187. The Prophet’s Farewell to Kaaba and His Last Hajj Prior to mentioning the proceedings of Hajj performed by Honour The Prophet Muhammad Campaign of Allah and his farewell address to the nation, it is considered significant to mention an introduction to the history of the sanctity of Kaaba, since the slaves of Allah have been mandated to the best of their abilities to supplicate before and to pronounce Allah’s lordship, majesty, sovereignty, and holiness while going around Kaaba and its surrounding places, like the station of Abraham, the place between the mounts of Saffa and Marwa, and while kissing the black stone, fixed in a corner of Kaaba on the left side of its entrance. A. Introduction to Kaaba and Its Sanctity The first place ever built on the earth by the father of the mankind Adam with the help of the angels to be used as the place of worship was Kaaba. Thereafter when it was wiped off during the tempest of the prophet Noah, it was reconstructed at the same place by the prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael. Later during the youth of the Prophet Muhammad, it was reconstructed by the Makkahns, and the Prophet had the opportunity to fix the black stone in its southeast corner. It is a cubical, small and extremely simple building, measuring 43 x 36 x 41 feet. Its corners almost face to the major four points of the compass, i.e., to the South is Rukne-Yamani, to the East is Rukne-Aswad, having fixed Black stone, to the North is Rukne-Iraqi, and to the West is Rukne-Shami. Kaaba is remembered as Bait-al-Haram (the house of sanctity), Bait-al-Ateeq (the ancient house), and Bait-Allah (the house of Allah). Also, it is said that the Kaaba is substitute for the Bait-al-Mamoor, i.e., a place on the seventh heaven meant for worship for the angels and whosoever lives there; details about Baital- Mamoor will be mentioned in the subsequent paragraph. However, following are the divine verdicts about Kaaba: i. Verse 96, chapter 3, Al-e-Imran, says, “Verily, the first house (of worship) appointed for the mankind was that at Bakkah (old name of Makkah), full of blessings, and guidance for the mankind and the jinn.” ii. A part of verse 125, chapter 2, Al-Baqara, says, “And (remember) when We (Allah) made the House (Kaaba), a place of resort for mankind and a place of safety.” iii. Verse 127 of chapter 2, Al-Baqara, says, “And (remember) when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House (Kaaba), saying, ‘Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily! You are the All-Hearer, All-Knower.’” Kaaba being declared to be the house of Allah was also declared Qibla for the Prophet Muhammad and for his nation, i.e., facing Kaaba while performing Salat anywhere in the world. Allah ordained this ruling vide verse 144, chapter 2, Al-Baqara, which says, “Verily, We (Allah) have seen the turning of your face toward the heavens. Surely, We shall turn you to Qibla, that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (Kaaba).” Prior to this ruling, the Muslims used to face Bait-Al-Muqdas (of Palestine) in their prayers, which is the second oldest house of Allah after Kaaba. It is heard that the idolaters say that the Muslims do worship the stones (i.e., due to their facing toward Kaaba in their prayers). They utter these words due to their ignorance only; the Muslims pray to Allah only and they face Kaaba while they are in prayers at any place in the world. This is to keep the unity and universality among them, no matter where they live. Verse 29, chapter 7, Al-Aaraf, is relevant in this regard, in which it is said, “Say: (O, Muhammad): My Lord has commanded justice and (said) that you should face Him only (i.e., to worship none but Allah and face Kaaba in their prayers) in each and every place of worship, in prayers, and invoke Him only making your religion sincere to Him.” B. Bait-Al-Mamoor Allah, the praiseworthy and the most gracious one, has affirmed His statement (whatsoever it is said in verse 4, chapter 52, At-Toor), by testifying with the words “And by Bait-Al-Mamoor” (the house parallel to Kaaba on the seventh heaven, constantly being visited by the angels). Imam Ibne-Kathir has explained these words with reference to a saying of the Prophet of Allah, with regard to his visit to the seventh heaven during Isra and Meraj, which has been mentioned in Bokhari and Muslim, which says that the Prophet of Allah said, “Then, I was taken to Bait-Al-Mamoor. It is visited every day by seventy thousand angels who will not come back to visit it again.” The angels worship Allah by going around Bait-Al-Mamoor and perform tawaf around it as the people of the earth perform tawaf around the Kaaba. Bait-al-Mamoor is the Qibla of those who reside on the seventh heaven. During the Isra journey, the Prophet also met his grandfather, the prophet Ibraheem Al-Khalil, who was reclining his back on Bait-Al-Mamoor. It was Ibraheem who rebuilt Kaaba on the earth; surely he deserved the reward of being at a high station in the paradise. Verse 18 of chapter 53, An-Najam, says in this regard, “Indeed he (Muhammad) did see of the greatest signs of his Lord (Allah).” A narration may be mentioned in this regard that when Allah, the creator and the sovereign Lord, expressed his intention to the angels and said, “I am going to place My deputy on earth.” The angels said, “Will You place there, those who will make mischief and shed blood there, while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You.” He (Allah) said, “I know that which you do not know” (verse 30 of chapter 2). It is said that the angels guessed that this creation will also make mischief as the creation