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Maysarah says: "In the severe heat of the afternoon, I would
notice two angels offering shade to Rasûlullah ."
As he was returning from Syria whilst the two angels were
busy shading him from the fierce midday sun, Hadrat Khadijah
witnessed this extraordinary scene as she was sitting رضي الله عنها
in one of the upper floors of her house. She summoned the
women around her to come and view this incredible spectacle
as well. This took all of them by surprise. Soon after,
Maysarah 69 gave her a detailed account of the strange
phenomena and particulars of the journey. He then made over
her goods and money to her. Due to the barakah (blessings) of
رضي الله عنها Rasulullah this time round, Hadrat Khadijah
realized such a huge profit from this trade caravan that she had
never before made such a huge profit from a single trade
caravan. Hadrat Khadijah awarded Rasûlullah % much more
than the initial profit she had originally promised him. [Tabqât
Ibn S'ad volume 1 page 83, Al-Khasâisu Al-Kubrâ volume 1
page 91, 'Uyûn Al-Athar volume 1 page 49]
After citing this incident they write, this narration has been
related by Wâqidî, Muhammad bin Ishâq and Ibn Sakan. In
other words, this narration is not only confined to Wâqidî but
also narrated by Muhammad bin Ishaq and Ibn Sakan. Wâqidî,
the narrator of this Hadîth, is unanimously declared weak or
69 It seems as though Maysarah passed away before Rasûlullah * was
commissioned as a prophet. Hâfiz 'Asqalâni writes in Isâbah: "Until now,
not a single authentic narration could establish the Sahabiyyat
(companionship) of Maysarah. [Zarqânî volume 1 page 198]
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unreliable. Muhammad bin Ishâq was a Tâb'î and is declared
reliable by most. Imam Ahmad رحمة الله عليه says: "As far as I
am concerned, the Ahadîth narrated by Muhammad bin Ishâq
are Hasan (satisfactory)."
Although the Muhaddithîn have declared Waqidî unreliable,
not a single Hadîth collection is devoid of his Ahadîth. Hâfiz
Ibn Taymiyyah writes in Al-Masârim Al-Maslûl page 96:
"Although Wâqidî is a weak narrator, nobody holds any
objection against him being one of the most knowledgeable
personages in the filed of Maghâzî (the military expeditions of
Rasûlullah ). Imâm Shâf î and Imam Ahmad bin Hambal also
benefited from his books."
In short, this narration is related by both Muhammad bin Ishaq
and Waqidî. The Muhaddithîn have declared the narrations of
Muhammad bin Ishaq as reliable or at least no less than the
category of Hasan (satisfactory) and although Waqidî's
narrations are declared weak, they could unquestionably be
drawn upon to corroborate Hasan (satisfactory) narrations.
A comprehensive study and authentication of Maysarah's
incident and a brief analysis of three Imams of Sîrat
Since the narration dealing with Maysarah (the slave of Hadrat
Khadijah رضي الله عنها who accompanied Rasulullah # to Syria)
is narrated by both Muhammad bin Ishaq and Waqidî, both of
whom were exhaustively scrutinised by the Muhaddithîn, we
decided to mention a brief background of three renowned
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Imâms of Sîrat and Maghâzî. They are: Mûsâ bin 'Uqbah,
Muhammad bin Ishaq and Wâqidî. This will enable us to
ascertain the proper status of the narrations cited by the Imams
of Sîrat.
Mûsâ bin 'Uqbah
He was a resident of Madinah Munawwarah. He was a Tâbi'î
and an emancipated slave of Hadrat Zubair bin 'Awwâm
s family. He is unanimously declared as a reliable' رضي الله عنه
narrator. Not a single Muhaddith criticised his abilities. Imâm
Mâlik, Sufyân bin 'Uyaynah and 'Abdullah bin Mubarak also
narrate from him. He passed away in 141 A.H. The Imams of
the six most authentic books of Hadîth, the Sihah Sittah, also
narrate Ahadîth from him. Commenting on the Kitâbul-
Maghâzî of Mûsâ bin 'Aqabah, Imam Malik deali , would
say: "It is the most authentic of all books compiled on Maghâzî
(the military expeditions of Rasûlullah )." However, a copy of
Mûsâ bin 'Uqbah's Kitâbul-Maghâzî is not available today. His
narrations are widely scattered in the books of our
predecessors.
