The Building of the Ka‘bah and the Messenger’s Arbitration over the Stone

Ibn Ishaq said: When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, reached the age of thirty-five, Quraysh gathered to rebuild the Ka‘bah. They had wanted to roof it, but were afraid to demolish it.

The verses at the top of this printed page continue Waraqah’s poem and belong to the preceding indexed topic; they are translated with Khadijah’s account, not repeated in this branch.

[7] The Ka‘bah is said to have been built five times: first by Seth, son of Adam; second by Abraham; third by Quraysh in this rebuilding, five years before Islam; fourth after it burned during the time of Ibn al-Zubayr; and fifth when ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan later rebuilt it.

It had been a heap of stones taller than a person, so they wanted to raise it and roof it. Some men had stolen a treasure belonging to the Ka‘bah, which was kept in a well inside it. The treasure was found with Duwayk, a freedman of Banu Mulayh ibn ‘Amr of Khuza‘ah. Ibn Hisham said that Quraysh cut off his hand; Quraysh claimed that the thieves had placed the treasure with Duwayk. A Roman merchant’s ship had been cast ashore at Jeddah and wrecked. Quraysh took its timber and prepared it for the roof. A Coptic carpenter was in Makkah, and they arranged for him to undertake the work. A serpent used to emerge from the well inside the Ka‘bah, where offerings were placed each day, and bask on its wall. They feared it: whenever anyone approached, it raised its head, hissed, and opened its mouth. One day, as it basked on the wall as usual, Allah sent a bird that snatched it away. Quraysh said, “We hope Allah has approved what we intend. We have a skilled worker, we have timber, and Allah has spared us the serpent.”

[1] Radm means stones piled upon one another without mortar. [2] Another report says Quraysh rebuilt the Ka‘bah because a flood from above Makkah’s retaining wall damaged it, and they feared water would enter. Another says it had burned when a woman fumigated it and a spark caught her clothes. See Sharh al-Mawahib. [3] The note compares this account with an earlier report about a thief who entered the well of the Ka‘bah, was trapped when a stone fell on him, and was later removed with the treasure; Allah then sent a serpent with a head like a young goat’s. The editor brings the two differing versions together for the reader. [4] The carpenter was called Baqum, or Baqul. See al-Isabah, Sharh al-Mawahib, and al-Rawd al-Unuf. [5] Tatasharraq means to come out into the sun. [6] Ihza’allat means it raised its head; kashshat describes the hiss made as its scales rubbed together.

When Quraysh had resolved to demolish and rebuild the Ka‘bah, Abu Wahb ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘A’idh ibn ‘Abd ibn ‘Imran ibn Makhzum stood up. Ibn Hisham gives the name as ‘A’idh ibn ‘Imran ibn Makhzum. Abu Wahb took a stone from the Ka‘bah, but it leapt from his hand and returned to its place. He said, “O Quraysh, do not put into its construction anything except what is good and lawful. Let no dowry earned through fornication enter it, no usurious sale, and no one’s unjustly taken property.” People attribute these words to al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah ibn Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ibn Makhzum. Ibn Ishaq said: Abdullah ibn Abi Najih al-Makki told me, from a report he had heard from Abdullah ibn Safwan ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf, that he saw a son of Ja‘dah ibn Hubayrah ibn Abi Wahb circumambulating the House. When he asked about the boy, he was told, “This is a son of Ja‘dah ibn Hubayrah.” Abdullah ibn Safwan said, “His grandfather—Abu Wahb—was the one who took a stone from the Ka‘bah when Quraysh had resolved to demolish it. It leapt from his hand and returned to its place. He then said, ‘O Quraysh, put into its construction only what is good and lawful. Do not put into it a dowry earned through fornication, a usurious sale, or anyone’s unjustly taken property.’”

