Q313 :You have mentioned in the past that we kiss
the Black Stone only because the Prophet kissed it. There is another
place, Rukn Al-Yamani, which some people kiss when they do the tawaf.
Could you please explain the background for their doing so and what is
the proper ruling concerning that. May I also ask what is the proper
name of the semicircular place next to the Ka’aba where many people
offer prayers?
A313 : You may realize that the Ka’aba was rebuilt
by Quraish shortly before the beginning of Islamic revelations, after
its foundation had weakened due to floods. The story is well known of
how the Makkah chiefs disputed among themselves as to who of them had
the right to replace the Black Stone. Eventually, they agreed to
arbitration, appointing the first man to enter by a certain door to be
the arbiter. It was Muhammad (peace be upon him), who had not yet
received his revelations, who entered and they all agreed that he
should arbitrate on their dispute. His ruling was pleasing to everyone.
He called for a dress to be placed on the floor, and he placed the
Black Stone on it, asking each tribe to appoint a representative. All
these representatives lifted the dress with the Black Stone in it until
they brought it very close to its position, when Muhammad (peace be
upon him) took over and placed it in its correct position. The Ka’aba
was rebuilt several times, whenever its structure showed need for
strengthening or rebuilding. Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair and Abdulmalik ibn
Marwan, were two people, close to the time of the Prophet, who rebuilt
it. It is believed that the semicircle area next to the Ka’aba was
originally part of it. It is reported that Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair, a
netpanion of the Prophet, included that semicircle in the building of
the Ka’aba, but then the semicircle was kept out of it and was rebuilt
again by Abdulmalik who belonged to the generation of successors to the
netpanions of the Prophet. It is, indeed, because this semicircle was
originally a part of the Ka’aba that we do tawaf outside it, rather
than inside. However, the Ka’aba was originally of rectangular shape.
The exact position of the two corners on the side of the semicircle is
not known now for certain. However, we are absolutely certain that the
other two corners, are in the original place when Ibrahim built it. As
I have mentioned earlier, we kiss the Black Stone because the Prophet
kissed it. We do not kiss Rukn Al-Yamani, because the Prophet did not
kiss it. It is renetmended, however, to touch it with one’s hands and
offer a supplication. The preferred supplication is: “My Lord, forgive
me and have mercy on me.” The semicircle area is best known by the name
of Hijr Ismail. Another name of it is Al-Hateem. Both names are used in
Arabic literature.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )