Physical Description of the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad)

𝐏𝐑𝐲𝐬𝐒𝐜𝐚π₯ πƒπžπ¬πœπ«π’π©π­π’π¨π§ 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐑𝐞 𝐁π₯𝐚𝐜𝐀 π’π­π¨π§πž (𝐚π₯-π‡πšπ£πšπ« 𝐚π₯-π€π¬π°πšπ)



Mohamad Mostafa Nassar

Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR

First The Noble Quran states Muslims worship THE LORD OF THE HOUSE in Mecca and NOT the House in Mecca ITSELF – it just a DIRECTION= GLOBAL COMPASS for all Muslims around the world as states in Quran Chapter 106:

Christian Hypocrisy and the Black Stone in Mecca

Let’s compare between the black stone in Islam and Bible stone -Joshua 24:26-27 it shall be a witness against us, it has heard all the words the Lord said, Isaiah 6:5-7 it KISSED someone and forgave his sins –

We Muslim kiss the black stone, but according to Bible stone itself kissed someone, Christians don’t talk about that, how can a stone kiss others?

-Christians should educate themselves and learn what idolatry is? None of the prophets of Bible practiced Christianity nor worshipped the false TRIUNE God, nor Jesus did that!!! –

Christians are false WORSHIPPERS and false FOLLOWERS of Jesus (John 4:22-24)

Sadly many non-Muslims have NO idea, what is in the Bible:

(“went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously” (cf. Daniel 6:10)

We shall describe the physical nature of the Stone itself. The Black Stone (Ar: Ω±Ω„Ω’Ψ­ΩŽΨ¬ΩŽΨ±Ω Ω±Ω„Ω’Ψ£ΩŽΨ³Ω’ΩˆΩŽΨ―β€Ž, al-Hajar al-Aswad) is built into the Kaaba wall, at the eastern corner of the Kaaba, about 5 ft. above the ground level, not very far from the door of the Kaaba. The Kaaba itself can itself be described as a black box, which Muslims face in daily prayers.
Black Stone Kaaba

Muslims believe that the Black Stone was originally given to Abraham, who built the Kaaba used the Black Stone as a corner stone for the structure. Abraham and Ishmael taught the early Makkan Arabs monotheism; after the passing of Abraham and Ishmael, the Makkan Arabs with time regressed into pagan practices including idol worship. They ended up having a pantheon of gods, despite the original message of Abraham and Ishmael which taught the early Arabs to worship God alone (monotheism).1

Going back to the Black Stone, it was originally a single piece of rock but todayconsists of three large pieces and several small fragments (in which it was formerly broken) stuck together and surrounded by a large ring of stone, which in turn is held together by a silver band.black stone front and side

Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited Mecca in 1814, and provided a detailed description as follows:

It is an irregular oval, about seven inches [18 cm] in diameter, with an undulated surface, composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined together with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly well smoothed; it looks as if the whole had been broken into as many pieces by a violent blow, and then united again.

It is very difficult to determine accurately the quality of this stone which has been worn to its present surface by the millions of touches and kisses it has received. It appeared to me like a lava, containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish and of a yellow substance.

Its colour is now a deep reddish brown approaching to black. It is surrounded on all sides by a border composed of a substance which I took to be a close cement of pitch and gravel of a similar, but not quite the same, brownish colour.

This border serves to support its detached pieces; it is two or three inches in breadth, and rises a little above the surface of the stone. Both the border and the stone itself are encircled by a silver band, broader below than above, and on the two sides, with a considerable swelling below, as if a part of the stone were hidden under it. The lower part of the border is studded with silver nails.2

It was narrated that Ibn β€˜Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: β€œThe Black Stone came down from Paradise.”3

Material of the Black Stone

The material of the Black Stone has not been precisely determined. It is sometimes classified as lava and sometimes as basalt. The reason for this difficulty is that its visible surface is worn smooth by hand-touching, etc4. Its estimated diameter is approximately 12β€³5. Its colour is reddish black with red and yellow particles.silver frame around the black stone

Some Islamophobes have begun a baseless attack on the appearance of the Black Stone by alleging that it looks like a vagina in order to insult Muslims. The silver frame around the Black Stone were for centuries maintained by the Ottoman Sultans in their role as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. This silver frame is a modern addition and the structure look doughnut shaped as a result. The frames wore out over time due to the constant handling by pilgrims and were periodically replaced.

