ḥadīth to indicate that it was a stone sent down from Paradise, or that it was originally white and became black on account of the sins of men. The Black Stone is, in fact, the corner-stone of the Ka‘bah, and stands there only as an emblem, a token that that part of the progeny of Abraham which was rejected by the Israelites was to become the corner-stone of the Kingdom of God. The Psalms contain a clear reference to it: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone of the corner” (Ps. 118:22). Ishmael was looked upon as rejected and the Divine covenant was considered to have been made with the children of Isaac only. That was the Jewish view, and it was due to the fact that Ishmael was placed by Abraham near the Ka‘bah. And again while prophet after prophet appeared among the Israelites, no prophet appeared of the progeny of Ishmael, and hence the Jewish belief that Ishmael was rejected became stronger. Yet it was from the progeny of Ishmael that the Last prophet, “the head-stone of the corner” in the words of the Psalmist, was to arise, and the Black Stone, whencesoever brought, was placed as the cornerstone of the Ka‘bah, as a sign that the rejected Ishmaelites were the real inheritors of the Divine Kingdom. And while David referred to it as “ the stone which the builders refused,” Jesus spoke of it more plainly in the parable of the husbandman, telling the Israelites that the vineyard, which in the parable stands for the Kingdom of God, would be taken away from them and given to “other husbandmen;” that is, to a non-Israelite people: “Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?” (Mt. 21:42); “The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof ” (Mt. 21:43). That by the rejected stone in the prophecy was meant a rejected nation is made clear by Jesus Christ. That the rejected nation was no other than the Ishmaelites is borne out by history. And in the whole world there is only this unhewn stone, the stone “cut out of the mountain without hands,” (Dan. 2:45), that is the corner-stone of a building which in point of importance stands unique in the world.
Sa‘y means running, and in the Islāmic terminology it signifies the running of the pilgrims between the two little hills situated near