Muhammad bin Ishâq
Muhammad bin Ishâq bin Yasâr Muttallibî Madanî was also a
Tâbi'î. He was a leading scholar of Sîrat and Maghâzî. He has
been declare reliable by the majority of the 'Ulama. Imam
Mâlik dealda, has criticised him. Hâfiz Zahabî writes in
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Tazkiratul-Huffâz: "Muhammad bin Ishâq as an individual is
remarkably honest and irreproachable but his Ahadîth are
beneath the grade of authentic. Imam Ahmad bin Hambal
considered him satisfactory in Hadîth."
'Alî bin Madînî says: "According to me, the Ahadîth of
Muhammad bin Ishâq are authentic."
Imâm Nasaîe says: "He is not reliable."
Dâr Qutnî maintains: "He does not deserve to be trusted."
Imâm Mâlik says: "He is a Dajjâl (liar) of the Dajjâls."
Shu'abah says: "He is an Amîrul-Muminîn (chief) in Hadîth."
Imâm Bukhârî has accepted his Ahâdîth T'alîgan70 but not
Mawsûlan.
The authors of the Sunan have also accepted the narrations of
Muhammad bin Ishaq. Imâm Muslim too has indirectly
accepted his narrations. Muhammad bin Ishaq passed away in
151 A.H.
The original copy of Maghazî Ibn Ishaq is currently nowhere to
be found. However, the existing copy of Sîrat Ibn Hishâm is
essentially the same as the original of Sîrat Ibn Ishaq, which
was innovatively reproduced by Sîrat Ibn Hishâm.
70 Where a Hadîth is mentioned with one or more narrators is left out in the
Sanad whilst Mawsulan refers to a Hadîth where the entire Sanad is also
mentioned.
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The criticism levelled against Muhammad bin Ishaq is based on
two factors; firstly, he is accused of tadlîs (falsifying certain
aspects of the Hadîth) and secondly, the incidents dealing with
Khaibar, he would actually solicit the information from the
Jews of Khaibar themselves.
The latter factor does not warrant such criticism. To further
verify his information by making additional enquiries from the
Jews is not something he has to be condemned for. This does
not warrant such abrasive criticism. Yes, absolute reliance on
the Jews and to utilise their narrations exclusively to establish
some Shar'î injunction is undoubtedly not acceptable.
However, not a single Muslim in the world is of the opinion
neither is it established that Muhammad bin Ishâq narrates from
the Jews of Khaibar like Naf'i and Zuhri and that he regards the
Jews of Khaibar as reliable like Qasim and 'Atâ. Furthermore,
even a Muslim with minimal intelligence will neither narrate a
Hadîth from a non-Muslim nor regard him as reliable.
Whomsoever understands this to be the case has
misunderstood.
As for the accusation of tadlîs levelled against him, the Imams
of Hadîth unequivocally state themselves that the narrator who
is guilty of Tadlîs7 narrates a Hadîth using the word 'An
(narrated from), then such a Hadîth will not be accepted. Yes,
only if he uses words explicitly meaning that he heard the
71 Tadlîs refers to the situation where a narrator narrates a Hadîth from his
Shaikh without actually hearing the said Hadîth from the Shaikh himself.
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particular Hadîth from his Shaik, then only will his Hadîth be
acceptable.
Wâqidî
Abû 'Abdullah Muhammad bin 'Umar bin Wâqid Al-Wâqidî
Al-Madanî. He was a leading Imâm of Sîrat and Maghâzî. He
was a student of Imam Malik,Sufyan Thawrî, Mu'ammar bin
Râshid and Ibn Abî Zi'b. [Târîkh Ibn Khallikân volume 1 page
640]
And his distinguished student Muhammad bin S'ad, the author
of the Tabqat, was also the student of Sufyan bin 'Uyaynah.
[Târîkh Ibn Khallikân volume 1 page 642]
Wâqidî was born in 130 and passed away in 207 A.H. [Mîzan
Al- I'tidâl volume 3 page 111]
The Muhaddithîn have differed widely as far as their opinion of
Wâqidî goes. Imâm Shâf'î and Imam Ahmad have declared
Wâqidî a liar and his compilations as fictitious. Imâm Bukhârî
and Abû Hâtim regard him as Matrûkul-Hadîth (one whose
narrations are renounced). 'Alî bin Madînî and Nasaie view
him as a fabricator of Hadîth. However, another group of
Muhaddithîn has declared him to be weak. In other words,
according to them, Wâqidî is weak but not a liar. Yahyâ bin
Ma'în says that Wâqidî is not reliable. Dâr Qutnî says that
Wâqidî has a trace of weakness in him. Another smaller group
of Muhaddithîn on the other hand, declare Waqidî to be a
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reliable narrator. Yazîd bin Hârûn says that Wâqidî is reliable.