It is reported that when the Prophet Muhammad(P) entered the city of Makkah as a victorious leader, there were 360 idols around the Kaaba6. The Prophet(P) then had the Forbidden Sanctuary (the precinct around the Kaaba proper) cleansed of all these idols and proclaimed Monotheism in its true, most elevated and pristine form.

Thus saying that β€œMuslims worship the Black Stone as an idol” is clearly the most absurd thing ever pronounced in the history of mankind.

Significance of the Black Stone

From a physical perspective, therefore, the Black Stone does not have any special significance or importance.

Umar(R), later to become the second Caliph of Islam, is reported to have said that he fully realized that the Black Stone was merely a stone and thus had no power of its own to harm or benefit anyone7.

As for the reasons as to why we have the Black Stone in the wall of the Kaaba, we read about the following reasons, that:

Kissing in reference to the black stone.

Is it proven in the hadith that whoever kisses the Black Stone will be admitted to Paradise without being brought to account?

What is the wisdom behind circumambulating the Kaaba seven times? What is the meaning of tawaf (circumambulation)

Why there is a gender mixing during Hajj and Umrah – Pilgrimage in Mecca?

Why Muslims Walk Around The β€˜Kaaba’ in the Haram Mosque in Mecca

If Kaaba was the first house of worship, why did Prophet Muhammed start out by praying towards Al Masjid Ala Aqsa in Palestine?

Why do Muslims kiss the Kaaba stone?

Malicious Allegations About the Black Stone and Their Refutations

The Bible’s holy stones. They even get anointed with oil. Let us look at the Bible’s sacred black stones

Black stone in Mecca worship Refutation

Kissing Stone and forgiveness of sins from the Bible!

Idol Worship, the Unforgivable Sin in Islam (if maintained until death)

Does Surah 53:19-23 in the Qur’an tell Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat?

No Paganism in Islam or Hajj=Pligrimage to Mecca

Christian hypocrisy regarding Muslims praying facing Mecca.

And with this, it is clear that this baseless assertion of Islamophobes is refuted. And only God knows best!Cite this article as: Bismika Allahuma Team, “Do Muslims Worship The Black Stone Of The Kaaba?,” in Bismika Allahuma, October 15, 2005, last accessed October 19, 2021

  1. Safi-ur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Ar-Raheequl-Makhtum (Darussalam, 2002), pp. 26-28
  2. Burckhardt, Johann Ludwig (1829). Travels in Arabia, Comprehending an Account of Those Territories in Hedjaz which the Mohammedans Regard as Sacred. Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street. p. 250
  3. Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 877; al-Nasaa’i, 2935. The hadith was classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi.
  4. Refer, for example, to the profile sketch of the Black Stone given by Ali Bey: Travels, Vol. ii (London 1816), p. 76, to note its surface hollowed out in undulations.
  5. See al-Batanuni, al-Rihla al-Haziah, Cairo (1329 AH), p. 105
  6. See Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 583 (Muhsin Khan’s tr.)
  7. See this statement in various narratives, such as: Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Numbers 667, 675 (Muhsin Khan’s tr.); Sahih Muslim, Book 007, Number 2914 (Abdul Hamid Siddiqui’s tr.); Sunan an-Nasa’i (Arabic version), Vol. ii, p. 38, etc.
  8. See the details of this point in M. Hamidullah, Introduction to Islam, paragraph 181/a, Karachi 1969