Hajr-e-Aswad
Hajr-e-Aswad is the famous black stone that is located on one side of the Holy Ka’ba. The ziyarah of the black stone Hajr-e-Aswad is a part of the rituals of Hajj and Umrah.
History
This black stone holds great importance in the history of Islam. Hajr-e-Aswad, the black stone, is located on the southeast wall of the house of Allah. There are several narrations that confirm the background of the stone, but apart from all that they respect and the importance of the black stone remained the same.
According to an important and authentic narration, Hajr-e-Aswad is the stone that is brought down to earth from Jannah and has been installed in Ka’aba by our beloved Prophet Ibrahim (Allah’s blessings upon him) and his son Prophet Ismail (Allah’s blessings upon him). With the information provided by the narration, it is so that Prophet Ibrahim (Allah’s blessings upon him) and his son began to construct the Ka’aba by the orders of Allah Almighty. This was ordered to be the place of sanctity and worship. During the construction, a stone became short for building the walls. Prophet Ibrahim (Allah’s blessings upon him) ordered his son to find a stone to fill in the gap and finish the building. His son, Prophet Ismail (Allah’s blessings upon him), went for searching a stone but did not find any. When Prophet Ismail (Allah’s blessings upon him) came back to his father, he saw that there is already a stone placed in the gap. Upon his asking of where the stone came from, Prophet Ibrahim (Allah’s blessings upon him) told him that it was delivered by Gabriel.
A narration in Tirmidhi proves that Hajr-e-Aswad is a stone from heaven and was whiter than milk, but it has turned black due to the sins of the sons of Adam. This proves that the stone was originally white, but the sins of mankind made it turn black.
Importance of Hajr-e-Aswad in Islam
Hajr-e-Aswad has got a lot of other facts to be noticed apart from it being the stone of heaven. Numerous hadiths of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are related to Hajr-e-Aswad and its importance for the Muslims and Islam.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said in a hadith:
This shows the act of kissing Hajr-e-Aswad will be a witness for the faith of those who kissed it. Hajr-e-Aswad is not an ordinary stone rather it will be a witness before Allah Almighty on the Judgement Day.
On another occasion, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
This hadith also defines the importance of the black stone. Here not only the stone is praised, but Prophet Ibrahim (Allah’s blessings upon him) is also praised and called the jewels of the heaven. Allah Almighty has hidden their radiance so that the world can remain in order and nature is not disturbed.
With all this information, we come to know that Hajr-e-Aswad has a lot of significance in Islam and for the Muslims. Thus, nobody can ever take Hajr-e-Aswad for granted as it will be the witness on the Day of Judgement about the faith of every person who kissed it.
