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The
Black Stone
"Remember We made the House
a place of assembly for men and a place
of safety; and take ye the Station
of Abraham as a place of prayer;
and We covenanted with Abraham and Ishmael,
that they should sanctify My House for
those who compass it round, or use it
as a retreat, or bow, or prostrate themselves
(therein in prayer)." (Qur'an
2:125)
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Standing in the middle of the Great Mosque (Masjid)
of Mecca (Makkah) is the Ka'ba, a cubed shaped
temple rebuilt by Abraham (Ibrahim) and his
son Ishmael (Isma'il) (God's peace and blessings
be upon them). Reverently draped in black cloth
throughout the year, it beckons to every Muslim
of the world to come to its sacred ground.
The Ka'ba is the canonical centre of the Islamic
world and every pious act, particularly prayer,
is directed toward it. Once a year it plays
host to the greatest convention of religious
believers and stands ready to sanctify the Umrah
traveller through the balance of the year.
Placed into the Eastern corner of the Ka'ba
rests the Hajar al-Aswad (literally the black
stone). During the Tawaf (refer to "performance
of the Hajj") pilgrims kiss or touch the
black stone as they circumambulate the Ka'ba.
There is no indication as to where this stone
originated, but since it pre-dates the revelation
of the Holy Qur'an and Muhammad's prophethood,
and even kissed, it must stem from the time
of Abraham since the Hajj traditions are traceable
to the patriarch of monotheism. It is remarkable,
however, that even though the temple contained
360 idols worshipped before Muhammad's Prophethood,
the black stone was never kissed or made an
idol of worship. In fact, the idolaters, even
prior to Muhammad's Prophethood, never worshiped
the Ka'ba. The building contained idols of worship
but the building itself was never an object
of worship.
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