Could you please explain the significance of the Black Stone at the Ka’abah. Is it correct that a person who kisses the Black Stone will have all his past sins removed?
The Black Stone is an easily distinguished stone, placed a little below shoulder level at one corner of the Ka’abah. The act of worship which is particularly associated with the Ka’abah, and never stops except when congregational prayer is held, is tawaf, which means walking round the Ka’abah seven times in an anti-clockwise direction. Tawaf is one of the duties of Islamic pilgrimage and Umrah (mini-pilgrimage). It is also a recommended act of worship at all times. Moreover, it is the way to offer greeting to the Ka’abah.
It is said that when Abraham completed the building of the Ka’abah, with the help of his son, Ismail, God commanded him to do the tawaf. He was not able to keep a correct count of the rounds he made. He felt that other worshipers would be similarly confused. He prayed God to give him a sign to be used for counting rounds. The Angel Gabriel brought him the Black Stone.
When one starts tawaf, and at the completion of each round, one should kiss the Black Stone or touch it with one’s hand, if it is possible, or signal to it from a distance, if the place is too crowded. As one does so, one should repeat this declaration: “There is no deity save God, God is supreme.” The significance of this particular action is best expressed by Omar ibn Al-Khattab, the companion of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his second successor as ruler of the Islamic state, and a distinguished scholar. He addressed the Black Stone in these words: “I know that you are a stone, which can cause no harm or benefit. Had it not been for the fact that I saw God’s Messenger, peace be upon him, kissing you, I would not have kissed you.
This is all that need be said about the Black Stone. It is not correct that kissing it will remove one’s sins. It is pilgrimage that is rewarded with the forgiveness of the pilgrim’s past sins. If a person performs the pilgrimage ten times and does not manage to kiss the Black Stone even once, his pilgrimage is perfectly correct and valid.
It is generally known that a person who completes the pilgrimage satisfactorily is forgiven all his past sins. If we assume that a pilgrim has wronged other people, how do they get justice, if God has forgiven him what he has done to them?
The Prophet, peace be upon him, has taught us that God forgives anything which is owed to Him by His servants, if He pleases. Therefore, if someone has made many mistakes or sins, which fall within the direct relationship between himself and God, then he sincerely repents having done them and resolves not to allow himself to make the same mistakes again, then God forgives him. This applies mainly to matters of worship. If someone does not fulfill his duties of fasting or prayers, or similar matters, or if he indulges in what God has forbidden, such as drinking or gambling, his sins are forgiven as a result of sincere repentance and prayer for forgiveness and a resolve not to make the same mistakes again. They are also forgiven if one goes on pilgrimage because a pilgrim undertakes this journey only to obtain forgiveness and this implies sincere repentance. Forgiveness of this type of sins can also be achieved if one fasts properly in Ramadhan or if he does any of the matters, which the Prophet, peace be upon him, has described as means to achieve forgiveness, by God.
There are, however, other forbidden matters, which human beings may do, but these are in the field of relations between people. Such matters include theft, defamation, false accusations, backbiting, perjury, oppression, and injustice generally. When a person is guilty of any of these matters, he is guilty of an offense against God who has forbidden him such actions and an offence against the person directly concerned with his action. God may forgive him the first part if he repents and does any of the actions, which ensure forgiveness. But the portion that relates to the rights of other people has a different treatment. God does not forgive these unless the person who has committed such wrongs pays back to the person who is at the receiving end of the offense what is owed to him, whether material or abstract. The wronged person should also forgive him before he is able to obtain forgiveness from God. This is the general rule.
However, it may so happen that a person who has done such wrongs cannot pay back the people he wronged what may satisfy them. This may happen either because he does not have the means to make amends. Or he does not know for certain the person he has wronged, or he cannot trace them or because he exposes himself to great trouble, if he admits his guilt to them, or for any other matter. In such cases, he should pray hard to grant him forgiveness. If God answers his prayer, and wishes to forgive him, he takes it upon himself to satisfy the wronged person. On the Day of Judgement, he calls the one who is wronged and asks him to forgive the offender. If he does then rewards him generously for forgoing his rights. If he says that he does not want to forgive him, then will God increase his reward for his good actions until he willingly forgives his offender. In this way, God takes it upon His Own Self to satisfy the offended party and ensure forgiveness for the offender as a result of his sincere repentance. ~
Since pilgrimage is a once-in-a-life-time experience for most pilgrims, the question arises: what to do with Ihram garments after the pilgrimage is over? Should they be considered as sacred garments? Can they be used as towels or shrouds for burial when one dies? In the latter case, does it give any extra reward for the deceased? Please comment.
It is certainly true that for most pilgrims, the experience is once in a whole lifetime. Hence, they cherish its memories and look at it as the pinnacle of their lives. But the value of the pilgrimage is in its journey for the specific intention it is made, rather than in any specific form or action it includes. The Ihram garments are only outward signs of a formal obligation in pilgrimage. They do not confer any distinction on the pilgrim. Nor do they, in themselves, have any distinction whatsoever. They are mere pieces of cloth, mostly towel cloth, which one wears during consecration because he is not allowed to wear anything that has been tailored. To look at them as sacred is contrary to all Islamic teachings. There is no sanctity attached to them by virtue of their being used in pilgrimage. To suggest this is a grave error.
One may use the Ihram garments for any purpose after one has finished pilgrimage or Umrah. One may use them as towels or blankets or for any other suitable use. They are mere cloths that can be put to use whatsoever. When one is not in the state of consecration, or Ihram, they have no shred of significance over that of any other piece of material.
Some people come up with the idea that the Ihram garments may be used as a suitable shroud for wrapping the body of their owner when he dies. They may be suitable for the purpose, like any other piece of cloth, but the deceased does not benefit in any way by being wrapped in them. God will judge him on the basis of his actions throughout his life. Obviously, pilgrimage, if done with sincerity of purpose, will have erased all sins up to that time. For this, no wrapping in Ihram garments is needed, because God knows who has offered the pilgrimage and who has not.
The wrapping in Ihram Garments is of no consequence at all as God gives that reward on the basis of action, not the wrapping of the body. If any thing, such wrapping may decrease a person’s reward. This is in the case if he considers that he needs to provide this material evidence to prove his case. That case stands proved with God’s Knowledge, which is absolute and perfect. It does not require such evidence. ~