Part 20

The Prophet #% remained married to Khadeejah % until she died at the age of 65, at a time when the Prophet # was himself approaching old age. It is between the ages of 20 and 50 that a man has especially strong desires for women other than his wife; and even though the opportunities to marry other women were available to the Prophet #8, he # remained monogamous throughout that entire period.

As for the Prophet #s marrying ‘Aishah % later on, as well as his other wives, each marriage had a story, a reason, and a wisdom behind it. The story behind each marriage highlights the wisdom and wonderful character of the Prophet 4%.

The Important Role That The Prophet 2¢ Played In The Rebuilding Of The Ka’bah

When the Prophet # was 35 years old, which was about five years before he # received revelation for the first time, Quraish’s chieftains gathered to discuss an important matter: the rebuilding of the Ka’bah. Due to flood waters and other causes, the walls of the Ka’bah began to split; the damage was so severe that the Quraish feared that the edifice of the Ka’bah would simply collapse at any time.

The Ka’bah was still upon the construction of Ibraaheem 23; it was slightly higher than the height of the average man, and it consisted of stones stacked up one on top of another, without any clay to hold them together. What the Quraish wanted to do was not a simple renovation; rather, they wanted to first destroy the edifice of the Ka’bah and then rebuild it with a roof. But they were afraid, feeling that doing so might be a form of sacrilege that would lead to evil repercussions. Al-Waleed ibn Al-Mugheerah, chief of the Makhzoom clan, said to the others, “I will begin with its destruction.” He picked up an axe, stood beside the Ka’bah, and said, “O Allah, we have not gone astray, and we want only that which is good.”

In the end, they decided to begin by demolishing only a part of the

The Prophet's marriage to Khadeejah... 111

Ka’bah, and then to wait one night. If, during the night, they saw an evil portent, they would stop destroying the Ka’bah and fix the part they had already destroyed. But if, during the night, they saw no warning sign, they would continue with the demolition and reconstruction of the Ka’bah. Since nothing untoward happened that night, they did the latter.

Each subtribe was assigned the task of working on one side of the Ka’bah. And though the work involved physical labor that was normally performed by the lower classes, the chieftains and noblemen participated as well, since the work was considered sacred in nature. And so Makkan chieftains would pick up stones and raise them up onto the new structure of the Ka’bah.

The Prophet #% and his uncle Al-’Abbaas # also participated in the reconstruction work. There is a famous account of how, as they were carrying stones, Al-’Abbaas said to the Prophet 2, “Place your loincloth over your neck, so as to protect yourself from the stones.” The Prophet #€ fell to the ground, and his eyes were fixed on the sky. Later on, he # woke up and began to shout, “My loincloth, my loincloth!’’ He then immediately tied his loincloth around himself again.!!

When the reconstruction project was almost completed, a heated argument broke out. The only step that remained in the reconstruction was to place the Black Stone in its place; the problem was that every chieftain wanted the honour of picking up the Black Stone and placing it in the corner of the Ka’bah. This might seem like a trifling argument to some people today, but we must keep in mind that Arabs fought long and hard wars over the concept of honour. Even concerning the case in question, the various subtribes of the Quraish were on the verge of fighting one another. But that eventuality was averted when Makkah’s oldest chieftain, Umayyah ibn Al-Mugheerah, said, “O people of Quraish, concerning that over which you

{3 Saheeh Bukhaaree, “The Book of Hajj’; chapter, “The Superiority of Makkah” Hadeeth number: 1582.

differ, appoint the first person to enter the door of the Masjid to act as judge over you.” After they agreed to follow Umayyah’s suggestion, they all anxiously waited to see who it was that was going to enter the door. To their mutual satisfaction, it was Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah 2; and upon seeing him, they all exclaimed, “Here is the Trustworthy One. We are indeed pleased.” After they told him about their dispute, the Prophet 2% said, “ Bring me a robe.” When they brought one to him, he #% placed the Black Stone in its middle with his hands and said, “Let each tribe (i.e., subtribe) hold one corner of the robe.” So the leader of each subtribe held one corner of the robe; then, together, they raised it and carried it to its place, at which point the Prophet #% removed it from the robe and put it inits proper place. Everyone was satisfied, and war was averted.

The reconstruction effort was a success. The Ka’bah was now 18 arm-spans high, and six wooden columns were used to hold up the roof. The door of the Ka’bah was elevated slightly above ground level; stairs were constructed between the ground and the door to permit entry. They placed the door above ground level for two main reasons: First, to prevent easy access into the Ka’bah, for only certain people were allowed to go inside; and second, to prevent water from leaking through the door and entering the Ka’bah.

