Mukhtasar Muslim

‘Ata says that when, during the reign of Yazid bin Muawiyah, the Ka’bah was burned in the fighting with the people of Syria and whatever happened to it happened, Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) left the Ka’bah as it was until people gathered for the Hajj season. Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to show the people the House of Allah and thereby encourage them to fight the people of Syria or prepare them for battle against the Syrians. Then, when the people were about to leave, he said, “O people! Advise me regarding the House of Allah: should I demolish it and rebuild it anew, or should I repair only the part that has been damaged?” Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, “I have an opinion, and it is that you should only repair what has been damaged among it and leave the Ka’bah as it was at the beginning of Islam, and leave those stones upon which people became Muslim and upon which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent.” Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “If any of you had his house burned, his heart would never be content until he rebuilt it anew. Then what about the House of your Lord, which is far superior? What should be done about it? I will seek guidance from my Lord three times, then I will make a firm decision about my action.” Then, after seeking guidance (Istikhara) three times, he decided to demolish and rebuild the Ka’bah. People became fearful, lest the first person to climb atop the Ka’bah to demolish it would be struck by a calamity from the sky (from this it is understood that the Owner of this House is above, and this was the belief of all the Companions). Until a man climbed up and removed a stone from it. When the people saw that no calamity befell him, they began to climb over one another and demolished the sacred House down to the ground. Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) then erected a few pillars and hung curtains over them (so that people would continue to pray in the direction of the curtain and know the location of the Ka’bah, and those curtains remained) until the walls were raised high. Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I heard from Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘If the people had not recently left disbelief, and if I had enough resources to rebuild it, I would have included five cubits of the Hatim within the Ka’bah, and I would have made a door through which people could enter and another through which they could exit.’” Then Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Today we have enough resources to spend on it, and there is no fear from the people.” The narrator said: Then Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) increased the wall by five cubits on the side of the Hatim until a foundation appeared there which people saw clearly (and that foundation was the foundation of Ibrahim, peace be upon him). Then he began to raise the wall from that foundation, and the length of the Ka’bah was eighteen cubits. When he increased it, it began to look small (meaning its width became greater and its length appeared less), so he increased its length by ten cubits as well, and he made two doors for it: one for entering and one for exiting. Then, when Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, Hajjaj wrote to Abdul Malik bin Marwan informing him that the foundation laid by Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) was upon the same foundations which the trustworthy people of Makkah had seen (i.e., the foundation of Ibrahim, peace be upon him). Abdul Malik wrote back to him, “We have no concern with the changes made by Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him). (Do this:) Leave what he increased in length, but remove what he added on the side of the Hatim and restore it to its original state, and close the door which he opened additionally.” Thus, Hajjaj demolished it and rebuilt it upon its original foundation.