Abû 'Ubaidah and Ibrâhîm Huzalî also pronounce him to be
reliable. Darâwardî says that Wâqidî is an Amîrul-Muminîn
(chief) in Hadîth. In the foreword of his book, 'Uyun Al-Athar,
after listing the various conflicting opinions about Wâqidî,
Hâfiz Ibn Sayyidun-Nâs gives preference to the opinions
favouring Wâqidî's reliability.
Hâfiz Ibn Hajar writes in Fathul-Bârî:
"Hâfiz Mughaltâî has acted with prejudice when coming to the
defence of Waqidî. Hâfiz Mughaltâî only cites the reports of
those who declared Waqidî to be reliable whilst completely
disregarding the reports of those who accuse him of deceit and
declare him weak whereas his critiques far outnumber his
extollers. And to top this, his critiques far outstrip his extollers
in meticulousness, proficiency and erudition. And one of the
arguments they present in favour of Wâqidî's reliability is that
Imâm Shâf'ie also narrates Hadîth from him whereas Bayhaqî
traces back an ascription to Imâm Shafie himself who declared
Wâqidî to be a liar. [Anhâus-Sakan the preface of I'lâus-Sunan
page 75]
Hafiz Ibn Hajar is of the view that when there are conflicting
opinions over a narrator's reliability and deviousness and there
is a clash between his disapproval and approval, the opinion of
the majority will be preferred. Therefore, the disapproval of
Wâqidî will be given preference to over his reliability because
the number of critiques who disapprove of him outweigh those
who applaud him. Hafiz Mughaltaî on the other hand, is of the
view that when there are conflicting opinions of a narrator's
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reliability, preference should be awarded to the view favouring
his reliability even though this view may be held by the
minority. This is so because the people of knowledge are
generally righteous and reliable. Especially a narrator who hails
from the Khairul-Qurûn (best of times), his narration is not to
be rejected as long as his depravity (fisq or vice) is confirmed.
As Allâh Ta'âlâ declares:
"And if a fâsig (depraved person) appears before you with
some news, verify it." [Sûrah Hujurât verse 6]
According to another Qirât, instead of "Fatabayyanû (verify it),
the verse reads "Fatathabbatû" (be cautious and prudent). In
other words, if a Fâsig comes to you with some information, be
cautious. Avoid being rash in rejecting it altogether. This ruling
of caution or verification applies to a narrator whose Fisq (vice)
is confirmed as referred to in the aforementioned verse. Hence,
additional precaution would be required if the narrator's Fisq is
not established at all.
On this basis we can safely assert that Hâfiz Mughaltâî did not
act with prejudice when discussing Waqidî but he acted with
impartiality by preferring the opinions favouring Wâqidî's
reliability without focusing on the profusion of his critiques
whatsoever. In fact, he opted for the policy of the jurists.
Whenever there are conflicting views of reliability and
unreliability over an individual narrator, the Muhaddithîn tend
to prefer the view of the majority whilst the policy of the jurists
is that if there is a conflict between a narrator's disapproval and
approval, preference will be given to the view that favours his
reliability over the view that merely mentions an ambiguous
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statement of criticism even though the critiques outnumber the
extollers. And caution also demands that his reliability be
accepted. To reject his narration outright is rather reckless.
In his commentary of Bukharî and Hidâyah, 'Allâmah Badrud-
Dîn 'Aynî adopts the same policy. Even Ibn Humâm, in his
commentary of Hidâyah embraces this policy of preferring the
opinions of reliability rather than the conflicting opinion of
unreliability.
Imam Ahmad bin Hambal 72 caldas, also favours this
policy. As long as all the scholars of Hadîth do not
unanimously concur about the unreliability of a narrator, Imâm
Ahmad bin Hambal wouldn't skip over the Hadîth of such a
narrator. Adopting the same policy, he quotes all the Ahadîth
from the beginning to the end in his Musnade-Ahmad. Abû
Dâwûd and Nasaie too implement this strategy in their Sunan
books.
