Fath al-Rabbani

Sayyiduna Sa’ib bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he too was among those who built the Ka’bah during the era of ignorance. He says: I had a stone, I would carve it with my own hands and then worship it, leaving Allah aside. The clotted milk over which I was miserly with myself, I would bring and pour it over that idol. Then a dog would come and lick it, and then lift one leg and urinate on it. So, when we reached the place of Hajar al-Aswad during the construction of the House of Allah, and no one was looking at the Hajar al-Aswad, while it was lying among the stones like a man’s head, and (it was so shiny that) a man’s face could be seen in it, a clan (sub-tribe) of the Quraysh said: We will install this stone in its place. Other people said: We will place it. Then they said: Select one man among yourselves as an arbitrator. Then they said: Whoever comes first from that open path, he will decide. Just then, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared from there. Everyone said: The Trustworthy one has come. The people explained the details to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed the stone in a cloth and then called their tribes. They held the corners of the cloth and lifted it, and then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) installed it in its place.