violated. There is nothing in the Holy Qur’ān, or the Ḥadīth to show when and by whom the Ka‘bah was first built ; but it is said to have been rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael: “And when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House: Our Lord! Accept from us” (2:127). An earlier revelation makes it clear that the Ka‘bah was already there when Abraham left Ishmael in the wilderness of Arabia: “Our Lord! I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley unproductive of fruit near Thy Sacred House” (14:37). It appears from this that Ishmael had been purposely left near the Sacred House; it was, in fact, under a Divine commandment that Abraham took this step (Bu. 60:9). It would seem that the Ka‘bah was then in a demolished condition and was afterwards, when Ishmael grew to manhood, rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael as stated in 2:127. In a long ḥadīth of Ibn ‘Abbās, speaking of Abraham leaving Ishmael and his mother near the Ka‘bah, it is said: “And the House was then rising above the surface of the earth like a mound, the flood waters passing to its right and to its left” (Bu. 60:9). The ḥadīth then goes on to narrate how long after this, when Ishmael had grown to manhood and was a married man, Abraham came to pay a visit to him and told him that Almighty God had commanded him to build a house at the place where the mound was, and how the father and the son built the Ka‘bah. Besides being in a ruined condition, it seems to have had idols placed in it and Abraham was required to purify it of these. “And We enjoined Abraham and Ishmael, saying: Purify My House for those who visit (it) and those who abide (in it) for devotion and those who bow down (and) those who prostrate themselves” (2:125). Nearly the same words occur in an earlier revelation (22:26).

The Ka‘bah was again rebuilt by the Quraish6 when the Holy Prophet was a young man, and he personally took part in its building, carrying stones on his shoulders. During the construction a dispute arose as to who should place the Black Stone in its place. Every tribe was desirous of having this honour accorded to its representative. Finally a settlement was arrived at, namely that the decision of the man who made his appearance first in the Ka‘bah should be accepted by all. Fortunately, the man who appeared first was Muḥammad, peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him, and there was an outcry that al-Amīn (the Faithful one) had come. The Holy Prophet decided