From this we deduce that Hafiz Mugahltâî's declaration of
Wâqidî's reliability is based on this policy and not on grounds
of prejudice. The conflicting opinions on Wâqidî that we have
cited above are all mentioned in Hâfiz Zahabî's book Mîzânul-
I'tidâl volume 3 page 110]
72 Ya'qûb says that Ahmad revealed: "My policy as far as the narrators go is
that I would not relinquish a Hadîth of any narrator as long as all the people
of the city do not unanimously agree to rule out his Ahâdîth. [Tahzîb
volume 5 page 377]
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It is strange to note that these conflicting opinions about
Wâqidî held by the Imâms of Hadîth are before Hâfiz Zahabî's
very eyes but yet he writes at the end: "Unanimity over the
unreliability of Wâqidî is firmly established." However, in the
presence of such divergent views, a claim of such unanimity is
inaccurate.
Hâfiz Ibn Taymiyyah writes in Al-Masârimul-Maslûl:
"In spite of the modest degree of unreliability of Wâqidî, no
two people disagree to the fact that Waqidî is the most educated
and knowledgeable person about the details surrounding the
Maghâzî (military expeditions) of Rasûlullah . In fact, Shâf'î,
Ahmad and other scholars also derive benefit from his books.
[Pages 47, 74, 96]
And there is not a single book on Sîrat, Maghâzî or Rijâl
(narrators as sources of information) that does not contain the
narrations of Wâqidî. Fathul-Bârî and Zarqânî Sharah Mawâhib
are abounding in narrations of Wâqidî. Even 'Allâmah Shiblî
himself has taken extensive benefit from Wâqidî's narrations.
Sîratun-Nabî (by 'Allâmah Shiblî) has cited numerous such
narrations from Tabqât Ibn S'ad in which the principal narrator
is Wâqidî. 'Allâmah Shiblî quotes Tabqât with reference to
volume and page number as well but he conspicuously fails to
mention the fact that the principal narrator in these narrations is
Wâqidî, the same Wâqidî whom 'Allâmah refers to as a
notorious liar, fabulist and a person of insignificant worth. And
'Allâmah Shiblî repeatedly refers to him with inconceivable
words. In spite of this, when 'Allâmah cites the narrations of
this "notorious liar", he rather conveniently omits his name
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altogether. However, he indisputably cites the narrations of the
student of this "notorious liar". In other words, he quotes the
narrations of Ibn S'ad who is actually the student of this "liar
and fabulist".
The narrations of Wagidî in Sîratun-Nabi
As an example, we cite a few narrations of Wâqidî as quoted in
Sîratun-Nabî by 'Allâmah Shiblî:
1. "On his deathbed, Qusayy delegated all his
responsibilities pertaining to the sacred Haram to his
eldest son 'Abd Al-Dâr." Tabqât Ibn S'ad volume 1
page 41, Sîratun-Nabî volume 1 page 154. 'Allâmah
quotes this Hadîth on the authority of Ibn S'ad and this
Hadîth is narrated exclusively by Wâqidî.
2. "'Abdullah's estate consisted of a camel, a few goats
and a bondwoman by the name of Ummu Ayman ...... "
Tabqât Ibn S'ad volume 1 page 62, Sîratun-Nabî
volume 1 page 58. This incident is mentioned in Tabqât
also exclusively on the authority of Wâqidî. There is no
other mention of a chain of narrators after Wâqidî.
3. Ibn S'ad narrates in Tabqât volume 1 page 71 that
Rasûlullah % would often say: "I am the most eloquent
from amongst you because I hail from the Quraysh tribe
and my dialect is the dialect of the Banû S'ad. Sîratun-
Nabî volume 1 page 162. The narrator of this Hadîth is
also Muhammad 'Umar Wâqidî.
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4. The incident of Half Al-Fudul as quoted in Sîratun-Nabî
volume 1 page 162 with reference to Tabqât Ibn S'ad
volume 1 page 82, is also an incident narrated by
Wâqidî.
5. Under the discussion of the campaign of Khaibar,
‘Allâmah Shiblî writes in Sîratun-Nabî volume 1 page
440 that before setting out on this campaign, Rasûlullah
proclaimed: "Nobody but an enthusiastic person may
depart with us for Jihad." He narrates this Hadîth also
on the authority of Ibn S'ad, which is ultimately
narrated by Wâqidî.
