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Before I went for Haj in 2003, I was fortunate enough to go for Umrah in 1996, and it was at that time I began asking the following questions:
* What is 'Hijr Ismaeel'?
* What is
the 'Standing Place of
Ibraheem'?
* Why do we kiss the Black Stone?
Judging by the few replies I received it appears that many modern day Muslims do not know the answers, and in fact, had never thought of the questions. However, I feel sure that at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) Muslims knew the answers, and never thought that over time and hundreds of years, people would forget them. Although the knowledge is there for those who seek it out, generally speaking, people no longer know. So I set out to try and find some answers, and as the Ka'bah is at the heart of them as much as it is the heart of the 'ummah', it seems the best way is to explore the history of the Holy House itself.
The earliest tradition regarding the Ka'bah is of rather a supernatural character but
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that is no reason to say it could not have happened; after all, Allah (s.w.t) gave many of His Prophets the ability to perform miracles and supernatural signs, and they are mentioned in the Qur'an.
It is said that in the very beginning the House was a dome of light which descended with Adam, and it settled in its present place, where in later years Prophet Ibraheem (pbuh) built the Ka'bah, and that it remained in that place until the time of the Great Flood, and when the earth was submerged, Allah (s.w.t) raised the dome up, and that it why it has always been called the 'Ancient House'.
This tradition may, or may not, be true but now we come to what is sure, because it is in the Book in which there is 'no doubt'. In Surat-ul-Baqarah, ayah 127, we read:
And remember, Ibraheem and Ismaeel raised the foundations of the House (with this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: for you are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." (2:127)
We
know from this that Ibraheem and
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![[image]](../../../images/bismillah.gif)