Ibn Ishaq said: Abu Wahb was the maternal uncle of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He was a noble man. An Arab poet said of him: If I had halted my mount at Abu Wahb’s, I would have left with my saddle loaded by his bounty, not disappointed; a man of bright descent from the two branches of Lu’ayy ibn Ghalib, when their noble lineages are gathered among the foremost; proud in defending the oppressed, eager to give, whose two grandfathers stood among the finest of men.

[1] Another report says: “Do not put into the expenses of this House anything taken by force, do not sever kinship through it, and do not violate anyone’s covenant with you.” [2] Dhuwa’ib means the highest or noblest parts; here it refers to noble lineages.

His cooking pot has a great mass of ashes; he fills his bowls with bread whose edges rise above them like fine striped cloth.

Quraysh then divided the Ka‘bah among themselves. The section from the door belonged to Banu ‘Abd Manaf and Zuhrah. The area between the Black Stone and the Yemeni Corner belonged to Banu Makhzum and allied Qurayshi clans. The rear of the Ka‘bah belonged to Banu Jumah and Sahm, the two sons of ‘Amr ibn Husays ibn Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy. The side of the Hijr belonged to Banu ‘Abd al-Dar ibn Qusayy, Banu Asad ibn al-‘Uzza ibn Qusayy, and Banu ‘Adi ibn Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy; this is al-Hatim.

People were afraid to demolish it. Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah said, “I will begin demolishing it for you.” He took a pick, stood upon it, and said, “O Allah, we intend nothing but good.” He then began demolishing it from the two corners. The people waited through that night and said, “We will see: if he is struck by harm, we will not demolish any more of it and will restore it as it was; if nothing happens to him, Allah approves our work, and we will demolish it.” In the morning al-Walid went to his work, and the people joined him in demolishing it. When they reached the foundation of Abraham, they uncovered green stones fitted together like the joints of a camel’s back… The account continues on printed page 196.

[1] Saba’ib are fine white cloths, likened to the strips of fat covering the bowls. [2] Most copies read “divided”; other copies read “divided among themselves.” [3] Shiq means a side or portion. [4] Al-Hatim is said to be so called because people crowd there and press against one another; another explanation says clothes were removed there during circumambulation. See Sharh al-Sirah by Abu Dharr.

One of the men demolishing it inserted a crowbar between two stones to pry one loose. When the stone shifted, all of Makkah seemed to tremble, so they stopped at that foundation. Ibn Ishaq said: I was told that Quraysh found a writing in Syriac in the Corner. They did not know what it said until a Jewish man read it to them: “I am Allah, Lord of Bakkah. I created it on the day I created the heavens and the earth, formed the sun and moon, and surrounded it with seven upright, devout angels. It will not disappear until its two mountains disappear. Its people are blessed with water and milk.” Ibn Hisham said: “Its two mountains” means its two mountains. Ibn Ishaq said: I was told that they found a writing at the Station that said: “Makkah is the Sacred House of Allah. Its provision comes to it by three routes; none of its own people will make it lawful to violate.” Ibn Ishaq said: Layth ibn Abi Sulaym claimed that forty years before the Prophet’s mission, they found a stone in the Ka‘bah bearing this inscription: “Whoever sows good will reap joy; whoever sows evil will reap regret. You do evil deeds and are rewarded with good! Indeed, grapes are not harvested from thorns.”

Ibn Ishaq said: The Qurayshi clans gathered stones for the building, each clan collecting them separately. They built until the structure reached the place of the Corner. Then they disputed over it, with each clan wanting to raise it into place without the others, until they divided into factions, made alliances, and prepared to fight. Banu ‘Abd al-Dar brought a bowl filled with blood… The account continues on printed page 197.

[1] Tanaqqadat means that it shook. [2] Bakkah is another name for Makkah; recension A reads “Lord of Makkah.” [3] Al-Akhashaban are the two mountains of Makkah. [4] The phrase means that no outsider should make its sanctuary lawful to violate. The note links this to later fighting in the sanctuary during the time of Ibn al-Zubayr and al-Hajjaj. [5] “The Corner” means the Black Stone, set in the corner of the House. [6] Most copies read “they separated into factions”; recension A reads ‘they disputed with one another.’

