When the Black Stone was removed from the Kaaba for 22 years

Waqar Mustafa

Designation, journalist and researcher, Lahore

It was in January 930 when an event took place in Mecca that shook the entire Muslim world of that time. The Abbasid Caliphate was plagued by internal strife when a group entered Mecca and removed the Black Stone from the Kaaba, which Muslims consider sacred. However, this group took the Black Stone with them and could not return for the next 22 years.

Why did this group come to Makkah and where did they take the Black Stone? Before knowing the answers to these questions, it is important to understand what the black stone is and why it is so important.

What is black stone?

Hajar Aswad literally means 'black stone'. This oval stone of reddish and inky yellow color is about 30 cm in diameter and is installed on the south-east corner of the Ka'bah against the wall at a height of about five feet from the ground. Ali Shabir writes in Tarikh Hajar Aswad that it is also called Sing Aswad, Rukan Aswad (black corner), Hajar and Rukan, which is a symbol of the beginning and end of Tawaf.

According to Naeem Ahmad Baloch, a researcher associated with the Ghamdi Center of Islamic Learning Dallas in the United States, istlam (kissing or touching the black stone) is a sign. "We pledge allegiance to Allah symbolically and declare our obedience to Him."

The history associated with this stone is actually older than the religion of Islam and it has been debated whether it is a meteorite, a volcanic rock or a piece of natural glass.

In this context, Maria Golia writes in her book 'Meteorite: Nature and Culture' that the black stone has never been analyzed with modern scientific techniques and its origin remains a matter of speculation.

Al-Arzaqi narrates from Ibn Abbas in Tarikh Makkah that "When Hazrat Adam was brought down from the sky, Allah Ta'ala brought down the Black Stone and Maqam Ibrahim with him so that he would be familiar with them."

According to Shifa al-Gharam, Ibn Ishaq says that during the flood of Noah, the Black Stone was preserved on Jabal (Mountain) Abu Qubays. When Hazrat Ibrahim built the Kaaba, Jibreel brought Hajrasud and installed it in its place.

A few verses (clear signs) of Allah Almighty have been mentioned in the Black Stone regarding the healing of Al-Grahm in the field of Islamic studies. He was uprooted many times from his place but he returned to his place.'

When the Black Stone was removed from the Kaaba for 22 years

It was the afternoon of Monday 18th January 930 when the event took place, after which for many years the Black Stone remained in another place instead of the Kaaba.

The Qaramat army, active in Iraq, Yemen, and especially Bahrain during the ninth to eleventh centuries, had entered the Haram on horseback six days earlier, on the first day of Hajj, led by Abu Tahir Suleiman.

Francis E. Peters writes in his book "Mecca: A Literary History of the Muslim Holy Land" that "where the Qaramat Abbasid caliphate was weak, attacked and beaten, Darb Zubaydah was an easy target for them." .'

For the first seven years of the 10th century, the Qaramata harassed Iraqi Hajj caravans. The next two decades were quiet. Then in the year 925, the Hajj caravan from Baghdad could not reach Makkah and no one dared to go on Hajj for the next two years from this capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.

According to the Ottoman historian Qutb al-Din, Abu Tahir's army "killed about 30,000 people in the Haram, Mecca and the surrounding valleys." 1700 people were killed while doing Tawaf and Zamzam and other wells were cut off from the bodies.

Then they looted the treasures of the Kaaba. Maqam Ibrahim i.e. the stone on which the footprints of Hazrat Ibrahim while building the Kaaba are found, but it was hidden somewhere. Disappointed, Abu Tahir removed the black stone and installed it in a mosque called Dar al-Hijra in Hajar, the capital of Al-Ahsa.

Syed Qasim Mahmood writes in the Islamic Encyclopedia that "Now Abu Tahir became angry that people should skip the Hajj and Tawaf of the Ka'ba and perform the Hajj to Darul Hijra, but failed."

The Black Stone remained in the possession of Abu Tahir for about 22 years and the Hajj of the Kaaba could not be performed for about 10 years due to lack of peace. In the year 939, the Hajj started again with the permission of Abu Tahir and the condition of collecting five dinars from each pilgrim.

According to Qutb-ud-Din, the place of the black stone on the eastern corner of the Kaaba remained empty and people used to place their hands in this place as a blessing.

In the year 950, the Black Stone was re-installed in the Kaaba. It is written in Urdu Daira Maarif Islamiya regarding Shifa al-Gharam that on Yom-ul-Nahr (Day of Sacrifice) Sunburban Hasan Qarmati put the Black Stone back in its place. When the people saw Hajrasud, they prostrated and kissed him.

The destruction of the fire and the rebuilding of the Kaaba

It should be noted that even before Islam, the black stone was considered sacred. Once before the beginning of Islam, the building of the Kaaba was destroyed by fire, after which a new Kaaba was built, but when the opportunity came to install the Black Stone in its place, the people of Makkah began to quarrel over who had the honor. Come to the section.

It is written in Dairah with reference to Sirat Ibn Hisham and Shifa al-Gharam that "Finally, the most reliable person of Quraysh, Abu Umayyah bin Al-Mughira, said that the person who appears first will perform this service and at that exact time, if the Prophet of Islam passed away." Everyone shouted that Amin has come, Muhammad has come, we like them.

It is narrated that the Prophet of Islam wisely said, "Give me a blanket." Sheet provided. He placed the cloth in it and told the chiefs of the tribes to hold the corners of the cloth and carry it. Then you yourself lifted the stone and placed it at the appointed place.

From this tradition, it is known that until then, Hajar Asud was a single stone and it was not broken into pieces.

When was the black stone damaged?

Al-Arzaqi narrates from the people who participated in the construction of the Kaaba by Abdullah bin Zubair in the seventh century that the black stone was broken into three pieces when the Kaaba caught fire.

A small piece somehow got into the hands of a man of Banushiba and remained with Banushiba for a long time. Then Abdullah bin Zubair tied the pieces of black stone with a silver ring. Later, when this circle became weak and the pillars of the Black Stone began to shake, the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid filled the black stone with silver.

According to Ali Shabir's History of Hajar Aswad, the Black Stone was struck three times in history.

"Apparently its pieces did not separate, but it was broken into several parts which could not be separated due to the silver (silver) ring."

During the Caliphate of the Ottoman Sultan Murad Rabi (1623 to 1640), when the Kaaba was damaged by heavy rains, in which a thousand people died, and the Black Stone was removed and kept outside, it was seen that its 13 There were fragments, mostly small ones.'

Hilmi Aydan in his writing about Topkapi Palace Museum says that "Ottoman sultans changed the silver frames around the Black Stone from time to time as guardians of the Haramin Sharif." The decaying frames were brought back to Istanbul where they are still kept in the sacred relics section of Topkapi Palace.

According to Ali Shabbir, once a man broke a piece with a hammer which was later reattached. Including this, there are now a total of 14 pieces of black stone that are attached to the masala.

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#Saudi Arabia #History #Hajj #Religion #Muslim