There was just one goal that the Quraish did not achieve. They didn’t build the Ka’bah completely over the foundations of Ismaa’eel 4, for they left out Al-Hijr, which is the northern part of the Ka’bah. Instead of including Al-Hijr as a part of the Ka’bah, they constructed a short wall around it to let people know that it was part of the Ka’bah. They simply had no choice, for when they previously decided to reconstruct the Ka’bah, they had agreed to use only licit money - meaning money that was not derived through unlawful means, such as usury, theft, or unlawful dowry money. And they soon ran out of licit money, leaving them with insufficient funds to include the Al-Hijr area into the actual construction of the Ka’bah.

1) What we know for sure is that, throughout time, the Ka’bah has been built and rebuilt for at least a total of four times. Ibraaheem 8, with the help of his son Ismaa’eel 32%, built the original structure. It remained as it was until the Quraish rebuilt it, with the participation of the Prophet #%. The next reconstruction took place during the rule of Yazeed ibn Mu’aawiyah. What happened was that Al-Husain AsSakkoonee besieged Ibn Az-Zubair # in Makkah, and the siege continued until the latter surrendered himself; nonetheless, fighting took place, and the Ka’bah was set on fire. And so Ibn Az-Zubair rebuilt the Ka’bah. It was then rebuilt for a last time after Ibn Az-Zubair 4s was killed, which occurred during the rule of ‘Abdul-Malik ibn Marwaan. The reason for the reconstruction was simple: ‘Abdul-Malik wanted to return the Ka’bah to the way it was during the lifetime of the Prophet #, since Ibn Az-Zubair #, when he rebuilt it, changed the shape and size of the edifice ~ albeit for a very good reason. Ibn Az-Zubair -4 raised the structure of the Ka’bah by ten arm-spans; he # added two doors to it, one as an entrance, and one as an exit; and, moreover, he # included Al-Hijr, the six arm-spans of the Ka’bah that had been left out during the reconstruction project of the Quraish. Ibn AzZubair # made the changes he did based on a Hadeeth of ‘Aishah %, in which the Messenger of Allah #% said, “O ‘Aishah, had not your people been from (the people of) ignorance so recently (i.e., it was only a short while ago that they were polytheists), I would have ordered for the House (i.e., the Ka’bah) to be destroyed (to make way for reconstruction), and I would have included into it what was previously excluded from it (i.e., Al-Hijr). I would have fixed it to the ground, made for it an eastern door and a western door, and made it reach the foundation of Ibraaheem.’”") ‘AbdulMalik was not happy with the changes, which is why he

"| Saheeh Bukhaaree, “The Book of Hajj.” Hadeeth number: 1586.

leveled the Ka’bah and rebuilt it, so that it would be similar to how it was during the Prophet's lifetime. It is said that he later regretted his decision. And Allah % knows best. Other than the four construction projects mentioned above, certain narrations indicate that the Ka’bah was built or rebuilt at other times as well; for example, one narration indicates that the Angels were the first to build the Ka’bah, and another indicates that Adam xa built the Ka’bah; however, the authenticity of such narrations is a matter of dispute among scholars.

2) The way in which the Prophet #% brought an end to the dispute was both wise and just; everyone was pleased, and the shedding of blood was avoided. What was so wonderful about the Prophet's solution was that he # was able to satisfy the members of all subtribes; this was an example of how Allah % guided the Prophet #% to make wise and correct decisions even before the period of Prophethood. Allah % decreed for the Prophet #% to enter the As-Safaa door, in order to resolve the difficult crisis that was brewing. And everyone was pleased when they saw him because they knew that the Prophet #¢ was trustworthy and that he would judge justly between them without taking sides.

3) The events that took place during Quraish’s rebuilding of the Ka’bah underscore two important points: First, the Prophet's high status and ranking among the Quraish. And second, Quraish’s self-contradictory attitude after the Prophet #

declared his Prophethood, for they were calling him a liar,

when only a few years earlier they had all declared that he was

the “Truthful, Trustworthy One.”

4) The Prophet #% gained two important honours during the rebuilding of the Ka’bah: First, the honour of preventing bloodshed between Quraish’s subtribes. And second, he 2% had the honour of doing what the Quraish were competing for, namely, the honour of placing the Black Stone in its place; Allah 3 decreed, through the sequence of events that took

place, that the Prophet #% would be the one who placed the Black Stone in its place. After the chieftains of the Quraish carried it to the Ka’bah, the Prophet #8 picked it up from the robe and put it in the corner of the Ka’bah where it belonged.