that existed on the earth, i.e., the jinns (invisible creations) have been making mischief or that they were made known of the attributes of the humans, whom Allah wanted to create. However, Allah refuted not their guess; instead He said that they were unaware about His wisdom in the creation of Adam. But it is said that Allah’s reply was so pompous, glorious, and arrogant that the angels thought that they might have annoyed Allah; so they became frightened of Allah’s wrath and therefore took shelter under the throne (Arsh) and thereafter started circumambulating the Arsh and started pronouncing praises and glories to Allah in order to demonstrate their humbleness and apologies to Him. It is said that Allah liked their act of submission, humbleness, and manner of pronouncing His glory. So Allah ordered them to build a house for prayer beneath His Arsh, and that was called Bait-Al-Mamoor. Thereafter the angels were asked to circumambulate that house in lieu of the Arsh. The action of the angels’ circumambulation of the Arsh seems to have been postponed till the day of Resurrection, since Allah says in verse 75, chapter 39, Az-Zumar, that “you will see the angels surrounding the Throne (Arsh) from all round, glorifying the praises of their Lord (Allah).” Furthermore, verse 17, chapter 69, Al-Haaqah, says, “And the angels will be on its (Throne) sides, and eight angels will, that Day (the Day of Resurrection), bear the Throne (Arsh) of Your Lord, above them.” C. The Circumambulation (Tawaf ) of Kaaba Since the Kaaba has its consistency with Bait-Al-Mamoor and thereby with the Arsh of Allah, it may have therefore been considered to be the substitute for both the grand places of heaven. It may be that Allah has titled the Kaaba to be His own house, i.e., Bait-Allah; hence, its tawaf is substitute of the tawaf of Arsh. Therefore, the pilgrims circumambulating Kaaba must be conscientious of the fact that they have been honored to substitute the tawaf of Arsh and to perform Sunnah of the prophets and of the angels too. They should keep in mind while going around Kaaba that they are around the house of Allah and are in the process of pleasing their Lord as the angels did. They are at the doorsteps of Allah’s house asking for His mercy, kindness, forgiveness, and blessings; so they should be conscientious to be careful to remain in their humblest and extreme submissive manner. They ought to know that do they possess the feeling of Allah’s presence, the feeling of His Majesty, Magnificence, and Lordship in their extreme fear to attain His love and affections. One must supplicate and submit his requests like a beggar and should have enough confidence in Allah’s kindness and generosity that He will not let His beggar go empty. So please Him in a way that a slave ought to please his master. Allah, the Lord of majesty, has ordained tawaf vide verse 29, chapter22, Al-Hajj, and has said, “And circumambulate the ancient House (Kaaba).” The tawaf of Kaaba used to be the old practice, which is since the days of the prophet Abraham and the prophet Ishmael, but later it was corrupted, may be with the introduction of the idol worship; the tawaf was turned into shameful fashions. That state of tawaf was condemned by the Divine Authority vide verse 28 and 30 of chapter 7, Al-Aaraf. Imam Ibn-Kathir has commented with regard to verse 28 of chapter 7 and said that “I say the Arabs with exception of the Quraish used to perform tawaf necked. They claimed they would not make tawaf wearing the clothes that they disobeyed Allah in. As for the Quraish, known as Al-Hums, they used to perform tawaf in their regular clothes. Whoever among the Arabs borrowed the garments from one of the Al-Hums; he would wear it for tawaf. And whoever wore a new garment would discard it, and none would wear it after him on completion of tawaf. Those who did not have a new garment, or not given by Al-Hums, then they would perform tawaf naked, even the women but usually at night.” It may be pointed out that the Quraish being custodians of Kaaba had imposed the condition of wearing clothes for tawaf duly purchased from them only. As a matter of fact, the people who could not afford to purchase clothes from the custodians of Kaaba would have no option but to perform tawaf naked; hence, the practice was approved by the society, and thus, they claimed it to be in accordance with the divine legislation. This is why Allah refuted their claim vide verse 28 of chapter 7, which said, “And when they commit Fahisha (shameful action), they say: ‘We found our fathers doing this, and Allah has commanded it for us.’” In the same verse, Allah refuted their claim and said, “Say (O, Muhammad to those who claimed this); Nay, Allah never commands Fahisha. Do you say about Allah, what you know not?” And in verse 29 of chapter 7, Allah says to His Prophet, “Say: ‘My Lord has commanded justice, i.e., fairness and honesty.’” Finally, Prophet Muhammad and his nation have been prescribed dress for the period of Umra and Hajj, which is composed of two white sheets of cloth, unstitched and clean, one for the upper and the other for the lower part of the body for men, and the usual clothing for the women duly covered all their body parts except the face, the hands, and the feet. It may be noticed that the tawaf is like a prayer. Tirmidhi had recorded that the Prophet of Allah said, “Tawaf around the House (Kaaba) is like the prayer, except that you all speak during it. Therefore, whoever speaks let him not speak except with good (words).”
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 15:53:53 +0000
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