Al-Walid Demolishes the Ka‘bah and What Was Found beneath It

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.”

[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.’