Rebuilding the Ka'bah (2022-03-06) ​

0:00:04 in the last episode we read of the
0:00:06 introduction of zaid and ali into the
0:00:09 household of muhammad upon him the peace
0:00:12 and in this episode we will read about
0:00:14 the rebuilding of the kaaba and i
0:00:17 continue to read from muhammad his life
0:00:20 based on the earliest sources by martin
0:00:23 lings
0:00:24 chapter 14 the rebuilding of the
0:00:28 kaaba somewhat before these last mention
0:00:32 happenings about the time when ali was
0:00:35 taken into the household when muhammad
0:00:37 was 35 years old quresh decided to
0:00:41 rebuild the kaaba
0:00:43 as it then stood the walls were just
0:00:45 above the height of a man and there was
0:00:48 no roof which meant that even when the
0:00:50 door was locked access was easy and
0:00:54 recently there had been a theft of some
0:00:57 of its treasure which was stowed in a
0:00:59 vault that had been dug inside the
0:01:02 building for that purpose
0:01:05 they already had all the wood that was
0:01:07 needed for the roof the ship of a greek
0:01:10 merchant had been driven ashore and
0:01:12 wrecked beyond repair at jeddah
0:01:15 so they had taken its timbers to serve
0:01:18 as rafters
0:01:20 and there happened to be in mecca at
0:01:22 that time a copt who was a skilled
0:01:25 carpenter
0:01:26 but such was their ore of the kaaba that
0:01:30 they hesitated to lay hands on it
0:01:33 their plan was to demolish its walls
0:01:36 which were built of loose stones and to
0:01:39 rebuild it all together
0:01:41 but they were afraid of incurring the
0:01:43 guilt of sacrilege
0:01:45 and their hesitation was greatly
0:01:48 increased by the appearance of a large
0:01:50 snake which had taken to coming every
0:01:53 day out of the vault to sun itself
0:01:55 against a wall of the kaaba
0:01:59 if anyone approached it would rear its
0:02:02 head and hiss with gaping jaws and they
0:02:05 were terrified of it
0:02:08 but one day while it was sunning itself
0:02:11 god sent against it an eagle which
0:02:14 seized it and flew away with it
0:02:17 so quresh said among themselves
0:02:20 now we may indeed hope that god is
0:02:22 pleased with our intent
0:02:25 we have a craftsman whose heart is with
0:02:28 us and we have wood
0:02:30 and god hath rid us of this serpent
0:02:35 the first man to lift a stone from the
0:02:37 top of one of the walls was a maximide
0:02:41 abu wab the brother of fatima muhammad's
0:02:44 grandmother but no sooner had it been
0:02:47 lifted than the stone leapt from its
0:02:49 hand and returned to its place
0:02:52 whereupon all drew back from the kaaba
0:02:55 afraid to proceed with the work
0:02:59 the chief of the maxim walid son of the
0:03:02 now dead moghira took up a pickaxe and
0:03:06 said
0:03:06 i will begin raising for you
0:03:09 and going to the kaaba he said oh god
0:03:12 fear not o god we intend not but good
0:03:17 thereupon he knocked down part of the
0:03:19 war between the blackstone and the
0:03:21 yemenite corner that is the south
0:03:24 easterly wall
0:03:26 but the rest of the people held back
0:03:29 let us wait and see they said if he be
0:03:32 smitten we will raise no more of it but
0:03:35 restore it even as it was
0:03:38 but if he is not smitten then god is
0:03:41 pleased with our work and we will raise
0:03:43 it all to the ground
0:03:47 the night passed without mishap and
0:03:49 waled was again at work early next
0:03:52 morning so the others joined him
0:03:55 and when the wars were all down as far
0:03:57 as the foundation of abraham they came
0:04:00 upon large greenish cobblestones like
0:04:04 the humps of camels placed side by side
0:04:08 a man put a crowbar between two of these
0:04:10 stones to level one of them out
0:04:13 but at the first movement of the stone a
0:04:16 quaking shudder ran through the whole of
0:04:19 mecca
0:04:20 and they took it as a sign that they
0:04:22 must leave that foundation undisturbed
0:04:27 inside the corner of the black stone
0:04:29 they had found a piece of writing in
0:04:31 syriac
0:04:32 they kept it not knowing what it was
0:04:35 until one of the jews read it to them
0:04:38 i am god the lord of becker i created
0:04:42 her the day i created the heavens and
0:04:45 the earth the day i formed the sun and
0:04:48 the moon and i placed round about her
0:04:51 seven inviolable angels
0:04:54 she shall stand so long as her two hills
0:04:57 stand
0:04:58 blessed for her people with milk and
0:05:01 water
0:05:03 another piece of writing was found
0:05:05 beneath the station of abraham
0:05:08 a small rock near the door of the kaaba
0:05:11 which bears the miraculous print of his
0:05:13 foot
0:05:14 it reads
0:05:15 mecca is the holy house of god her
0:05:18 sustenance cometh unto her from three
0:05:22 directions
0:05:23 let not her people be the first to
0:05:26 profane her
0:05:29 quraish now gathered more stones in
0:05:31 addition to those they already had so as
0:05:34 to increase the height of the building
0:05:38 they worked separately clan by clan
0:05:40 until the walls were high enough for the
0:05:43 black stone to be built once more into
0:05:46 its corner
0:05:48 then a violent disagreement broke out
0:05:51 amongst them
0:05:53 for each clan wanted the honor of
0:05:55 lifting it into its place
0:05:58 the deadlock lasted for four or five
0:06:01 days and the tension had increased to
0:06:04 the point of alliances being made and
0:06:06 preparations for battle begun
0:06:09 where the oldest man present pointed to
0:06:12 a solution
0:06:15 oh men of course she said take as
0:06:18 arbiter between you about that which
0:06:21 wherein ye differ the first man who
0:06:24 shall enter in through the gate of this
0:06:27 mosque
0:06:28 the precinct round the kaaba was called
0:06:31 a mosque in arabic masjid a place of
0:06:35 prostration because the right of
0:06:37 prostrating oneself to god in the
0:06:40 direction of the holy house had been
0:06:42 performed there since the time of
0:06:45 abraham and ishmael
0:06:48 they agreed to follow the old man's
0:06:50 council and the first man to enter the
0:06:52 mosque was muhammad
0:06:55 who had just returned to mecca after an
0:06:58 absence
0:06:59 the sight of him produced an immediate
0:07:02 and spontaneous recognition that here
0:07:05 was the right person for the task
0:07:08 and his arrival was greeted by
0:07:10 exclamations and murmurs of satisfaction
0:07:14 it is said some we accept his judgment
0:07:19 said others
0:07:20 it is muhammad
0:07:22 when he explained the matter to him he
0:07:25 said
0:07:26 bring me a cloak
0:07:29 and when they brought it he spread it on
0:07:31 the ground and taking up the black stone
0:07:34 he laid it on the middle of the garment
0:07:38 let each clan take hold of the border of
0:07:42 the cloak he said then lifted up all of
0:07:46 you together
0:07:48 and when he had raised it to the right
0:07:50 to right height he took the stone and
0:07:53 placed it in the corner with his own
0:07:56 hands and the building was continued and
0:08:01 completed
0:08:02 above it
0:08:04 that was chapter 14
0:08:06 the rebuilding of the kaaba until next
0:08:09 time