Doesn't this attitude contradict the principles of knowledge and
trust? When he wishes to reject a narration, he mentions
Wagidî by name even though there may be another reliable
narrator also narrating the Hadîth. And when he wishes to
accept Wâqidî's narration, he deletes Wâqidî's name altogether
and merely mentions Wâqidî's student's name, Ibn S'ad and
sidesteps the whole issue in silence.
Summary:
The established and most preferred opinion and closest to the
truth is that Wâqidî is a weak or unreliable narrator but he is
certainly not a liar or fabulist. Wâqidî's narrations will assume
the same status accorded to narrations reported by weak
narrators. The basic rule governing such weak narrations is that
as long as an authentic Hadîth does not contradict this weak
Hadîth, the weak Hadîth will not be discarded especially if the
weak Hadîth is narrated by several narrators or by means of an
assortment of chains of narrators. It has been sequentially
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reported that Imam A'zam Abu Hanîfah cald, said:
"Even a weak Hadîth is more dear to me than the opinion of
men." Whenever Imam A zam Abu Hanifah رحمة الله عليه was
confronted with an issue for which he was unable to locate an
authentic Hadîth, he would give preference to a weak Hadîth in
opposition to Qiyas (logic). A weak Hadîth does not necessarily
imply that the Hadîth is absolutely unreliable. What it implies
is that one should bear in mind the weakness of the weak
Hadîth and if there is a contradiction between an authentic and
weak Hadîth, give preference to the authentic Hadîth. If an
authentic Hadîth cannot be located, give preference to the weak
Hadîth over your personal opinion because a person opinion on
its own is weak and unreliable whilst the Hadîth of Rasûlullah
on its own is not unreliable and weak. The weakness is in the
chain of narrators and this weakness is only a temporary
attribute ('Ârdî) not a permanent constituent (Zâît) whilst the
weakness of a personal opinion is a permanent constituent. This
is why a weak Hadîth is preferred over one's personal opinion.
The elementary provisions for the acceptance of weak Ahadîth
are mentioned in the books dealing with fundamentals of
Hadîth. Refer to these for more information on this subject.
For the moment, I have penned whatever has come to mind.
And Allâh Ta'âlâ is the most knowledgeable and his
knowledge is absolute and most wise.
Hafiz Iraqi رحمة الله عليه writes the (following poem) in
Alfiyatus-Siyar:
"He (Rasûlullah
thereafter left for Syria with Maysarah,
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In a trade caravan with some goods from Khadijah,
Well before he was wedded to her,
He reached Busrâ and he engaged in trade and accomplished
whatever they both desired,
Maysarah witnessed some extraordinary occurrences,
And other talents he was bestowed with,
He returned to relate these to Sayyidah Khadijah, the noble, the
chaste,
She wanted to marry him so she proposed to Muhammad,
Oh! What a blessed proposal this turned out to be,
He married her when he was a man of twenty-five.
Notes
1. From the aforementioned Hadîth it appears that it is
possible for some people to witness the physical
presence of the angels as Maysarah caught sight of the
angels offering shade to Rasûlullah . [Zarqânî volume
1 page 199] Furthermore, the sighting of the angels by
Hadrat Maryam is mentioned in the holy Quran whilst
the sighting of Hadrat Hajirah is mentioned in Sahîh
Bukhârî under the chapter of Al-Ambiyâ. The sighting
of Kirâman-Kâtibîn by Hadrat 'Imrân bin Husain is
quoted in Isâbah.
2. On the basis of a number of narrations we ascertained
that a cloud would offer shade to Rasûlullah . For
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instance, Hadrat Halîmah S'adiyyah and her children
witnessed this spectacle and on his first journey to
Syria, Bahîrâ the monk also witnessed this shade of the
cloud and he pointed it out to the others as well. We
previously mentioned this Hadîth with reference to
-رضي الله عنه Tirmizi on the authority of Hadrat Abu Musa
In Qasîda Hamziyyah, 'Allâmah Ibn Hajar Makkî says:
"Tirmizî's narration is the most authentic on this subject. As
Ghirr bin Jama'ah says that he who claims that the Hadîth
dealing with a cloud providing shade for Rasûlullah % is not an
acceptable Hadîth according to the Muhaddithîn, such a claim
is utterly false. Yes, what is true (as mentioned by Hâfiz
Sakhâwî) is that this shade provided by the cloud was not
perpetual. It was irregular. For instance, it appears in another
Hadîth that during the journey of migration when the intense
heat was beating down upon Rasûlullah , Hadrat Abu Bakr
shaded him from the burning sun with a sheet he رضي الله عنه
held over him. Similarly, in Ji irranah, Rasûlullah was
shielded from the burning sun with a piece of cloth. The
Sahâbah say that whenever they passed a tree offering good
shade, they would sacrifice the shade for Rasûlullah ."
