Interesting Facts about Hajar al-Aswad

According to Islamic History, the famous stone Hajar al-Aswad came from Jannat and it was given to Prophet Ibrahim (may peace and blessings be upon him). He was given the command to place it at the corner of Holy Kaaba. According to the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), when the stone first came to Earth it was completely white like milk but then it started absorbing the sins of human beings and became black. Each year, it is expected that a large number of pilgrims will visit it and then they will kiss it with respect and honor. Especially those availing Ramadan Umrah Packages 2017 loves to have a travel tour on the historic events and places in Madinah. Having a sight of Hijar al-Aswad can bring back many Islamic memories.According to the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Hajar al Aswad will come as a favor on the day of judgement, for those who had kissed it at least once in their lifetime.rnIn accordance to the history of Islam, when the people of Quraysh destroyed the Kaaba Shareef for the reason of constructing it again, a debatable topic arose about the Black Stone. A solution was introduced to the people and according to that any person who arrives first to the gate of Bani Shaibah will make a judgement and everyone will have to agree on it. Fortunately, the first person to arrive at the gate was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).He placed Hajar al-Aswad in the center point of a cloth and asked each person who was representing the tribe to hold the corners. Then Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) hold the Holy stone with his own hands and placed it to the original place. It was the sheer intelligence of the Prophet (PBUH) that he stopped the initiative of a war which would have taken place if he didn’t show his wisdom at the right time.rnIt is also stated that once Hazrat Umar (R.A) kissed that stone and said that I’m only kissing you because I have seen my beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) kissing you, otherwise I know that you can neither give us any harm nor can give us any benefit. This was said by him because he didn’t want others to point out that Muslims are worshipping the stone like Hindus does and pray to that stone. He (R.A) never wanted that impression to be given to the other people including Muslims as well. Originally when Hajar al-Aswad came from heaven, it was a complete single stone. But by the passage of time and due to many historical events, Hajar al-Aswad has now eight different pieces which differ in size. All these eight pieces of various sizes are fixed to a large silver frame having a large stone to which these pieces are affixed with. Abdullah bin Zubair made the first ever silver frame but then later it was substituted by the Khalifa’s of that time. The other additional six pieces of Hajar al-Aswad are said to be in Turkey. One piece out of these six is present in the mihrab of the famous Blue Mosque, another is above the entry point in the tomb of Suleiman while the other remaining four are in Mehmet Mosque in Turkey. People usually question the originality of these six pieces. Since the Turkish people have been ruling over the place which is now called Saudi Arabia so they can be original pieces but only Allah Almighty knows the ultimate truth. It is advised to the respected pilgrims that whenever they try to kiss Hajar al-Aswadthey should neither hurry nor try to push anyone because they might end up harming someone. Islam can never allow anyone to harm someone else just for the sake of pleasing Almighty. Since pushing someone to kiss the stone is a forbidden act so you can simply say that it is Haram. Since the area around Hajar al-Aswad can get quite crowdy so you can also point towards it instead of kissing it directly as it has been stated by Islamic scholars that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) kissed the stone directly and also pointed towards it when the place was full and crowdy. So, both these acts come under Sunnah.