
After you finish reading this, don’t forget to send durood on our Holy Prophet Mohammad Sallal laahoo alaihi wassallam and share this knowledge with your friends and family.