Banu ‘Abd al-Dar and Banu ‘Adi ibn Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy swore an oath to fight one another, dipping their hands into the bowl of blood. They were called “the Lickers of Blood.” Quraysh remained in that state for four or five nights, then gathered in the mosque, consulted, and sought a fair settlement.

Some transmitters relate that Abu Umayyah ibn al-Mughirah ibn Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ibn Makhzum, then the oldest man among Quraysh, said, “O Quraysh, let the first person to enter this mosque decide between you in the matter over which you disagree.” They agreed. The first to enter was the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. When they saw him, they said, “This is al-Amin, the Trustworthy. We accept his judgment. This is Muhammad.” When he reached them and they told him what had happened, he said, “Bring me a garment.” They brought one. He took the Corner and placed it upon the garment with his own hand, then said, “Let each clan take one side of the garment.” They all lifted it together. When they had raised it to its place, he set it in place with his own hand, and the building continued above it.

[1] Another report says the man who proposed the arbitration was Muhashshim ibn al-Mughirah, also known as Abu Hudhayfah. [2] This was the gate of Banu Shaybah, called in pre-Islamic times the gate of Banu ‘Abd Shams and now known as Bab al-Salam. Another narration says it was the gate of al-Safa. [3] The text specifies the clans holding the four corners and reports that the Ka‘bah was completed eighteen years before the Hijrah, after agreement replaced discord and all accepted his judgment. Hubayrah ibn Abi Wahb alludes to the arbitration in a poem. [4] When Ibn al-Zubayr rebuilt the Ka‘bah, his son Hamzah placed the Corner while his father was praying in the mosque; he took advantage of the people’s distraction to avoid rivalry and dispute, and his father approved it. See al-Rawd al-Unuf.

Before revelation came to him, Quraysh called the Messenger of Allah al-Amin, “the Trustworthy.” When the rebuilding was complete, al-Zubayr ibn Abd al-Muttalib said about the serpent Quraysh had feared while building the Ka‘bah: I marvel at the eagle swooping down upon the serpent as it writhed; it used to hiss, and at times it would spring— when we began the foundations, it tightened its coils, frightening us away from the building. When we feared punishment, an eagle came and dived upon it in a swift descent; it seized the serpent and carried it away, leaving us to build, with no barrier before us. So we gathered in force to raise a House whose foundations and earth were ours; at dawn we lifted its base, with none of those leveling it wearing clothes; Allah honored Banu Lu’ayy through it, whose roots among them shall not depart; Banu ‘Adi and Murrah gathered there, and Kilab had preceded them; Allah granted us honor through it, and reward is sought from Allah.

The Ka‘bah was eighteen cubits high in the time of the Messenger of Allah. The sentence continues on printed page 199.

[1] Wathab means a leap or spring. [2] Rijz means punishment; another reading is zajr, a warning or restraint. [3] Tatala’ib means that the bird followed through in its swoop. [4] Recension A reads “those leveling it”; other copies have a corrupted form. [5] They used to carry stones unclothed, considering it part of energetic devotion. [6] Bawwa’na means “settled us” or “granted us a place.” [7] Musawwinā means the men leveling the building; other copies have a corrupted word.

It was first covered with Egyptian linen, then with striped Yemeni cloth. The first to cover it with brocade was al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. Ibn al-Zubayr had covered it with brocade before al-Hajjaj, and Khalid ibn Ja‘far ibn Kilab is also said to have covered it with brocade before Islam. The next indexed section begins after this account.

[1] Qibati are fine white garments made in Egypt; qibtiyyah is their singular. [2] Burud are a kind of Yemeni cloth. [3] The editor notes that Ibn al-Zubayr covered the Ka‘bah with brocade before al-Hajjaj, and that Khalid ibn Ja‘far ibn Kilab did so before Islam. See al-Rawd al-Unuf.