[Zarqânî volume 1 page 148]
Marriage to Hadrat Khudaijah
According to the narration of Ibn Ishaq, Hadrat Khadijah
after listening to Maysarah's account of his travels ,رضي الله عنها
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including Bahîrâ the monk's statement and the spectacle of the
angels providing shade etc., went to Waragah bin Nawfal and
conveyed the details of these miraculous events to him.
Waraqah remarked: "Khadîjah! If these incidents are true, then
most certainly Muhammad is the prophet of this Ummah. I am
well aware that this Ummah is patiently waiting to be graced by
a prophet whose advent is imminent." ['Uyun Al-Athar volume
1 page 51]
On hearing about these miraculous events, Hadrat Khadijah
developed a longing to be wedded to Rasulullah رضي الله عنها
As a result, two months and twenty-five days after his arrival
from the Syrian trade journey, she sent a proposal to Rasûlullâh
. Acting on the advice of his uncle, Rasûlullah % accepted
this proposal. On the predetermined date of the Nikâh, together
with his uncles Abû Talib and Hamzah and a few other
chieftains of the family, Rasulullah set out for Hadrat
Khadijah رضي الله عنها's residence. According to Mubarrad,
Hadrat Khadijah رضي الله عنها's father had already passed away
before the battle of Fujjar. Her uncle 'Amar bin Asad was
present at her Nikâh. Some are of the opinion that her father
Khuwaylid was also in attendance. 'Allâmah Suhailî says that
Mubarrad's opinion is most authentic (that he had already
passed away before the Nikâh). And this is also narrated from
Jubair bin Mut im, Ibn 'Abbas and 'Aishah رضي الله عنهم .[Rawd
Al-Anf volume 1 page 122]
Abû Tâlib recited the Khutbah of Nikâh, the closing words of
which were:
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"Muhammad is a young man who, if weighed against any other
youngster from the Quraysh, Muhammad will outweigh the
other in nobility, eminence, intellect and graciousness. He may
be lacking in wealth but wealth is after all a passing shadow
and a trust to be ultimately surrendered. He is interested in
getting married to Khadijah bint Khuwailid and she also
cherishes the same interest." [Rawd Al-Anf volume 1 page
122]
At the time of this blessed Nikâh, Rasûlullah
was twenty-five
years old whilst Hadrat Khadijah رضى الله عنها was forty. The
Mahr (dowry) was fixed at twenty camels. According to Sîrat
Ibn Hishâm and Hâfiz Abû Bishr Dawlâmî, the stipulated Mahr
(dowry) was twelve and half awqiyah of silver. Each wuqiyah
is equivalent to forty Dirhams. Hence, the total dowry was five
hundred Dirhams. [Zarqânî volume 1 page 202]
This was Rasulullah 's first Nikah whilst it was Hadrat
Khadijah Licalso's third. We will, Insha Allah Ta'âlâ,
discuss this in more detail in the chapter dealing with the
Azwâje-Mutahharât (the blessed wives of Rasûlullah g).
The renovation of the K'abah and Rasûlullah
幾’s
arbitration
From the very inception of this universe, the K'abah was
reconstructed five times. The first time it was constructed by
Hadrat Adam Sulla le. According to Dalailu Bayhaqî,
'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin 'As reports that Rasûlullah % said:
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"Allah Ta ala delegated Hadrat Jibrail عليه السلام to command
Hadrat Adam عليه السلام to erect the K'abah. When he
completed the building, he was instructed to walk around the
house (tawâf). He was also informed: "You are the first man
and this is the first house erected for the devotion of Allâh
Ta'âlâ." [Fathul-Bârî volume 6 page 285]
According to Kitâbul-Ambiyâ under the chapter dealing with
the verse "and Allah assumed Ibrahim as a close friend",
Fathul-Bârî says: "When the deluge of Nuh lade struck,
no sign of the K'abah was left behind. Ibrahim Oulade was
commanded to reconstruct the K'abah. There was no trace of
even the foundation left behind. Hadrat Jibrail عليه السلام came
and retraced the markings of the original foundation.
