Is it true that the Black Stone in the Ka'aba, which marks the beginning of tawaf, was given to Adam on his fall from heaven, as mentioned in the Encyclopedia Brittanica . Or has it fallen from heaven by some other means?
There is nothing in Islamic tradition to suggest the Black Stone was known to anyone on earth before Prophet Ibrahim, or before the building of the Ka'aba. This means that it was not given to Adam when he was sent down from the heaven. According to Islamic tradition, when Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail completed the building of the Ka'aba, Allah commanded them to do the tawaf. They could not count the rounds as they got confused with corners. Ibrahim prayed Allah to give him a mark to signal the beginning of each round. It is reported that Black Stone was given to Ibrahim by Archangel Gabriel. Obviously, Ibrahim could have used a mark of his own, but he wished that Allah would give a mark which remained for all time, so that all those who do the tawaf have the same signal.It should be clear to everyone that the Black Stone does not have any significance other than what I have just mentioned. It does not give any blessing to anyone. We simply kiss it at the beginning of tawaf because the Prophet kissed it when he did the tawaf. Our attitude to it is that of Umar ibn Al Khattab who said addressing the stone: "I do know that you are only a stone which can cause no benefit or harm to anyone. Had it not been for the fact that I have seen the Prophet kissing you, I would not have kissed you."
You have mentioned in the past that we kiss the Black Stone only because the Prophet kissed it. There is another place, Rukn Al-Yamani, which some people kiss when they do the tawaf. Could you please explain the background for their doing so and what is the proper ruling concerning that. May I also ask what is the proper name of the semicircular place next to the Ka'aba where many people offer prayers? Is it true that one should not look at the Ka’aba directly during the tawaf?
You may realize that the Ka'aba was rebuilt by Quraish shortly before the beginning of Islamic revelations, after its foundation had weakened due to floods. The story is well known of how the Makkah chiefs disputed among themselves as to who of them had the right to replace the Black Stone. Eventually, they agreed to arbitration, appointing the first man to enter by a certain door to be the arbiter. It was Muhammad, peace be upon him, who had not yet received his revelations, who entered and they all agreed that he should arbitrate on their dispute. His ruling was pleasing to everyone. He called for a dress to be placed on the floor, and he placed the Black Stone on it, asking each tribe to appoint a representative. All these representatives lifted the dress with the Black Stone in it until they brought it very close to its position, when Muhammad, peace be upon him, took over and placed it in its correct position.
The Ka'aba was rebuilt several times, whenever its structure showed need for strengthening or rebuilding. Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair and Abdulmalik ibn Marwan, were two people, close to the time of the Prophet, who rebuilt it.
It is believed that the semicircle area next to the Ka'aba was originally part of it. It is reported that Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair, a companion of the Prophet, included that semicircle in the building of the Ka'aba, but then the semicircle was kept out of it and was rebuilt again by Abdulmalik who belonged to the generation of successors to the companions of the Prophet. It is, indeed, because this semicircle was originally a part of the Ka'aba that we do tawaf outside it, rather than inside. However, the Ka'aba was originally of rectangular shape. The exact position of the two corners on the side of the semicircle is not known now for certain. However, we are absolutely certain that the other two corners, are in the original place when Ibrahim built it.
As I have mentioned earlier, we kiss the Black Stone because the Prophet kissed it. We do not kiss Rukn Al-Yamani, because the Prophet did not kiss it. It is recommended, however, to touch it with one's hands and offer a supplication. The preferred supplication is: "My Lord, forgive me and have mercy on me." The semicircle area is best known by the name of Hijr Ismail. Another name of it is Al-Hateem. Both names are used in Arabic literature.
During tawaf, one should look in front of him, with his head a little low in a posture of submission to God. He should not be looking around, or looking at the Ka’aba. There is no harm in lifting one’s head in order to walk properly in he crowd, so that one does not hit any one accidentally. Looking at the Ka’aba occasionally causes no harm, but the general attitude during tawaf is that of someone who is engaged in worship, not sight-seeing.
• Kafir: Describing one as Kafir
In a discussion with a friend, I told him that a person who deliberately omits to offer obligatory prayers is considered a non-Muslim. I have heard from scholars that the criterion which distinguishes Muslims from non-Muslims is prayer. My friend argues that we cannot call anyone a 'kafir'. Please explain.
A person who denies the obligation of prayer is certainly a non-believer, or 'kafir'. We have no hesitation in describing him as such because he denies an essential point of our religion which is commonly known to all. A person who omits to offer one prayer every now and then cannot be described as a non-believer or a 'kafir', because he acknowledges the duty of prayer and he practices it. Its omission is certainly a sin of which he should repent properly. Such a repentance cannot be described as proper unless it is accompanied by stopping the omission completely.
Your friend is correct in being careful with regard to who can be described as non-believer. He is not right, however, in saying that we cannot call a non-Muslim a 'kafir', because the term 'kafir' means a non-Muslim.
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