Subsequently. Hadrat Ibrahim OUlade with the wholehearted
assistance of Hadrat Ismail عليه السلام launched the process of
reconstructing the holy Kabah. A detailed account of this
incident is mentioned in the Holy Quran. For further details,
refer to Fathul-Bârî Kitâbul-Ambiyâ under the chapter dealing
with the verse "and Allâh assumed Ibrahim as a close friend",
Tafsîr Ibn Kathîr and Tafsîr Ibn Jarîr. [Fathul-Bârî volume 6
page 284-292]
The third occasion the K'abah underwent reconstruction was
just before prophethood when Rasûlullah # was thirty-five and
the Quraysh decided to reconstruct the K'abah. The original
structure erected by Hadrat Ibrahim Oulade was roofless
whilst the walls were not actually very high. The walls were
just above the average height of man. Approximately nine
hands in height. Over the passage of time, the structure fell into
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disrepair. And due to it lying on low ground rainwater would
often find its way into the structure itself. This is why the
Quraysh decided to demolish the original structure and rebuild
it afresh. When all the Qurayshî leaders unanimously agreed to
demolish the K'abah and rebuild it, Abû Wahab bin 'Amr
Makhzûmî, Rasûlullah 's father's mother's brother, addressed
the Quraysh thus: "Bear in mind that whatever we propose to
spend in the reconstruction of the K'abah should be from halal
sources. The income derived from adultery, theft and usury
should not be applied to this sacred mission. Only exclusively
halâl wealth should be utilised in its construction. Allâh Ta'âlâ
is pure and he only approves of pure. In the erection of this
structure, employ your purely halâl wealth." And with the
reasoning that not a single person be deprived of this noble
assignment of reconstructing the K'abah, the reconstruction
was divided over the various clans in such a manner that the
responsibility of each phase or element of the K'abah was
consigned to a different clan. Each and every tribe or clan was
assigned a particular task or portion in the reconstruction
process.
The portion towards the door was assigned to Banû 'Abdu
Manaf and Banû Zuhrah. The area between the Hajare-Aswad
and Rukne-Yamânî was allocated to Banû Makhzûm and other
Qurayhsî clans. The rear of the structure was allocated to Banû
Jamh and Banû Sahm whilst the Hatîm section was given over
to Banû 'Abd Al-Dâr bin Qusayy and Banû Sad. During the
course of restoration, the Quraysh got word of a merchant ship
that was recently wrecked in the port of Jeddah. On hearing
this, Walid bin Mughîrah immediately set off for Jeddah and
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managed procuring the timber of this ruined vessel for the roof
of the K'abah. Amongst the crewmembers of this vessel was a
Roman mason (or carpenter) by the name of Bâqum. Walîd bin
Mughîrah also took him along to assist in the reconstruction.
Hafiz says in Isâbah volume 1 page 137 that the narrators of
this are reliable.
After these initial stages of groundwork, when it came to the
actual moment of demolition of the original structure, not a
soul had the courage to initiate the tearing down of the first
brick. In the end, Walîd bin Mughîrah, wielding a shovel,
proclaimed before Allâh Ta'âlâ:
"O Allâh! Our intentions are nothing but good." In other words,
Allâh Ta'âlâ forbid, we harbour absolutely no evil intention in
razing the K'abah. Saying this, he commenced demolishing the
K'abah in the region of Hajare-Aswad and Rukn Yamânî. The
people of Makkah decided to hold back until the forthcoming
night to ascertain if Walîd is struck by any divine punishment.
If any form of divine reprisal assails him, we will restore the
house of Allâh Ta'âlâ to what it was otherwise we will all assist
Walîd in demolishing the present structure. The next morning
found Walid hail and hearty wielding a shovel into the Haram
area. People interpreted his safety as an indication of Allâh
Ta'âlâ's pleasure thereby bolstering their courage even further.
All of them then earnestly embarked on this task of
demolishing the K'abah. They continued digging right down
until the original foundation laid by Hadrat Ibrahim lade
became visible. When one Qurayshî delivered a blow to the
Ibrâhîmî foundation, a terrible explosion rocked the city of
Makkah. At once, they discontinued digging further and started
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